Underground Mining and Mineral Production Quiz

Underground Mining and Mineral Production: Key Points

• Canada is a top-five global producer of 10 major minerals and metals, leading in potash and ranking high in uranium, diamond, titanium, platinum group metals, cadmium, aluminum, nickel, graphite, and gold.
• Sudbury, Canada, holds one of the world's largest nickel deposits, with historic production and current reserves exceeding US$300 billion.
• Ore is valuable minerals that can be mined at a profit, and the extent of an ore body is determined by the cut-off grade, below which mining is uneconomic.
• Mining terminology includes definitions for orebody, vein, host rock, and dyke, as well as concepts like dip, strike, hanging wall, footwall, development, shaft, portal, adit, and tunnel.
• Other mining terms include ramp, collar, drift, crosscut, face, draw point, ore pass, raise, sump, crown pillar, sill/floor pillar, cage, skip, hoist, and stope.
• Ventilation is a crucial aspect of underground mining, necessary for loading and hauling, scaling, rock support, backfilling, and blasting.
• Natural support in mines involves leaving portions of ore or waste in place as pillars to prevent openings from failing, with various types of pillars serving different support functions.
• Artificial support in mines is introduced after excavation and includes methods like rock bolting to consolidate roof strata with steel bolts.
• Underground mining activities encompass development and production drilling, loading with explosives and blasting, ventilation, loading and hauling, scaling, rock support, and backfilling.
• Fresh air raise and exhaust air raise are part of the intake shaft system used in underground mines to bring in fresh air and ensure proper airflow.
• Mining Optimization Laboratory provides detailed insights into mining terminology, activities, and support systems.
• The text offers comprehensive explanations of key mining terms and activities, providing a detailed overview of underground mining operations and mineral production.

Underground Mining and Mineral Production: Key Points

• Canada is a top-five global producer of 10 major minerals and metals, leading in potash and ranking high in uranium, diamond, titanium, platinum group metals, cadmium, aluminum, nickel, graphite, and gold.
• Sudbury, Canada, holds one of the world's largest nickel deposits, with historic production and current reserves exceeding US$300 billion.
• Ore is valuable minerals that can be mined at a profit, and the extent of an ore body is determined by the cut-off grade, below which mining is uneconomic.
• Mining terminology includes definitions for orebody, vein, host rock, and dyke, as well as concepts like dip, strike, hanging wall, footwall, development, shaft, portal, adit, and tunnel.
• Other mining terms include ramp, collar, drift, crosscut, face, draw point, ore pass, raise, sump, crown pillar, sill/floor pillar, cage, skip, hoist, and stope.
• Ventilation is a crucial aspect of underground mining, necessary for loading and hauling, scaling, rock support, backfilling, and blasting.
• Natural support in mines involves leaving portions of ore or waste in place as pillars to prevent openings from failing, with various types of pillars serving different support functions.
• Artificial support in mines is introduced after excavation and includes methods like rock bolting to consolidate roof strata with steel bolts.
• Underground mining activities encompass development and production drilling, loading with explosives and blasting, ventilation, loading and hauling, scaling, rock support, and backfilling.
• Fresh air raise and exhaust air raise are part of the intake shaft system used in underground mines to bring in fresh air and ensure proper airflow.
• Mining Optimization Laboratory provides detailed insights into mining terminology, activities, and support systems.
• The text offers comprehensive explanations of key mining terms and activities, providing a detailed overview of underground mining operations and mineral production.

Mining Methods and Equipment Summary

• Shotcrete is used in ground control to prevent rocks from falling by spraying concrete or reinforced concrete at high pressure onto the walls of an opening.
• Hydrafil is a mixture of tailings, cement, sand, and broken rock used to support the sides of a stope, with tailings being the material rejected from a mill after extracting valuable minerals.
• Jumbo drilling equipment is used in drift/ramp development, cut and fill, and room and pillar mining, with 1, 2, or 3 drill booms depending on the size.
• Rock bolters are used to install rock bolts in walls and roofs at a safe distance from the active face in mining operations.
• Trackless scooptrams transport blasted rock from stopes short distances to trucks or ore passes and have a front-end bucket for carrying and dumping bulk materials.
• Underground trucks transport blasted rock from stopes long distances via internal ramp systems, with capacities ranging from 26 to 50 tonnes.
• Load-Haul-Dump (LHD) vehicles are essential for transporting underground ores and typically involve manual operation for ore shoveling, transporting, and dumping.
• The ultimate objective of exploration is to predict the shape, distribution, and concentration of mineralization, achieved by creating a geologic model to calculate the quantity and quality of the ore deposit.
• Dilution in mining can have different definitions and sources, including geological, planned, unplanned, and fill dilution, affecting the ore stream.
• Underground mining methods depend on factors such as deposit size, shape, chemical composition, wall rock competence, mechanization level, and operating costs, making it a complicated process.
• Factors affecting underground mining methods include capital costs, operating costs, ore value, production rate, waste rock dilution, orebody recovery, orebody variability, orebody widths, and ground conditions.
• Learning outcomes of the lecture include understanding important terminology related to underground mining, equipment used, and factors affecting underground mining methods.