
Mining activities produce large amount of mining waste during extraction, beneficiation, and processing of minerals. Extraction process is the first phase of mining activity. It comprises initial removal of the mineral ore from the earth's crust. The process is mainly done by the help of blasting. This creates large amount of wastes such as debris, soil, and other components that are unusable in the mining industry. This is one way in which the industry generates waste. The bigger the size of the mine, greater the amount of waste produced. Once the ore is carried to the surface, it is further processed to extract minerals. This process also generates large quantum of waste due to the quantity of recoverable metal, which is generally a small fraction of the total mass even of a high grade ore. Moreover, with increasing mining activities, higher grade ores are getting depleted. As a result, the Mining Waste Management industry is now focusing on lower grade deposits. Thus, the amount of waste generated is increasing.