Mining Engineering is a field that involves many of the other engineering disciplines as applied to extracting and processing minerals from a naturally occurring environment. Engineering is the application of science to the needs of humanity. ... Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ...

The need for mineral extraction and production is an essential activity of any technically proficient society. As minerals are produced from within a naturally occurring environment, disturbance of the environment as a result of mineral production is a given. Modern mining engineers must therefore be concerned not only with the production and processing of mineral commodities, but also with the mitigation of damage or changes to an environment as a result of that production and processing. The El Chino Mine located near Silver City, New Mexico is an open-pit copper mine Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein, or (coal) seam. ... An engineer may be someone who practices the engineering profession, or the driver of a rail locomotive. ... The word commodity has a different meaning in business than in Marxian political economy. ...

The two primary types of mine are underground mines and open-pit mines. Minerals that exist mostly underground (eg. coal, gold etc.) are generally recovered using the underground mining process. Minerals like iron ore, limestone, manganese ore, etc. are mostly recovered from the surface downwards in opencast mining. Mine can refer to a number of things: Mines are tunnels used in mining for extraction of resources. ... Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground either by underground mining, open-pit mining or strip mining. ... General Name, Symbol, Number Gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11 (IB), 6, d Density, Hardness 19300 kg/m3, 2. ... This heap of iron ore pellets will be used in steel production. ... Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... General Name, Symbol, Number manganese, Mn, 25 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 7 , 4, d Density, Hardness 7470 kg/m3, 6. ...

Engineering disciplines that are closely related to mining engineering are:

• Civil engineering;
• Environmental engineering;
• Geotechnical engineering;
• Hydraulic engineering; and
• Electrical engineering.

Specialized areas of mining engineering involve extraction of minerals from underwater mines, seawater, in-situ retorting of rock, and underground gasification. In modern usage, civil engineering is a broad field of engineering that deals with the planning, construction, and maintenance of fixed structures as they related to earth, water, or civilization and their processes. ... Environmental engineering is the application of science and engineering principles to improving the environment (air, water, and/or land resources), to provide healthful water, air and land for human habitation and for other organisms, and to investigate the possibilities for remediation of polluted sites. ... Geotechnical engineering is concerned with the engineering properties of earth materials. ... Hydraulic engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water. ... Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline that deals with the study and application of electricity and electromagnetism. ...

Blasting

Using explosives to break up a rock formation and aid in the collection of ore is called blasting. There are two types of blasting: high velocity and low velocity. High velocity blasting uses explosives that have high rates of reactions and produce high pressures (i.e. high explosives). Low velocity blasting is done with explosives which have a low rate of reaction and thus low pressures (i.e. low explosives). Blasting is done in selected regions where the ore is available. The size of the ore after blasting varies. This article is concerned solely with chemical explosives. ... An ore is a mineral deposit containing a metal or other valuable resource in economically viable concentrations. ...

Mineral prospecting

Mining operations start only after geological survey. A geological survey will develop a projection of the size and purity of an ore deposit. Based on these projections, more detailed studies may be ordered. This is known as detailed prospecting. One of the methods of prospecting is to extract drill cores from the area of the potential mine. The cross sections of these cores can be used to develop a three-dimensional projection of the mineral deposit. Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason)) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. ... There are several uses of the word survey. ... ... Prospecting is the act of searching for minerals or ore deposits. ... An electric drill A drill is a tool with a rotary drill bit used to bore holes through material. ...

External links

• Definitions and references [1] (http://www.midcoast.com/~gibbs/art3.htm)
• SME - Society for Mining Metallurgy and Exploration [2] (http://www.smenet.org/)
• Website at the U.S. Department of Labor [3] (http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos035.htm)