采矿英语教程Lesson One Text.docx
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采矿英语教程LessonOneText
MiningTerminology
UnitoneIntroductiontoMiningEngineering
‘Miningisanextractiveindustry,simpleasthat‘Digitupanditisgoneforgood.’(AssociationofMiningandExplorationCompaniesYearBook,2002).Butthesesimplerealitiesarealltoooftenforgottenortakenforgrantedinaworldconsumedbyotherissues(PatrickChevalier).
Therearemanytermsandexpressionsuniquetominingthatcharacterizethefieldandindentifytheuserofsuchtermsasa“Miningperson.”Thestudentofminingisthusadvisedtobecomefamiliarwithallthetermsusedinmining,particularlythosethatarepeculiartoeitherminesorminerals.Mostoftheminingterminologyisintroducedinthesectionsofthisbookwheretheyaremostapplicable.Somegeneraltermsarebestdefinedattheoutset;theseareoutlinedhere.Foracompletelistofminingterminology,seeastandardreference(Gregory,1980;AmericanGeologicalInstitute,1997)Thefollowingthreetermsarecloselyrelated:
Mine:
anexcavationmadeintheearthtoextractminerals
Mining:
theactivity,occupation,andindustryconcernedwiththeextractionofminerals
Miningengineering:
thepracticeofapplyingengineeringprinciplestothedevelopment,planning,operation,closure,andreclamationofmines
Sometermsdistinguishvarioustypesofminedminerals.Geologically,onecandistinguishthefollowingmineralscategories:
Mineral:
anaturallyoccurringinorganicelementorcompoundhavinganorderlyinternalstructureandacharacteristicchemicalcompositioncrystalform,andphysicalproperties
Rock:
anynaturallyformedaggregateofoneormoretypesofmineralparticles
Economicdifferencesinthenatureofmineraldepositsisevidentinthefollowingterms:
Ore:
amineraldepositthathassufficientutilityandvaluetobeminedataprofit.
Gangue(脉石):
thevaluelessmineralparticleswithinanoredepositthatmustbediscarded.
Waste:
thematerialassociatedwithanoredepositthatmustbeminedtogetattheoreandmustthenbediscarded.Gangueisaparticulartypeofwaste.
Afurthersubdivisionofthetypesofmineralsminedbyhumankindisalsocommon.Thesetermsareoftenusedintheindustrytodifferentiatebetweenthefusels,metals,andnonmetallicminerals.Thefollowingarethemostcommontermsusedinthisdifferentiation:
Metallicores:
thoseoresoftheferrousmetals(iron,manganese,molybdenum,andtungsten(钨)),thebasemetals(copper,lead,zinc,andtin),thepreciousmetals(gold,silver,theplatinumgroupmetals),andtheradio-activeminerals(uranium,thorium(钍),andradium(镭)).
Nonmetallicminerals(alsoknownasindustrialminerals):
thenonfuelmineraloresthatarenotassociatedwiththeproductionofmetals.Theseincludephosphate(磷酸盐),potash(钾碱,碳酸钾,氢氧化钾),halite(石盐,岩盐),trona(天然碱),sand,gravel,limestone,sulfur,andmanyothers.
Fossilfuels(alsoknownasmineralfuels):
theorganicmineralsubstancesthatcanbeutilizedasfuels,suchascoalpetroleum,naturalgas,coalbedmethane,gilsonite(硬沥青),andtarsands.
Itshouldbenotedthattheminingengineerisassociatedwiththeextractionofnearlyallthesemineralresources.However,theproductionofpetroleumandnaturalgashasevolvedintoaseparateindustrywithaspecializedtechnologyofitsown.Thesemineralproductswillnotbediscussedinanydetailhere.
Theessenceofmininginextractingmineralwealthfromtheearthistodriveanexcavation(开凿;挖掘;洞;坑道)orexcavationsfromthesurfacetothemineraldeposit.Normally,theseopeningsintotheeartharemeanttoallowpersonneltoenterintotheundergrounddeposit.However,boreholesareattimesusedtoextractthemineralvaluesfromtheearth.Thesefieldsofboreholesarealsocalledmines,astheyarethemeanstomineamineraldeposit,evenifnooneentersintothegeologicrealmofthedeposit.Notethatwhentheeconomicprofitabilityofamineraldeposithasbeenestablishedwithsomeconfidence,oreororedepositispreferredasthedescriptivetermforthemineraloccurrence.However,coalandindustrialmineraldepositsareoftennotsodesignated,eveniftheirprofitabilityhasbeenfirmlyestablished.Iftheexcavationusedforminingisentirelyopenoroperatedfromthesurface,itistermedasurfacemine.Iftheexcavationconsistsofopeningsforhumanentrybelowtheearth’ssurface,itiscalledanundergroundmine.Thedetailsoftheprocedure,layout,andequipmentusedintheminedistinguishtheminingmethod.Thisisdeterminedbythegeologic,physical,environmental,economic,andlegalcircumstancesthatpertaintotheoredepositbeingmined.
Miningisneverproperlydoneinisolation,norisitanentityinitself.Itisprecededbygeologicinvestigationsthatlocatethedepositandeconomicanalysesthatproveitfinanciallyfeasible.Followingextractionofthefuel,industrialmineral,ormetallicore,therun-of-minematerialisgenerallycleanedorconcentrated.Thispreparationorbeneficiationofthemineralintoahigher-qualityproductistermedmineralprocessing.Themineralproductssoproducedmaythenundergofurtherconcentration,refinement,orfabricationduringconversion,smelting,orrefiningtoprovideconsumerproducts.Theendstepinconvertingamineralmaterialintoausefulproductismarketing.
Quitefrequently,excavationintheearthisemployedforpurposesotherthanmining.Theseincludecivilandmilitaryworksinwhichtheobjectistoproduceastableopeningofadesiredsize,orientation,andpermanence.Examplesarevehicular,water,andsewertunnels,plusundergroundstoragefacilities,wastedisposalareas,andmilitaryinstallations.Manyoftheseexcavationsareproducedbymeansofstandardminingtechnology.
Professionally,thefieldsofendeavorassociatedwiththemineralindustriesarelinkedtothephaseorstageinwhichanactivityoccurs.Locatingandexploringamineraldepositfallinthegeneralprovinceofgeologyandtheearthsciences.Miningengineering,alreadydefined,encompassestheproving(withthegeologist),planning,developing,andexploitingofamineraldeposit.Theminingengineermayalsobeinvolvedwiththeclosureandreclamationofthemineproperty,althoughheorshemaysharethosedutieswiththoseintheenvironmentalfields.Thefieldsofprocessing,refining,andfabricatingareassignedtometallurgy,althoughthereisoftensomeoverlapinthemineralprocessingareawithminingengineering.
Prospecting
Prospecting,thefirststageintheutilizationofamineraldeposit,isthesearchfororesorothervaluableminerals(coalornonmetallic).Becausemineraldepositsmaybelocatedeitheratorbelowthesurfaceoftheearth,bothdirectandindirectprospectingtechniquesareemployed.
Thedirectmethodofdiscovery,normallylimitedtosurfacedeposits,consistsofvisualexaminationofeithertheexposure(outcrop)ofthedepositortheloosefragments(float)thathaveweatheredawayfromtheoutcrop.Geologicstudiesoftheentireareaaugmentthissimple,directtechnique.Bymeansofaerialphotography,geologicmaps,andstructuralassessmentofanarea,thegeologistgathersevidencebydirectmethodstolocatemineraldeposits.Precisemappingandstructuralanalysisplusmicroscopicstudiesofsamplesalsoenablethegeologisttolocatethehiddenaswellassurfacemineralization.
Themostvaluablescientifictoolemployedintheindirectsearchforhiddenmineraldepositsisgeophysics,thescienceofdetectinganomaliesusingphysicalmeasurementsofgravitational,seismic,magnetic,electrical,electromagnetic,andradiometricvariablesoftheearth.Themethodsareappliedfromtheair,usingaircraftandsatellites;onthesurfaceoftheearth;andbeneaththeearth,usingmethodsthatprobebelowthetopography.Geochemistry,thequantitativeanalysisofsoil,rock,andwatersamples,andgeo-botany,theanalysisofplantgrowthpatterns,canalsobeemployedasprospectingtools.
Explore
Thesecondstageinthelifeofamine,explorationdeterminesasaccuratelyaspossiblethesizeandvalueofamineraldeposit,utilizingtechniquessimilartobutmorerefinedthanthoseusedinprospecting.Thelineofdemarcationbetweenprospectingandexplorationisnotsharp;infactadistinctionmaynotbepossibleinsomecases.Explorationgenerallyshiftstosurfaceandsubsurfacelocations,usingavarietyofmeasurementstoobtainamorepositivepictureoftheextentandgradeoftheorebody.Representativesamplesmaybesubjectedtochemical,metallurgical,Xray,spectrographic,orradiometricevaluationtechniquesthataremeanttoenhancetheinvestigator’sknowledgeofthemineraldeposit.Samplesareobtainedbychippingoutcrops,trenching,tunneling,anddrilling,inaddition,boreholelogsmaybeprovidedtostudythegeologicandstructuralmakeupofthedeposit.Rotary,percussion,ordiamonddrillscanbeusedforexplorationpurpose.However,diamonddrillsarefavoredbecausethecorestheyyieldprovideknowledgeofthegeologicstructure.Thecoreisnormallysplitalongitsaxis;onehalfisanalyzed,andtheotherhalfisretainedintactforfurthergeologicstudy.
Anevaluationofthesamplesenablesthegeologistorminingengineertocalculatethetonnageandgrade,orrichness,ofthemineraldeposit.Heorsheestimatetheminingcosts,evaluatestherecoveryofthevaluableminerals,determinestheenvironmentalcosts,andassessesotherforeseeablefactorsinanefforttoreachaconclusionabouttheprofitabilityofthemineraldeposit.Thecruxoftheanalysisisthequestionofwhetherthepropertyisjustanothermineraldepositoranorebody.Foranoredeposit,theoverallprocessiscalledreserveestimation,thatis,theexaminationandvaluat