Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Drift mining
Summary
Drift mining is either the mining of an ore deposit by underground methods, or the working of coal seams accessed by adits driven into the surface outcrop of the coal bed. A drift mine is an underground mine in which the entry or access is above water level and generally on the slope of a hill, driven horizontally into the ore seam. Random House dictionary says the origin of the term "drift mine" is an Americanism, circa 1885–1890.
Drift is a more general mining term, meaning a near-horizontal passageway in a mine, following the bed (of coal, for instance) or vein of ore. A drift may or may not intersect the ground surface. A drift follows the vein, as distinguished from a crosscut that intersects it, or a level or gallery, which may do either. All horizontal or subhorizontal development openings made in a mine have the generic name of drift. These are simply tunnels made in the rock, with a size and shape depending on their use—for example, haulage, ventilation, or exploration.
The Boulder-Weld Coal Field beneath Marshall Mesa in Boulder, Colorado was drift mined from 1863 to 1939. Measurements in 2003, 2005, and 2022 showed that the mine has an active coal-seam fire. It was investigated as a possible cause of the 2021 Marshall Fire.
Argyle Lake State Park's website says the Argyle Hollow (occupied by a lake since 1948) has been rich in coal, clay and limestone resources. Historically, individuals commonly opened and dug their own "drift mines" to supplement their income. In Appalachia, small coal mining operations such as these were known as "country bank" or "farmer" coal mines, and usually produced only small quantities for local use.
The Lusk Mine, now in Turkey Run State Park, was in operation from the late 1800s through the late 1920s. Too small for commercial operation, the mine probably provided coal for the Lusk family and later for the park.
In 1820 the first commercial mine in Kentucky, known as the "McLean drift bank" opened near the Green River and Paradise in Muhlenberg County.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Related courses (1)
MATH-106(f): Analysis II
Étudier les concepts fondamentaux d'analyse et le calcul différentiel et intégral des fonctions réelles de plusieurs
variables.
Related lectures (9)
Rheological Measurements: Newtonian Fluid and Non-Newtonian Fluids
Covers rheological measurements of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids.
Green Theorem: Analyzing Potential Derivatives
Explores potential derivatives, Green theorem, simple curves, and adherence in open domains.
Directional Derivatives and Tangent Planes
Explores directional derivatives, tangent planes, and function differentiability in multivariable calculus.
Related publications (3)
Related concepts (5)
Longwall mining
Longwall mining is a form of underground coal mining where a long wall of coal is mined in a single slice (typically thick). The longwall panel (the block of coal that is being mined) is typically long (but can be upto long) and wide. The basic idea of longwall mining was developed in England in the late 17th century. Miners undercut the coal along the width of the coal face, removing coal as it fell, and used wooden props to control the fall of the roof behind the face. This was known as the Shropshire method of mining.
Shaft sinking
Shaft mining or shaft sinking is the action of excavating a mine shaft from the top down, where there is initially no access to the bottom. Shallow shafts, typically sunk for civil engineering projects, differ greatly in execution method from deep shafts, typically sunk for mining projects. Shaft sinking is one of the most difficult of all mine development methods: restricted space, gravity, groundwater and specialized procedures make the task quite formidable. Shafts may be sunk by conventional drill and blast or mechanised means.
Underground hard-rock mining
Underground hard-rock mining refers to various underground mining techniques used to excavate "hard" minerals, usually those containing metals, such as ore containing gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc, nickel, tin, and lead. It also involves the same techniques used to excavate ores of gems, such as diamonds and rubies. Soft-rock mining refers to the excavation of softer minerals, such as salt, coal, and oil sands. Accessing underground ore can be achieved via a decline (ramp), inclined vertical shaft or adit.