Page 8 - RMAI Bulletin July - September 2021

RMAI BULLETIN JULY TO SEPTEMBER 2021

The Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Let us now discuss in brief about few mining types:
Act, 1957 (MMDR Act) is the federal law for overall Y Surface Mining: When the top layer of gravel and
regulation of the sector. sand is then and the miner or the deposits of ore
are found near the surface. This method is broadly
The Mines Act 1952 - for health and safety in the used and is predominant in Indian mining industry.
mines and its operations. It uses heavy equipment to extract the minerals.
This type of mining is sometimes controversial as
Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation)
it is done closer to the surface of the land, it is said
Act 2002 - Regulates offshore mineral resources.
that it leaves behind a large chunk of that land
fallow and unsuitable for cultivation.
Mining Regulatory bodies in India:
Y In-Pit Crushing and Conveying: It is also done
Y Geological Survey of India
closer to the surface but for the harder minerals
Y Indian Bureau of Mines that are difficult to be transported as a single ore.
Y Controller of Mining Leases Therefore, the ore is crushed in the mine itself and
are then transported using the conveyor belt. It is
Y Directorate General of Mines Safety
a gradual method as the mine goes deeper and
does not require and form of tunnelling. It can be
Types of Mining and Methods: as deep as 1000 meters. This technique works well
Mining is the core sector that is essential for the Indian in the horizontal movement of mine face and
economy as it almost contributes about 2 - 2.5 percent becomes difficult when the mine face goes
of country's GDP and also is important for the growth vertical. It is not even affected much by the bad
of other industries like iron and steel, power, cement weather.
etc. It is known to all that there are primarily two types Once the mining is complete the pit is covered or
of mining: Surface/Opencast and Underground mining.
filled with sand and clay. The land can take
The option to choose the type explicitly depends on
hundreds or thousands years to recover naturally
the depth, geology, topography, mineral and the cost as during the process the soil underneath became
of labour and mechanisms. acidic. It can be used for recreational or
rehabilitation purposes till it can be made
In India, the surface mining is more prevalent as it has available for environmental purposes.
low cost of equipment and technology. For
Underground mining India is not yet technologically Y Underground Mining: This method of mining is
advanced and cannot deploy such heavy machinery used when the demand for the minerals increase
without any experience. To get the maximum benefit and the open cast mining cannot suffice the
out of the process, it is very important to choose the demand raised. As the minerals in the deeper part
of the earth are of rich quality and the output is
type of mining very wisely as the cost and production
more. It includes networks of shafts and tunnels
will depend largely on it. Though much of India's
that are dug deep inside the earth's crust to reach
mineral resources are yet to be fully explored.
Government with its public sectors companies stays exact site of the deposit ore. This process is very
the largest production and participation unit in the expensive and tiring in nature but the waste rock
sector. created is low and hence it is preferred. The
percentage or ore recovered depends on safety
With growth in the sector of infrastructure and considerations. The deeper we dig, the less safe
automobiles, there would be rise in the demand of the mining becomes. Major issue is of ventilation
power and steel which in turn boost the investment and oxygen toxicity.
and the technology in the mining sector. Currently, Y In-Situ Mining: Or solution mining. This process is
very small geographical area (0.14% approx.) is under rarely used in mining material as it is quite
mining lease and 20% of it is actually mined. But, it is complex as a process. A solution is pumped into
estimated that the sector would grow by 7% in the the ore body, dissolving the ore and the dissolved
coming years with the growing demand from other ore is then extracted by the second pump. Mostly
sectors. in Uranium mining this method is used.

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