Mining Terminology - B

Rachana Global is a leader in providing efficient mining services for recovering metals from their ores. Below stated are the basic mining terminology preferred at Rachana Global for various mining purposes.

Back - The roof or upper part in any underground mining cavity is called back.

Backfill – Back fill is mine waste or rock used to support the roof after coal removal.

Back sample – Back sample is word used to refer rock chips collected from the roof or back of an underground opening for the purpose of determining grade.

Ball mill - A steel cylinder filled with steel balls into which crushed ore is fed. The ball mill is rotated, causing the balls to cascade and grind the ore.

Banded iron formation – A bedded deposit of iron minerals is called banded iron formation (BIF).

Barricading - Enclosing part of a mine to prevent inflow of noxious gasses from a mine fire or an explosion is barricading.

Beam building - The creation of a strong, inflexible beam by bolting or otherwise fastening together several weaker layers. In coal mining this is the intended basis for roof bolting.

Bed - A stratum of coal or other sedimentary deposit is bed. The arrangement of sedimentary rocks in layers is usually known as bedding.

Belt conveyor - A looped belt on which coal or other materials can be carried and which is generally constructed of flame-resistant material or rubber-like substance is belt conveyor.

Beneficiation: Beneficiation refers to a method of processing of ores to regulate the size of a desired product, remove unwanted constituents, and improve the quality, purity, or assay grade of a desired product .

Bentonite – Bentonite is clay with great ability to absorb water and which swells accordingly.

Bessemer - An iron ore with very low phosphorus content.

Bio-leaching - A process for recovering metals from low-grade ores by dissolving them in solution, the dissolution being aided by bacterial action is bio-leaching.

Bituminous coal – A middle rank coal formed by additional pressure and heat on lignite. Usually has a high Btu value and may be referred to as "soft coal." A general term descriptive of coal intermediate in rank between sub-bituminous and anthracite and including metallurgical coals.

Blasting agent - Any material consisting of a mixture of a fuel and an oxidizer is known as blasting agent.

Blast furnace - A reaction vessel in which mixed charges of oxide ores, fluxes and fuels are blown with a continuous blast of hot air and oxygen-enriched air for the chemical reduction of metals to their metallic state is called blast furnace.

Blast hole – Blast hole is a drill hole in a mine that is filled with explosives in order to blast loose a quantity of rock.

Bleeder or bleeder entries - Special air courses developed and maintained as part of the mine ventilation system and designed to continuously move air-methane mixtures emitted by the gob or at the active face away from the active workings and into mine-return air courses. Alt: Exhaust ventilation lateral.

Block caving - An inexpensive method of mining in which large blocks of ore are undercut causing the ore to break or cave under its own weight.

Bottom - Floor or underlying surface of an underground excavation.

Breaker - A machine which combines coal crushing and screening is breaker. Normally consists of a rotating drum in which coal is broken by gravity impact against the walls of the drum.

Break line - The line that roughly follows the rear edges of coal pillars that are being mined. It is the line along which the roof of a coal mine is expected to break.

Broken reserves - The ore in a mine which has been broken by blasting but which has not yet been transported to surface.

Brow - A low place in the roof of a mine, giving insufficient headroom is brow.

Brushing – Brushing is the process of digging up the bottom or taking down the top to give more headroom in roadways.

Btu – British thermal unit. A measure of the energy required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.

Bug dust - The fine particles of coal or other material resulting form the boring or cutting of the coal face by drill or machine is bulk mining.

Bulk mining - Any large-scale, mechanized method of mining involving many thousands of tonnes of ore being brought to surface per day.

Bulk sample - A large sample of mineralized rock, frequently hundreds of tonnes, selected in such a manner as to be representative of the potential ore body being sampled. It is used to determine metallurgical characteristics.

Bump (or burst) - A violent dislocation of the mine workings which is attributed to severe stresses in the rock surrounding the workings.

Butt cleat - A short, poorly defined vertical cleavage plane in a coal seam, usually at right angles to the long face cleat is butt cleat.

Butt entry - A coal mining term that has different meanings in different locations. It can be synonymous with panel entry, sub-main entry, or in its older sense it refers to an entry that is "butt" onto the coal cleavage (that is, at right angles to the face).