Mining is a process that is carried out after the discovery of a mine and leads to the collection of minerals needed by mankind. During this process, the desired minerals are extracted from the earth’s crust with the least amount of rock waste.
The studies and surveys conducted in this field show that mankind has been looking for the use and exploitation of stones and deposits since about 4000 years before Christ. The first mining operation was carried out by the Egyptians around 3400 BC to exploit the turquoise stone in the Sinai Peninsula region. After that, various mining operations have been carried out to extract metals such as gold, silver, iron, and lead in different parts of the world.
In the past, old miners used primitive methods such as using bone, wood, stone, and fire to extract mines. Some of these methods, including the method of burning and crushing stone, continued until the middle of the 19th century. Over time, the invention of gunpowder and explosives created a huge revolution in mining. After the invention of dynamite by Nobel, methods such as dynamite explosion and the use of nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose by miners to extract minerals became popular and significant progress was made in the mining industry. Finally, with the invention of mechanical drills in 1813 and many improvements after that, this industry developed and became popular in today’s form.