What are some disadvantages of surface mining?
Disadvantages include its high visibility, the large-scale surface disturbance and the limited economic depth to which mining can take place. Environmentally responsible miners are always looking at new ways to minimise the impacts of their operations on the environment.
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of surface and subsurface mining techniques?
Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages : Safer than surface mining, faster than 60% of other mining in the U.S, less disruptive to the environment, leads to more minerals. Disadvantages : Costs more, harder to do than surface mining, takes a lot of time.
Why is surface mining important?
Why Choose Surface Mining? Surface mining is often the preference for mining companies. This is because removing the terrain surface, or overburden, to access the mineral beneath is often more cost-effective than gouging tunnels and subterranean shafts to access minerals underground.
Is surface mining good?
Surface mining is often preferred to sub-surface (underground mining) by mining companies for several reasons. It is less expensive, there are fewer complications in terms of electricity and water and it is safer. This resource from the EPA on surface mining is also worth checking out.
Which is better surface or underground mining?
Minerals Extracted As can be seen, surface mining is much more advantageous than its counterpart. However, when an outcropping ore body stretches deep inside the Earth, surface methods can be used to begin the mining operation, which then need to be continued further by underground mining.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of strip mining?
The technique is somewhat controversial, with pros such as improved efficiency, cost, and safety and cons including the destruction of the natural ecosystem and potential for environmental pollutants. Strip mining is considered very harmful to the environment.
What is meant by surface mining?
4.4. Surface mining is a process whereby soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit are removed. There are two principle types of surface mining, strip mining and open-pit mining (see Fig. 8.8). Strip mining is the process of mining a seam of mineral by removing a long strip of overlying soil and rock.
What is surface mining Short answer?
surface mining, method of extracting minerals near the surface of the Earth. The three most common types of surface mining are open-pit mining, strip mining, and quarrying. See also mining and coal mining.
Is surface mining cheaper?
Surface mining is less expensive and safer than underground mining. About 90% of the rock and mineral resources mined in the United States and more than 60% of the nation's coal is produced by surface mining techniques.
Why is surface mining less expensive?
Discuss one reason why surface coal mining is generally less expensive than subsurface mining. Surface mining requires fewer workers who are paid less than the subsurface miners.
What are advantages of strip mining?
On a production basis, comparing fatalities per million tons, strip mines are over four times safer than underground mines; and on an exposure basis, comparing fatalities per million man hours, strip mines are approximately twice as safe.
Why is underground mining better than surface mining?
Underground mining is practical when: The ore body is too deep to mine profitably by open pit. The grades or quality of the orebody are high enough to cover costs. Underground mining has a lower ground footprint than open pit mining.
How does surface mining affect the environment?
Surface mining (another name for "strip mining") can severely erode the soil or reduce its fertility; pollute waters or drain underground water reserves; scar or altar the landscape; damage roads, homes, and other structures; and destroy wildlife.
What is surface mining PDF?
Surface mine – A mine in which the ore lies near the surface. and can be extracted by removing the covering. layers of rock and soil.
Which is better surface or subsurface mining?
Surface mining is often preferred to subsurface mining by companies in the industry because it is less expensive, there are fewer complications with electricity and water, and it is safer. However, surface mining can be more environmentally-damaging than subsurface mining.
What are some advantages disadvantages of using strip mining?
The technique is somewhat controversial, with pros such as improved efficiency, cost, and safety and cons including the destruction of the natural ecosystem and potential for environmental pollutants. Strip mining is considered very harmful to the environment.
What are the disadvantages of open-pit mining?
1.1 Features, technical and economic indicators of open pit development
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| High production rate (essentially unlimited, although small surface mines also possible) | Limited by stripping ratio |
| Lowest cost along with open cast mining | High capital investment associated with large equipment |
•Feb 17, 2021
How does surface mining affect biodiversity?
Mining directly emits carbon, as does associated mineral processing activities, negatively affecting biodiversity via anthropogenic climate change (34,35). Mineral supply chains can have extensive, yet often hidden impacts on biodiversity (36).
How does surface mining affect human health?
Living in heavily mined areas increases the risk of lung cancer and respiratory disease. Levels of exposure to pollution are highest in areas with the most mountaintop removal. Scientists found a direct link between dust from mountaintop removal and lung cancer.
What machines are used in surface mining?
Surface Mining Equipment
- Blasthole drills.
- Bucket-wheel excavators.
- Dozers.
- Dragline excavators.
- Graders.
- Highwall miners.
- Mining trucks.
- Shovels.
Why is surface mining bad for the environment?
Surface mining (another name for "strip mining") can severely erode the soil or reduce its fertility; pollute waters or drain underground water reserves; scar or altar the landscape; damage roads, homes, and other structures; and destroy wildlife.
What do you mean by surface mining?
surface mining, method of extracting minerals near the surface of the Earth. The three most common types of surface mining are open-pit mining, strip mining, and quarrying. See also mining and coal mining.
How does surface mining affect an ecosystem?
However, even with current regulations, surface mining can affect fish and aquatic resources through erosion and sedimentation, dewatering of wetlands, diverting and channelizing streams, and contaminating surface water and aquifers with toxic chemicals.
What are the positive effects of mining on the environment?
In terms of positive impacts, mining is often a source of local employment and may contribute to local and regional economies (18, 19). Remediation of the potential environmental impacts, for example through water treatment and ecological restoration, can have positive net effects on environmental systems (20).
Is subsurface mining better for the environment?
Subsurface mines produce large amounts of environmentally hazardous acid mine drainage. To keep the underground system of tunnels and mine shafts clear, mining companies have to pump out large amounts of water, which go into surface ecosystems.
What are types of mining?
There are four main mining methods: underground, open surface (pit), placer, and in-situ mining.
- Underground mines are more expensive and are often used to reach deeper deposits.
- Surface mines are typically used for more shallow and less valuable deposits.
Does surface mining cause noise pollution?
Noise in mining can come from a whole host of sources across a site, making the hazard difficult to manage. Whether the culprit be processing plants, machinery, traffic, blasting, or otherwise, a mine site is an incessant producer of noise pollution.
Does surface mining affect water?
However, even with current regulations, surface mining can affect fish and aquatic resources through erosion and sedimentation, dewatering of wetlands, diverting and channelizing streams, and contaminating surface water and aquifers with toxic chemicals.
What are 3 advantages of mining?
These benefits include low-cost, reliable electricity and the materials necessary to build our homes, schools, hospitals, roads, highways, bridges and airports.
What are the 7 environmental impacts of mining?
The extraction of minerals from nature often creates imbalances, which adversely affect the environment. The key environmental impacts of mining are on wildlife and fishery habitats, the water balance, local climates & the pattern of rainfall,sedimentation, the depletion of forests and the disruption of the ecology.