a mineral deposit or the portion of a deposit that is assigned for working by a single mine. A mine area is delineated according to the strike, rise, and dip of the seam or stratum; that is, the area is bounded on the sides, from above, and from below.
When a deposit is divided into mine areas, the boundaries of the areas are fixed during the planning stage either on the basis of technological and economic considerations or in accordance with major geological disturbances and barrier pillars. If a deposit’s strata are undisturbed, the mine area is shaped as a rectangle with the long side following the strike.
A mine area contains mineral reserves whose extent predetermines the production capacity and life of the mine.