Mining and Mineral Engineering

• Mining extracts valuable minerals or geological materials, often from an orebody, vein, seam, or reef.
• Mineral engineering includes the extraction, processing, and utilization of minerals.
• Fine particle processing handles particles less than 1 millimeter in size.
• Coal and mineral processing plants separate valuable minerals from raw materials.

Mining Fundamentals

• Mining involves extracting minerals or geological materials from the earth.
• Surface mining (open-pit, strip, quarrying) is used for deposits close to the surface.
• Underground mining (room and pillar, longwall, cut and fill) is used for deeper deposits.
• Exploration uses prospecting, surveying, and drilling to locate and assess mineral deposits.
• Mine planning designs the layout, extraction methods, and production schedule.
• Extraction removes ore or minerals from the ground.
• Transportation moves extracted materials to processing facilities.
• Environmental management minimizes the environmental impact of mining.
• Safety protects workers from hazards.

Mineral Engineering Basics

• Mineral engineering applies engineering principles to mineral extraction and processing.
• Comminution reduces material size through crushing and grinding.
• Separation techniques separate valuable minerals from waste.
• Chemical processing uses reactions to extract or purify minerals.
• Hydrometallurgy extracts metals from ores using aqueous solutions.
• Pyrometallurgy extracts metals from ores using high-temperature processes.
• Flotation separates minerals using differences in surface properties.
• Drying removes moisture from mineral concentrates.
• Tailings management disposes of waste materials from mineral processing.

Fine Particles Processing

• Fine particles are generally less than 1 mm in size.
• Fine particles behave differently than coarser particles due to increased surface area & forces.
• Agglomeration clumps fine particles together.
• Dispersion keeps fine particles separated and suspended in fluid.
• Surface chemistry is critical to fine particle behavior in suspension.
• Sedimentation settles particles from suspension via gravity.
• Filtration separates solids from fluids using a filter.
• Centrifugation separates particles from fluids using centrifugal force.
• Electrostatic separation separates fine particles using electrical properties.

Coal Processing

• Coal processing cleans and upgrades raw coal to meet specifications.
• Crushing and grinding reduces coal size to liberate impurities.
• Screening separates coal particles by size.
• Gravity separation methods include jigging, dense medium separation, and tabling.
• Flotation separates fine coal particles from ash-forming minerals.
• Coal washing removes ash, sulfur, and other impurities.
• Drying reduces coal moisture content.
• Coal blending mixes different coal types to achieve desired properties.
• Briquetting and pelletizing agglomerate fine coal particles into larger forms.

Mineral Processing

• Mineral processing separates valuable minerals from waste rock (gangue).
• Comminution (crushing and grinding) reduces ore size to liberate minerals.
• Screening and classification separates particles by size.
• Gravity concentration methods include heavy media separation, jigging, and spiraling.
• Flotation separates minerals based on surface properties.
• Magnetic separation separates minerals based on magnetic susceptibility.
• Leaching dissolves valuable metals from ore.
• Solvent extraction selectively extracts metals from leach solutions.
• Electrowinning recovers metals from solution electrochemically.

Plant Design

• Plant design engineers and constructs facilities for processing coal and minerals.
• Process design selects unit operations and equipment.
• Layout design arranges equipment and facilities efficiently.
• Material handling systems transport materials within the plant.
• Instrumentation and control systems monitor and control the process.
• Plant automation uses computers and technologies to automate operations.
• Capital cost estimation estimates the cost of building the plant.
• Operating cost estimation estimates the cost of running the plant.
• Economic analysis evaluates plant profitability.
• Environmental impact assessment evaluates the plant's environmental impact.
• Plant commissioning starts up the plant and ensures proper operation.