Literature Review Themes
Mining is a process in which different minerals are being extracted from inside the earth, there are many problems which are created. The soil is eroded, the surface water is polluted, the soil gets contaminated, the biodiversity is lost, sinkholes are created, contamination due to release of chemical effluents, and many other forms of environmental degradation take place (Crankshaw, 2017). During the process of mining the mined coal at the site is washed. This is done in order to produce the coking coal of high quality. At this time of washing this coal is separated from the waste rock. The siltstone and the shales are a part of the entire mined material comprising almost 17 per cent of it. Due to this entire mining process every year at an average rejects amounting to around 300,000 tonnes are generated. The way or the place of disposal of this mining reject is a major concern as it leads to many environmental hazards. The rejects from these coal mines are also utilized for the building the infrastructure of the townships surrounding the mining area. The sports fields or other areas can be constructed using these rejects from the mines. In the different sites of mining the rejects are also stored.
According to Smoli?ski, (2014) the storage space for the rejects from the mining activities is getting exhausted since the 1990s. There are different emplacements facilities out of which some are underground and some rejects are transported to a different area for emplacement. The transportation of the rejects through the roadways creates a lot of noise pollution as well as emits a lot of dust. According to Duarte, et.al, (2015) the various mining activities create air pollution as well. The visual amenity is also affected by the mine rejects and their emplacement. Besides, the road safety is also hampered as such heavy rejects are being carried. The first thing that should be abolished about emplacement of mine rejects is that through the townships these rejects should not be transported to other sites for storage. This is important because trucking the mine rejects creates a lot of environmental problem. The future development of the mining firms can be enhanced through the better storage and emplacement of the mine rejects. Much of these rejects are dumped into the underground voids for emplacement of the mine rejects. For finding the main problems in the emplacement of mine rejects, the investigations are made for surface field impact of these rejects. Moreover, the high density slurry is also abandoned in many underground sites. The emplacement method can be further developed with the help of pilot underground plant. The various application techniques are available for emplacement of rejects from mines among them the best and least environment damaging techniques must be applied. According to Prusek, Rajwa, Wrana and Krzemie?, (2017) the emplacements of the rejects from the mines can cause problems like cavity, over hanging goof, roof caving, etc. These can be prevented by proper method of backfilling. The burden which is present above the main mineral for which one is mining has to be removed. In order to remove this over burdening material before extracting the needed mineral much reject is generated. The different overlying strata’s roofs can be backfilled using these rejects. For the emplacement of all the mine reject the major concern is the safety of the roads and townships and the earning of economic profits through this process. The material used in backfilling comes from various sites which need to be transported to the required area. This transportation of the material is costly and also consumes a lot of valuable time (Wills and Finch, 2015). The creation of underground voids can be prevented with the use of the over burdening materials. These materials are originating from the underground mines and implemented in the process of preventing such underground void creation. The disposal of the various types of mine wastes can help in making this mining a profitable venture for the organizations. The economic effectiveness of the mining activity is dependent of its waste management and disposal. All the techniques available for backfilling are not effective in case of preventing the creation of underground voids. Some of these are very effective methods implemented in the operations of backfilling and help to stop the underground voids. Among these backfilling methods the mill tailing is used in the void filling in case of the metal mining activities as stated by Ma, Sun, Yang and Wang, (2015). In metal mining related void filling, there are various mixtures used. The high density slurry does not consume much time and they are also economically fruitful. The underground voids in many cases can be stopped or prevented with the use of the fly ash mixed with water. In this case the process of close packing is also implemented which helps in the usage of the Aeolian sand as a material for backfilling. Britton, Dunne and Wilkinson, (2015) stated that this process of close packing is very optimal in use and sourceful at the same time. The managements of the different organizations should try not to dump their wastes without a proper method of disposal. For making production faster, the different managements of the mines try to dispose their rejects as soon as they complete their mining activity. But the mining organizations should not dispose their wastes after removal of their over burdening materials. There are many construction projects which are taken up for the welfare of the civilians in the society. In these projects the over burden materials are needed along with a lot of soil. These materials are available in the huge mines. According to Wang, et.al, (2014), there are good results of emplacement shown by the hydraulic method of backfilling. In this method the underground void creation is also stopped. According to Guo, et.al, (2014) the other method is that of solid filling in which the natural roof is made out of the canopy which is facilitated by supportive systems. In stopping or preventing the process of underground void, the supports must be provided systematically. The safety of the people and the miners can be ensured with the help of this support system. The requirements of the systematic support works is that they need the machines for mining, the proper infrastructure, etc. so that the miners can work comfortably and complete their work within time. In some mines, even today the old techniques of reject disposal are being used. However, they are not giving very disappointing results. The mines’ waste is collected in an effective manner. The usefulness of the mine wastes also increase with better disposal of the rejects. The removed over burden from the mining activities is also used for the purpose of making roads. The entire process of mining reject disposal can help in stopping the void in underground. As stated by Eyal, (2015) the profitable use of the mining rejects is possible when it is implemented in the stopping of the process of underground void creation. Due to the mining activities a lot of noise pollution is created which leads to environmental degradation as well as health problems among the people working in them mines as well as those who live in the town areas near the mines. Wang, Li and Wang, ( 2016) states that in case of the voids in the underground created due to the coal mining activities’ over burden materials lead to the transfer of many things like oxygen, groundwater, methane, heat, exhausts like gases and materials of fire – fighting which impact the underground environment. This has been suggested in most cases that the gob vent boreholes’ inlets are to be arranged in such a way so that they are placed near the middle of the zone for bed separation. This is done in the long wall mining’s early stages. They can also be arranged near the perimeter at the center during the later mining stages. It is suggested that the inlets of gob vent boreholes should be arranged near the center of the bed separation zone in the early stages of long wall mining, and around the perimeter in middle to late stages of mining.
Cave Backfill Grouting
After a close perusal of the above information, the questions that arise are as follows: what are the various problems that come forth while dealing with the rejects of the mining works? How far is the storage area is getting hampered due to the reckless displacement of waste materials discharged from the mining process? Other questions that crop up are, what are the diverse ways in which the management is taking steps to regulate the disposition and disposal of wastes coming out from the mines? What are the different ways in which these waste materials could be utilized for the betterment of the society?
Mining is an important process in the contemporary era and hence it cannot be done away with. The wise way to deal with it is to deal with all the problems relating to it. The rejects and wastes that come out from the mining process can be disastrous for the environment. Since it leads to occupation of lot of space, a wise way would be to create sanitary landfills out of the emitted wastes. Recycling of wastes is also a good option. These stated methods in the research design are both eco friendly and pollution free as well. Another problem from it is the health condition of the miners. They are exposed to great threats and often suffer from respiratory and heart diseases. Extensive and unscrupulous mining however is a resultant factor for creating an imbalance beneath the surface of the crust of the earth. The hunger for receiving more and more minerals often lead to disastrous effects and other natural disasters like earthquakes, displacement of tectonic plates etc.
Upon answering the question relating to the utilization of rejects from mines, the wastes pose a threat to the environment. It hampers the health conditions of all the living beings. When the wastes cannot decompose themselves on time, they become a burden on earth. Since the population is increasing around the world, the immediate requirement for it is more space. But due to the dumping of rejects, the space remains occupied. It becomes very important to deal with these problems and find the right solutions.
In order to curb the serious threats rising from the rejects and wastes from the mining process, the first design would be to recycle the wastes for the betterment of the society. Improved techniques of accumulation, separation and disposal of rejects has to be made out and also in the most scientific ways best suited for the society. Creation f sanitary landfills is a smart measure where the wastes would be dumped and covered. The three Rs would be an effective measure whereby the rejects would be reduced, reused and recycled. The reusing of the products helps in saving other methods. The wastes which could be decomposed by themselves should be left with. In this process of decomposition, energy would be created. Another process is by the incineration of wastes whereby thermal energy could be produced easily and if it is done in the right way, it would not be polluting. Other designs include composting whereby the rejects are transformed into useful manure and natural fertilizer. The process of worm farming and gasification are efficient means of reducing the waste products that come out from the mining. These designs could prove to be effective methods while dealing with the waste and rejects coming out of mines. They can be very useful for the society as well as for every people living in the environment when they are correctly used.
Acid Mine Drainage
Reference: 1
Authors: Britton, T.B., Dunne, F.P.E. and Wilkinson, A.J
Year of Publication: 2015
Title of Article: On the mechanistic basis of deformation at the microscale in hexagonal close-packed metals. Proc. R. Soc. A, 471(2178), p.20140881.
This enumerates and throws light upon the micromechanics and distortion of procedures in a hexagon shaped closed and compactly processed metals. A vivid description of the solo crystal behavior relating to the crystallographic slip and plastic anisotropy, which involves the differentiation between an specific items physical characteristics. It also deals with the distortion similarities.
Reference: 2
Author: Crankshaw, P.,
Year of publication: 2017.
Title of Article: Mining and minerals. In Geography and economy in South Africa and its neighbours (pp. 63-80). Routledge.
This chiefly deals with the extracting of minerals from the mines of the huge continent of south Africa. The mines under the South African government are too incorporated while the impacts of mining are dealt with. The laws which were framed for the mining purpose are discussed and its link with the environmental factors are also dealt with. The british model of shifting the balance is emphasized and put importance to.
Reference: 3
Authors: Duarte, M.H.L., Sousa-Lima, R.S., Young, R.J., Farina, A., Vasconcelos, M., Rodrigues, M. and Pieretti, N.,
Year of publication: 2015.
Title of Article: The impact of noise from open-cast mining on Atlantic forest biophony. Biological Conservation, 191, pp.623-631.
Technophony deals with the noises and sounds emitted naturally from the activities of human beings while they are engaged in work. It mainly indicates a negative effect as it disrupts the smooth communication amongst animals. Being an important activity in Brazil, mining often is done in the forests and jungles. The various sounds are examined and compared with the natural sounds during the mining process in these forested areas.
Reference: 4
Author: Eyal, I.,
Year of Publication: 2015, May.
Title of Article: The miner’s dilemma. In Security and Privacy (SP), 2015 IEEE Symposium on (pp. 89-103). IEEE.
The enthusiastic involvement of the volunteers are given importance to in this article. Their involvement is in the process of mining while dealing with the advanced computerized currency. This agenda is widely accepted in the modern era. Bit coin is one such digitalized currency which serves this purpose. A miner can achieve various useful tactics from this.
Reference: 5
Authors: Guo, G.L., Zhu, X.J., Zha, J.F. and Wang, Q.,
Year of Publication: 2014.
Title of Article: Subsidence prediction method based on equivalent mining height theory for solid backfilling mining. Trans Nonferrous Metals Soc China, 24(10), pp.3302-3308.
Controlling Subsidence with Backfill Mining Technology
This articles lays importance upon the technology of backfilling mining method. This is at equal foot with the height theory of mining. The description and their modes of election are also described as a guideline. When the different mining processes are differentiated, the measurement in relation to the heights, quantities, the subsidence factors are laid stress. Solid backfilling, the dealing with the dilapidated zones and also accompanying the brittle zones are laid upon.
Reference: 6
Authors: Prusek, S., Rajwa, S., Wrana, A. and Krzemie?, A.,
Year of Publication: 2017.
Title of Article: Assessment of roof fall risk in longwall coal mines. International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment, 31(8), pp.558-574.
When below the earth dimensions are measured and viable inferences can be drawn from the above depending upon the ceiling, long walls of the coal mines are determined efficiently. This article incorporates a practicable outlook towards the advanced and desired techniques which pushes the examiners to understand the actual capacity of the roof falls. It comprises of various techniques relating to roof falls.
Reference: 7
Author: Smoli?ski, A.,
Year of Publication: 2014.
Title of Article: Analysis of the impact of physicochemical parameters characterizing coal mine waste on the initialization of self-ignition process with application of Cluster Analysis. Journal of Sustainable Mining, 13(3), pp.36-40.
The basic aim of this article is to understand and examine the physical and chemical parameters which distinguish coalmines rejects with other wastes. This is a self starting procedure and the system of cluster analysis is also applied. It also brings about the same specimens of coalmine rejects amongst the physical and chemical parameters. This mechanism also affects hierarchical method of cluster analysis.
Reference: 8
Authors: Wang, S., Li, X. and Wang, D.,
Year of Publication: 2016.
Title of Article: Void fraction distribution in overburden disturbed by longwall mining of coal. Environmental Earth Sciences, 75(2), p.151.
The gaps in overburden separated by coal mining gives various ways leading to the transmission of the necessities of life like water, heat, oxygen, groundwater. It also includes methane, exhaust gas from the biodiversity. The caved areas and the brittle areas are divided into the bed separation zone and fissure areas. The Antaibao coalmine located in China are compared with and further calculations and theories drawn from it. This article also lays stress upon the gaps based on the fraction distribution models as it was termed to be.
Reference: 9
Authors: Wang, T., Zhou, W., Chen, J., Xiao, X., Li, Y. and Zhao, X.,
Shallow Coal Seam Backfilling
Year of Publication: 2014.
Title of Article: Simulation of hydraulic fracturing using particle flow method and application in a coal mine. International Journal of Coal Geology, 121, pp.1-13.
This article familiarizes with the process of hydraulic breaking or the phenomenan of fracturing the gas absorption of coal under extreme conditions. Examples of high pressure is given while its transportation in the fluid form to the crevices. The simulation of hydraulic breaking determines the link among the macroscopic and mechanical levels which is dependant upon the scientific particle flow code.
Reference: 10
Authors: Wills, B.A. and Finch, J.,
Year of Publication: 2015.
Title of Article: Wills’ mineral processing technology: an introduction to the practical aspects of ore treatment and mineral recovery. Butterworth-Heinemann.
This article throws light upon the various shades of treatment of ore as an introductory explanation. The mineral processing and mechanism are referred to while explaining this concept. This processing is referred to because it has been prevalent over the past thirty years providing the actual methods of practice for reviving minerals from mines.
Reference
Britton, T.B., Dunne, F.P.E. and Wilkinson, A.J., 2015. On the mechanistic basis of deformation at the microscale in hexagonal close-packed metals. Proc. R. Soc. A. 471(2178), p.20140881.
Crankshaw, P., 2017. Mining and minerals. In Geography and economy in South Africa and its neighbours. 35(5), pp. 63-80.
Duarte, M.H.L., Sousa-Lima, R.S., Young, R.J., Farina, A., Vasconcelos, M., Rodrigues, M. and Pieretti, N., 2015. The impact of noise from open-cast mining on Atlantic forest biophony. Biological Conservation. 191, pp.623-631.
Eyal, I., 2015. The miner’s dilemma. 7th ed. Abingdon: Routledge.
Guo, G.L., Zhu, X.J., Zha, J.F. and Wang, Q., 2014. Subsidence prediction method based on equivalent mining height theory for solid backfilling mining. Trans Nonferrous Metals Soc China. 24(10), pp.3302-3308.
Prusek, S., Rajwa, S., Wrana, A. and Krzemie?, A., 2017. Assessment of roof fall risk in longwall coal mines. International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment. 31(8), pp.558-574.
Smoli?ski, A., 2014. Analysis of the impact of physicochemical parameters characterizing coal mine waste on the initialization of self-ignition process with application of Cluster Analysis. Journal of Sustainable Mining. 13(3), pp.36-40.
Wang, S., Li, X. and Wang, D., 2016. Void fraction distribution in overburden disturbed by longwall mining of coal. Environmental Earth Sciences. 75(2), p.151.
Wang, T., Zhou, W., Chen, J., Xiao, X., Li, Y. and Zhao, X., 2014. Simulation of hydraulic fracturing using particle flow method and application in a coal mine. International Journal of Coal Geology. 121, pp.1-13.
Wills, B.A. and Finch, J., 2015. Wills’ mineral processing technology: an introduction to the practical aspects of ore treatment and mineral recovery. Butterworth-Heinemann.
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