Mining Dictionary

The discontinuation of mine workings that are no longer needed.

All mining operations above the surface.

Shaft (see shaft) to the surface, where the air (see mine air) is sucked out of the mine workings by means of a ventilator (= main shaft ventilator).

CaSO₄, Mineral

Going to above ground.

The base surface is the floor of a mine workings, but also the level of a horizontal roadway system in a mine; for example, the 700-meters base surface is 700 meters below the surface.

The bar theory refers to the definition by the geologist Carl Ochsenius on the formation of rock salt deposits: 
In the Zechstein period - over 230 million years ago - large parts of Central Europe and other regions were covered by an inland sea, which was largely separated from the open ocean by shallow straits - so-called bars. Due to strong solar radiation - at that time a hot, dry climate prevailed in our latitudes - the water evaporated like in a gigantic boiling pan.

Also known as a belt system. Means of transport for crude salts, backfill and residues by means of a circulating belt.

Benches are the mining blocks that are extracted between two levels in regular mining operations by drilling and blasting.

Mobile machine for drilling vertical and steeply inclined blast holes for use on a partial level (bench).

Cylindrical cavity in the rock, bore holes up to 60 mm diameter are required for blasting work.

Miner's term for blasting work underground.

Mobile machine for drilling blast holes.

Mobile machine for the transport and placement of explosives and detonating devices in blast holes.

Operating location of the boiler system for the generation of steam.

Border of a mining field, border between mining fields.

Brine is a salt water solution. The term brine is used to refer both to a natural source of salt water and a solution created by dissolving salt in water.

Operators of bulk fertilizer equipment, in which various nutrients are combined.

Collection containers for the storage of e.g. potash crude salts, backfill and products. Underground bunkers are cavities produced by machine or conventionally by mining.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a chemical compound comprising carbon and oxygen. It is produced during the combustion of fuels containing carbon or fossil fuels.

In mining, a cavern is a relatively large, artificially created underground cavity.

In chlorine-alkaline electrolysis, chlorine, caustic soda solution, and hydrogen are produced as a result of the decomposition of the basic substance sodium chloride with the aid of electricity. Alternatively, potassium hydroxide solution is produced by the application of potassium chloride. The important basic chemicals of chlorine, caustic soda solution, hydrogen, and potassium hydroxide solution form the basis of numerous chemical products.

Vertical or slightly inclined hole drilled for the transportation of bulk material.

Mobile machine for loading small quantities of bulk material and for cleaning e.g. belt conveyors.

Cogeneration is a method enabling the generation of useful heat at the same time as producing electricity. Compared with separate production facilities, cogeneration plants use the respective fuel, for example, natural gas, more efficiently. The heat generated during the cogeneration process is available in the form of hot water or high-pressure steam.

Complex fertilizers contain more than one nutrient, as a rule nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium as well as – depending on need and application – magnesium, sulfur, or trace elements. As a result of the combination of raw materials in the production process and subsequent granulation, every single grain of the fertilizer contains precisely the same combination of nutrients; this allows for even spreading of the nutrients on the field.

Used in the mining industry for rope transportation and for the extraction of the mineral resources excavated in the mine.

Central control room from which all safety-related and process-relevant functions of a mine are monitored, supervised and controlled. It is located at a central point in the above-ground operations and is equipped with computer systems for processing, archiving and displaying all incoming data.

1. Merging of cavities. This process proceeds in the salt rocks over very long periods of time (several 100 years).
2. Approximation between hanging (ceiling of a roadway) and lying (floor of a roadway) as a measure of deformation in the mine workings (e.g. roadways and mines).

Section that is excavated at right angles to the direction of driving.

Installation for crushing rocks, salts, e.g. potash crude salt for the subsequent transportation on conveyor belts.

Mined/ extracted rock before processing.

In salt production, crystallization refers to the formation and growth of dissolved salts into crystals.

In the majority of cases, this takes place under pressure in closed evaporator systems. The salt obtained in this way is called evaporated salt.

In contrast to liquid brine, crystallized salt exists in solid form, such as food-grade salt and de-icing salt.

Cutting through rock shafts refers to the extraction of parts of the deposit/pillars between two parallel open spaces.

Deposits are certain areas of the earth's crust in which natural concentrations of solid, liquid or gaseous raw materials are found.

Depending on the arrangement and form of these deposits, a distinction is made between flat deposits and the shape of the salt dome or salt stock.

Flat deposits are defined as the original form that has not been deformed by tectonic forces from the earth's inner core.

Vertical, downward-directed point movement on the subsurface.

Going underground. 

A mining section of the mine workings under the supervision of a pit foreman.

Waters into which wastewater is discharged with permission under German water law.

Wall at the end of a roadway where tunneling is taking place or has taken place.

Miner who drills blast holes. 

A drilling rig mounted on a vehicle chassis.

The implementation of the new technologies also enables a new extraction process. In this process, solid production residues are transported into the mining cavities and have a stabilizing effect. This effect makes it possible to utilize part of the salt present in the pillars for processing. This significantly increases the yield of mineral resources at the site.

The ESTA® process is a dry processing method for potash crude salts, patented by K+S. With this process, the individual crude salt elements are charged differently, to ultimately be separated into the components sodium chloride and potassium chloride with the aid of an electric field. In comparison with classical, wet processing methods, energy inputs and production residues are significantly reduced.

Collective term for the exhausted air to be removed from the mine.

Indication (usually in percent) of the proportion of the valuable material contained in the raw material that could be extracted by the process.

Exploration of undiscovered deposits or parts of deposits. In potash mining, the method of core drilling is preferably used to determine the nature and quantity of the potash raw material (valuable material) contained in the deposit.

Extraction of the rocks from the natural structure.

Cavity created underground that has to be backfilled (including residues from surface processing) - (applies to mining of the steep deposits = Siegfried-Giesen).

Deposits are often mined in so-called chamber mining. When salt is extracted, extensive mining chambers are created underground in the deposit. Pillars are left standing in between to support the rock above.

The method of extraction of potash deposits according to plan. At Siegfried-Giesen, the main mining method used is "backfilling".

Fertigation refers to the application of liquid or water-soluble fertilizer through an irrigation system. In this process, the plants are irrigated and fertilized at the same time.

The salt layers are slightly inclined to horizontal in contrast to the steeply positioned salt layers of the steep deposits. Flat deposits can be found at the K+S plants Werra and Neuhof-Ellers in the Werra/Fulda district (see steep deposits).

Filling the cavities of an abandoned mine with water or salt solution.

In production, the flotation process separates rock salt and potash or kieserite from the crude salt without heat supply. During the process, the minerals are separated into their components in a saturated saline solution as air is supplied. With the addition of flotation agents, the reusable substances adhere to the air bubbles and can thus be skimmed off after floating to the surface.

Unused fresh air underground.

“Glückauf” is a traditional German miner's greeting. According to tradition it was originated at the end of the 16th century in the Saxon Erzgebirge mountains and expresses the miners' hope that ore tunnels would open. At that time, when mining ore, it was often uncertain whether the miners' work would be successful and whether they would be paid at all. Furthermore, this greeting relates to the wish that the miners leave the mine after their shift healthy and return to their families.

Granulate production describes the production of spreadable fertilizer granules that can be distributed using an agricultural fertilizer spreader.

Mineralogical term for rock salt (sodium chloride).

Symbol for mining; in historical mining basic tools of the miner.

Mineralogical term for crude salt, which in addition to potassium chloride (sylvine) also contains a high proportion of magnesium sulphate (kieserite).

Any movement of people underground, e.g. also by feet, underground tour, rope ride.

In compressed air generation, approx. 5-10% of the energy used remains in the compressed air; the remaining part is waste heat. This waste heat is available in the lubricating oil of the compressors, has a temperature level of approx. 80-85 °C and can therefore be used for a variety of heating purposes. The heat recovery can be extracted by direct air cooling or by using a lube oil/water heat exchanger. When direct air cooling is used, this heat is often used for direct heating of warehouses. When cooling through a lube oil/water heat exchanger is used, the heat can be fed into existing hot water heating circuits, thereby reducing the use of fuels such as natural gas and fuel oil. Due to the large number of compressed air generator plants, the K+S Group has extensive experience in the best possible use of recovered energy.

• yellow: miner
• red: mine rescue team
• green: electrician
• blue: locksmith
• orange: security guard
• white: supervisor
• grey: visitors

Machinery used to move the hoisting equipment in a shaft. A hoisting machine consists of a drive and propellant over which the hoisting rope runs and is moved. In accordance with their function, conveyor cages (multi-story lifts) are mainly used for the transportation of materials and persons or hoisting containers for bulk materials in the shaft (see shaft).

Construction built above the shaft of a mine; most distinctive feature of the mine.

Traditional process to produce potash fertilizers.

This term refers to the discharge of non-valuable salts from mining operations into suitable cavities directly underground.

Area within the potash seam with little to no valuable material content.

The infiltration inhibition layer is a covering method for tailings piles in which the residue for filling the last layer several meters thick (outer surface of the tailings pile) is mixed with a few percent of hardly soluble or insoluble additives. This cover layer is deposited parallel to the slope. As a result of salt residue dissolving due to rainfall, a water-retaining layer forms on the surface of the tailings pile, which stores precipitation and releases it back into the atmosphere by evaporation. The accumulation of tailings pile water is significantly reduced.

Moving underground for control purposes.

Combination of individual mineral phases in one mineral.

The KCF (kainite crystallization and flotation) facility represents a new process to significantly reduce saline wastewater and, at the same time, to increase the yield of valuable substances. By using heat energy, water is evaporated. This crystallizes a salt mixture, which also includes kainite – a salt containing potassium and magnesium salt. The kainite is separated by using a sorting technique (flotation) and is subsequently used for potassium sulfate production.

Popular name for tailings pile of potash mining.

Mg[SO₄]·H₂O, Kieserite is a mineral component of crude salt, which is composed of the water-soluble minerals magnesium and sulfur. From a chemical perspective, it is aqueous magnesium sulfate. Kieserite is used as a basic raw material in the production of plant nutrients.

Room for storing, distributing, repairing and charging the miner's lamps.

Mobile machine for drilling holes for drifting.

Construction machine for loading and transporting raw materials over short distances.

Central, powerful ventilator, sucking in the underground air and pumping it upwards through the shaft. For this purpose, a main mine ventilation system is installed at the 400 m level close to the shaft near the Fürstenhall shaft to support the natural air flow.

Miners' term for the transportation of people in the shaft; the miners enter and leave the shaft with the hoisting cage.

Water containing dissolved minerals in higher concentration.

Includes all above-ground and underground facilities used for exploring, extracting, mining and processing mineral resources: processing, shaft, extraction, mine workings.

Mine workings are cavities created for the extraction of mineral raw materials such as ore, coal and salt. The underground mine workings are collectively referred to as mine workings. The mine workings together with the mechanical equipment form the mine. The mine, together with the above-ground plant and equipment, finally results in the mining facility.

• The underground air streams moving in the mine workings. We distinguish between:
• fresh air, air drawn in above ground,
• waste air, the air sucked out of the mine workings or
• ventilation system refers to the specific routing of air flows to all points of the mine workings.

An area within the limits of which the right to extract one or more raw materials exists.

In mining, a gallery refers to a horizontal mining operation with a surface opening.

Occupational title for a person who extracts raw materials in a mine.

Traditional triangular garment designed to protect against tearing of the trousers at work and for personal protection against ground moisture and cold when sitting.

Traditional miners' clothing.

Regulation of the mining authority to ensure safety in a mine.

A typical mining emergency organization responsible for rescuing in the event of mine accidents and fires. It is affiliated to the mines and represents a type of fire brigade for the site.

Mine subsidence is the term used to describe certain ground movements arising because of mining activities, which have an impact right to the surface. In salt and potash mines, these subsidence processes occur over a large area and evenly, so that subsidence trough is formed.

Potash mine tailings pile.

Open–cast mining is a form of mining for raw material deposits that takes place close to the surface. In contrast to other forms of mining, no underground tunnels or shafts are created.

Approval procedure used in mining, which is governed by the Federal Mining Act (BBergG).

Rock layers above the deposit.

A solution mining operation typically consists of a well field and a processing facility. The well field thereby is organized into so called pads. Each pad is a relatively flat surface location with a surface of approximately 100 x 100m, that is used for drilling wells and creating caverns and has additional above-ground facilities used for pumping water into the deposit and handling brine, which is then sent via a pipeline system to the processing facility.

Solid rock for carrying and supporting the overlying rock. Part of the deposit that is not mined for safety reasons.

The pit foreman is historically a supervisor in the mining industry. He is responsible for a certain area of the mine and for the persons assigned to him. A distinction is made between electric foreman, machine foreman, ventilation foreman, surveying foreman and mining foreman such as mining foreman and conveyor foreman.

The planning approval procedure is an approval process for specific construction/infrastructure projects to reach planning approval decisions. As an administrative act, this decision is a planning permission with a concentration effect. Therefore, a permission includes many other Permissions. The process of the procedure is formalized in the Administrative Procedure Act. The procedure always includes an involvement of concerned parties in consultations to consider their interests.

The plate dolomite (Leine carbonate) is above the salt deposits at a depth of approximately 400 to 500 meters and is covered by clay layers on both sides. It is approximately 10 meters thick and consists of limestone and dolomite rock, which already contains naturally mineralized water.

Potassium chloride (KCl) is a potassium salt used as fertilizer. In addition, it is the basic raw material for all inorganic and organic potassium compounds.

Potassium sulfate is used as a fertilizer. It can be produced from mined mineral raw materials as well as using a chemical process that involves the reaction of potassium chloride with sulfuric acid.

Mechanical treatment such as crushing, grinding, sieving, granulating, etc. of crude potash salt.

Process water for disposal is the saline water arising in the mining treatment processes of potash production that can no longer be further used in the treatment processes, used elsewhere or sold as a product and for which disposal is therefore necessary.

Non-usable residual component of the crude salt.

With the REKAL® plant at the Sigmundshall site, we recycle salt slag from the secondary aluminum industry. We prepare it for subsequent use by extracting recyclable aluminum from the slag. Then, we process the separated substances - potassium chloride, ammonium sulfate, and aluminum oxide - for subsequent use. Potassium chloride is converted into a top-grade melting salt and high-quality fertilizer. Ammonium sulfate is also converted into fertilizer. Aluminum oxide is used in a patented process to produce a substrate for greening the Sigmundshall potash tailings pile.

Storage basins.

See “production residue”.

Abrupt and suddenly occurring movement / vibration or collapse in the rock around cavities created by mining as a result of processes in the rock body if the solidity of the rock is too weak.

The impact of tension in the rock after excavation.

Rock salt is a type of rock with a very high sodium chloride content, which varies depending on the deposit. Rock salt is mined underground.

The rock salt deposits were formed around 230 million years ago by the evaporation of earlier seas. 
Keyword: Bar theory

Room- and-pillar mining refers to a special mining method in which pillars of rock are formed between cavities. The separation creates individual mining cavities. This method is, therefore, only suitable for deposits with a large thickness.

Threaded rod for securing loose layers of rock in the ridge.

• Roof

Any surface limiting to the top (“ceiling”).

The word "salary" (= pay, remuneration) is derived from the Latin word “sal” (= salt).

In ancient times, the extraction of salt was considerably more complex and dangerous than today. Salt was therefore considerably more expensive, even precious, and was balanced with gold. That is why salt was also accepted as a means of payment at times. Roman soldiers received a part of their pay in the form of salt, the so-called “salarium argentum” (“sal” = salt, “argentum” = silver / money, i.e. practically salt money).

A saline is a plant or operation for the extraction of salt - except for salt mines in which salt is mined.

We distinguish:

• evaporation salt works, in which so-called evaporation salt (also called saline salt or refined salt) is produced from saturated brine by means of evaporation;
• seawater saltworks, in which seawater is used to produce sea salt by evaporation.

Saline process water is the saline water arising in the mining treatment processes used in potash production that can no longer be used in the production processes, used in other ways or sold as a product and for which there is thus a need for disposal.

This term refers to a predominantly steep arrangement of the deposit. Here, tectonic forces from the earth's inner core affected the originally flat deposited area and deformed it, e.g. pushing it up into a steep, almost mushroom-shaped form.

Remove loose rock pieces and shells from the roof, bench, or the working face.

Section within the geological layering sequence containing potash minerals.

Rock formed by sedimentation on land or in the sea. Rock salt and potassium salts belong to the sediments.

This is a geophysical investigation method in which an area-wide overview of the structure of the subsurface and the deposit is obtained after the transmission of artificially generated elastic waves (blasting).

Respiratory protection device that makes the wearer independent of the ambient air for a certain period of time.

Upright/vertical tunnel (mine workings) used to access a deposit from the surface. A distinction is made according to the intended use between ventilation, extraction, hoisting and material shafts.

Mining term for the creation of vertical cavities (e.g. shafts) for the exploitation of deposits.

Vessel for conveying crude potash salt in the shaft; part of the shaft hoisting equipment.

Hammer with two blows; one of the miner's oldest tools.

Sodium chloride (NaCl) or table salt is a crystalline mineral extracted from rock salt and sea salt. As food-grade salt, sodium chloride is an indispensable mineral supplier to the human body. Sodium chloride is also used to maintain road safety and as an important element in the production of glass, paper, and plastic.

Soil-building rubble cover is a covering method using a combination of mainly soil and building rubble materials and other mineral wastes for recovery. The covering is applied with a flatter angle of slope than the slope of the tailings pile, is several meters thick, and is subsequently planted with a multi-layer vegetation cover. Accumulating precipitation not immediately evaporated is stored in the soil and actively released back into the atmosphere through the vegetation cover during the growing seasons. The soil-building rubble cover exhibits high efficiency and almost completely avoids the formation of tailings pile water.

Seawater flows through large, open evaporation ponds for the production of solar salt. After several months of sunshine, the salt crystallizes in the final pond.

In solution mining, fresh water is brought into solvent (salt) rock through a drill hole, thus creating chambers filled with a water-salt solution, so-called caverns. In a subsequent step, the saturated brine is brought to surface level along a further pipeline.

Once the primary mining phase is completed, the injection fluid is switched from freshwater to saturated brine - secondary mining begins. The potash is now extracted more selectively from the surrounding rock, while rock salt largely remains in the cavern.

Patron saint of miners and artillery; Barbara's day is December 4.

Extremely inclined to vertically positioned salt layers (see flat deposit).

Storage refers to a sustainable disposal method for certain saline solutions from potash production, which is understood in terms of the transfer and permanent disposal of solutions in liquid form underground.

The surface area of a tailings pile refers to the salt-covered base area on which the mining residue is deposited.

During the extraction of potash salts, cavities are created in the underground and the physical balance of the mountain structure is affected. These artificial cavities - even if they are backfilled - are pressed into the overlying layers of earth. These motions can extend to above-ground level and cause subsidence of the ground.
Mining damage is defined as the impairment of the surface including buildings or other constructions located there due to subsidence or inclination resulting from mining activities and the financial loss incurred by the property and its equipment.
The mine owner is obliged to pay compensation for the mining damage (see Federal Mining Act (BBergG)).

Mineralogical term for potassium chloride (KCl).

Synthetic magnesium sulfate is soluble in water and, among other things, has a positive influence on root development, water absorption, crop yield, and plant quality parameters.

Piling up of non-exploitable rocks.

Thickness of a layer of rock.

Mining term for the creation of underground cavities. Tunneling can be carried out mechanically with partial or full-face cutting machines or conventionally by drilling and blasting.

Machine used for the creation (tunneling) of cavities. A distinction is made between partial section and full section machines. In this regard, only selective cut heading machines are used in addition to drilling and blasting work.

All mining operations below the surface.

Underground mining or deep mining is the term used to describe the mining of deposits underground as opposed to open-cast mining. The deposit is reached via shafts and galleries.

Officially appointed mining surveyor.

Miner's term for the time spent underground in a mine for working, checking or inspecting by third parties.

Is produced by evaporating saturated brine, whereby sodium chloride crystallizes.

Scheduled supply of fresh air underground as well as scheduled extraction of air to the surface.

Distribution of the air in the different areas of a mine.

The rock surrounding a potash deposit. In potash mining, the potash seam is bounded by the overlying and underlying rock. The predominant part is rock salt.

Water–softening salts remove hardeners such as calcium and magnesium from the water through an ion exchange process. Soft water is necessary or advantageous for numerous industrial processes, but also in private households.

White gold is generally a synonym for white substances which, because of their preciousness, are called gold, i.e. something very precious - without even being gold or white gold.

Salt is also traditionally known as White Gold.