Earths Natural ResourcesMineralsMining Earths Natural Resources Natural Resources

Earths Natural Resources/Minerals/Mining

Earth’s Natural Resources

Natural Resources • Materials or components that are derived from the natural environment • Can be renewable or nonrenewable • Studying natural resources has become a focus of environmental science because of their rapid depletion/exploitation

Renewable Resources (Raw Materials) • Water, Animals, Timber, Fruits/Veggies

Renewable Resources (Energy) • Can be regenerated within a lifetime

All Renewable’s Are NOT Equal

Non-Renewable Resources • Cannot be produced, grown, generated, or used on a scale which can sustain its consumption rate, once depleted there is no more available for future needs • Ex: fossil fuels, mineral ores

What Does the Future Hold? ?

Manufacturing • Creating goods from raw materials • Requires a great deal of raw resources and fossil fuels • Highly processed materials also creates waste products

Why Use Resources • Useful for social purposes • Ex: Development of technology for education or medical uses • Useful for economic reasons • Ex: Tax revenue, job creation

Minerals • Any of various natural substances, such as: a. An element, such as gold or silver b. An organic derivative, such as coal or petroleum c. A substance, such as stone, sand, salt, or coal that is extracted or obtained from the ground or water

Minerals • Every segment of society uses minerals and mineral resources everyday. The roads we drive on and the buildings we live, learn, and work in all contain minerals!!

Mineral Resource Use • Ores contain minerals - Processed to remove the metal - Transported to manufacturing facility

Mining • • - Often needed to access the mineral ores 4 major types Surface Open pit Strip Underground

Surface Mining • Overlaying rock/topsoil is removed to access the mineral ore

Open Pit Mining • Used when surface is unstable • Mineral ore removed from large quarry

Strip Mining • Similar to surface mining • Layers are removed like an onion

Underground Mining • Also called hard rock mining • Used to excavate hard rocks containing minerals, usually metals

Mining Waste • Mining produces an unbelievable amount of waste by-product • Mining waste include waste generated during the extraction, refining, and processing of minerals -Extraction is the first phase of hard rock mining which consists of the initial removal of ore from the Earth

Mining Waste - Refining follows and is the initial attempt at liberating and concentrating the valuable mineral from the extracted ore, operations include: grinding, washing, crystallization, filtration, sorting, sizing, drying, etc.