Answer :

Final answer:

Subsurface mining is used for extracting mineral deposits found deep beneath the earth's surface, and is often used for minerals like gold, diamonds, and platinum group metals, especially in deep veins or pipes. It involves digging deep shafts and horizontal tunnels, and is more expensive and hazardous than surface mining, but less disruptive to the surface landscape.

Explanation:

Subsurface mining is a method used to extract minerals that are located deep below the Earth's surface. This type of mining is often necessary when mineral deposits are too deep to be mined using surface techniques. Subsurface mining involves digging a deep vertical shaft and creating tunnels that extend horizontally from the shaft into the mineral ore body. The extracted ore is then transported to the surface for further processing.

Subsurface mining is commonly applied for minerals such as gold, diamonds, and the platinum group metals (PGM), which can be found in deep veins or pipes underground. Some of the deepest subsurface mines in the world, reaching depths greater than 3500 meters, are located in the Witwatersrand basin of South Africa, mainly for the extraction of gold.

The techniques of subsurface mining are considered to be more expensive and more hazardous than surface mining methods, which include open-pit mining, strip mining, and dredging. However, subsurface mining is less disruptive to the land's surface compared to some surface mining methods and therefore can be used in areas where preservation of the landscape is important.

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Rewritten by : Barada