Micromining

1
Micromining
Scenic view of the mining operations in Chloride, Arizona. This is in the northwest corner
of the state. Here, gold, silver, turquoise and other minerals were blasted from the
mountains.
The earth's crust is full of small
mineral deposits but their recovery
may not be economic under the current
system. Small-scale or "micro" mining
("artisanal mining") can extract wealth
from small mineral deposits that might
not be worthwhile to exploit by
traditional large-scale mining
processes. Despite smaller size, these
deposits may still allow for
high-margin operations. Small
communities may profitably mine
these reserves, although this requires a
different mind-set. Communities can
use low-tech excavation techniques,
down to pick and shovel. Even if the
infrastructure is more advanced, it does
not have to be purchased and can
possibly be built by the community
itself, drastically cutting up-front investment requirements. Some recent advances in technology, such as biomining
and cheap sensors can easily be scaled down.
Problem statement
Economic models for mining have been based on corporate objectives rather than community needs
Systems used in resource exploitation are geared toward the highly specialized; a network of specialists is used to
keep the systems running
These systems can sometimes exclude communities from participation. They can be marginalized due to lack of
access to education.
Some principles of community based micro-mining
1. use machines that can be built from simple parts, are easy to use and repair
2. minimize amount of material that is moved to the surface, try to process in situ and only transport the finished
product
3. minimize energy requirements per cubic meter, use free energy that may be available (solar, hydro, biomass;
other "stranded" energy)
4. slow but steady mining processes
5. multiple products; use tailing piles for something ! (... construction, build dam, make terraces for farming, pile
them onto existing domes to create underground caves, etc.)
Micromining
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Open source micromining vs. traditional artisanal mining
open source equipment reduces start-up cost
creative use of stranded energy
mining not for the general market but for own use of the mineral (= very different economics)
deep scientific understanding is required: metallurgy, chemistry, materials science, biotechnology; open source
online education makes this accessible now
availability of inexpensive sensors, cameras and computing power
multiple products (e.g. extract multiple minerals, plan mining with an eye for subsequent use such as aquaculture,
construction or underground infrastructure).
for metallurgy, use of induction furnace
[1]
and digital fabrication
[2]
are major improvements
advanced techniques for underground mine ventilation
[3]
(e.g. using solar thermal or non-electric wind energy)
use of open source aerial ropeways
[4]
to transport large amounts of earth/rock
low-level geothermal heat is major problem in traditional underground mining. Could be used for space heating in
the future (greenhouses).
Product Ecology
use of versatile agricultural equipment
mining of aluminum from clay
[5]
which can be found almost anywhere
mining of copper with sulfuric acid (see: biomining)
use of biogas and syngas for carbothermal reduction of metals (example: here
[6]
)
novel biotechnology techniques (see biomining)
in underground mining: use of thermal ventilation or compressed air
[7]
External Links
Wikipedia: Artisanal Mining
[8]
"CASM" !"Communities and Small-Scale Mining
[9]
Open Source Ecology: Micromining
[10]
(= where this page was transwikified from)
Please add this page to one or more !"#$%&'($). See Appropedia.Categorization for more information on
categories.
References
[1] http:/ / openfarmtech. org/ wiki/ Induction_furnace
[2] http:/ / openfarmtech. org/ wiki/ Digital_fabrication
[3] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/Underground_mine_ventilation
[4] http:/ / openfarmtech. org/ wiki/ Aerial_Ropeways
[5] http:/ / openfarmtech. org/ wiki/ Aluminum_from_clay
[6] http:/ / openfarmtech. org/ wiki/ Metal_Refining
[7] http:/ / openfarmtech. org/ wiki/ Compressed_Air
[8] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/Artisanal_mining
[9] http:/ / www. artisanalmining.org/
[10] http:/ / openfarmtech. org/ wiki/ Micromining
Article Sources and Contributors
3
Article Sources and Contributors
Micromining Source: http://www.appropedia.org/index.php?oldid=160292 Contributors: Rasmus
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
File:Mining01.jpg Source: http://www.appropedia.org/index.php?title=File:Mining01.jpg License: unknown Contributors: Rasmus
License
CC-BY-SA
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