The ''Hard Rock Miner's Handbook'' is a

reference book A reference work is a document, such as a Academic publishing#Scholarly paper, paper, book or periodical literature, periodical (or their electronic publishing, electronic equivalents), to which one can refer for information. The information ...

that deals with the underground hard-rock mining industry. It was written by engineer Jack de la Vergne as a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

publication. The first edition was published in 2000 by McIntosh Engineering, a

mining engineering Mining engineering is the extraction of minerals from the ground. It is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, metallurgy, geotechnical engineering and surveying. A mining engineer m ...

consulting A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

company. It is currently in its third printing, is used by thousands of people in the mining industry, including students, professors, miners, engineers and mining executives as a source of practical mining information, as well as "

Rules of Thumb In English, the phrase ''rule of thumb'' refers to an approximate method for doing something, based on practical experience rather than theory. This usage of the phrase can be traced back to the 17th century and has been associated with various ...

" and "Tricks of the trade" are used widely in the mining industry. Copies of the handbook have been distributed to more than 113 countries around the world.

References

{{Reflist Works about mining Handbooks and manuals Mining engineering