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#1 Yesterday 10:14:23
- Void
- Member
- Registered: 2011-12-29
- Posts: 10,006
Rock Carving Methods
I request tolerance for this new topic. Reforming rock that many planets are at least in part made of could be called Terraforming.
We know of the work of the Boring Company, dominently horizontal carving: https://www.boringcompany.com/
We know of vertical drilling concepts in part from Quaise Company: https://www.quaise.com/
I am currently am looking at "Rock Spooning".
I had wondered if the Gyrotron that Quaise might hope to use to drill geothermal holes, might be used to carve rock?
The Quaise Gyrotron method may be more extreme than is necessary. Vaporizing rock may not be needed and might be trouble.
But could you render rock "Plastic" with heat and then scoop it like Ice Creame?
To make the starting method experiment easier, could you expand a Boring Company tunnel using "Rock Spooning"?
The process is likely to be very hostile to life like humans, but I believe that the work of the Boring Company is trending towards eliminating humans in the tunnel.
The tunnel boring process needs water and the use of toxic chemicals.
"Rock Spooning" may not have the same requireents/problems.
So, you would not want to heat the whole tunnel to near melting, heating a section, perhaps the floor might work, and then you have to scoop and then cool the scooped mass.
The spoon might be cooled by passing a cooling gas though it's interior like a rocket engine or turbine.
And to get a non-stick spoon might be a challenge.
Anyway, I have visualized expanding a already created circular tunnel, as that is easier to visualize.
I do not say that you could not extend a tunnel horizontally by similar methods, I just have not completed a visualization of that process.
So, in dealing with Earth and alien worlds this may be a skill it would be desired to develop.
I wonder if this method could be adapted to mining a deep ore vein.
Quote:
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Iron Mining on the Vermilion Iron Range
The Vermilion Iron Range was Minnesota’s first iron mining region, located between present‑day Tower and Ely in the Arrowhead area. It produced hard, high‑grade hematite ore made of interbedded chert, magnetite, and hematite, ideal for steelmaking
Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Historical Society
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.Historical Development
Early exploration: Ojibwe people of the Bois Forte knew of the mineral wealth and shared this with European traders in the 17th–19th centuries
Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Historical Society
.1866: State geologist Henry Eames confirmed gold, silver, and iron deposits; the “Vermilion Gold Rush” began, though gold was never found
Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Historical Society
.1875: Pennsylvania businessman Charlemagne Tower funded an expedition that confirmed rich hematite deposits (>60% iron)
ArcGIS StoryMaps
ArcGIS StoryMaps
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.1882–1884: The Minnesota Iron Company opened the Breitung Pit, the first commercial mine, and shipped ore from Two Harbors in July 1884
ArcGIS StoryMaps
ArcGIS StoryMaps
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.1880s–1890s: Other companies (Pioneer Vermilion Iron Co., Porter Syndicate) built mines near Ely; the Soudan Mine became the largest, nearly half a mile underground
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
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.Mining Methods and Ore Quality
Deep underground mining was required, unlike the Mesabi Range’s surface pit mining
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
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.The Soudan hematite was so pure that two pieces could be welded
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
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.Ore was shipped via the Duluth and Iron Range Railway to ports like Agate Bay (Two Harbors)
Mining Artifacts
Mining Artifacts
.Decline
1950s–1960s: Advances in steelmaking and cheaper taconite processing from the Mesabi Range made Vermilion’s high‑grade ore economically unviable
Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Historical Society
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.1962: Soudan Mine closed; last Ely area mine closed in 1964
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
.1967: Commercial mining ended on the Vermilion Range
Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Historical Society
.Legacy
After mining ceased, the range’s economy shifted toward tourism and conservation, with areas like the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness becoming central to the local economy
Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Historical Society
. The Vermilion Range remains a key part of Minnesota’s industrial and cultural history, remembered for its rich ore, pioneering mining companies, and the transition from industrial extraction to environmental stewardship.Key sites: Breitung Pit, Soudan Mine, Minnesota Mine (Tower), Pioneer, Zenith, Savoy, and Sibley mines
ArcGIS StoryMaps
ArcGIS StoryMaps
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.
Sometimes the cost of mining is negatively effected by water pumping.
Blasting I presume may crack the rock to allow water in. Maybe this could permit less trouble with water.
Ending
Last edited by Void (Yesterday 10:42:04)
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#2 Yesterday 12:26:01
- tahanson43206
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- Registered: 2018-04-27
- Posts: 26,322
Re: Rock Carving Methods
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