What Are the Different Types of Mining & How Do They Differ?

1. Open-Pit
As the name suggests, open pit mining involves mining minerals or ore that can be
found near the surface layer of the site. That being said, some quarries can be over
1000 meters deep. This form of mining doesn’t require tunnelling into the earth and is a
simple method of mining that yields high production rates.The Fimiston Open Pit and
the Newmont Boddington Gold Mine are two of the largest open-pit mines in the world,
measuring over 3.5km long, 1.5km wide and 570m deep. Both pits are located in
Western Australia (WA) and produce 28 tonnes of gold per year.

What happens after open pit mining is complete?

Once the site has been mined for any useful ore and mineral, the land is usually filled
with clay and soil and the rehabilitation process begins. This process can take hundreds
of thousands of years to mend and as a result of mining, within the pit will have become
acidic and leach to the surrounding environment. In some cases, pits are converted into
recreational areas or reused for other purposes.

2. Surface Mining
Surface mining is the process of seam mining coal and ore from the land. In this
process, any unwanted earth or soil is stripped from the land and any ore or mineral that
is sought after is found relatively close to the surface of the site.

Because of the land decimation that occurs in Surface mining, this form of mining is
controversial. Surface mining often leaves behind large areas of infertile land and waste
rock as 70% of the mined earth is waste materials.

3. Underground Mining
Underground or Sub-surface mining involves the digging of a network of shafts and
tunnels into the earth to reach and extract the deposit of ore or mineral beneath the
earth.

In comparison to other methods, underground mines impact less on the environment

and are much more harmful to those working within them. In the past, underground
miners utilised shovels, axes and carts to retrieve valuable materials at great cost to
their health. Canaries were often utilised as an early indication system of toxic gases in
the mines as they would quickly perish of oxygen levels were harmful. In modern
practice, underground mines are pre-assessed for oxygen toxicity levels and a system
of ventilation machines and protocols are in place to ensure workplace safety.

Moreover, relative to other forms of mining, underground mines excrete much less
waste rock when accessing the ore. That being said, though, the process is a lot more
expensive and difficult than other forms. Geologists and Mining Engineers work
tirelessly in determining the most efficient and cost-effective method of extracting a
deposit of minerals or ore and even before this, much work is made in determining
whether a site is rich with material or not.

How do geologists find ore deposits?

Because a majority of surface ore have already been extracted in the past, mining
groups must look underground for new deposits, though, every time an ore or mineral
deposit is found, it becomes that little bit harder to find another. Traditionally, geologists
prospected the earth to find clues, such as large clusters of ore, of where large deposits
of minerals may be found. In modern times, teams of geologists now make use of
magnetic and gravity survey tools that look at the magnetic, gravitational and seismic
behaviour of the surrounding earth.

4. In-Situ Mining
A rarely used process of mining material, In-Situ or solution mining is the process of
pumping a solution into the ore body, which dissolves the ore and is then extracted by a
second pump. This method is used most in mining uranium deposits, with the Beverey
Uranium Mine in South Australia being the nations first operating In-Situ Uranium Mine.

This solution (lixiviant liquid) works by changing the pH and Oxidation levels of the ore,
leading to the ore breaking down and becoming easily extracted. For example, Sulfuric
acid is generally used when In-Situ Mining for copper.