Types of Mining and Fracking
By Aidan Seidman and Ryan Spivak
Types of Mining
-Surface Mining
-Sub- Surface Mining
Surface Mining is more common; 85% of earth's minerals and fossil fuels come from surface mining
-Done by stripping land of any vegetation, soil, and bedrock to reach the ore below
-Types include open-pit mining, strip mining, and mountain top removal
Sub-Surface Mining involves digging tunnels and pits underground to reach buried ore.
-Many different techniques have been developed to use on different types of rock
-Types include shrinkage stop mining, retreat mining, and room and pillar mining
Mining Techniques
-Used for the extraction of deposits of coal, phosphates, and similar minerals
-Land impact- Once the deposits are depleted, the landscape becomes unsuitable for any use; makes it unusable
Retreat Mining- involves excavating a room or chamber and putting up pillars to give the room support.
-As the mineral is excavated, the supports are taken out until the mine collapses on itself
Land Impact- No significant impact on the land, but can be very dangerous for the miners
Pictures of Different Mining Technuiqes
Fracking
-Can be dangerous because it can cause sinkholes to form
-Contaminates Ground Water
-Lots of Pollution