Underground Method

Where the uranium orebody is close to the earth's surface, open Flash, 424k
cut mining is an obvious method to use.
However, when the orebody is too deep for open cut
methods, underground methods are necessary. All
underground mines are ventilated, but in uranium mines,
extra care is taken with ventilation to minimise the amount
of radiation exposure and dust inhalation.

Click the underground mining button to view an

interactive mining process.

Entry into underground mines is by vertical shafts, or by a

sloping tunnel, called a 'decline'. Some very large
underground mines have both. To extract the ore, the
components required to build large pieces of machinery are
taken down the shaft and assembled in the area where the
miners are working.

One method of underground mining involves blasting hard rock and ore to create large
openings in the ground (called 'stopes'). The mined material can be brought to the
surface by trucks, or in large containers (called 'skips') that travel up and down the
shaft.

Waste is in two forms, rock and tailings. Any rock that does not contain useful
materials is returned underground or stored on site. During the rehabilitation
process it is shaped to blend in with its surroundings. It is then covered with soil
and replanted with vegetation. At Olympic Dam in South Australia the rock
waste is mixed with flyash from the Port Augusta power station and cement to
form a slurry and is pumped underground into mined-out stopes.
Tailings remain after the processes involved in separating minerals from the ore
are completed. They consist of crushed rock, water and sometimes chemicals.
Tailings are pumped to specially built and sealed areas of a mine site where
they dry out over time. Later the hardened and dry tailings are covered with soil
and revegetated.

Types of Underground Coal Mines

The illustration above shows a drift type of underground mine. A mine

opening is made at the same elevation as the coals seam and mining is
conducted using typically either longwall mining or room and pillar mining
with continuous mining equipment. Coal is transported to the surface by
conveyor belts. This method of mining is used when the coal seam
outcrops at the surface, or when a bench has to be constructed on a
mountain side to mine the coal.
Underground mine planning and design has as its goal an integrated mine
systems design, whereby a mineral is extracted and prepared at a desired
market specification and at a minimum unit cost within acceptable social,
legal, and regulatory constraints. A large number of individual engineering
disciplines contribute to the mine planning and design process, such that it
is a multi-disciplinary activity. Given the complexity of the mining system,
planning assures the correct selection and coordinated operation of all
subsystems, while design applies to the traditionally held engineering
design of subsystems. A mining operation should be more correctly
viewed as a system, because of the diversity of technological processes,
facilities, and personal skills required, the large capital invested, the
mutual relations that exist between subsystems, etc. The planning process
necessitates a systems engineering approach suitable for complex design
problems.

Planning must account for both environmental protection, beginning as early as the initial
exploration, and for reclamation. It is critical that planning alleviate or mitigate potential
impacts of mining for two key reasons: (1) the cost of environmental protection is
minimized by incorporating it into the initial design, rather than performing remedial
measures to compensate for design deficiencies, and (2) negative publicity or poor public
relations may have severe economic consequences. From the start of the planning
process, adequate consideration must be given to regulatory affairs. The cost of
compliance may be significantly reduced when taken into account in the design or
planning process, in a proactive manner, rather than being addressed on an ad hoc basis
as problems develop or enforcement actions occur.

From the beginning of the mine design planning stage, data gathering and permitting,
environmental considerations are important, although benefits from a strictly economic
sense may be intangible. From exploration, where core holes must be sealed and the site
reclaimed, through plan development, the impacts on the environment must be
considered. These impacts include aesthetics, noise, air quality (dust and pollutants),
vibration, water discharge and runoff, subsidence, and process wastes; sources include
the underground and surface mine infrastructure, mineral processing plant, access or
haul roads, remote facilities, etc. If mining will cause quality deterioration of either surface
water or groundwater, remedial and treatment measures must be developed to meet
discharge standards. The mine plan must include all the technical measures necessary
to handle all the environmental problems from initial data gathering to the mine closure
and reclamation of the disturbed surface area.

Reclamation plans include many of the following concerns: drainage control, preservation
of top soil, segregation of waste material, erosion and sediment control, solid waste
disposal, control of fugitive dust, regrading, and restoration of waste and mine areas. The
plan must also consider the effects of mine subsidence, vibration (induced by mining,
processing, transport, or subsidence), and impact on surface water and groundwater.
These environmental items often dictate the economics of a planned mining operation
and determine its viability.
The illustration above shows a shaft type of underground mine. A mine
opening is made by sinking a shaft down to the elevation of the coal
seam. Mining is conducted using typically either longwall mining or room
and pillar mining with continuous mining equipment. Coal is transported to
the surface by a skip hoist. This is the most expensive type of
underground mine to build and operate. This method of mining coal is
usually utilized when the coal seam is deep below the surface.

The illustration above shows a slope type of underground mine. A mine

opening is made by tunneling from the surface down to the elevation of
the coal seam. Mining is conducted using typically either longwall mining
or room and pillar mining with continuous mining equipment. Coal is
transported to the surface by conveyor belts. This method of mining coal is
usually utilized when the coal seam is not far from the surface, and the
outcrop of the coal seam is not exposed.

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