MINING

GEOLOGY
Abria, Ortega, Canada, Jumawan, Alcancia, Amancio, Penkian, Poloyapoy
What is mining?
 Mining is the extraction of valuable raw metallic and
non-metallic materials or other geological materials
from the earth.

Modern mining involves 4 stages :

-Exploration
-Feasibility
-Mining and Milling
-Decommissioning

Abria, B. J.
Why do we need mines?
 If it can’t be grown, it has to be mined.
 The mining industry is driven by fundamental forces.
 Mineral substitutes are few and far between.

Abria, B. J.
 What is Mining Geology?
• Mining Geology is an adjunct field of Economic Geology that helps to locate and manage
the Earth's natural resources, such as petroleum and coal.
• Mineral Exploration Geology – the search for valuable earth materials.

An Geologist must learn to practice:

 the techniques and discovery of new

mineral resources,
 understanding of the economics of
mining and processing the resource,
and
 the social and environmental impacts
of the mining operation, including
mine closure and reclamation
Ortega, E. M.
How much metal is available?

World Gold Resources

World Copper Resources

Ortega, E. M.
EARTH’S RESOURCES
Metallic - minerals that are composed of metals
• Copper = electrical wiring
• Gold = jewelry
• Silver = coins

Non-Metallic - that do not have minerals in them

• Gypsum = cement
• Sand
• Salt

Energy

Water
Ortega, E. M.
These are valuable materials of geologic origin that can be
extracted from the Earth.
o originates in the hydrosphere
• Petroleum and coal (from organisms that lived and died in water)
• Halite (salt) and other evaporite minerals (from dry lake beds)
o weathering interactions between geosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere
produce metal oxide ores
o Humans (biosphere) interact directly with the geosphere, atmosphere, and
hydrosphere when extracting and utilizing geologic resources
o Groundwater (hydrosphere) is a renewable geologic resource

Canada, C.
1. Energy Resources
Petroleum (oil and natural gas), coal, uranium, geothermal resources
2. Metals
Ag, Au, Cu, Pt, Al, Fe, Pb, Zn, Cr, Ni
3. Non-metallic
Sand and gravel, Limstone, stones for building, salt, sulfur, gems,
gypsum, phosphates, groundwater

Canada, C.
A solid naturally-occurring compound
having a definite chemical composition
Examples:
quartz - SiO2 (an oxide)
Calcite –CaCO3

What is an ore?
Rocks, minerals or metals in sufficiently high concentration to be profitable to mine and
process using current technology and under current economic conditions.

Ore grade is the concentration of economic mineral or metal in an ore deposit.

Weight percentage (base metals)

Grams/tonne or oz/ton (precious metals)
Jumawan, K. H.
 Mineral Resource :Basic Concepts
Resource -Absolute volume of a mineral commodity in existence, independent of
economics and technology

Reserves or proven reserves - Known quantity of a resource

available (produced at a profit)
-Dependant on current economic
conditions (including demand) and extant
technology
Concentration factor- Ratio of ore material concentration to
average crustal concentration

Mode of occurrence -A desirable commodity must occur in a

mineral form that is readily processed to produce the
commodity
-Associated, unwanted mineral material
(gangue) and waste after processing (tailings) must
be considered in economic assessment

Jumawan, K. H.
Ore deposits require:
 Source for metals (or other elements)
Means of concentrating elements into usable quantities

Types of Ore Deposits:

 Magmatic (cumulate, lode, pegmatite)
Hydrothermal (porphyry, vein, skarn, exhalative, epigenetic)
Residual & Sedimentary (placer, BIF, laterite, evaporite)

Jumawan, K. H.
Ore Minerals :
Native elements (Au, Ag, Cu, Pt, diamond, sulfur)
Sulfides and sulfosalts (pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena)
Oxides and hydroxides (magnetite, chromite, corundum, hematite, rutile)

Ore mineral – desired metal / non-metal / element Gangue – waste material

Jumawan, K. H.
Plate Tectonics and Mineral Deposits

Alcancia, M.
Alcancia, M.
Large Fault Structures

Alcancia, M.
Alcancia, M.
Sedimentary Basins

Alcancia, M.
 Ore Deposit Geology
Frank Wigglesworth Clarke
(Father of Geochemistry)
• Credited for determining the composition of the Earth’s
crust.

Clarke - average abundance or concentration of an element in the

earth’s crust Alcancia, M.
 II. Clarke of Concentration

Metal Clarke Ore type At least Clarke of

concentration
Copper (Cu) 55 ppm Porphyry 10,000 ppm 182X
Vein 100,000 ppm 1820X
Massive sulfide 50,000 ppm 909X
Gold (Au) 4 ppb Vein 5,000 ppb 1250X
Stockwork 1,000 ppb 250X
Silver (Ag) 100 ppb Vein/stockwork 5,000 ppb 50X

Clarke of concentration - The concentration of an element in a

mineral or rock relative to its crustal abundance

© Geol. O. Soberano Metalliferous Ore Deposits Lecture Material

Distribution of Au in the crust = 3.1 ppb by weight
Concentration of Au needed to be economically viable as a deposit = few g/t = 3 g / 1000kg
How many times do we need to concentrate Au?
Alcancia, M.
 Types of Mineral Ore Deposits
• Magmatic Ore deposits
• Substances are concentrated within a body of igneous rock by magmatic processes like crystal fractionation
and crystal settling
• Cumulate deposits and pegmatites
• Hydrothermal Ore deposits
• Concentration by hot aqueous (water-rich) fluids flowing through fractures and pore spaces in rocks
• Porphyries, vein, skarn, exhalatives, Epigenetic carbonate-hosted
• Sedimentary Ore deposits
• Substances are concentrated by chemical precipitation from lake or sea water or by flowing surface waters
either in streams or along coastlines
• Placer deposits, Banded Iron Deposits, Evaporite deposits
• Metamorphic Ore deposits
• minerals concentrated by regional metamorphism (orogenic-type) gold and base-metals (Au, Zn-Pb)
• in different types of metamorphic conditions, ranging from low to high temperature and low to high pressure
• Weathering Ore deposits
• Substances are concentrated by chemical weathering processes
• Nickel laterites and supergene copper deposits

Alcancia, M.
Types of Mineral Ore Deposits

• Limestone (Cement)
• Mineral Sands
• Gems
• Aggregates

Alcancia, M.
Amancio, M. H.
 Prospecting
1 – 3 yrs $0.2 – 10 million

• History - Were there mines here before?

• General Geology
• Maps
• Wide scale

Direct & Indirect Methods

Physical/Field Examination Geophysical

Geological Mapping - Airborne & Ground geophysics.
May be aided by aerial
photography to help delineate Geochemical All of which just
potential prospect areas. - Soil Geochemistry (Reconnaissance ) to arrive for an
.
 Exploration
2 – 5 yrs $1 – 15 million Some methods/techniques applied

• Sample Drilling (Auger, RPD, Diamond)

Filtering areas by increasing • Chipping outcrops and drill holes
geological knowledge • Pitting and Trenching
• XRF
Defining the extent and value of ore • Semi-detailed and Detailed Surveys

Estimating tonnage and grade

Only one (1) out of one

thousand (1,000) mineral
prospects become Only one (1) out of a
significant mineral deposits. hundred (100) mineral
deposits become mines

Arrives in a question…

Is it feasible for mining or not?

 Mine Development Opening up ore deposit for production.
2 – 5 yrs $10 – 500 million
Land acquisition (purchase or
lease)

Filing of EIS, Permits, and

Technology Assessments
In a surface mine, access to In an underground mine,
Construction of access roads
an ore body overlain by small-sized openings are
(Transport System)
waste is gained by stripping driven from the surface to
the overburden . intersect the ore body and
Construction of facilities and
eventually to connect with
Plant
large exploitation openings.
Excavating deposit (strip or sink
Stripping Ratio – The ratio of waste removed to ore
shaft)
recovered.
• 45 yd3/ton (38 m/tonne) for coal mines;
• 1.0 yd3/ton (0.8 m/tonne) in metal mines;
• Some nonmetallic mines have no
The size of the plant is influenced by the cut-off grade.
overburden to remove
 Exploitation
10 – 30 yrs $5 – 75 million/yr
Mining Methods
The work of recovering mineral from the earth in ✔ Surface - Open pit
economic amounts and delivering it to shipping ✔ Underground – Room and Pillar
or processing facilities on the surface.

• Open pit mining • Unsupported

• Placer mining • Supported
• Hydraulicking • Caving
• Aqueous extraction

Cost of Mining
Direct Mining Cost - sum of
all direct costs associated
with bringing a mine to into
production through the
four stages.
Indirect Mining Cost -
overhead that usually
includes an allowance of
5-10% for administration,
engineering, and other
nonitemized services.
 Reclamation
1 – 10 yrs $1 – 20 million

The process of closing a mine;

recontouring, revegetating, and restoring
the water and land values.

CCC BIGA PIT, 2018

“Development that meets the needs of

the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their
own needs.’’ - Our Common Future,
WCED 1987.
TVIRD, 2013
 LARGE SCALE MINING VS. SMALL SCALE MINING
RESPONSIBLE MINING METHODS
SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF MINING

Penkian, C. G.
LARGE SCALE MINING VS. SMALL SCALE MINING

 Large scale mining usually involves a company with many employees. The
company mines at one or two large sites and usually stays until the mineral or
metal is completely excavated.

 Artisanal mining or small scale mining can include activities as simple

as panning for gold in rivers, to as complex as development of underground
workings and small-scale processing plants.

Penkian, C. G.
LARGE SCALE MINING VS. SMALL SCALE MINING

Two types of large scale mining:

1. Surface Mining- Open-pit mining
is the most common mining
technique, when it comes to new
mines.
2. Underground mining-
Underground hard
rock mining refers to various
underground mining techniques
used to excavate hard minerals
Two types of small scale
mining:
1. Land dredging- involves miners
using a generator to dig a large
hole in the ground
2. River dredging - involves moving
along a river on a platform or boat.
Penkian, C. G.
RESPONSIBLE MINING METHODS
SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND EVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF MINING

1. Community
2. Livelihood
3. Economy
4. Soil
5. Water
6. Forest
7. Indigenous rights
Penkian, C. G.
P H I L I P P I N E S’ M I N I N G

INDUSTRY
Challenges:
 Growth of tax rates
 The government proposes a ban on unprocessed
mineral ores
 High power cost
 Lower quality of nickel ores
 Low quality of locally produced coal
 Considerable presence of illegal minings
 Insurgencies
 Governments proposal to “No-Go” zones
 tighter government policies

Poloyapoy, R.
P H I L I P P I N E S’ M I N I N G

INDUSTRY
 Large Scale Mining
 involves a company
 employs greater manpower
 employment of heavy machineries
 mines at one or two large sites

 Small Scale Mining

 involves a small group of nomadic men
 lesser employment of heavy machineries and high
techniologies
 mines at smaller areas
PROJECTS

Poloyapoy, R.
PROJECTS

Poloyapoy, R.
Poloyapoy, R.