Surface mining Wikipedia

Mining can stop in a certain area, for instance, where the coal seam becomes thinner or when the seam dips further underneath the surface. After removing the coal from the initial cut, the operator makes a second, parallel cut. The operator positions the overburden from the second cut into the ditch formed by the original cut and grades and compresses the spoil. It commenced in the mid-16th century and is practiced all over the world, even though the bulk of surface coal mining takes place in North America. Mining companies are nowadays operating mainly in Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky (particularly eastern Kentucky) and West Virginia. Historically, moving materials out of surface mines was accomplished through manual labor, horse-drawn vehicles, and/or mining railways.

The Process of Strip Mining

Many coal power plants are located along waterways or large rivers like the Ohio to facilitate the delivery of coal via barges or railroads. Some large surface coal mines, such as Wyodak near Gillette in eastern Wyoming have a power plant on-site to utilize the coal at the mine and sell electricity directly into the national grid. Surface mining has two design parameters that affect mine cost, which are minimizing rehandle and maximizing pit recovery. Rehandle occurs when overburden is handled twice and sometimes multiple times during excavation and spoil placement. Simulating alternative mine plans and anticipating where overburden will be placed can minimize rehandle. Rehandle can more than double the cost of mining portions of the overburden.

Although open-pit mining and underground mining are the two most common mining techniques, placer mining and solution mining also have been used for mineral extraction. Placer mining involves excavation of river or stream sediments and separation of valuable minerals by gravity, by selective flotation, or by chemical extraction. Most solution mining is by heap leaching in which the extractant solution is trickled over broken ore on the surface or in underground workings; less common is injection into underground geological formations. The consequence of the excavation of open-pits and other mining-related disturbances is that sulfide minerals previously isolated from the atmosphere are exposed to oxygen. The selection of the mine design is dictated by the physical structure and value of the ore body and by the xcritical courses scam characteristics of the adjacent geological materials.

Strip mining environmental impact

1. A schematic view of the complete operating cycle of mining for shallow-bedded deposits like coal and lignite seams.
2. Once inland waters are contaminated by mine water, their remediation can take long and may involve large financial burdens (ERMITE Consortium et al., 2004).
3. The historical evolution of strip mining highlights the industry’s advancements and the increasing emphasis on sustainable practices.
4. All of these undesirable consequences drive individuals to move to other places because the air they breathe and the water they use becomes dirty and expanding coal mines make use of more and more of their homeland.
5. The last step of strip mining operation, which aims for reclamation of the land, is what sets apart a good coal company from a mediocre one.
6. This method involves removing the overlying rock and soil layers to access the mineral deposits below.

It is safer than underground mining Given that strip mining just covers the surface, workers aren’t exposed to risks like the collapse of a tunnel – a risk that is inherent in underground mining. Also, companies are required to reclaim any land they use for strip mining. This simply means that they have to fill the removed areas with topsoil and replant them with vegetation. It is much more efficient compared to underground mining Those who advocate for strip mining believe that the recovery rate of materials is higher using the method. It is estimated that about 80 to 90% of the material can be recovered compared to the 50% recovered using tunnel mining.

Classification of Mining Land Disturbance

There typically needs to be sufficient space to unload and store significant amounts of coal feedstock. Coal is often processed at the mine to create uniform-size particles (“comminution”), remove noncombustible minerals, and provide other conditioning to improve performance. Increasing numbers of power plants are using this so-called “refined coal,” but if the precombustion cleaning, comminution and conditioning has to be done at the power plant site, this requires even more land. Large cooling towers might be necessary for plant operations, and sufficient land area for gathering and handling the postcombustion products is also needed.

Effects of Mining on Surface Water

This technique would be applied to all of the blocks making up the block model, and at the end of this process a final pit outline would result. The environmental impact of strip mining is significant and multifaceted. While it allows for efficient mineral extraction, it also poses several environmental challenges that need xcritical to be addressed. Strip mining is favored for its efficiency and cost-effectiveness for near-surface deposits.

This kind of mining is particularly useful when the minerals are located very close to the surface as it’s more feasible and much easier and quicker to remove the overburden in order to get them. Regulations – Governments can regulate strip mining activities to ensure that mining companies follow environmental regulations and minimize their impact on the environment. This can include setting limits on the amount of land that can be mined, regulating the use of toxic chemicals, and requiring companies to clean up the land after mining activities have ended. Alternative Mining Methods – Alternative mining methods such as underground mining and in-situ mining can be used to reduce the impact of mining on the environment. These methods are often more expensive than strip mining but are less damaging to the environment. Strangely enough, a 1971 Oklahoma law produced effects similar to what the Geological Survey found in Kentucky.