Geology and Nonrenewable Minerals Chapter 14 Environmental Effects

Geology and Nonrenewable Minerals Chapter 14

Environmental Effects of Gold Mining Gold producers South Africa Australia United States Canada Cyanide ponds Extremely toxic to birds and mammals Leak / Collapse Black Hills : S. Dakota

Mineral Use Has Advantages and Disadvantages Mine and convert minerals into useful products Disadvantages: enormous amounts of energy, disturbs land, erode soil, produce solid waste, air and water pollution Life cycle of a metal resource

Extracting, Processing, Using Nonrenewable Mineral and Energy Resources

There Are Several Ways to Remove Mineral Deposits Surface mining : shallow deposits removed Used to extract 90% of the nonfuel mineral 60% of the coal Subsurface mining Deep deposits removed Used to extract coal and metal ores

Types of Surface Mining Open Pit Mining : machines dig hole and remove ore Strip Mining : earth movers strip overburden and power shovels remove deposit Mountain Top Removal : Appalachian Mountains

Open-Pit Mine in Western Australia

Undisturbed land Overburden High wall Coa ls Ove eam rbur den Pit Bench Co Strip Mining in hilly areas al s eam Spoil banks Fig. 14 -17, p. 357

Mountaintop Coal Mining in West Virginia, U. S.

Mining has harmful effects……. Scarring and disruption of the land surface E. g. , spoils banks Loss of rivers and streams – 1900 km have been buried Contamination Subsidence : collapse of land

Mining Has Harmful Environmental Effects Illegal Gold Mine

Possible solutions to losing our NATURAL CAPITAL in minerals? ~ Biomining ~ Get metals from the Oceans ? ? ~ Use substitutes … pipes ~ Recycle, recycle