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 shallower and less valuable deposits.
Placer mining is used to sift out valuable metals from sediments in river channels, beach
sands, or other environments.
In-situ mining, which is primarily used in mining uranium, involves dissolving the mineral
resource in place then processing it at the surface without moving rock from the ground.
The method used depends on the type of mineral resource that is mined, its location at or
beneath the surface, and whether the resource is worth enough money to justify extracting it.
Each mining method also has varying degrees of impact on the surrounding landscape and
environment.
Access to a mineral deposit is afforded by
(1) Haul roads and steps — in the case of an opencast mine
(2) Incline and adit — in the case of shallow underground mine.
(3) Pit of shaft — In the case of deep underground mine.
Incline and adit
A mineral bed which is at a shallow depth can be approached by an incline or adit. An incline
is a sloping road driven from the surface to the deposit through the alluvium and the rocks
overlying the mineral deposit. Unless it is for locomotive, an incline is usually steeply
dipping at 1 in 4 or 1 in 5. The normal practice is to have an incline along the true dip of the
deposit though the shape of the property may sometimes necessitate its drivage along an
apparent dip. In the case of steep beds, usually with gradients of 1 in 4 and steeper, a haulage
incline is along the apparent dip to have milder inclination of the haulage road. Inclines
which touch a coal seam at a vertical depth of 30 m are common in Singareni group of mines.
The trend nowadays is to approach mineral bed upto a depth (vertical) of 200 m by inclines.
If a deposit is at a higher level than the general ground level and outcrops, the access to it is
by a level or a slightly rising roadway from the ground level. This type of nearly level
roadway is known as Adit. Kurasia, Chirimiri and some other underground mines are
approached by adits. The size of an incline is usually 4.2 m wide x 2 m high if it is for
endless haulage or a belt conveyor with rope haulage beside it. Inclines for travelling only
may be as small as 2m X 2m
Pit or shaft
Access to a mineral deposit at depth is by a well, known as pit or shaft. Deposits at depths of
30m and more have been entered by shafts in this country. If the strata overlying the vein or
seam are soft, and excavation cost is not high, an incline may be driven to enter deposits upto
about 30 m depth. Such long inclines at steep gradients of 1 in 4 or 1 in 3 are common at
Kolar gold field and Mosabani mines and are known as inclined shafts. In Indian coal mining
practice, the term inclined shaftis not used and the word "shaft" invariably connotes a vertical
shaft.
Depending upon their purpose shafts are referred to as main shaft or auxiliary shaft. Main
shafts are designed for hoisting mineral to the ground surface. Auxiliary shafts are generally
for man-winding, ventil4tiohVmaterial transport, stowing or filling material, etc. though the
main shaft may, in some cases, serve some of these purposes.
An inclined shaft in metal mining practice is rarely in the ore body proper which normally
does not have uniform angle of dip. It is a standard practice to drive an inclined shaft nearly
parallel to the dip of the ore body but in the country rock of the footwall as the hang wall
collapses after stoping (Fig 6.2). In Kolar Goldfield, vertical shafts are located at a distance
varying between 100-150 m from the lode in the footwall with the intention that they should
not be affected by the stresses or strains which develops in the 'rock when the ore is
excavated by stoping. The stresses may affect the verticality of the shaft, and in an extreme
case, may result in its collapse.
In horizon mining the coal seams are approached by long level stone drifts starting from
centrally situated shafts, (fig 6.3) for example, at Sudamdih Colliery (BCCL), some mines
with steep seams in North Eastern Coalfields Ltd. Horizon mining is a standard practice in
many- metals mines where the lodes are steep.
Where two or more deposits have to be worked by underground mining methods, one deposit
is entered by an incline or pit from the surface. The same incline or pit may extend to the
lower deposit. Sometimes the lower deposit is entered from underground workings by
(a) A stable pit (sometimes called secondary shaft), or
(b) A cross measure drift.
A staple pit or blind pit (shaft) is a vertical pit from one underground working place or road
to another underground working place or road but does not extend up to the surface.
A cross measure drift (also called drift for brevity) in a coal mine is an underground roadway
through stone connecting- two or more coal seams.
It may be horizontal or inclined. The term drift in metal mining practice has a different
meaning, as explained in later chapter. Cross measure drifts in coal mines are usually of
moderate length but in metal mines, some cross-measure drifts are quite long. The
noteworthy example is Bullen's incline at Kolar Goldfield, serving the lower levels of
Orgaum section of Champion Reef Mine. It is 1520 m long and extends from 40th to 88th
level It is equipped for raising men and large tonnage of ore at high speed.
It is desirable to plan sinking of 2 shafts at least upto the first level in a metalliferous mine or
to first horizon in coal mining whereby production can start from one shaft while the other
one is being deepened.
DRIVAGE OF ROADS IN COAL AND STONE
After a shaft reaches about 2 m below the coal seam to be worked or below the particular
horizon or level in a metalliferous mine, the formation of roads is carried out according to a
worked out plan. Where a shaft touches a coal seam, essential roads in coal are driven to
reach the limits of shaft pillar for ventilation, transport, drainage, stowing and distribution of
electric/compressed air power. Beyond the shaft pillar the drivage of roads and extraction of
coal depends upon the method of work to be adopted to win the coal.
Whenever any work is being done in a mine the following points should be borne in mind as
they are the cardinal points for any mining activity, safety dominating all other
considerations.
1. Safety and mining regulations.
2. Support of roof and sides and surface features.
3. Ventilation.
4. Drainage.
5. Transport.
Needless to emphasise, economics must always be kept in mind when considering any of the
cardinal points stated above.
Drivage of roadways in coal in a mine so that their network reaches a predetermined
boundary is known as Development of the mine. The boundary may be the lease boundary of
the mine, a fault plane, a dyke or any other artificial boundary.
In a metalliferous mine, a producing underground mine requires a carefully planned network
of shafts, drifts -and raises. The preparation of this network is known as development.
Development of a mine by a method of working known as the bord and pillar method—the
normal method of working in this country—consists of driving a series of narrow roads,
separated by blocks of solid coal, parallel to one another and connecting them by similar set
of narrow parallel roadways driven nearly at right angles to the first set. Fig 7.1 shows the
plan of a general scheme of developing a mine by bord and pillar where the entrance is by
inclines.
Definitions
The terms used in coal mining practice are given below:
A seam is assumed to be thin if normal thickness is less than 1.5 m; moderate if between 1.5
m and 4.5 m; thick if between 4.5 m and 9.0 m and very thick if beyond 9 m.
The stratum is referred to as flat if general inclination does not exceed 5° to the
horizontal; inclined if it is between 5° and 18°; steep if it is between 18" and 40° and very
steep if inclination is beyond 40°.
The workings are assumed as shallow if their average depth is below 200 m; moderately
deep if between 200 m and 450 m and deep if beyond 450 m.
The gassiness of a coal seam is laid down by a circular of the D.G.M.S. in 1967 and the
mines are divided into three categories of gassiness as shown in the table below:

Gassiness % of inflammable gas in general body or air rate of emission of gas m3te of coal raised
degree
I below 0.1 and below 1
II above 0.1 and/or 1-10
III above 10
A road in a coal seam proper is called a gallery.
A road which is driven along the dip of the seam is called a dip gallery and sometimes only
a dip. A road driven along the strike of a seam is called a level gallery or simply a level. A
dip gallery may be along the true dip of the seam or along an apparent dip. A level gallery
may not be truly along the strike of the seam but may be slightly rising in bye, i.e. towards
the working face, for considerations of haulage and drainage.
A roadway in stone connecting two or more coal seams is called a drift. It is sometimes
referred to as stone gallery if only one of the ends of the road is in coal and the other is a
blind end.
A solid block of coal surrounded on all sides (or nearly all sides) by galleries is known
as pillar. It forms the natural support of the roof in a mine.
Where the galleries in a seam are generally along the dip-rise and strike forming square or
rectangular pillars, a gallery which cuts across the pillars, due to its drivage along an apparent
dip, is called a crosscut, such crosscuts are sometimes required for facility of ventilation,
drainage, and haulage or stowing.
A gallery in the process of being driven is called a heading. The moving front of any working
place or the in bye end of any gallery, roadway or drift is called a face. A face in coal is also
called a working place or simply a working.
When a set of dip or rise headings is driven, one of the headings is called a main dip or main
rise respectively and the other headings on either side are known as companion
dips or companion rises. The main dip or rise usually carries haulage arrangement and
sometimes auxiliary fans. The main dip is equipped with face pump in addition.
A district is an area in a mine having a number of working places. The word "Section" is also
sometimes used to denote a district, e.g. north section, west section, etc. But the use of the
term section is not recommended where a seam is being worked in two or more sections like
top section, bottom section, etc. The term panel is also sometimes used to denote a district
which is separated from other districts by an artificial barrier of brick walls or by a natural
barrier of coal.
Cover is the vertical depth of a place in the mine from surface.
Metal mining terminology
The terms used in metal mining practice are as follows (Fig 7.2.);
Level — A level roadway in the ore body or vein which follows the strike. In metal mines a
level is rarely in a straight line (unlike in coal mines).
Cross cut— A level tunnel or roadway which leads from the shaft or level and passes through
the country rock in order to cut across the lode at an angle to the strike.
Drive or drift— A horizontal tunnel or roadway parallel lo strike of the lode or vein but it can
be located in the country rock either on the footwall side of the lode or on the hang wall side.
It is called a footwall drive in the former case and hang wall drive in the latter case. The
term level is sometimes used for drive, but the distinction should be noted.
Cross drifts or Cross drive — It is a horizontal underground roadway driven within the ore-
body between the hanging wall and the footwall. It is usually at right angles to the dive or
drift.
A reef drive is in the vein itself or partly in the reef and partly in the wall rock, usually
the footwall.
Level interval — The vertical distance between two adjacent main levels, main horizons or
main drives.
Sub level or intermediate level- a level or drive situated between the main levels or main
drives.
Raise — A connection between two levels in an ore body driven in an upward direction.
Raises intended for passing ore from an upper level to lower one under its own weight are
called ore chutes. Short ore chutes intended for drawing broken ore from the blocks are
called Draw holes.
Ore pass — An ore pass is a vertical or steeply inclined underground passageway for
downward movement of ore by gravity. This term is not used in coal mining.
Draw point — A spot on the floor from where gravity fed ore of a higher level is loaded into
tubs or mine cars.
Winze — A dipping connection in the ore body joining two levels. A raise or winze is located
mostly near the footwall of the ore body.
Plat or station — It is the excavation adjoining the shaft at each of the different levels where
men and materials are removed or delivered.
Stope — An area from where ore (and in some cases, a little country rock in the hang wall
and footwall) has been extracted and the hang wall allowed to cave or supported by filling of
some material like sand, mill tailings, blocks of granite, etc.
Stoping — Extraction of ore from a block or pillar formed during development. As a rule
sloping is started on each side of a raise-winze connection.