Mineral Resources

This texbook covers all topics related to the utilization of mineral resources by human activity. It starts with general concepts like definitions of mineral resources, mineral resources and humans, recycling mineral resources, distribution of minerals resources on the Earth, international standards in mining, among others. Then it shows a classification of mineral resources, covering the main types from a geological point of view. The exploration of mineral resources is also treated, including geophysical methods of exploration, borehole geophysical logging, geochemical methods, drilling methods or mineral deposits models in exploration. This book also includes the evaluation of mineral resources, from sampling techniques to economic evaluation of mining projects (i.e. types and density of sampling, mean grade definition and calculation, Sichelżs estimator, evaluation methods -classical and geostatistical methods- economic evaluation -NPV, IRR, and PP, estimation of risk- and description of the mineral resources evaluation software). After that, the book describes the mineral resources exploitation methods (open pit and underground mining) and the mineral processing required to obtain a saleable products (crushing, grinding, sizing, ore separation, and concentrate dewatering, also with some text devoted to tailings dam). Finally, the environmental impact of mining is treated, covering all the aspects of this very important topic, from description of diverse impacts until environmental impact assessment (EIA), essential nowadays in modern mining projects.