1. Chapter 16
Minerals/Mining

2. General Mining Law of 1872
Open up federal land for mining by anyone who stakes a claim
Their way to encourage settlement of the west.
No provisions for environmental protection of reclamation.

3. Minerals
Mineral-
Minerals found in Rocks => naturally formed aggregates or mixtures of minerals
Ores -
Two Types of ores

4. Minerals Metals- Nonmetallic-
What are the most abundant minerals in earth’s crust

5. Minerals formed by 4 methods:
Magmatic concentration-
-Examples
Hydrothermal process-
- Examples

6. Minerals formed by 4 methods:
3. Sedimentation-
Examples –
4. Evaporation-
Examples -

7. Minerals discovered by photos:1. 2. 3. 4.

8. Extracting minerals Surface mining
Cheaper
Safer
More environmental
damage
Overburden- over lying layers of soil & rock
Spoils- waste rock
Tailing Piles- pile of spoils or spoil bank
Subsurface mining
More expensive
More dangerous to workers
Less environmental damage

9. Open Pit Mining

11. Open Pit Equipment

12. Subsurface mining

13. Modern Day Subsurface Mining

14. Types of Surface mining
Open pit/quarries
Strip – photos
Dragline/Mountaintop removal
Photos of Dragline Mining

15. Dragline

16. Types of Subsurface mining
Shaft (directly down)
Coal Mine
Slope
Minerals removed from ores via processing
For metals, use process called smelting (melting at high temp.) to produce molten metal & impurities (slag)
Use a blast furnace

17. Mountain Top mining
Video on mountain top mining in West Virginia

18. Problems w/ mining Habitat destruction/soil erosion
Water quality degradation- acid mine drainage
Water supply (mining uses lots of water)
Air pollution (mineral processing)
Energy use

19. Problems w/ mining Derelict lands- Reclamation-
Surface Mining Control & Reclamation Act of regulated reclamation for surface coal mines (not regulated for any other kind of mine!)
Ways to clean up: -

20. Top 5 mineral Producers U.S. Canada Australia Russia Federation
South Africa
U.S. uses ~ 20% of world metals

21. Definitions Mineral reserves- Mineral resources-
Total resources or the World reserve base =
Life index of world reserves=
Hard to predict because:
New discoveries of ore
Plastics/synthetics replace metals
consumption/economic changes

22. New Deposits Antarctica
Antarctic Treaty of limits activities to peaceful scientific uses
Madrid Protocol (Environment Protection Protocol to Antarctic Treaty) 1990
Moratorium on mineral exploration & development for minimum of 50yrs.
Ocean
Sea water (salts) or seafloor (manganese nodules)
UN Convention on Law of the Sea (1994)
One focus was on sea mining
Not binding for territorial waters (12 mi. out)
Only for international minings

23. How to Extend Reserves Conservation Find substitute
Reuse
Recycle
Find substitute
Sustainable manufacturing- reducing waste in manufacturing
Dematerialization- decreased in water weight of object w/ same or better lifetime