General Information on Mining

As has been said, mining refers to actual ore extraction. Broadly speaking, mining is the industrial process of removing a mineral-bearing substance from the place of its natural occurrence in the Earth's crust. The term "mining" includes the recovery of oil and gas from wells; metal, non-metallic minerals, coal, peat, oil shale and other hydrocarbons from the earth. In other words, the work done to extract mineral, or to prepare for its extraction is called mining.

The tendency in mining has been towards the increased use of mining machinery so that modern mines are characterized by tremendous capacities. This has contributed to: 1) improving working conditions and raising labour productivity; 2) the exploitation of lower-grade metal-bearing substances and 3) the building of mines of great dimensions.

Mining can be done either as a surface operation (quarries, opencasts or open pits) or by an underground method. The mode of occurrence of the sought-for metallic substance governs to a large degree the type of mining that is practised. The problem of depth also affects the mining method. If the rock containing the metallic substance is at a shallow site and is massive, it may be economically excavated by a pit or quarry-like opening on the surface. If the metal-bearing mass is tabular, as a bed or vein, and goes to a great distance beneath the surface, then it will be worked by some method of underground mining.

Working or exploiting the deposit means the extraction of mineral. With this point in view a number of underground workings is driven in barren (waste) rock and in mineral. Mine workings vary in shape, dimensions, location and function.

Depending on their function mine workings are described as exploratory, if they are driven with a view to finding or proving mineral, and as productive if they are used for the immediate extraction of useful mineral. Productive mining can be divided into capital investment work, development work, and face or production work. Investment work aims at ensuring access to the deposit from the surface. Development work prepares for the face work, and mineral is extracted (or produced) in bulk.

The rock surfaces at the sides of workings are called the sides, or hi coal, the ribs. The surface above the workings is the roof in coal mining while in metal mining it is called the back. The surface below is called the floor.

The factors such as function, direct access to the surface, driving in mineral or in barren rock can be used for classifying mine workings:

I.    Underground workings:

a)    Long or deep by comparison with their cross-section may be: 1) vertical (shaft, blind pit); 2) sloping (slopes, sloping drifts, inclines); 3) horizontal (drifts, levels, drives, gate roads, adits, crosscuts).

b)    Large openings having cross dimensions comparable with their length.

c)    Production faces, whose dimensions depend on the thick ness of the deposit being worked, and on the method of mining it.

1. Укажите, какие предложения соответствуют содержанию текста. Подтвердите свои ответы фактами из текста.

1.    As a rule, the term "mining" includes the recovery of oil and gas from wells as well as coal, iron ores and other useful minerals from the earth.

2.    The increased use of mining machinery has greatly contributed to raising labour productivity and improving working conditions.

3.    It is quite obvious that the problem of depth is not always taken into consideration in choosing the mining method.

4.    Productive workings are usually used for the immediate extraction of useful mineral.

5.    Underground workings are driven in barren rock or in mineral.

6.    A shaft is a vertical underground working which is long and deep in comparison with its cross-section.

7.    The surface above the mine working is usually called the floor.

8.    The rock surfaces at the sides of mine workings arc called the ribs.

2.    Ответьте на следующие вопросы:

1.    What is mining?

2.    What has contributed to the better working conditions of the miners?

3.    What factors influence the choice of the mining method?

4.    In what case is useful mineral worked by open pits?

5.    Are exploratory workings driven with a view to finding and proving mineral or are they driven for immediate extraction of mineral?

6.    What is the difference between development and production work?

7.    What main factors are used for classifying mine workings?

8.    What do the dimensions of production faces depend on?

3. а) Найдите в правой колонке русские эквиваленты следующих слов и сочетаний слов:

1.    direct access to the surface

2.    open-cast mining

3.    tabular (or bedded) deposits

4.    oil well

5.    underground workings

6.    cross-section of a working

7.    production face

8.    the roof of the mine working

9.    to drive mine workings in barren rock

10.  to affect the mining method

а)    нефтяная скважина

б)    проходить горные выработки по пустой породе

в)    влиять на метод разработки

г)    прямой доступ к поверхности

д)    пластовые месторождения

е)    открытая разработка

ж)   поперечное сечение выработки

з)    подземные выработки

и)   очистной забой

к)    кровля горной выработки

б) Найдите в правой колонке английские эквиваленты следующих слов сочетаний слов:

1.    способствовать чему-л.

2.    размер ствола

3.    извлекать, добывать (уголь)

4.    штреки и квершлаги

5.    пустая порода

6.    вообще говоря

7.    удалять, перемещать (крепь, вскрышу и др.)

8.    с целью ...

9.    подготовительные работы

10.  мощность пласта

а)    thickness of a seam

б)    shaft dimension

в)    with a view to

г)    to contribute to smth.

д)    development work

е)    to remove (timber, overburden, etc.)

ж)   drifts (gate roads) and crosscuts

з)    generally speaking

и)   to recover (coal)

к)    waste (barren) rock

ВАРИАНТ 8

advantage- n преимущество; превосходство; выгода; польза; advantageous- а выгодный; благоприятный, полезный; to take advantage of smthвоспользоваться чём-л.

caving- n обрушение (кровли); разработка с обрушением

deliver- v доставлять, подавать; питать; нагнетать; произносить (речь); читать (лекцию)

entry- n штрек; выработка горизонтальная; рl подготовительные выработки; нарезные выработки; штреки

giant- n гидромонитор

gravity- n сила тяжести; вес, тяжесть; by ~ самотеком, под действием собственного веса

haul- v доставлять; откатывать; подкатывать; перевозить; haulage- п откатка; доставка; транспортировка (по горизонтали)

longwall- n лава; выемка лавами; сплошной забой, сплошная или столбовая система разработки; syn continuous mining; ~ advancing on the strikeвыемка лавами прямым ходом по простиранию; сплошная система разработки по простиранию; ~ advancing to the riseсплошная система разработки с выемкой по восстанию; ~ to the dipсплошная система разработки с выемкой по падению; ~ retreatingвыемка лавами обратным ходом; столбовая система разработки лавами

lose (lost) - v терять; loss -n потеря, убыток

рillar- n целик; столб; shaft~ околоствольный целик; ~ methodстолбовая система разработки; ~ miningвыемка целиков

predominate- v преобладать, превалировать; превосходить; господствовать, доминировать

protect- v охранять, защищать

reach - v простираться, доходить до; добиваться, достигать

satisfy- v удовлетворятъ(ся)

shield- n щит; ~ methodщитовой метод проходки, щитовой способ

rооm - n камера; очистная камера; room-and-pillar methodкамерно-столбовая система разработки

stowing- n закладка (выработанного пространства)

method of workingсистема разработки

the sequence of working the seams -последовательность отработки пластов