Underground method

Underground Method

Where the uranium orebody is close to the earth's surface, open cut mining is an obvious method to use.

However, when the orebody is too deep for open cut methods, underground methods are necessary. All underground mines are ventilated, but in uranium mines, extra care is taken with ventilation to minimise the amount of radiation exposure and dust inhalation.

Click the underground mining button to view an interactive mining process.

Entry into underground mines is by vertical shafts, or by a sloping tunnel, called a 'decline'. Some very large underground mines have both. To extract the ore, the components required to build large pieces of machinery are taken down the shaft and assembled in the area where the miners are working.

One method of underground mining involves blasting hard rock and ore to create large openings in the ground (called 'stopes'). The mined material can be brought to the surface by trucks, or in large containers (called 'skips') that travel up and down the shaft.

Waste is in two forms, rock and tailings. Any rock that does not contain useful materials is returned underground or stored on site. During the rehabilitation process it is shaped to blend in with its surroundings. It is then covered with soil and replanted with vegetation. At Olympic Dam in South Australia the rock waste is mixed with flyash from the Port Augusta power station and cement to form a slurry and is pumped underground into mined-out stopes.

Tailings remain after the processes involved in separating minerals from the ore are completed. They consist of crushed rock, water and sometimes chemicals. Tailings are pumped to specially built and sealed areas of a mine site where they dry out over time. Later the hardened and dry tailings are covered with soil and revegetated.

30 August 2005 The Uranium SA Website is supported by the South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy
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