Mining engineering designs and operates the methods and infrastructure used to locate, extract and process mineral and metal ore deposits from the earth, safely and economically, spanning both surface, open-pit, and underground mining methods, along with the ventilation, structural support, ore processing and environmental reclamation that responsible extraction requires. The ancient Romans were early innovators of large-scale mining methods, using aqueduct-fed water for hydraulic mining and fire-setting to crack rock, and employing water-powered machinery such as reverse overshot water-wheels at sites including the copper mines of Rio Tinto in Spain.
Facts
Core ConcernLocating, extracting and processing mineral and ore deposits safely and economically, above and below ground. 1 Core PrincipleMining engineering is the extraction of minerals from the ground, drawing on mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, metallurgy, geotechnical engineering and surveying as allied disciplines rather than practicing any one of them alone. 2 Disputed
Origin YearGeorgius Agricola sixteenth century treatise De Re Metallica laid out systematic mining practice long before any dedicated school existed; the first dedicated mining engineering school, the Bergakademie Freiberg in Saxony, was founded in 1765. Connections
Associated With
Underground mine structural support and surface mine infrastructure both draw heavily on civil engineering practice.
Ore mineral separation process
Smelting, Methods Ore that mining engineering extracts is generally processed further by smelting to yield usable metal.
Excavation machine used in tunneling and mining
Includes
Source Herbert Hoover (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Source John Hays Hammond (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Open Questions
Source Davy Lamp (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.View the Source 2. Mining Engineering (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationLead section, opening definition of mining engineering
Mining engineering is the extraction of minerals from the ground. It is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, metallurgy, geotechnical engineering and surveying.
History of mining engineering section, oldest known mine paragraph
The oldest known mine on the archaeological record is the "Lion Cave" in Eswatini.
History of mining engineering section, Roman innovations paragraph
The ancient Romans were innovators of mining engineering. They developed large-scale mining methods, such as the use of large volumes of water brought to the minehead by aqueducts for hydraulic mining.
View the Source Herbert Hoover (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Herbert HooverView the Source John Hays Hammond (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: John Hays HammondView the Source Open Questions (1 open question)
Who deserves credit for inventing the miners' safety lamp: Humphry Davy, honored by the Royal Society in 1815, or George Stephenson, who devised his own lamp independently the same year?
Humphry Davy presented his safety lamp design to the Royal Society in London on 9 November 1815 and was awarded the society's Rumford Medal and two thousand pounds worth of silver. Engine-wright George Stephenson demonstrated his own, independently devised safety lamp down Killingworth Colliery a month before Davy's presentation, but his lamp was not developed and publicly credited until after Davy's paper, leading Davy to accuse him of theft.
What would resolve this An 1833 House of Commons committee found that Stephenson had an equal claim to inventing the safety lamp, yet Davy went to his grave insisting Stephenson had stolen his idea; no single verdict has ever definitively settled priority between the two men.
History of TechnologyWikipedia contributors, Davy Lamp (Wikipedia)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the oldest known mine, and what does it reveal about mining's deep history?
The oldest known mine identified in the archaeological record is the Lion Cave in Eswatini, radiocarbon dated to roughly 43,000 years old. Paleolithic humans mined the mineral hematite there and ground it to produce the red pigment ochre, showing that organized mineral extraction long predates the modern mining engineering profession built on it.
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