Mineral ores such as gold, aluminium, iron ore and nickel are what miners extract from the ground using specialised mining equipment. Miners work in both underground and open cut mines. Underground mines, up to 1,000 metres deep, have a structure similar to a multi level car park. The first step in underground mine construction involves building tunnels and the various levels of a mine. Using a jumbo (drilling machine), miners drill a series of holes into the rock face. These are loaded with explosives and blasted. Using boggers (scooping equipment), miners scoop up rock fragments from the blast and load them into trucks to be transported out of the mine.
A miner then scales down the rock face, clearing off any loose rock that may fall. To further stabilise the rock face, miners insert rock bolts. They drill holes into tunnel walls, insert metal bolts and fill the holes with cement. These development processes are repeated until tunnelling and the various levels of the mine have been completed and production drilling (to retrieve ore bodies) can commence. Using a long hole rig (drilling machine), miners drill from one level to the next. Blasting takes place and loose ore bearing rock is transferred from a bogger to a truck, which takes it to the surface for processing in a mineral processing plant.
An underground mine is dark and dusty and requires electricity for lighting, air for ventilation and water to reduce the level of dust. Miners install these services progressively during the development stages. In developing open cut mines, miners use bulldozers to remove the fertile top layer of soil, which is stored and later used to help the growth of new plants. Using different methods, including blasting and bulldozing, miners extract ores from the rock. Miners then transport it to be processed.