Mining Handbook. Volume 1

Author: Chief Editor: Cao Zhaoming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-09-01
Features: The Mining Handbook is divided into 41 chapters and published in seven volumes:
Volume I: Mining Geology and Mining Surveying
Volume II: Blasting and Rock Support
Volume III: Open-Pit Mining
Volume IV: Underground Mining
Volume V: Mining Transport and Equipment
Volume VI: Mining Ventilation and Safety
Volume VII: Mining Management
This volume is Volume I, including five chapters: General Introduction, Geology and Mineral Deposits, Mining Geological Work, Mining Surveying, and Overall Layout of Mining Ground. This book is primarily intended for mining engineers, but it is also an important reference for researchers, designers, educators, and mining management personnel involved in mining.
Excerpt:
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First, the mining industry is the foundation of smelting and processing industries, providing raw ore for them. Without mining, smelting and processing industries would be like cooking without rice. The metal raw materials obtained through smelting and processing are the foundation of the construction industry, transportation industry, general machinery industry, and other sectors. By weight, over 90% of total metal consumption is steel. Almost all large buildings are constructed with steel structures or reinforced concrete, accounting for about 30% of steel consumption. Steel is the main material for vehicles, ships, and other transportation tools, with annual consumption exceeding one-quarter of total steel production. The general machinery industry consumes 20% of total steel output. Additionally, industries such as petroleum, natural gas, and chemicals use large amounts of steel for containers, pipelines, and tin cans for the food industry. To improve steel quality, metals such as manganese, nickel, chromium, molybdenum, cobalt, tungsten, vanadium, titanium, niobium, and tantalum are required to produce special steels or alloy steels.
Over one-quarter of annual aluminum consumption is used in the transportation industry, one-sixth in the construction industry, about 10% in the electrical industry, and over one-third in packaging. In recent years, more than half of copper consumption has been used in the electrical industry, one-fifth in ventilation machinery, one-sixth in construction, and about 10% in transportation. One-third of zinc consumption is used in construction, 20% in transportation, and 20% in electrical and mechanical industries. Almost 60% of lead consumption is used in the electrical industry for batteries, cable casings, and fuses. The construction industry requires large amounts of non-metallic minerals, such as limestone, clay, and gypsum, which are the main raw materials for cement production. Kaolin is used to make white cement, facing bricks, oil felt, and roofing materials. Granite and marble are used as decorative materials. Over the past quarter-century, many emerging industries have developed rapidly. Although some metals (e.g., steel) or mineral products can be replaced by chemical synthetic materials, the role of mineral products has not diminished. Instead, the development of emerging industries has increased the demand for a wider variety and greater quantities of mineral products.
In the chemical industry, large amounts of lead plates and lead pipes are used as components in sulfuric acid production equipment. Platinum-group metals are used as catalysts in the production of inorganic chemicals like nitric acid, hydrogen peroxide, and organic chemicals like ethylene and aniline. The reaction towers, distillation towers, heat exchangers, and valves in synthetic fiber, petrochemical, and soda industries require titanium-containing materials. Tungsten is used in filters and centrifuges for sulfuric acid production. Mercury sulfates serve as catalysts in acetaldehyde production. Magnesium, zinc, or selenium are used as vulcanizing accelerators or hardeners in rubber production, among other applications.
In the petroleum industry, barite is used as a weighting agent in drilling mud, accounting for most of the world's barite production. Oil refining requires large amounts of rhenium, rare earth metals, and natural soda. Additionally, potassium compounds are used for the heat treatment of aviation gasoline, and platinum-group metals serve as catalysts for high-quality aviation gasoline. Tetraethyl lead is added to gasoline to prevent detonation.
The electronics industry consumes large amounts of pure gold (accounting for about 20% of U.S. gold consumption and 30% in Japan) as well as silver, tantalum, beryllium, and cadmium in alloys or compounds. Cesium alloys, titanium powder, and lithium are used to absorb trace gases in vacuum tubes. Germanium and silicon are important semiconductor materials, while mica is a key insulating material for electrical equipment.
In the film, television, and radio fax industries, cesium-based photovoltaic cells are essential components. Rare earth metals are used as self-heating carbon electrodes in film machines, with europium and yttrium being indispensable for color cathode-ray tubes. Cadmium is a critical material for phototubes in television and radio fax. Thallium can be used in infrared-sensitive phototubes, while selenium is primarily used to manufacture rectifiers, phototubes, signal devices, resonant discharge devices, and television components. Oxygen-free copper is used to produce ultra-high-frequency electronic tubes, and zinc is used to make microcrystalline zinc plates for fax.
In nuclear industry applications, uranium and thorium are essential raw materials. Boron, cadmium, hafnium, and certain rare earth elements (e.g., gadolinium) serve as important control materials. Graphite is a commonly used moderator, while beryllium is an excellent material for neutron moderators. Alloys of zirconium, aluminum, or magnesium are important structural materials for reactors. Additionally, nickel, titanium, niobium, and vanadium alloys have significant applications in the nuclear industry.
In aerospace, beryllium is used as protective shells and components for spacecraft and rockets, as well as disk brakes for aircraft. Beryllium is also a raw material for high-energy fuels in rockets and jet engines. Borides of titanium and zirconium are used to produce ceramic metals for rocket nozzles and fuel chamber linings. Lithium-6 is a key fuel for rockets and new-generation jet engines. Iodine can be used as an additive for rocket fuel, while metal powders can serve as propellants for ion rockets. Silver-doped tungsten is used to manufacture rocket solid fuel nozzles. Metals and alloys such as molybdenum, nickel, chromium, platinum, bismuth, tantalum, zirconium, and rhenium are all important materials for manufacturing rocket and aircraft components.
In the light industry, ceramics, glazes, and glass industries consume large amounts of sandstone, silica sand, and feldspar. About half of selenium is used in glass and pigment manufacturing. Boron is primarily used in glass, ceramics, glazes, as well as soaps and detergents. Titanium ores are used to produce pigments, glazes, and glass. About half of cadmium is used in paints and coatings. Zinc, antimony, lead, cobalt, lithium, rare earths, fluorspar, and barite are all consumed in significant quantities annually in the light industry for ceramics, glass, pigments, dyes, paints, and glazes. Additionally, lead-antimony-tin alloys and bismuth are important materials for printing type. Canned food and paint cans account for nearly one-third of total tin consumption.
The main raw materials for the three major chemical fertilizers, except for a portion of nitrogen fertilizer that can be obtained from atmospheric nitrogen, are derived from the mining industry. Additionally, sulfur is used to produce ammonium sulfate fertilizer, while dolomite is used to make calcium-magnesium-phosphate fertilizer and granular fertilizer. Arsenic compounds are used in herbicides, plant desiccants, and wood preservatives. Compounds of copper, zinc, and fluorine from fluorspar are important insecticides. Mercury compounds can serve as seed treatment agents. In agriculture, uranium is used to study plant photosynthesis and fertilizer effects through its radioactive isotopes.
In the pharmaceutical industry, many Western medicines are made from mineral raw materials, and even traditional Chinese medicine uses mineral products such as gypsum, cinnabar, realgar, orpiment, magnetite, and potash. Gold used in dentistry in the U.S. and Japan accounts for more than 10% of their annual gold consumption, while platinum used in dentistry and other medical applications accounts for 15% of U.S. annual platinum consumption. Orthopedic metals include nickel-chromium stainless steel, cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloys, and titanium alloys. It is well-known that radioactive isotopes of cobalt and radium are also important methods for cancer treatment.
In safety and environmental engineering, antimony compounds are increasingly used as flame retardants. In 1985, the U.S. used 60% of its total antimony consumption for this purpose. Platinum is used as a catalyst for vehicle exhaust purification, with consumption growing rapidly. Asbestos has long been considered an important material for fireproofing, heat insulation, and sound insulation.
(2) The mining industry holds a relatively important position in the national economy. Although its role has declined somewhat in the national economy due to the rapid development of many emerging industries in recent years, it remains a major pillar of the economy in many countries.