Techniques Used for Surface Mining

Surface mining is one of the first steps of the mining process. It prepares the dig site by removing all the unwanted soil and rock that overlies the surface.

There are many types of surface mining like strip mining, open-pit mining, and mountaintop removal mining, each requiring special surface mining technology.

The surface mining methods for strip mining, open-pit mining, high wall mining, and mountaintop removal mining, among others, use unique surface mining equipment that assists in the process.

Strip Mining

This surface mining method is generally carried out for mineral excavations. The overburden in strip mining refers to a long stretch of overlying rock and soil. During surface mining, this is what has to be removed. This method is widely seen in coal mines.

Strip mining uses some of the advanced and hardy machines like BBD 12T Sinker Drill and RH658L sinker drill.

Open-pit Mining

Open-pit mining is one of the most common types of surface mining that you might have seen a lot. This sort of surface mining method leads to a big hole or a sort of pit in the ground. This is achieved by using explosives and incessant drilling where all the gravel, sand, and rocks are blasted away from the site.

This empty site would then be called a quarry. This is often used in construction sites to lay foundations or pipelines.

HighWall Mining

This is a form of surface mining which is a blend of surface mining and subsurface mining. This starts with an open-pit mine. Further drilling through the walls of the pit is done to incorporate or extract more resources.

This is quite dangerous for many of the miners depending on the type of quarry, hence, this is often achieved by remote management. Apart from the basic surface mining equipment, a television camera and a continuous miner machine is required to control this process.

Mountaintop Removal

This is an alternative version of a strip surface mining method that uses a lot of heavy-duty equipment. Here, the top of steep mountains is sloughed off by mining to expose the required deposits below.

The debris and materials that are considered waste are dumped in the valleys and are called valley fills.