WHAT ARE THE 4 MAIN METHODS OF

MINING AND WHAT ARE THE

ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES OF
EACH?

SLCC Geography-Fall of 2017

Instructor: A. John Allred (Geosciences Department)
Student: Paulette Schiffman-Brinker

Crews sealing mine shaft where students were injured
July 27, 2011
PROVO, Utah (AP) -- Officials say they'll be sealing a 1,200 foot
deep mine shaft where several Brigham Young University students
were burned earlier this month playing with homemade gasoline
bombs.
Al McKee of Ophir Minerals & Aggregate Group tells the
Daily Herald his company plans to start collapsing and burying the
hole this week. The work should be finished by the end of the week.
McKee says the site is now under 24-hour surveillance.
Six college students were treated for burns after they reportedly
spilled a cooler of fuel into the abandoned mine shaft July 16 and it
caught fire.
The shaft is in a remote area of Utah about 80 miles south of Salt
Lake City. It had gained notoriety through YouTube videos showing
people dropping fire bombs down the hole then exploding.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
The beginning of commercial mining in Utah can be
traced back to Patrick E. Connor and is California
and Nevada volunteers who arrived in the Salt Lake
Valley in October 1862. Many of these soldiers were
experienced prospectors and with Connor’s
promoting they searched the nearby Wasatch and
Oquirrh mountains for gold and silver. Discoveries
soon followed in Tooele County and Little
Cottonwood Canyon (1864). With the
transcontinental railroad in 1869 came the
transportation necessary to elevate mining efforts
from small scale to larger commercial enterprises.
Other mining areas included Big Cottonwood, Park
City and the Tintic Districts.
(www.historytogo.utah.gov)
While mining has always played an important role in
shaping Utah’s economic growth, it hasn’t come
without some costs. Tailings leftover from the mines
can carry serious health risks in addition to
abandoned mines being a public safety issue. Even
with all the environmental negativity surrounding
mines, they still have a certain charm to them. (Rock
Collectors Unite! lol)
The Four Main Types Of Mining
1. Underground

2. Open Pit

3. Placer

4. In Situ Entrance to the Ophir Mine located in Tooele County,

Leaching Utah
Those rock colors are amazing!

Photo Credit: Stuart Brinker-Ophir, Utah

 Underground Hard Rock Mining
Underground hard rock mining refers to various techniques used to
excavate hard minerals usually those containing metals such as ore
containing gold, silver, copper, zinc, nickel, tin and lead. (
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_mining_(hard_rock)

Underground mining is where the mineral is extracted without

removing the topsoil and rocks. This way the surface features
surrounding the mine will not be disturbed (forest, rivers,
agriculture land and residential areas). Disadvantages are 1. It's
very dangerous in nature for the miners (collapse from slides, toxic
gases and the threat of explosions) 2. Working area is limited
(bigger machines can’t be utilized) 3. Long gestation period (Takes
a long time to develop a mine before it has full production) 4. High
wage cost and labour intensive (productivity is limited) 5. Overall
cost of production. Advantages include 1. Very less land acquisition
and RR problems 2. No destruction of forest and ecosystems 3. Very
less socioeconomic impacts hence very less people affected .

(www.quora.com/What-are-some-of-the-most-important-disadvantages-and-
advantages-of-underground-mining
 Ophir, Utah Mine (Tintic
District)
Underground Mining Operation

Mining cart inside the Ophir Mine Tunnel passage inside the Ophir Mine
Photo Credit: Stuart Brinker-Ophir, Utah Photo Credit: Stuart Brinker-Ophir, Utah
Ophir Mine Ghost Hunt Sept 9, 2012 Ophir Mine Ghost Hunt Sept 9, 2012
Entrance to one of the Ophir
MInes. This mine was
established in the 1880’s and
named after the biblical king
Solomon. The town as recently
opened the “The Ophir Historic
District” which offers a glimpse
into the old glory days when
mining was at it’s peak
(www.standard.net)

Photo Credit:
Paulette Schiffman-Brinker
Ophir, Utah-Sept, 2017
 Random Shots from around the town of Ophir. Equipment
entering town (top left), Mining carts at the entrance to mine
(bottom Left and slide off (photo on the right)

Photo Credits: Paulette Schiffman-Brinker-Ophir, Utah

Sept, 2017
 Open Pit Mining -(Bingham Copper Mine, Utah)
Aerial view of the Bingham Copper Mine (formerly
known as Kennecott)
Photo Credit:
http://www.ghosttowngallery.com/htme/kennecott.htm
Open pit mining is a surface mining technique of
extracting rock or mineral from the earth by their
removal from an open pit. (
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/Open-pit_mining)
Disadvantages are 1. Loss of ecosystem (eliminates
biologic life at the surface) 2. Pollution and Drainage
(Can cause Acid Mine Drainage) AMD is a serious
environmental concern associated with mining.
Sulfide rich rocks that contain ore are broken down
from exposure to water and air at the surface. The
sulfides form sulfuric acid which dissolves rocks and
releases dangerous metalloids into nearby
rivers/streams. The polluted water can kill life along
the water sources for miles. Advantages are 1.
Greater safety for miners 2. Efficient operations (use
of larger vehicles).
(https://classroom.synonym.com/open-pit-mining-
pros-cons-12083240.html
 Placer Mining-Crescent Creek Mine,
Garfield County, Utah
Placer mining is the mining of stream
bed deposits for minerals. This may be
done by open-pit or by various surface
excavating equipment or tunnelling
equipment

(http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placer_mining)

Disadvantages are Hydraulic mining form

of placer mining can be environmentally
destructive 2. Can add silt to previously
clear running streams. Advantages are
1. Water used can be recycled

Methods of placer mining include

panning, rocker (box with greater volume
than a gold pan,sluice box , drywashing,
trommel, gold dredge and underground Photo Credit: https://www.icmj.com/magazine/article/utahs-crescent-creek-
mining. placers-630/
 The Crescent Creek placers are considered to be one of
Utah’s few commercial grade placers, but they are marginal
and difficult to work at a profit. A mining company has a
lease on almost all the placer ground. Their claims are well
posted and run from North Wash all the way to Bromide
Basin. Another company (Unico Mining) currently holds
leases on the lode mines in the basin. You can travel across
mining claims but prospecting for gold is not permitted
without prior permission.

Photo Credits
https://www.icmj.com/magazine/article/utahs-
crescent-creek-placers-630/
In Situ Leaching Mining -Silver Reef
Mine, Leeds, Utah
In situ leaching (also called recovery or solution
mining) is a mining process used to recover minerals
such as copper and uranium through boreholes
drilled into a deposit. (
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_stiu_leach)

Disadvantages are 1. Risk of spreading leaching

liquid (groundwater contamination) 2. Unpredictable
impact of leaching liquid on rock deposit 3.
Impossibility of restoring water back to its natural
state Advantages are 1. Reduced hazards for
employees 2. Low cost 3. No need for large uranium
mill tailings deposits.

(www.wise-uranium.org)

http://slideplayer.com/slide/8747244/
Photo credit:
http://www.silverreefutah.org/MINING-
IN-SILVER-REEF.html

But what makes it the most unique is what

started the town – the discovery of silver in
sandstone, the only place in the United States
that can claim that distinction.

Geologists aren’t even sure how the silver oxide

got into the sandstone and call it a miracle,
Bobbi Wan-kier, Silver Reef’s Museum Director,
said. There are three different theories on how
the silver became entombed in the sandstone,
an onsite plaque states. These include a
volcanic theory, that mineral laden waters
derived from molten rock at the Pine Valley
Mountains’ core deposited it in the porous
sandstone; a sedimentary theory, that eroded
silver particles were deposited there through
water action; and a groundwater theory, that
silver in the water was deposited via faults or
fractures.
Video Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
time_continue=4&v=Bky3RcDWWTo

Photo Credit: http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ut/silverreef.html