Minerals and Mining Minerals Concentration of naturally occurring

Minerals and Mining

Minerals • Concentration of naturally occurring elements in/on Earth. • Formed over millions of yrs non-renewable resource.

What We Mine? !? • Metallic minerals: Iron, Copper, Aluminum • Non-metallic minerals: salt, clay, sand • Energy minerals: coal, oil, uranium Crushed Iron Sodium Chloride Crystal “Dur”rty Coal

Ore • Rock that has metallic mineral. • Usable stuff is the mineral • Non-usable is called gangue landfill Gold Gangue

Smelters • Used to remove mineral from gangue in an ore major polluters (Runescape!).

Bauxite Most Important Aluminum Ore

Oxygen: The Most Abundant Element in the Earth’s Crust

Finding Mineral Deposits • Use aerial photos and satellite images to see rock formations.

Finding Mineral Deposits • Use planes w/ Geiger meter (uranium) or magnetometer (iron) Geiger Meter…Only $460! Magnetometer… Only $700!

Finding Mineral Deposits • Drilling a deep well and extracting ore samples. Exploration Drilling

Surface Mining • Minerals must be shallowly deposited. • Removed rock and soil is called overburden or spoil.

Types of Surface Mining Open Pit Mining • Dig hole and remove ores • Fe, Cu, and Sand

Types of Surface Mining Dredging (Sand) • Draglines scrape up underwater mineral deposits

Types of Surface Mining Area Strip Mining • Cut new strips away; spoil placed on side, mineral taken out.

Types of Surface Mining Mountaintop Removal • Use TNT, huge shovels, and large machines to remove top of a mtn and expose coal underneath.

Case Study Gold: Cyanide Heap Leaching • Cyanide sprayed on low grade gold ore in a giant heap (pile). • Gold flows down w/ cyanide and is collected at bottom of heap. Heap

Case Study Gold: Cyanide Heap Leaching • Toxic to birds and mammals. • Leach ponds can overflow H 2 O pollution • Leaky liners? Leach Liner

Subsurface Mining • Used to remove minerals deep in Earth’s surface. • Less env. Impact

Types of Subsurface Mining • Room and Pillar • Machines are used to cut out minerals and are placed on a shuttle car. Scraper

Types of Subsurface Mining • Longwall Coal Mining • Moveable steel props support cave while machinery cut off coal onto a conveyor belt.

Environmental Damage • Collapse/subsidence of land from subsurface mines. • Causes houses to tilt, sewer lines crack, gas mains break.

Environmental Damage • Wind/water carry away [by erosion] toxic mining waste. • Goes in food webs and watersheds.

Environmental Damage Habitat Loss!!

My Home!!!

Environmental Damage • Transportation of minerals global warming, lung probs.

Environmental Damage Acid mine drainage • Bacteria eat Fe. S in spoil create H 2 SO 4 runs off into streams

Surface Mining Reclamation and Control Act • Mining ops must reclaim area after land has been used and abused. • Must put aside $$$ to reclaim before mining op’s begin. • States oversee Act. • Land put back, trees grow, no toxic runoff!