Underground Mining Development
Mining is one of the oldest of all human endeavors, with archaeological evidence of ancient mines dating back thousands of years. Minerals can be extracted from the earth either from the surface or from underground. Underground mining is perhaps more familiar to many people, calling up images of workers toiling deep below the earth’s surface in search of ore.
Any site where tunnels, shafts or inclines are developed to access subsurface minerals can be defined as an underground mine. Hard-rock mining refers to the underground development and extraction of ore, either by drilling and blasting or by using huge mechanized boring units. Ore is defined as any rock that can be mined for a profit. Modern hard-rock technology contrasts sharply with the traditional pick-and-shovel mining of earlier times