This technical term may be explained in the best way by highlighting the difference between exploration and exploitation.
Exploration (syn.: prospecting) is the search for industrial minerals, ore and fossil fuels.., using different geophysical, geological, mineralogical and chemical methods.
After having delineated a deposit, finalizing this process with a feasibility study the next step is opening an opencast or underground mine (including solution mining) and exploiting the raw material or commodity by means of special mining techniques and procedures of mineral processing.
You need not use the term mine in context with exploitation; it is inherent in the mentioned process.
If you want to use instead of the term 'exploitation' (in connection with a mine) similar words, so among others we have the following frequently used terms available:
Exploitation in the context of mining domain is extraction or winning of the ore. It is synonymous to terms such as production and mining. Exploitation of ore is done post exploration and access to the ore body.
Exploitation in mining sense can be said to be the actual ore and mineral recovery from the earth taken into account the feasibility studies, ore quantity and quantity using by following the mining principles using special mining technologies.