Block mining is the process of validating and adding new transactions to a blockchain. Miners compete to solve complex mathematical puzzles, which require significant computational power. When a miner successfully solves a puzzle, they validate a block of transactions and add it to the blockchain.

This process ensures the integrity and security of the blockchain. Each block contains a hash of the previous block, linking them together. This chain of blocks makes it difficult to alter past transactions, as doing so would require redoing the work of every subsequent block.

In return for their efforts, successful miners are rewarded with newly minted coins and transaction fees from the transactions included in the block. This incentivizes miners to contribute their resources and maintain the network.

Block mining is fundamental to proof-of-work systems, where the first miner to solve the puzzle gets the right to add the block. The competitive nature of mining helps secure the network against attacks and ensures that the distributed ledger remains accurate and trustworthy.