1. Nonrenewable Minerals

2. Friday - 11/4/16
Question of the Day
Agenda
Where is mountain top removal occurring and in what ways is it environmentally harmful?
Notes
Test is Thursday 11/10

3. Why do we mine?

4. 14-3 What Are Mineral Resources, and what are their Environmental Effects?
Concept 14-3A Some naturally occurring materials in the earth’s crust can be extracted and made into useful products in processes that provide economic benefits and jobs.
Concept 14-3B Extracting and using mineral resources can disturb the land, erode soils, produce large amounts of solid waste, and pollute the air, water, and soil.

5. We Use a Variety of Nonrenewable Mineral Resources
Mineral resource – a concentration of naturally occurring material from the earth’s crust that can be extracted and processed into useful products and raw materials at an affordable cost
Examples
Fossil fuels
Metallic minerals
Nonmetallic minerals

6. We Use a Variety of Nonrenewable Mineral Resources
Ore: a rock that contains a large enough concentration of a particular mineral – often a metal – to make it profitable for mining and processing
High-grade ore (contains a large amount)
Low-grade ore (smaller amount)
Importance and examples of nonrenewable metal and nonmetal mineral resources
Aluminum, iron, copper, sand, limestone 6

8. What are reserves?
Reserves – Identified resources from which the mineral can be extracted profitably at current prices.
Reserves increase when
New deposits are found
Technology advances allowing for cheaper removal
Price increase makes hard to reach resources profitable to extract
What to do when resource costs more than its worth to find?

10. How scarcity affects resources
When a resource becomes scarce, prices rise
This encourages
Exploration for new deposits
Development of better technology
Mining for lower-grade ores
Searching for substitutes
Resource conservation

11. Mineral Use Has Advantages and Disadvantages (Mining/Processing)

12. Mineral Use Has Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages of the processes of mining and converting minerals into useful products
Income for individuals
Taxes, fees, royalties for local and nat’l government
Employment (both direct and indirect)
Extraction, processing, and use
Disadvantages
Energy use
Land disruption
Pollution
Environmental problems are affected by the grade (percentage of content)

14. The Life Cycle of a Metal Resource

15. Extracting, Processing, Using Nonrenewable Mineral and Energy Resources

16. There Are Several Ways to Remove Mineral Deposits
Surface mining
Shallow deposits removed
Subsurface mining
Deep deposits removed
Type of surface mining used depends on
Resource
Local topography
Video: What is surface mining and sub-surface mining?

17. Types of surface mining
About Surface Mining
Types of surface mining
Open-pit mining
Strip mining
Contour mining
Mountaintop removal

21. Mining Has Harmful Environmental Effects
Scarring and disruption of the land surface
E.g., spoils banks
Loss of rivers and streams
Subsidence – collapse of land above subsurface mines
Major pollution of water and air
Especially sulfuric acid, mercury and arsenic
Effect on aquatic life
Large amounts of solid waste
VERY Dangerous work (sub-surface mining)

22. Banks of Waste or Spoils Created by Coal Area Strip Mining in Colorado, U.S.

25. Video: Trapped Chilean Miners

26. Ecological Restoration of a Mining Site in New Jersey, U.S.
500,000 surface mines in the U.S. need to be cleaned up – the cost: $70 billion

27. Natural Capital Degradation: Summitville Gold Mining Site in Colorado, U.S.
A Canadian company used the 1872 mining law to buy the land very cheap
They spent $1 million to develop the site
They mined $98 million worth of gold…
Then they declared bankruptcy and walked away without cleaning anything up.

28. Removing Metals from Ores Has Harmful Environmental Effects
Ore extracted by mining
Ore mineral (desired)
Gangue (waste)
Tailings (toxins released when ore and gangue are separated)
Smelting
Releases air pollutants (sulfur dioxide & suspended particulates)
Water pollution
Liquid and solid hazardous wastes produced
Use of cyanide salt of extract gold from its ore
Summitville gold mine: Colorado, U.S.

29. Video: Land Reclamation (Gold Rush)

30. 14-4 How Long Will Supplies of Nonrenewable Mineral Resources Last?
Concept 14-4A All nonrenewable mineral resources exist in finite amounts, and as we get closer to depleting any mineral resource, the environmental impacts of extracting it generally become more harmful.
Concept 14-4B An increase in the price of a scarce mineral resource can lead to increased supplies and more efficient use of the mineral, but there are limits to this effect.

31. Mineral Resources Are Distributed Unevenly
Most of the nonrenewable mineral resources supplied by
United States
Canada
Russia
South Africa
Australia
3 biggest “users”
United States, Germany & Russia (8% of population, 75% metals worldwide)

32. Dependence on Foreign Imports
Strategic metal resources for the U.S.
important for the country’s military and economic strength
Manganese (Mn)
Cobalt (Co)
Chromium (Cr)
Platinum (Pt)
We have little to none of these.

33. Market Prices Affect Supplies of Nonrenewable Minerals
In developed countries, governments use subsidies and tax breaks to control supply, demand & price (keep prices artificially low)
Scarce investment capital hinders the development of new supplies of mineral resources, exploration is costly
1 out of every 10,000 possible deposits becomes a mine.

34. Is Mining Lower-Grade Ores the Answer?
We can increase supply by extracting lower grade ores
Factors that limit the mining of lower-grade ores
Increased cost of mining and processing larger volumes of ore
Availability of freshwater
Environmental impacts of increased land disruption
Improved mining technology could help
Use microorganisms, in situ

35. Biomining – mining with bacteria
Benefits
Drawbacks
Removes ores without disturbing surrounding land
Reduced air pollution (smelting)
Reduces water pollution from hazardous chemicals (like cyanide & mercury)
Slow (decades instead of months)
Only feasible when conventional mining is too expensive

36. Can We Extend Supplies by Getting More Minerals from the Ocean?
Mineral resources dissolved in the ocean-low concentrations
Deposits of minerals in sediments along the shallow continental shelf and near shorelines
Hydrothermal ore deposits
Metals from the ocean floor: manganese nodules
Effect of mining on aquatic life
Environmental impact
Ownership
High cost

39. 14-5 How Can We Use Mineral Resources More Sustainability?
Concept We can try to find substitutes for scarce resources, reduce resource waste, and recycle and reuse minerals.

40. We Can Find Substitutes for Some Scarce Mineral Resources (1)
Materials revolution - Substitutes
For metal: Silicon, ceramics, plastics
Nanotechnology
Grancrete: Styrofoam sprayed with ceramic
Bridges and houses
Reduces cost & timber use
Twice as strong
For copper & aluminum wires: Fiber-optic glass cables
For metal: High-strength plastics
Requires fossil fuels for production
Alternative – make it from plants

41. We Can Find Substitutes for Some Scarce Mineral Resources (2)
Substitution is not a cure-all
Platinum: industrial catalyst
Chromium: essential ingredient of stainless steel

42. Solutions

43. There Are Many Ways to Use Mineral Resources More Sustainability
How can we decrease our use and waste of mineral resources?
Use resources more sustainably
Pollution and waste prevention programs
Pollution Prevention Pays (3P) – a project of 3M (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co.)
Cleaner production
Cut waste by 1/3
Air pollution decreased by 70%
Saved $750 million in disposal/material costs

44. Solutions: Sustainable Use of Nonrenewable Minerals