The demolition of open ore-bunker pillars by hydraulic pressure blasting is introduced in detail.

Without a benchmark deal, iron ore is sold in the open market, which could leave Chinese steelmakers vulnerable to soaring prices as the world's resources sector recovers from the downturn.

The most common approach to extracting metal-bearing ore from a porphyry copper deposit is by open-pit mining, although such mines also typically include some underground activities.