Resources and Energy Chapter 7 Mineral Resources Metal

Resources and Energy Chapter 7

Mineral Resources • Metal Ores • Non-metallic minerals • Gems

Metal ores • From cooling magma (Cr, Ni, Pb) – Rock cools, heavy metals settle to bottom • From contact metamorphism (Pb, Cu, Zn) – Heat changes chemical composition to ore • From hydrothermal solutions creating contact metamorphism – Minerals dissolve into solution, solution enters cracks, new minerals form and precipitate out into “veins” • From moving water – Fragments settle out as placer deposits

Minerals and Their Uses Metallic Uses Hematite and Magnetite (iron) making steel Galena (lead) car batteries; solder Gold, silver, platinum electronics; dental; coins; jewelry; utensils; bowls Chalcopyrite (copper) wiring; coins; jewelry; ornaments Sphalerite (zinc) brass; galvanization of steel Non-metallic Uses Diamond (carbon) drills; saws; jewelry Graphite (carbon) pencils; paint; lubricants; batteries Calcite cement; building stone Halite (salt) food preparation; food preservation; de-icers Kaolinite (clay) ceramics; cement; bricks Quartz (sand) glass Sulfur gunpowder; medicines; rubber Gypsum plaster and wallboard

Mining • Removing resources faster than nature can replace them – Subsurface – Surface – Placer – Undersea

Nonrenewable Energy • Used faster than can be replenished or is not likely to be replenished (limited) • Fossil fuels – Formed from remains of living things – Coal – Petroleum – Natural gas – Oil traps (shale)

Coal • Massive plant deposits • Carbonization of peat • Produces methane, carbon dioxide and coal in the absence of oxygen (swamps)

Peat

Lignite (brown coal) in the Dakotas

Strip mining soft coal (80% C) in Wyoming

High grade anthracite

Petroleum • Part of carbon cycle also • Liquid hydrocarbons from converted plant and animal remains • Natural gas = gaseous hydrocarbons • Often found together with water

Oil Shale Impervious rocks like shale trap oil and gas in crests or upwarps of rock layers. A=anticline trap. R=reef trap. S=stratigraphic trap

Nuclear Energy • Fission is the splitting of atoms • Releases tremendous amounts of energy that bind individual atoms together • 1, 000 X stronger than chemical bonds

Power Generation

Fusion Power • Fusion of hydrogen nuclei to form helium • 15 million degrees C • Cold fusion ?

Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy • • • Geothermal Solar Hydropower Biomass Wind

Geothermal • Steam generated from underground heat sources • Advantages? • Disadavantages?

Solar energy • Passive systems – sun room, etc • Advantages/disadvantages?

Solar Energy • Active solar – collectors/photovoltaic cells

Photovoltaic cell

Hydropower • Water moves turbines generating electricity • Advantages/disadvantages?

Sea power, too! Tidal and wave generator

Biomass • Decomposition or processing of organic wastes create substances which may be burned as fuel • E. g. , trees, manure, sawdust, garbage, straw, paper • Advantages/disadvantages

Biomass Generator Waste wood in chip form

Windpower • Moving air moves blades of turbine generating electricity • Advantages/disadvantages? Wind farm

Resources and Conservation • • Weigh options; positive vs. negative Choose cleanest available option Regulate, clean up and reclaim Resources used for more than just energy, so……… • Conserve all resources Uses of minerals in your home

Landfill Operation