A lot of careful planning goes into the pillar removal process to prevent injury and death. This is an incredibly dangerous underground mining technique. As the pillars are removed, the mine collapses onto itself. This underground mining technique strategically removes the pillars, extracting the remaining mineral from the mine. Retreat mining is the process of removing the pillars from room and pillar mining. This technique can be done by specialized underground mining equipment. Room and pillar mining consists of the construction of rectangular pillars to support the weight of the ceiling while miners clear out the minerals from around the pillars. Blast mining, just as it sounds, utilizes explosives to remove hard rock layers, loosen rocks, and open up underground mining areas. Mining methods for underground mining include: Because of the confined nature of underground mining, the extraction process is different. In this case, underground mining will be used. There are several minerals that cannot be extracted by surface mining techniques. Open-pit mine | Source: Adam Rhodes on Unsplash Underground Mining Methods Gold, which has a higher density than sand and gravel, will sink faster, making it easier to collect. Placer mining is used to extract gold from sand or gravel by using pans and water. This surface mining technique consists of dissolving the mineral in place without moving rock from the surface layers. In-situ mining is primarily used for extracting uranium, which is used for nuclear power.

This surface mining technique is typically used to extract granite, marble, and other hard stones. Quarrying is made accessible by open-pit mining. Miners will also extract by-products of these hard stones, like sand, gravel, or small stones. Quarrying is a process in which miners cut blocks of hard stone. This surface mining technique can be used to extract silver. These explosions create a large pit for miners to access underlying rocks. Open-pit mining is a technique that involves drilling into the earth’s surface to set explosives. This surface mining technique is commonly used to extract coal that is laying near the surface, and it is a method that is used to prepare the area for open-pit mining. The layer above the mineral is called overburden, and it typically consists of soil and rocks. Strip mining removes thin layers of surface material in order to reach the mineral. Mining methods for surface mining include: Surface mining is a mining method used to extract minerals that are close to the earth’s surface. Material processing is where minerals go to be smelted, crushed, grinded, or refined, converting the minerals into finished products for distribution. Material handling consists of sorting through materials, sending target minerals to a processing site, and sending irrelevant materials to a waste area. Extraction consists of digging, drilling, or blasting into the earth to extract minerals. That being said, a basic method is always followed for both surface and underground mining. The type of minerals that a mining operation is trying to extract and the mining techniques they're using to extract those minerals directly informs the types of tools that miners use in their work. Mining falls into two categories: surface mining and underground mining. Want to jump around? Use this menu to learn more about each type of mining equipment: After we provide that context for the different ways mining is done we'll dive into the specific tools used for each type of mining. Toward that end, the first section of this guide covers the different mining techniques and methods. Minerals like uranium and coal are major energy sources that account for 50% of the US’s energy supply.Īll of these resources are obtained through the use of various types of mining tools and mining equipment.īefore we begin identifying key mining tools and mining machines, it’s important to understand the different types of mining methods for which these tools are used. Mined minerals appear in almost every consumer product-from cars, to electronics, to jewelry and more. Mining tools is a general phrase that refers to all the mining equipment and mining machines used to extract minerals from the earth. Mining Tools in 2022-A Guide to Mining Equipment and Mining Machines

Simmons timetool