MINERALS AND MINING

Mining: Types of Mining

OPEN CAST AND STRIPPING (SURFACE METHODS)

 The open cast method is used when mineral deposits occur in horizontal seams which are near the
surface not more than 50 meters deep.
 This method involves blasting which is carried out of scatter rocks.
 The overburden is then removed using large mechanical excavators or draglines.
 Open cast mining is used to extract coal at Hwange, asbestos in Mashava, nickel at Trojan mine in
Bindura.

Advantages of opencast

 It is a fairly cheap and simple method of extracting shallow seams

 It is safer compared to the alternatives as there is no risk of tunnel collapse, explosions or gas
poisoning
 The open pit allows easy access for humans and machines
 Requires less machinery and investment
 There is high selectivity which allows the operators to quickly get rid of low grade ores

Disadvantages

 Blasting causes structural damage to buildings as well as noise pollution.

 Use of explosive is a potential danger to miners.
 Opencast leaves the land scarred.
 Deforestation causes severe soil erosion. Mine dumps destroy the natural beauty of the land and
landslides can occur on unstable dumps.

SHAFT METHOD
  Shaft method is used to extract deep seated ores over 50 metres deep.
 The method involves the sinking of vertical or inclined shafts down to the level of the seams.
 Horizontal tunnels are built following the seams.
 Shaft mining is used to extract coal at Hwange, chrome in Shurugwi and gold in Mazowe.

Advantages

 The method allows extraction of deep seams.

 There is less deforestation.

Disadvantages

 It is very expensive.
 Cave-ins and toxic gases are a great risk.
 Deep mines can cause earth tremors.
 Flooding can be a danger to miners.

 This method is used to extract minerals that appear on the sides of mountains and valleys.
 This form of mining involves building horizontal or inclined tunnels along the mineral seam.
 Other structure such as conveyor belts and railway lines are built to facilitate the extraction of the
minerals.

ADIT/DRIFT
Advantages

 It is fairly cheap method and its safer than shaft mining method
 Can be drained using a force of gravity
  Minerals can be transported more easily and cheapily

Disadvantages

 Tunnels can cave-in.

 Landslides can occur.

Mining in Zimbabwe

 Zimbabwe has a wide mineral resource base which is exploited commercially.

 Large scale mining is dominated by foreign transnational companies such as Anglo-American, Rio
Tinto and Ashanti Gold Fields.
 The majority of the local mines are involved in gold, asbestos and chrome mining.

Distribution of minerals in Zimbabwe

 Most of the minerals are concentrated along the metamorphic rocks zone along the Great Dyke.
 Coal and limestone are found in sedentary rock basins such as the Zambezi Valley and the Save-
Limpopo valleys (S.E Lowveld).
 Below is a table showing major minerals and their locations.

Mineral Mine areas

Asbetsos Mashava, Zvishavane, Mutorashanga
Copper Mhangura, Chinhoyi
Chrome Shurugwi, Mutorashnga
Coal Hwange
Gold Mazowe valley, Bindura, Shamva, Bulawayo, Kadoma, Chegutu, Mvuma Kwekwe
Iron ore Buchwa, Redcliff
Limestone Redcliff, CollenBawn
Manganese near Redcliff
Nickel Bindura
Platinum near Chegutu, Shurugwi, Zvishavane
Tin Kamativi
Phosphate Dorowa
Factors influencing mining

 Technology – the level of technology determines the scale of operations as well as efficiency in the
recovery of minerals. Improvements in technology has allowed exploitation of deep ores.
 Labour supply – mining requires all classes of labour. Where local labour supplies are inadequate,
migrant workers are often employed for example workers from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia and
Angola are employed in the mines of South Africa.
  Physical accessibility – construction of transport networks and mineral processing infrastructure is
difficult in areas of rugged terrain and steep slopes.
 Geological occurrence of minerals – geological occurrence determines mining methods as well as the
cost of operations. Shallow horizontal seams can be mined using cheaper open cast method.
Horizontal seams that appear on the sides of hills can be mined using the adit or drift method and the
shaft method is used for deeper seams.
 Climatic conditions – exploitation of minerals in hot humid climates with a high incidence of
environmental diseases is difficult. Money has to be spent on destroying pets that cause diseases as
well as supplying preventative drugs such as anti-malarial drugs.
 The size of the deposits and the quality/grade of the ore – this determines the life span of the mining
operations. High grade ores are exploited first because ores with a low concentration value are
expensive to exploit as they have a high proportion of waste materials.
 Demand and prices on the world market – prices of minerals fluctuate on the world market. If the
prices are fluctuating at a low level, this reduces the viability of the mining operations.
 Availability of capital – initial capita l is required to buy land on which development is to be made as
well as set up infrastructure. In Zimbabwe, small scale companies cannot undertake meaningful
operations due to lack capital. Mining in Zimbabwe is dominated by large TNCs with huge capital
reserves for example Anglo-American Corporation and Union Carbide.
 Government policy and political necessity – governments encourage exploitation of local resources in
order to create employment as well as developing the economy of the country. It is also importance
for governments to ensure self-sufficiency and guaranteed supplies in a politically divided and
unstable world.
 Opinions of environmentalists – environmentalists can oppose resource exploitation if such
operations are likely to upset local ecosystems or results in loss of biodiversity for example the
concerns raised by environmental groups over mineral exploitation in the Zambezi valley.
 Alternative supplies of the same resources – where there are several producers of the same
commodity, there is a tendency to flood the market. An oversupply will result in the drop in prices and
this reduces the profitability of the extraction of the particular resources.

Importance of mining
Growth of industries

 Mining helps industries to grow by providing raw materials to industries

 Many industries obtain their raw materials from the mining sector.
 For example, building and construction industries get some of their raw materials from processed
asbestos and iron ore.
 Heavy engineering firms obtain iron and steel from the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company.

Employment creation
  Mining creates employment directly and indirectly. Mining operations with limited technology tend to
be labour intensive.
 Indirectly, many people are employed by companies which are involved in processing and
beneficiation of minerals.
 In the mining industry beneficiation or benefication, is any process that improves (benefits) the
economic value of the ore by removing the gangue minerals, which results in a higher grade product
(concentrate) and a waste stream (tailings).

Development of multi-ethnic communities

 Mining has always depended on foreign workers from Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique.

Improvement in the standards of living of the miners and their dependents.

 Mining companies also provide basic social services for the miners such as education, health and
recreation. These services also benefit people from the surrounding communities.

Human resources development

 Apart from the direct investments in education through setting up of schools, mining companies
support tertiary education through the provision of scholarships and setting up of specialist schools
such as the School of Mines in Bulawayo.

Foreign currency earnings

 The main foreign currency earners for Zimbabwe are gold, asbestos, chrome and platinum. Mines are
markets for other sectors of the economy for example engineering firms and agriculture.
 Development of infrastructure such as water supply and transport networks has benefited other
sectors of economy for example, agriculture and industries.

Growth of towns and cities for example Kwekwe, Kadoma, Hwange and Mashava have also developed as a
result of mining

•describe small scale mining

•describe the contribution of small scale mining to the economy of Zimbabwe

•explain the challenges and solutions to small scale mining

•outline the legislativeframework on mining and mining rights

 Mines and Minerals Act

 Environmental Management Act
  NASSA Act
 EMA officials
Processing of minerals in Zimbabwe and Africa
 explain the processing of selected minerals inin Zimbabwe and Africa
Beneficiation and Value addition
 describe the importance of beneficiation of minerals in Zimbabwe

Safety and Health in mining

 explain the importance of safety and health issues in mining
 Discussing safety and health issues in mining

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

 Environmental management legislation in Zimbabwe

 explain. Environmental management legislation.
 •Constitution of Zimbabwe
 •Environmental Management Act
 •Ecosystems Protection Act
 assess theeffectiveness ofrequisite legislationon environmentalmanagement

discuss challengesand solutions ofimplementingenvironmentalmanagementlegislation