EARTH SCIENCE SEATWORK #5 SEATWORK #5 (BY GROUP, 5 MINUTES) IDENTIFY WHICH MINERALS WERE USED TO MAKE THE FOLLOWING HOUSEHOLD ITEMS: • Glass • Jewelry • Sugar • Toothpaste • Door knob
WRITE IT ON A WHOLE INTERMEDIATE PAPER (BE IT
ON LIST OR TABULAR FORM). PICK THE MINERALS FROM THE LIST BELOW: • Antimony • Silica • Feldspar • Quartz • Limestone • Sodium carbonate • Gold • Zinc • Lime • Platinum • Diamonds • Lead • Fluorite • Cobalt • Calcium carbonate • Titanium • Mica • Halite • Silver • Iodine • Nickel • Chromium MINERAL AS A RESOURCE PRE-DISCUSSION • Mineral Occurrence – concentration of a mineral that is of scientific or technical interest • Mineral Deposit – mineral occurrence of sufficient size and grade or concentration to enable extraction under the most favorable conditions • Ore – naturally-occurring material from which a mineral or minerals of economic value can be extracted. • Ore Deposit – mineral deposit that has been tested and known to be economically profitable to mine. • Aggregate – rock or mineral material used as filler in cement, asphalt, plaster, etc; generally used to describe nonmetallic deposits MINERAL DEPOSITS
• Most rocks of the Earth's crust contain metals and
other elements but at very low concentrations • There are naturally occurring processes (geologic processes) that can concentrate minerals and elements in rocks of a particular area. TYPES OF MINERAL RESOURCES: METALLIC AND NONMETALLIC
• Metallic mineral deposits: gold, silver, copper,
platinum, iron • Non-metallic resources: talc, fluorite, sulfur, sand, gravel OCCURRENCE OF MINERAL RESOURCES • The geologic processes involved in the rock cycle play major role in the accumulation and concentration of valuable elements/ minerals. • Plate Tectonics: deposits minerals in certain areas. CLASSIFICATION OF ORE MINERALS
• Magmatic Ore Deposits
• valuable substances are concentrated within an igneous body through magmatic processes such as crystal fractionation, partial melting and crystal settling. • magmatic processes can concentrate the ore minerals that contain valuable substances after accumulating elements that were once widely dispersed and in low concentrations within the magma. CLASSIFICATION OF ORE MINERALS
• Hydrothermal Ore Deposits
• concentration of valuable substances by hot aqueous (water-rich) fluids flowing through fractures and pore spaces in rocks • hydrothermal solutions - are hot, residual watery fluids derived during the later stages of magma crystallization and may contain large amount of dissolved metals. • There are numerous hydrothermal mineral deposits as compared to the different types of deposits: Vein Type, Disseminated, Massive Sulfide, and Stratabound Deposits CLASSIFICATION OF ORE MINERALS • Hydrothermal Ore Deposit CLASSIFICATION OF ORE MINERALS
• Sedimentary Ore Deposits
• Some valuable substances are concentrated by chemical precipitation coming from lakes or seawater • Evaporite Deposits: This type of deposit typically occurs in a closed marine environment where evaporation is greater than water inflow. As most of the water evaporates, the dissolved substances become more concentrated in the residual water and would eventually precipitate. • Iron Formation: These deposits are made up of repetitive thin layers of iron-rich chert and several other iron bearing minerals such as hematite and magnetite. CLASSIFICATION OF ORE MINERALS
• Placer Ore Deposits
• Deposits formed by the concentration of valuable substances through gravity separation during sedimentary processes. • Usually aided by flowing surface waters either in streams or along coastlines. • Usually involves heavy minerals that are resistant to transportation and weathering. CLASSIFICATION OF ORE MINERALS
• Residual Ore Deposits
• A type of deposit that results from the accumulation of valuable materials through chemical weathering processes. • During the process, the volume of the original rock is greatly reduced by leaching. • Important factors for the formation of residual deposit include parent rock composition, climate (tropical and sub-tropical: must be favorable for chemical decay) and relief (must not be high to allow accumulation) • Common deposits are bauxites and nickeliferous laterites. MINING PROCESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT MINERAL RESOURCES
A mineral resource is a concentration or
occurrence of material of intrinsic economic interest on the earth’s crust in such form and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. MINERAL RESOURCES The U.S. Geological Survey classifies mineral resources into four major categories: Identified: known location, quantity, and quality or existence known based on direct evidence and measurements. Undiscovered: potential supplies that are assumed to exist. Reserves: identified resources that can be extracted profitably. Other: undiscovered or identified resources not classified as reserves MINERAL RESOURCES Examples are fossil fuels (coal, oil), metallic minerals (copper, iron), and nonmetallic minerals (sand, gravel). TYPES OF MINING MINERALS A variety of methods are used based on mineral depth. Surface mining: shallow deposits are removed. Underground mining: deep deposits are removed. SURFACE MINING SURFACE MINING
-Utilized to extract ore minerals that are close to
Earth’s surface - Different types include open pit mining, quarrying, placer mining and strip mining. TYPES OF SURFACE MINING Open-pit Mining • Machines dig holes and remove ores, sand, gravel, and stone. • Toxic groundwater can accumulate at the bottom. TYPES OF SURFACE MINING Area Strip Mining • Earth movers strips away overburden, and giant shovels removes mineral deposit. • Often leaves highly erodible hills of rubble called spoil banks. TYPES OF SURFACE MINING QUARRY • a place from which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate has been excavated from the ground.
• The only non-trivial difference
between the quarry and open pit is that open-pit mines that produce building materials and dimension stone are commonly referred to as quarries. TYPES OF SURFACE MINING Contour Strip Mining • Used on hilly or mountainous terrain. • Unless the land is restored, a wall of dirt is left in front of a highly erodible bank called a highwall. TYPES OF SURFACE MINING Mountaintop Removal Machinery removes the tops of mountains to expose coal. The resulting waste rock and dirt are dumped into the streams and valleys below. UNDERGROUND MINING UNDERGROUND MINING Utilized to extract ore minerals from the orebody that is deep under the Earth’s surface MILLING RECOVERY METHOD MILLING RECOVERY METHODS 1. Heavy media separation: The crushed rocks are submerged in liquid where the heavier/denser minerals sink thus are separated from the lighter minerals.
2. Magnetic separation: If the metal or mineral
is magnetic, the crushed ore is separated from the waste materials using a powerful magnet. MILLING RECOVERY METHOD MILLING RECOVERY METHODS 3. Flotation: The powdered ore is placed into an agitated and frothy slurry where some minerals may either sink to the bottom or may stick to the bubbles and rise to the top thus separating the minerals and metals from the waste.
4. Cyanide heap leaching: This method used for
low-grade gold ore where the crushed rock is placed on a “leach pile” where cyanide solution is sprayed or dripped on top of the pile. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Mining impacts on the environment Strip mining causes severe soil erosion and chemical runoff -Acid drainage = sulfide minerals on exposed rock surfaces react with oxygen and rainwater to produce sulfuric acid -Mountaintop removal causes enormous damage ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Metal ores are smelted
or treated with (potentially toxic) chemicals to extract the desired metal. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Subsurface mining is harmful to human health • Mine shaft collapses • Inhalation of coal dust can lead to fatal black lung disease Costs to repair damages of mining are very high • These costs are not included in the market prices of fossil fuels, which are kept inexpensive by government subsidies Mining companies must restore landscapes, but the impacts are still severe • Looser of restrictions in 2002 allowed companies to dump rock and soil into valleys, regardless of the consequences Natural Capital Degradation Extracting, Processing, and Using Nonrenewable Mineral and Energy Resources
Steps Environmental effects
Mining Disturbed land; mining accidents; health hazards, Exploration, mine waste dumping, oil extraction spills and blowouts; noise; ugliness; heat Processing Transportation, Solid wastes; radioactive material; air, water, and purification, soil pollution; noise; manufacturing safety and health Use hazards; ugliness; heat
Transportation or Noise; ugliness; thermal
transmission to water pollution; pollution of air, water, and soil; individual user, solid and radioactive eventual use, and wastes; safety and health discarding hazards; heat
Fig. 15-10, p. 344
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT SHORT QUIZ #5 • WRITE THE BEST ANSWER FOR THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS 1. What is the importance of the different stages of exploration? (2pts) 2. In a newly acquired mineral project for exploration, is it possible to immediately drill in the area even without any subsurface investigation (e.g. geophysics and trenching)? (3 pts) 3. Describe some methods used in surface mining. (2 pts) 4. An open-pit mine may in the future be converted into an underground mine. Why would this happen? (3 pts) 5. Enumerate several ways to rehabilitate a mined-out area. (2 pts) 6. How is it possible for materials presently considered as waste become economically mineable in the future? (2 pts) REFERENCES • Tarbuck, E. Lutgens, and F.Tasa, D., Earth Science: 13th Edition, pp 45 – 47 • Carlson, D. H., Plummer, C. C., Hammersley L., Physical Geology Earth Revealed 9thed, 2011, pp564-566 • Marshak, S., Essentials of Geology, 4th ed., 2013, pp 379-383 • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmXT1YgfoTA. • https://mining.cat.com/cda/files/2786351/7/GroundRules- MineralsEverydayLife-15-18.pdf • http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/eens1110/minresources.htm. • http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/hydrothermal+solution. • http://www.britannica.com/science/hydrothermal-solution. • http://earthsci.org/mineral/mindep/depfile/vei_dep.htm. • http://geology.com/rocks/pegmatite.shtml. • Frank, D., Galloway, J., Assmus, K., The Life Cycle of a Mineral Deposit – A Teacher’s Guide for Hands-On Mineral Education Activities, USGS General Information Product 17, 2005