Introduction to Mining Engineering Book
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INTRODUCTION TO MINING
1.1 MINING’S CONTRIBUTION TO CIVILIZATION
Mining may well have been the second of humankind’s earliest endeavors — granted that agriculture was the first. The two industries ranked together as the primary or basic industries of early civilization. Little has changed in the importance of these industries since the beginning of civilization. If we consider fishing and lumbering as part of agriculture and oil and gas production as part of mining, then agriculture and mining continue to supply all the basic resources used by modern civilization.
From prehistoric times to the present, mining has played an important part in human existence (Madigan, 1981). Here the term mining is used in its broadest context as encompassing the extraction of any naturally occurring mineral substances — solid, liquid, and gas — from the earth or other heavenly bodies for utilitarian purposes. The most prominent of these uses for minerals are identified in Table 1.1.
The history of mining is fascinating. It parallels the history of civilization, with many important cultural eras associated with and identified by various minerals or their derivatives: the Stone Age (prior to 4000 ...), the Bronze
Age (4000 to 5000 ...), the Iron Age (1500 ... to 1780 ..), the Steel Age
(1780 to 1945), and the Nuclear Age (1945 to the present). Many milestones in human history — Marco Polo’s journey to China, Vasco da Gama’s voyages to Africa and India, Columbus’s discovery of the New World, and the modern gold rushes that led to the settlement of California, Alaska, South Africa,
Australia, and the Canadian Klondike — were achieved with minerals providing a major incentive (Rickard, 1932). Other interesting aspects of mining and metallurgical history can be found by referring to the historical record provided by Gregory (1980), Raymond (1984), and Lacy and Lacy (1992).
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INTRODUCTION TO MINING
Table 1.1 Humans’ Uses of Minerals
Need
INTRODUCTION TO MINING
1.1 MINING’S CONTRIBUTION TO CIVILIZATION
Mining may well have been the second of humankind’s earliest endeavors — granted that agriculture was the first. The two industries ranked together as the primary or basic industries of early civilization. Little has changed in the importance of these industries since the beginning of civilization. If we consider fishing and lumbering as part of agriculture and oil and gas production as part of mining, then agriculture and mining continue to supply all the basic resources used by modern civilization.
From prehistoric times to the present, mining has played an important part in human existence (Madigan, 1981). Here the term mining is used in its broadest context as encompassing the extraction of any naturally occurring mineral substances — solid, liquid, and gas — from the earth or other heavenly bodies for utilitarian purposes. The most prominent of these uses for minerals are identified in Table 1.1.
The history of mining is fascinating. It parallels the history of civilization, with many important cultural eras associated with and identified by various minerals or their derivatives: the Stone Age (prior to 4000 ...), the Bronze
Age (4000 to 5000 ...), the Iron Age (1500 ... to 1780 ..), the Steel Age
(1780 to 1945), and the Nuclear Age (1945 to the present). Many milestones in human history — Marco Polo’s journey to China, Vasco da Gama’s voyages to Africa and India, Columbus’s discovery of the New World, and the modern gold rushes that led to the settlement of California, Alaska, South Africa,
Australia, and the Canadian Klondike — were achieved with minerals providing a major incentive (Rickard, 1932). Other interesting aspects of mining and metallurgical history can be found by referring to the historical record provided by Gregory (1980), Raymond (1984), and Lacy and Lacy (1992).
1
2
INTRODUCTION TO MINING
Table 1.1 Humans’ Uses of Minerals
Need