Английский язык для горных инженеров-механиков. Учебное пособие

from.... .4. By the beginning of the New Stone Age man had progressed to

..... mining. 5. Prehistoric man obtained metals by washing river gravel in ....

6. One of the most important breakthroughs of humankind is the art and science of ... . 7. Black powder was first utilized ... in the 17th century.

I.17. Make sentences using the data of Table 1 and the table given below. Use the appropriate grammar tense to each verb.

I.18. Say what paragraph speaks on

-the importance of mineral material for man;

-the initial mining of metallic minerals and the discovering of smelting;

-the first mine and mining method;

-the fundamental importance of rock breakage;

-the first founders and organizers of mining;

-the cultural ages of man’s history.

I.19. Give the title to the seventh paragraph.

I.20. Make a plan to the text.

I.21. Speak on the evolution of mining technology using the text, the plan and Table 1.

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Table 1. Chronological Development of Mining Technology.

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II

II.1. Read text В and choose the most suitable title: l. The work of opening minerals deposits.

2.The direct and indirect search for a body.

3.Four stages in the life of a mine.

4.The recovery of mineral from the earth.

5.Sequence of activities involved in modern mining.

TEXT B

The overall sequence of activities involved in modern mining is often compared to the stages in the life of a mine. There are four: prospecting, exploration, development, and exploitation.

Prospecting, the first stage is the search for metallic ores or other valuable minerals (coal or nonmetallics). Because mineral deposits are found at or beneath the surface of the earth, both direct and indirect prospecting techniques are employed. The direct method (for surface deposits) consists of visual examination of the deposit by means of aerial photography and with topographic and structural maps of a region.

The indirect search of hidden ore bodies is a method that detects anomalies caused by presence of mineral deposits through the analyses of gravitational, seismic, magnetic, electrical, electromagnetic, and radiometric measurements.

The second stage in the life of a mine, exploration, determines as accurately as possible the size and value of mineral deposit. The information of the extent and richness of the deposit obtained by subjecting representative samples to chemical, X-ray, spectrographic, or radiometric analyses samples are obtained by chipping outcrops and trenching, tunneling, and drilling.

In the third stage, development, the work of opening a mineral deposit for exploitation is performed. With it begins mining proper. Access to the deposit must be gained either (1) by stripping overburden, which is the earth and/or rock covering the mineral deposit, to expose near-surface ore for surface mining; or (2) by excavating openings from the surface to more deeply buried deposits to prepare for underground mining.

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Development for underground mining is generally more complex and expensive. It requires careful planning and layout of access opening for convenience, safety, and permanence. The principal opening to the surface is usually a shaft, which may be circular or rectangular in cross section, vertical or inclined (called a slope), and of sufficient size to allow passage for men and machines. In areas of high relief, horizontal openings called adits or tunnels may be used to reach the deposit. Mining of massive or steeply pitched underground deposits of minerals (usually metallic) is carried on from horizons, or levels, located at regular intervals in a vertical plane.

The opening on each level consists of main arteries called drifts and nunerous secondary, connecting crosscuts. Vertical opening (raises or winzes) or inclined ones (ramps) provide access between the levels. All these development openings are connected with large exploitation chambers called slopes, from which most of the mine's mineral production is obtained.

Coal and most nonmetallics are often found in flat-lying bedded deposits and are mined from systems of connected horizontal openings called entries and rooms or long walls.

Exploitation, the fourth and final stage of mining, is associated with the actual recovery of mineral from the earth in quantity.

The mining method selected for exploitation is determined mainly by the characteristics of the mineral deposit and the limits imposed by safety, tecnology, and economics. Geologic conditions, such as deposit dip shape and strength of the ore and wall rock, play a key role in selecting the method. Traditional exploitation methods fall into two broad categories based on locale: surface or underground.

II.2. Answer the following questions.

1.What is prospecting?

2.What does the term “exploration” determine?

3.What does the third stage “development” mean?

4.What is exploitation associated with?

5.Why do they divide prospecting into direct and indirect ones?

6.How is the information of the extent and richness of the deposit obtained?

7.Why is the development for underground mining more expensive?

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8. What is the mining method (selected for exploitation) determined

by?

9. What are traditional methods?

II.3. Say what are the four stages and their definitions and what operations and methods each of the stages include. Fill up the graph.

Four stages

II.4. Write out as much special terms as possible.

II.5. Write out sentences defining the main idea of each paragraph.

II.6. Give the summary of the text.

III

TEXT C. Elements of Mining

1. There are various terms and expressions unique to mining that characterize it as a technical field. Three basic definitions are closely related.

a)Mine: an excavation made in the earth to extract minerals.

b)Mining: the activity, occupation and industry concerned with the extraction of minerals. The taking of minerals from the earth includes production from surface, water and from wells.

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c) Mining engineering: the art and science applied to the process of mining and the operation of mines.

2. Some terms distinguish various materials mined. Geologically, one distinguishes between the following:

Mineral: a naturally occurring substance, usually inorganic, having a definite chemical composition and distinctive physical characteristics.

Rock: an assemblage of minerals.

3. Economically, other distinction made between minerals is the following:

Ore: mineral that has sufficient utility and value to be extracted at a

profit.

Waste or gangue: mineral that lacks utility and value when mined. When both geologic and economic relationships are involved, the

distinguishing terms are the following:

Mineral deposit: geologic occurrence of minerals in relatively concentrated form.

Ore deposit: economic occurrence of minerals that can be extracted at

profit.

4.A further subdivision of commercial materials into three main categories is made on the basis of primary constituent and usage. Metallic ores include ores of the ferrous metals (iron, manganese, molybdenum and tungsten); base metals (copper, lead, zinc and tin); precious metals (gold, silver and platinum); and radioactive metals (uranium, thorium and radium). Nonmetallic ores consist of industrial minerals such as phosphate, potash, stone, sand, gravel, sulfur, salt and industrial diamonds. The mineral fuels, sometimes called fossil fuels includc coal, petroleum, natural gas, uranium and several less common soureces (lignite, oil, shale, tar sand and coalbed methane).

5.The essence of mining in extracting mineral from the earth is to drive or construct an excavation, a means of entry, from the existing surface to the mineral deposit. If the excavation is operated from the surface, it is called a surface mine. If the excavation consist of opening for human entry driven below the surface, then it is an underground mine. The specific details of the procedure, layout and equipment used distinguish the mining method

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determined by the physical, geologic, environmental, economic and legal circumstances.

6. Mining is not done in isolation. It is preceded by geologic investigations that locate the deposit and economic analyses that prove it financially. The run-of-material is prepared or beneficiated in procedures termed mineral procesing. The product of those processes may then undergo further concentration refinement or fabrication during conversion, smelting, or refining to provide consumer goods. The end step in converting a useful mineral into a usable product is marketing.

III.2. Find the paragraph which speaks on the processes preceding and following mining proper. What are these processes?

III.3. Which of the paragraphs explains the term “mineral processing”?

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III.4. Get clear the difference between the terms.

Ore – ore deposit

Mineral – mineral deposit

Rock – mineral

III.5. Define the main idea of each paragraph and give the summary of the text.

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UNIT II

Unit Operations of

Mining. Requirements for Design and

Construction of Mining Machinery.

I

I.1. Find the meanings of the new terms from the dictionary.

I.2. Translate the word combinations.

Unit operations, materials handling, rock fragmentation, rotary drill, power excavation, channeling machine, belt conveyor, roof support, power supply, air conditioning.

I.3. Guess the meanings of the words minding the similarity of their stems with those in your native language.

a)natural, material, operation, basic, exploitation, production, mineral, cycle, normally, function, vertical lift, machine, regime, totally, principle, modern, unique, rail, conveyor, block, compact, ventilation, communication, diameter, normal.

b)to extract, to excavate, to consolidate, to detonate, to consist, unit, drill, fragmentation, scale, equipment, mechanized, specialized, support, rotary, to reduce, to bore, to differ.

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I.4 Determine the common stems in each group of words. What other words with the same stems do you know? (including words in you native language).

–to produce, production, productive,...

–unit, uniform, unique,...

–to mark, remark, remarkable,...

–equal, adequate, equivalent,...

–to employ, employer, unemployment,...

–position, deposit, disposal,...

–rotor to rotate, rotary,...

I.5. Prefixes “ex-” and “extra-” are of Latin origin, they have the meaning “out”, “outside”, “beyond”. Read and translate the words with these prefixes.

To exceed, to expect, exception, excess, to exclude, exhausted, to expend export, exterior, explosive, exploration, to expropriate, to extract, extraordinary, extreme, to extrude.

I.6. Form and translate the nouns with the suffixes “-age” and “- ing”. What part of speech do they form? What part of speech are they formed from?

a)breakage, haulage, drainage.

b)handling, hoisting, blasting, loading, mining, drilling, excavating, pumping, transporting, maintaining, lighting.

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