Since the dawn of civilization, clay, stones, and metals found near the earth’s surface have been used to make tools, weapons, utensils, and commodities for wealth and trade.
Fast forward to the 21st century, and the global mining industry is booming. Elements and rare minerals are in high demand as a result of new technologies.
Although there are still serious environmental concerns associated with mining, the mining industry has become more efficient due to the development of technology that allows miners to extract the maximum amount of ore at great depths in underground mines.
Mining is the process of extracting minerals from a seam, vein, reef, deposit, or placer in the ground. Coal, metals, oil shale, rock salt, potash, gemstones, limestone, clay, chalk, stone, and gravel are all extracted from mines.
The recovery of these raw materials is based on the economic feasibility of investing in labor, mining tools, energy for mining, processing, and transportation.
The mining industry is responsible for the exploration, planning and permitting of a mine, the extraction of minerals using surface and/or underground mining methods, the processing and beneficiation of minerals, and the rehabilitation or reclamation of a mine at the end of its economic life cycle.
The tools of the mining industry include the largest ground equipment on earth. Dragline excavators and bulldozers are used to excavate overburden; drills are used to set explosives; loaders and dump trucks help transport ore and waste; and hoppers and drums are used to separate ore from waste.
Mine elevators transport personnel to and from mine sites and can also be used to transport ore from the bottom of the mine to the surface in the upper face. Railroads are also used to transport materials to other parts of the mine.
There are also a number of autonomous machines that operate in mines, ranging from dump trucks and loaders to continuous miners.
Large dump trucks and cranes move large volumes of ore and overburden during mining. Crushers, reactors, mills, and roasters are used in on-site processing plants to extract the desired product from the ore.