A Canadian Way of Life

Mining

is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth. Mining as a whole, is one of the top five industries that exist in Canada.

Some of the main minerals and geological materials being mined in Canada are:

Gold Silver Uranium Copper Coal Diamond Iron Lead Nickel Tungsten Zinc Gypsum Barite Salt Silica Phosphate Gravel

 In

Canada, there are two specific types of mining that occur: 1. Surface Mining 2. Underground Mining

 Also

known as open-pit, open-cast mining, open-cut mining, or strip mining. Surface mines are used when deposits of commercially useful minerals or geological materials are found near the surface of the Earth. Rather than tunneling beneath the Earths surface, a quarry or burrow is created instead and the materials are then extracted from above. An example is Diavik Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories.

Also known as borehole mining, drift mining, hard rock mining, shaft mining or slope mining. Underground mining is done when the rocks, minerals, or gemstones are too far underground to get out with surface mining. In order for the minerals to be taken out of the mine, the miners make underground rooms to work in. The mining company chooses the best way to get the minerals out.

The two main underground mining

methods are:
1. Room and Pillar Mining 2. Longwall Mining

 In

this form of underground mining there are intersecting 'rooms' with pillars of rock (which also contain the substance being mined) that hold up the roof. The miners then mine the walls around the pillars for the desired mineral or geological material. The pillars themselves are only mined when the mine, or a part of it, is closing.

 In

this form of underground mining a machine called a continuous miner slices layers of coal or minerals from the walls. The miners then extract the desired substance from the resulting material piles on the mine floor and place it on a conveyer belt/pulley system that carries it to the surface.

 Mining

has always been one of the most hazardous professions. Recently, mining accidents have brought national attention to the industry and have reinforced the importance of safety issues in mining. Over the years, thousands of miners have been killed in mine accidents and from lung diseases caused by breathing in mine dust.

 Historically,

the work of a miner was extremely perilous. During the 1800s, many miners worked more than 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. They broke the mine wall with picks and shoveled the mined substance into cars. Many children even worked for the mines, as well, doing such things as sorting and opening and closing mine doors for carts to pass through.

 Today, machines do much of the work. Other improvements include better mine

safety laws, shorter work hours and prohibition of child labor. But, mining is still one of the most hazardous occupations. Dangers include accidents involving machinery, collapse of tunnel roofs or walls, gases, flooding, explosions, as well as health problems from breathing dust.