Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable materials from a naturally available source.

Common materials extracted are:

bauxite (for aluminum)

coal,

copper,

diamonds,

iron (from the ore haematite?),

gold,

nickel,

salt,

silver,

uranium.

Techniques include:

[hard rock mining]?,

[open pit mining]?,

[strip mining]?.

Bioleaching is the application of naturally available bacteria to extract metals from their ore.