Mineral and Mining vocabulary Chapter 13

Polymorph Consist of the same elements or compounds but have different crystal structures due to the conditions they are formed Diamond Graphite

Ore Mineral or group of minerals that is mined so that a metal or metals can be removed Iron Ore

Strip Mining Layers of surface soil and rock are removed from large areas to expose the resource

This picture shows just how little headroom miners had underground. Subsurface Mining Vertical shafts are dug deep into the ground and networks of horizontal tunnels are dug or blasted out to follow deposits of the resource This picture shows just how little headroom miners had underground.

Open Pit Mining Involves digging a large hole and removing the ore and the unwanted rock that surrounds the ore

Mountaintop Removal A type of mining in which plats and soil are removed from the top of a mountain and then explosives are used to reach seams of coal

Placer Mining Involves sifting through sand and gravel in a riverbed to extract metals, minerals or precious stones

Solution Mining Method of mining that involves pumping chemical solution into a mine to leach the desired resource from the ore

Alberta Tar Sands Tailing Pond Tailings Waste product from the metal processing Alberta Tar Sands Tailing Pond

Smelting Heating ore beyond its melting point and combining it with other metals or chemicals