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a. An opening or excavation in the ground for the purpose of extracting
minerals; a pit or excavation from which ores or other mineral substances
are taken by digging; an opening in the ground made for the purpose of
taking out minerals, and in case of coal mines, commonly a worked vein; an
excavation properly underground for digging out some usual product, such
as ore, metal, or coal, including any deposit of any material suitable for
excavation and working as a placer mine; collectively, the underground
passage and workings and the minerals themselves. Ricketts
b. A work for the excavation of minerals by means of pits, shafts, levels,
tunnels, etc., as opposed to a quarry, where the whole excavation is open.
In general, the existence of a mine is determined by the mode in which the
mineral is obtained, and not by its chemical or geological character. The
term also includes only excavations for their minerals or valuable mineral
deposits. Ricketts
c. An excavation beneath the surface of the ground from which mineral
matter of value is extracted. The word carries the sense of laborers
working beneath a cover of ground and thus excludes oil, brine, and sulfur
wells. Excavations for the extraction of ore or other economic minerals
not requiring work beneath the surface are designated by a modifying word
or phrase as: (1) opencut mine--an excavation for removing minerals that
is open to the weather; (2) steam shovel mine--an opencut mine in which
steam shovels or other power shovels are used for loading cars; (3) strip
mine--a stripping; an opencut mine in which the overburden is removed from
a coalbed before the coal is taken out; (4) placer mine--a deposit of
sand, gravel, or talus from which some valuable mineral is extracted; and
(5) hydraulic mine--a placer mine worked by means of a stream of water
directed against a bank of sand, gravel, or talus; soft rock similarly
worked. A quarry from which rock is extracted becomes a mine when it is
carried under cover. Mines are commonly known by the mineral or metal
extracted such as bauxite mines, copper mines, silver mines, coal mines,
etc. Hess
d. The terms mine and coal mine are intended to signify any and all parts
of the property of a mining plant, either on the surface or underground,
that contribute directly or indirectly to the mining or handling of coal
or ore. Fay
e. The term mine, as applied by quarrymen, is applied to underground
workings having a roof of undisturbed rock. It is used in contrast with
the open pit quarry. Fay
f. To dig a mine; to get ore, metals, coal, or precious stones out of the
earth; to dig into, as the ground, for ore or metal; to work in a mine.
Webster 3rd
g. An active mining area, including all land and property placed under, or
above the surface of such land, used in or resulting from the work of
extracting metal ore or minerals from their natural deposits by any means
or method, including secondary recovery of metal ore from refuse or other
storage piles, wastes, or rock dumps and mill tailings derived from the
mining, cleaning, or concentration of metal ores. CFR, 7
Source:
Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms
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