Management Incoming Student Handbook 2012-13 - University of
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W h a t i s a M I N E ? Hello, my name is P.D. and I am going to take you on an adventure that will help you answer the question, “What is a Mine?” LET’S GO!
Transcript of Management Incoming Student Handbook 2012-13 - University of
What i
s aMINE?
Hello, my name is P.D. and I am going to take you on anadventure that will help you answer the question, “What isa Mine?” LET’S GO!
Minerals were formed millions of years agowhen the Earth’s crust went through
many changes.
Minerals are used to makemany things including
jewellery, cars, electronicsand much more.
Before mining can begin, we need toknow where the minerals are locatedunderneath the earth’s surface.
The people who study rocks andminerals are called geologists.Geologists rely on drills to reachminerals underneath the earth’ssurface. Once geologists findminerals, a sample is takenfrom the earth. This sampleis brought to thelaboratory where it istested.
Once a company decides to build a mine, many thingsneed to be decided and organized. Geologists, engineersand many other specialists are all involved in this stageof the mining process.
Hundreds of people are needed to build amine. The construction of a mine includesbuilding offices and repair shops, as wellas the areas where the ore is dug out ofthe ground.
Mines that look like the one here are called open pit orsurface mines. Rocks and minerals are dug out from thesurface at these mines.
This type of mine is called an underground mine. Whenvaluable rock or mineral deposits are located far beneaththe earth’s surface, underground mines are necessary.
Kaboom!Kaboom!
Once the mineis built, we canstart to takeminerals out ofthe earth. At anundergroundmine, the firststep is to blasttunnels.Thesetunnels arecalled stopes.
After blasting,loose rocks arescooped up bymachines andbrought to thesurface in anelevator called askip.
Once the rocks are removed from the earth, they aretransported by truck, or sometimes by conveyor belt,to a crushing machine where the rocks are madesmaller and smaller until they become a powder.
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After the rocks havebeen crushed, theminerals still need to beseparated from the powder.The powder is put into largetanks of water and chemicalswhere air is bubbled throughthe mixture until the minerals
have separated fromthe powder. This is achemical process
called leaching.
The minerals are then placed into a big furnace wherethey are melted. Once the minerals are melted, they arepoured into moulds where they cool and harden intobars. These bars are worth lots of money, especially ifthe mineral is gold!
It is important thatmining companiesclean the mine site sothat it can be usedagain by people andanimals.
Once all of the mineralshave been taken outof a mine, it is timefor the mine to close.
Mining companies fertilize the soiland plant grass and trees to returnthe mine site to its naturalcondition.
This is called reclamation.
Now that you know more about minerals and mining, try to findall the things in this picture that were made using minerals.
WWW.MAZECREATOR.COMSTART
FINISH
Can you help P.D.find his way out ofthe undergroundmine maze?
Y F M Y Q Z U F C L C L Q L V
D D W N D Z S U W B B E C D J
U V S Y O E Z T U L I A F G L
B N O Y W L J H Z A Q C R G Q
W B A A D R N G E R U H E U C
A H G T I P B Q I E N I E A G
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F S X D C R U S H I N G A O Y
F W G D O Z Q I N M F C F T A
J E I L V E N G I N E E R B C
M G F R E P P O C W Q E U G Z
N L S N R J T L F W G H S U G
T C T Z X S P O H P O G U B Z
J M Z M A A V E O P L R U W C
Y Y D N U O R G R E D N U K L
COPPER LEACHINGCRUSHING MINEDISCOVER MINERALENGINEER PITGEOLOGIST SURFACEGOLD UNDERGROUND
WORD SEARCHWORD SEARCHWORD SEARCHWORD SEARCHWORD SEARCHCAN YOU FIND THE LOST WORDS?
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legal papers
LAW
LAW
It takes many different kinds of people to make miningpossible. At Placer Dome, these people come from a variety
of countries and workat mines all over
the world.
TNT
Placer Dome is a global miningcompany that specializes in goldmining. We have mine sites aroundthe world and our head office islocated in Vancouver, Canada.
Our tour of the mining process is overand it’s time for me to say goodbye. Ihope I have helped you answer thequestion “What is a Mine?” and that youare now familiar with minerals and therole they play in our everyday lives.
BYE FOR NOW!
