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Written by George B. Clark , John Lawrence Mero All
Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: Jun 11, 2024 • Article History

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It has been estimated that more than two-thirds of the world’s yearly mineral
production is extracted by surface mining. There are several types of surface
mining, but the three most common are open-pit mining, strip mining, and
quarrying. These differ from one another in the mine geometries created, the
techniques used, and the minerals produced.

Open-pit mining often (but not always) results in a large hole, or pit, being
formed in the process of extracting a mineral. It can also result in a portion of
a hilltop being removed. In strip mining a long, narrow strip of mineral is

uncovered by a dragline, large shovel, or similar type of excavator. After the

mineral has been removed, an adjacent strip is uncovered and its overlying
waste material deposited in the excavation of the first strip. Since strip
waste material deposited in the excavation of the first strip. Since strip
mining is primarily applied to thin, flat deposits of coal, it is not discussed
here (see coal mining).

There are two types of quarrying. There is the extraction of ornamental stone
blocks of specific colour, size, shape, and quality—an operation requiring
special and expensive production procedures. In addition, the term
quarrying has been applied to the recovery of sand, gravel, and crushed
stone for the production of road base, cement, concrete, and macadam.
However, since the practices followed in these operations are similar to those
of open-pit mines, the discussion of quarrying here is limited to the
excavation of ornamental stone.

Open-pit mining

Pit geometry
Deposits mined by open-pit techniques are generally divided into horizontal
layers called benches. The thickness (that is, the height) of the benches
depends on the type of deposit, the mineral being mined, and the equipment
being used; for large mines it is on the order of 12 to 15 metres (about 40 to
50 feet). Mining is generally conducted on a number of benches at any one
time. The top of each bench is equivalent to a working level, and access to
different levels is gained through a system of ramps. The width of a ramp
depends on the equipment being used, but typical widths are from 20 to 40
metres (65 to 130 feet). Mining on a new level is begun by extending a ramp
downward. This initial, or drop, cut is then progressively widened to form the
new pit bottom.

The walls of a pit have a certain slope determined by the strength of the rock
mass and other factors. The stability of these walls, and even of individual
benches and groups of benches, is very important—particularly as the pit gets
deeper. Increasing the pit slope angle by only a few degrees can decrease
stripping costs tremendously or increase revenues through increased ore
recovery, but it can also result in a number of slope failures on a small or

large scale. Millions of tons of material may be involved in such slides. For
this reason, mines have ongoing slope-stability programs involving the
collection and analysis of structural data, hydrogeologic information, and
collection and analysis of structural data, hydrogeologic information, and
operational practices (blasting, in particular), so that the best slope designs
may be achieved. It is not unusual for five or more different slope angles to
be involved in one large pit.

As a pit is deepened, more and more waste rock must be stripped away in
order to uncover the ore. Eventually there comes a point where the revenue
from the exposed ore is less than the costs involved in its recovery. Mining
then ceases. The ratio of the amount of waste rock stripped to ore removed is
called the overall stripping ratio. The break-even stripping ratio is a function
of ore value and the costs involved.

Ore reserves
The first step in the evaluation and design of an open-pit mine is the
determination of reserves. As was explained above, information regarding
the deposit is collected through the drilling of probe holes. The locations of
the holes are plotted on a plan map, and sections taken through the holes
give a good idea of the ore body’s vertical extent. From these vertical sections
the tentative locations of the benches are selected. However, since the
deposit is to be mined in horizontal benches, it is also convenient to calculate
the ore reserve in horizontal sections, with the thickness of each section
equal to the height of a bench. These horizontal sections are divided along
coordinate lines into a series of blocks, with the plan dimensions (i.e., the
length and width) of each block generally being one to three times the bench
height. After the grade of each block has been determined, the blocks are
assembled into a block model representation of the ore body. (This model
must be significantly larger than the actual ore reserve in order to include the
eventual pit that must be dug to expose the ore body.)

Economic factors such as costs and expected revenues, which vary with grade
and block location, are then applied; the result is an economic block model.
Some of the blocks in the model will eventually fall within the pit, but others
will lie outside. Of the several techniques for determining which of the blocks
should be included in the final pit, the most common is the floating cone
technique. In two dimensions the removal of a given ore block would require
the removal of a set of overlying blocks as well. All of these would be included
in an inverted triangle with its sides corresponding to the slope angle, its
in an inverted triangle with its sides corresponding to the slope angle, its
base lying on the surface, and its apex located in the ore block under
consideration. In an actual three-dimensional case, this triangle would be a
cone. The economic value of the ore block at the apex of the cone would be
compared with the total cost of removing all of the blocks included in the
cone. If the net value proved positive, then the cone would be mined. This
technique would be applied to all of the blocks making up the block model,
and at the end of this process a final pit outline would result.

Unit operations
The largest open-pit operations can move almost one million tons of material
(both ore and waste) per day. In smaller operations the rate may be only a
couple of thousand tons per day. In most of these mines there are four unit
operations: drilling, blasting, loading, and hauling.

In large mines rotary drills are used to drill holes with diameters ranging
from 150 to 450 mm (about 6 to 18 inches). The drill bit, made up of three
cones containing either steel or tungsten carbide cutting edges, is rotated
against the hole bottom under a heavy load, breaking the rock by
compression and shear. An air compressor on the drilling machine forces air
down the centre of the drill string so that the cuttings are removed. In
smaller pits holes are often drilled by pneumatic or hydraulic percussion
machines. These rigs may be truck- or crawler-mounted. Hole diameters are
often in the range of 75 to 120 mm (about 3 to 5 inches).

Holes are drilled in special patterns so that blasting produces the types of
fragmentation desired for the subsequent loading, hauling, and crushing
operations. These patterns are defined by the burden (the shortest distance
between the hole and the exposed bench face) and the spacing between the
holes. Generally, the burden is 25 to 35 times the diameter of the blasthole,
depending on the type of rock and explosive being used, and the spacing is
equal to the burden.

There are a number of explosives used, but most are based on a slurry of

ammonium nitrate and fuel oil (ANFO), which is transported by tanker truck
and pumped into the holes. When filled with ANFO, a blasthole 400 mm
(about 16 inches) in diameter and 7.5 metres (about 25 feet) deep can
(about 16 inches) in diameter and 7.5 metres (about 25 feet) deep can
develop about one billion horsepower. It is incumbent upon those involved in
the drilling and blasting to turn this power into useful fragmentation work.
To achieve the proper fragmentation, a series of blastholes is generally shot
in a carefully controlled sequence.

The object of blasting is to fragment the rock and then displace it into a pile
that will facilitate its loading and transport. In large open pits the main
implements for loading are electric, diesel-electric, or hydraulic shovels,
while electric or mechanical-drive trucks are used for transport. The size of
the shovels is generally specified by dipper, or bucket, size; those in common
use have dipper capacities ranging from 15 to 50 cubic metres (20 to 65 cubic
yards). This means that 30 to 100 tons can be dug in a single “bite” of the
shovel. The size of the trucks is matched to that of the shovel, a common rule
of thumb being that the truck should be filled in four to six swings of the
shovel. Thus, for a shovel of 15-cubic-metre capacity, a truck having a
capacity of 120 to 180 tons (four to six swings) should be assigned. The
largest trucks have capacities of more than 350 tons (about 12 swings) and
are equipped with engines that produce more than 3,500 horsepower; their
tire diameters are often more than 3 metres (10 feet). Because of their high
mobility, very large-capacity wheel loaders (front-end loaders) are also used
in open-pit mines.

As pits became deeper—the deepest pits in the world exceed 800 metres
(2,600 feet)—alternate modes of transporting broken ore and waste rock
became more common. One of these is the belt conveyor, but in general this
method requires in-pit crushing of the run-of-mine material prior to
transport. For most materials a maximum angle of 18° is possible. To
transport directly up the sides of pit walls, special conveying techniques are
under development.

After loading, waste rock is transported to special dumps, while ore is

generally hauled to a mineral-processing plant for further treatment. (In
some cases ore is of sufficiently high quality for direct shipment without
intermediate processing.) In some operations separate dumps are created for
the various grades of sub-ore material, and these dumps may be re-mined
later and processed in the mill. Certain dumps can be treated by various
solutions to extract the contained metals (a process known as heap leaching
solutions to extract the contained metals (a process known as heap leaching
or dump leaching).

Quarrying

Although seldom used to form entire structures, stone is greatly valued for its
aesthetic appeal, durability, and ease of maintenance. The most popular
types include granite, limestone, sandstone, marble, slate, gneiss, and
serpentine. All natural stone used for structural support, curtain walls,
veneer, floor tile, roofing, or strictly ornamental purposes is called building
stone, and building stone that has been cut and finished for predetermined
uses in building construction and monuments is known as dimension stone.
The characteristics required of good dimension stone are uniformity of
texture and colour, freedom from flaws, suitability for polishing and carving,
and resistance to weathering. This section describes the quarrying of
dimension stone.

Pit geometry

Although quarrying is also done underground, using room-and-pillar

techniques, most quarries involve the removal of blocks from hillsides or
from an open-pit type of geometry. The first step in developing such a quarry
is the removal of the vegetative cover of trees and underbrush. Next, the
overburden of topsoil and subsoil is removed and stockpiled for future
reclamation. The rock is quarried in a series of benches or slices
corresponding to the thickness of the desired blocks. This is often on the
corresponding to the thickness of the desired blocks. This is often on the
order of 4.5 to 6 metres (about 15 to 20 feet), but, since it is actual quarry
practice to take advantage of any natural horizontal seams, block thickness
may vary.

The quarrying process consists of separating large blocks, sometimes called

loafs, from the surrounding rock. These blocks may be 6 metres high by 6
metres deep and 12 to 18 metres (about 40 to 60 feet) long, and they may
weigh in the range of 1,200 to 2,000 tons. (Such large blocks are
subsequently divided into mill blocks weighing 15 to 70 tons.) The removal of
blocks from the quarry has traditionally been done by one or more fixed
derricks. As a result, the plan area of a quarry has been determined not only
by the geometry of the deposit and the amount of overburden but also by the
reach of the derrick boom. However, derricks are gradually being replaced by
highly mobile front-end loaders of sufficient capacity to move, lift, and carry
30-ton mill blocks, and the layout, design, and operating procedures of
quarries are being modified accordingly.

There is a very high waste factor in the quarrying of dimension stone. For
some quarries the amount of usable stone is only 15 to 20 percent of that
quarried. For this reason an important aspect of quarry planning is the
location of the waste or “grout” pile.

Contents More From Britannica

history of technology: Metallurgy and mining

Unit operations
There are a number of techniques for separating a mass of stone from the
parent mass. For many years the primary technique was the wire saw, which
consists of a single-, double-, or triple-stranded helicoidal steel wire about 6
mm (0.2 inch) in diameter into which sand, aluminum oxide, silicon carbide,
or other abrasive is fed in a water slurry. As the wire is pulled across the

surface, a groove or channel is worn in the stone. Although the wire does not
do the cutting itself (this is done by the abrasive), it does wear in the process
so that the width of the cut continuously decreases. If the wire breaks prior to
so that the width of the cut continuously decreases. If the wire breaks prior to
the completion of a cut, there will be great difficulty in beginning again;
hence, the wire must be sufficiently long to complete the cut. In granite
quarrying, a rule of thumb is that about 27 metres (about 89 feet) of wire are
used for each square metre of stone that is cut (8 feet of wire per square
foot). Completing a 6-metre-high by 9-metre- (30-foot-) long cut thus
requires approximately 1,450 metres (about 4,800 feet) of wire; indeed, a
typical wire saw setup may require 3 to 5 km (2 to 3 miles) of wire driven by
an electric motor or diesel engine and directed around the quarry by a system
of sheave wheels. A single wire may make several cuts at one time by suitable
sheave direction.

The advantage of wire sawing is that it produces a smooth cut that minimizes
later processing and does not damage adjacent rock. The technique has
largely been superseded by others, however. In hard rocks such as granite
that have a significant quartz content, channels may be cut by handheld or
automated jet burners. A pressurized mixture of fuel oil and air or of fuel oil
and oxygen is burned in a combustion chamber similar to a miniature rocket
engine, producing a high-temperature, high-velocity flame. A channel 75 to
150 mm (3 to 6 inches) wide and up to 6 metres deep can be formed.

Another technique for cutting slots involves drilling a series of long parallel
holes, using pneumatically or hydraulically powered percussion drills. In line
drilling, closely spaced pilot holes may be drilled first and the intervening
material then removed by reaming with a larger-diameter bit. Other
arrangements using special guides are also available. For softer, less-abrasive
rocks, the remaining rock web between holes may simply be chipped or
broached out.

Rock between less closely spaced holes (125 to 250 mm [about 5 to 10 inches]
apart) can be broken rather than removed. One technique for doing this
involves the use of special explosives to exert a high gas pressure against the
hole walls and thereby produce a crack along the firing line. A mechanical
technique for accomplishing this is the use of feathers and wedges. Feathers
are two half-round pieces of steel that are inserted into all of the holes
forming a side of the block. The quarry worker works down the row, inserting
a wedge between each pair of feathers and then tapping the wedges with a
sledgehammer. This forces pressure from the wedge to the feathers so that
sledgehammer. This forces pressure from the wedge to the feathers so that
eventually a crack line forms. This procedure is commonly followed to form
the bottom of a block and for dividing large blocks into smaller blocks. In the
latter case a line of small-diameter holes only a few centimetres deep is
required. In addition, special cement grouts that expand during curing, as
well as special hydraulic pressurization techniques, have also been used.

A relatively new development is the diamond wire saw. This consists of a 6-

mm steel carrier cable on which diamond-impregnated beads and injection-
molded plastic spacers are alternately fixed. The plastic spacers protect the
cable against the abrasiveness of the rock and also maintain the diamond
segments on the cable. Relatively clean water serves both as the flushing
medium and to cool the wire. The initiation of a cut requires two boreholes
40 to 90 mm (1.6 to 3.5 inches) in diameter. One hole is drilled down from
the upper corner of the block, and the other is drilled horizontally along the
bottom to intersect the vertical hole. The wire is strung through the holes,
and a driving mechanism supplies the power to move the wire and apply the
proper tension. The diamond wire cut is very narrow (thus reducing waste),
and it does not produce cracks or fissures in the stone. Moreover, once the
saw is set up, an operator is not required.

Large chain saws, similar to those used for cutting trees but equipped with
tungsten carbide or diamond-tipped cutters, are applicable to marbles,
limestones, travertines, shales such as slate, and some types of sandstone.
The chain, made up of removable links that carry the tool holders, rides in a
channel with replaceable walls and bottom. The machine is self-propelled
through a rack-and-pinion mechanism along modular track sections.

Channels may be cut in the stone by high-pressure jets of water with or

without the addition of an abrasive substance. Water is forced through a
small-diameter nozzle at extremely high velocity, creating new cracks and
penetrating small natural cracks. In the process, thin layers of rock are sliced
away. The advantages of water-jet channeling are that it cuts narrow, straight
channels with very little noise and that it does not damage the wall surface.
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