Types of Mining
Ellery Dayton, Amber Artis, Chasity Bell, Danielle Ortiz
Mining
Surface Mining
Strip Mining- Strip mining is the practice of removing minerals by first removing a long strip of overlying soil and rock (called the overburden). It is mostly used to mine coal, but can also be used to mine lignite (brown coal). Strip mining can only be used effectively when the ore is fairly close to the surface.
Open-pit Mining- Open-pit mining is a technique used to extract rock or minerals from the Earth by removing from an open pit called a borrow. Just like strip mining, this technique only works when the minerals are close to the surface.
Mountaintop Removal- Mountaintop Removal mining (MTR) is a mining technique that involves the mining of the summit or summit ridge of a mountain. Explosives are frequently used to extract coal from mountains such as the Appalachians.
Subsurface Mining
Slope- Slope mining is the method of using a sloping access shaft to reach valuable materials underneath the ground. This is most commonly used for coal, but is also used to obtain ores that cannot be found on the surface.
Drift- Drift mining is the mining of underground deposits of mineral by drilling near-horizontal passageways that follow the vein of an ore. Drift mining is the most common type of subsurface mining.
Shaft- Shaft mining (also called shaft sinking) is the mining method of excavating a long vertical tunnel where access to the bottom is difficult. Some shaft mines are used for civil engineering.
Effects of Mining on the Environment
Fracking and It's effects on the Environment
Fracking (Hydraulic Fracturing) is the use of high pressurized fluid to fracture deep rocks and release valuable resources such as petroleum and an doer natural gases. The fluid (usually mixed with chemicals or sand) is injected into the rock to cause the fracture.
While fracking is useful to humans, it can cause water contamination, air emissions, and health effects on humans. Methane released from fracking can cause excess greenhouse gas and acid rain, which in turn causes water pollution and negative health effects on humans and other organisms.