Topic1-Mine Survey

• Mine surveying is the art of making measurements to determine the location and extent of bodies of coal, ore, etc., and to determine the relative positions of points in the mine regarding each other or to points on the surface
• Persons allowed to conduct mining surveys by law are Deputized GE, which are licensed Geodetic Engineers authorized by the Director of Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to conduct Mineral Land Surveys
• Stages in the life of a mine include prospecting, exploration, development, exploitation, and reclamation
• Prospecting involves the search for metallic ores or other valuable minerals using direct (physical, geologic) and indirect (geophysical, geochemical) methods, taking 1-3 years
• Exploration includes defining the extent and value of ore through sample tests, estimating tonnage and grade, and valuating the deposit, taking 2-5 years
• Development involves opening the ore deposit for production by acquiring mining rights, filing environmental impact statements, constructing facilities, and excavating deposits, taking 2-5 years
• Exploitation is the large-scale production of ore, considering factors like geology, geography, economics, environment, society, and safety, with different mining methods such as surface (open pit, open cast) and underground (room and pillar, block caving), taking 10-30 years
• Reclamation/closure is the remediation/redevelopment of the land to a more natural state, involving contouring of land, placement of topsoil, reseeding with native vegetation, and monitoring, taking 50-100 years
• Mining terminologies include terms like adit, back, cage, cropline, cross cut, drift, headframe, hoisting, entry or heading, face, level, outcrop, and open-pit mine
• Surface Mining:

  • Predominant exploitation method worldwide
  • An excavation that is entirely open or operated from the surface
  • Mineral deposits are on or near the surface of the Earth and are removed
  • Requires large capital investment but generally results in high productivity, low operating cost, and good safety conditions
• Subsurface/Underground Mining:

  • An excavation that consists of openings for human and machine entry driven below the surface
  • Involves features not encountered in surface surveying such as darkness, humidity, flowing water, rough and uneven terrain, alternating long and short sights, and various magnetic influences
• Projection:

  • Direction for advancement of the mine
• Raise:

  • Vertical or sloped opening in the ore from a level
• Rib:

  • Wall of an entry
• Roof:

  • Top of the room or entry
• Room:

  • Area from the last crosscut to the face
• Shaft:

  • Vertical or sloped opening in or into a mine used for a haulway, ventilation, or access
• Slope:

  • Inclined opening driven to the ore deposit
• Spad:

  • Metallic marker usually set in a wood plug in the roof for traverse and projection control
• Stope:

  • Working section or room from which ore is extracted
• Strip Mine:

  • Mine developed for excavating ore, usually coal, along the contour of the surface
• Top:

  • Top of the room or opening
• Vein:

  • A relatively thin deposit of mineral between definite boundaries, a mineral body of flattened shape
• Winze:

  • Vertical or inclined underground opening driven downward from one level to another level or from the surface to a level
• Strike:

  • The line of intersection between vein and the horizontal plane
• Dip:

  • Angle of inclination of the vein from the horizontal plane
• Drift:

  • A horizontal opening in or near a mineral deposit and parallel to the course of the vein or long dimension of the deposit
• Cross cut:

  • A horizontal opening driven from the shaft to a vein across the course of a vein to reach the ore zone
• Collar:

  • The term used for the timbering of concrete around the mouth or top of a shaft
• Stope:

  • Underground room or working area from which ore is removed
• Backfill:

  • Waste rock or other materials used to fill a mined-out stope to prevent caving
• Bedded Deposit:

  • An ore deposit of tabular form that lies horizontally or slightly inclined and is commonly parallel to the stratification of the enclosing rocks
• Sump:

  • An excavation made at the bottom of a shaft to collect water
• Level:

  • Horizontal passage or drift which starts from shafts and are commonly spaced at regular intervals in depth, either numbered from the surface in regular order or designated by their actual elevation below the top of the shaft
• Headframe:

  • A construction at the top of a shaft which houses hoisting equipment
• Foot Wall:

  • The wall or rock under a vein or other steeply inclined mineral formation
• Hanging Wall:

  • The wall or rock on the upper side of steeply inclined deposits
• Waste:

  • Mined rocks that do not contain minerals
• Cage:

  • An elevator for workers and materials in a mine shaft
• Ore:

  • A mineral deposit that can be worked at a profit under existing economic conditions