Questions tagged [mines]
For questions about an excavated hole or tunnel that may or may not be used for the unearthing of minerals or ore. Also, for questions about the excavating and working of a mine (which is the above definition).
25
questions
14
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Is it possible with modern-day technology to expand an already built bunker further below without the risk of collapsing the entire bunker?
In my fictional setting, albeit close to real world, there is a research facility built on a remote island in a form an underground multi-floor bunker.
This bunker does not look like a mine - it is, ...
1
vote
2
answers
129
views
Would a high iron content world have particular effects on its more common minerals/elements?
I have a world which has a high iron content in its core, like a more extreme version of Mercury, geologically speaking. The system only has this world and a tidally locked hot Jovian (of which the ...
22
votes
9
answers
5k
views
How do you build an underground city that "cuts through" a mountain range?
Let's say I have a mountain range similar to the Andes but with no easy passes, hence forcing everyone to circle around it (for hundreds or even thousands of miles) in order to get to the other side.
...
14
votes
2
answers
677
views
Where do I put diamond mines on my map?
I've got a home-brewed D&D setting. Diamonds, in D&D, are needed for resurrection magic, so access to diamonds is literally life and death for any country with clerics capable of casting such ...
16
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Iron deposits mined from under the city
I would like to have a city sitting on top of a large iron deposit that will be mined by the inhabitants of the city. Is that feasible for them? Won't the city collapse under the mines? Are there some ...
7
votes
4
answers
619
views
Can reckless idiots wake up a dormant volcano using mining equipment?
My story for a video game has some kind of "enemy" (think "the Others" from Lost—little is known about them; they have control over a small settlement or two and appear to be engaging in some manner ...
16
votes
6
answers
4k
views
Tunnels under the ocean
So I build a city on the ocean floor out of handwavium, Bioshock style, but I want an easier way to get there besides taking a boat to the middle of nowhere and then getting into a submersible.
I ...
7
votes
3
answers
757
views
Is planetary drill possible?
I was wondering would a planetary drill be possible?
The drill should go inside the planet on one side and exit on the other.
Would that kind of a drill be possible on Earth and if not on what kind of ...
9
votes
8
answers
3k
views
Why do dwarves usually live in mountains?
This is as much a question as it is a thought that I've had. You see, folding mountains (as in made by tectonic plates movement) are very poor in heavy minerals like metals, and they seem to be the ...
4
votes
1
answer
921
views
Which minerals are needed to make a sustainable medieval country?
Which minerals (iron, coal, copper, etc.) are needed in the same country to make it sustainable (medieval age)?
For example: A country is made in the middle of a gigantic island (like a little ...
0
votes
1
answer
405
views
How would a war over a mountain work?
If two countries were fighting over a mountain (for mining rights), how would the warfare work? Would there be multiple large-scale battles or some sort of guerilla warfare? There are valleys between ...
4
votes
3
answers
681
views
Where and how can we mine diamonds outside of Earth but within our Solar System?
Edited to give a reason why synthetic diamonds wouldn't work instead.
In the distant future, all the diamonds are gone.
While synthetic diamonds are an excellent sollution for technology - as @...
6
votes
5
answers
358
views
How to hide past mining
Ok, quick overview of the situation: An alien planet, reaches basically the same stage we are at now in regards to fossil fuel reserves and environmental loss, a major war breaks out, and after both ...
5
votes
5
answers
458
views
What could you mine from a city squashed by an ice sheet - in a new ice age?
Western civilisation fell over a few centuries ago, because the Earth shifted back into a full on ice age climate. Oh and Skynet kind of happened.
Ice sheets expanded, inexorably rolling over the ...
10
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Could we mine the Moon if we replaced the taken mass?
There is the strong theory that the Earth and the Moon were part of the same core at one point. This would lead one to believe that there are precious minerals under the surface of the Moon.
Metals ...