Mining
Mining is principally by "sub-level induced panel caving", a method that removes ore by undercutting the base of a panel in the ore deposit, causing the rock above to break and drop down in a controlled manner. The method allowed economical extraction of the large low-grade ore deposit.
The ore is crushed on-site, and the molybdenite is separated from the waste material by froth flotation, which mixes pulverized ore into a slurry of air, water, surfactants, and other chemicals.
The large quantities of waste slurry flows into nearby reservoirs on the adjacent stream drainage to the north. Most of the liquid is drained and the remaining solid pulverized minerals and waste are called tailings. When full—as seen from the highway,— these tailings reservoirs look quite striking; something like a cross between a reservoir and a dammed mountain meadow. The Climax tailing impoundment now covers several square miles.
Read more about this topic: Climax Mine
Famous quotes containing the word mining:
“Any relation to the land, the habit of tilling it, or mining it, or even hunting on it, generates the feeling of patriotism. He who keeps shop on it, or he who merely uses it as a support to his desk and ledger, or to his manufactory, values it less.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“It’s a mining town in lotus land.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)
“In strict science, all persons underlie the same condition of an infinite remoteness. Shall we fear to cool our love by mining for the metaphysical foundation of this elysian temple? Shall I not be as real as the things I see? If I am, I shall not fear to know them for what they are.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)