1 / 34

Unearthing Earth's Resources: Minerals, Mining, and Environmental Impact

Discover the concentration of elements on Earth and the non-renewable resources formed over millions of years through mining. From metallic minerals like iron and copper to non-metallic minerals such as salt and clay, explore the extraction processes and environmental consequences. Learn about the crucial role of minerals like bauxite and the environmental risks posed by mining activities. Uncover different mining techniques, from surface mining methods like open-pit and mountaintop removal to subsurface mining practices like room and pillar and longwall coal mining. Understand the impact of mining on habitats, water systems, and global warming, and explore regulations like the Surface Mining Reclamation and Control Act that aim to mitigate environmental damage.

vmcginnis
Download Presentation

Unearthing Earth's Resources: Minerals, Mining, and Environmental Impact

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Minerals and Mining

  2. Minerals • Concentration of naturally occurring elements in/on Earth. • Formed over millions of yrs  non-renewable resource.

  3. What We Mine?!? • Metallic minerals: Iron, Copper, Aluminum • Non-metallic minerals: salt, clay, sand • Energy minerals: coal, oil, uranium Crushed Iron Sodium Chloride Crystal “Dur”rty Coal

  4. Ore Gold • Rock that has metallic mineral. • Usable stuff is the mineral • Non-usable is called gangue landfill Gangue

  5. Smelters • Used to remove mineral from gangue in an ore  major polluters (Runescape!).

  6. BauxiteMost Important Aluminum Ore

  7. Oxygen: The Most Abundant Element in the Earth’s Crust

  8. Finding Mineral Deposits • Use aerial photos and satellite images to see rock formations.

  9. Finding Mineral Deposits • Use planes w/ Geiger meter (uranium) or magnetometer (iron) Geiger Meter…Only $460! Magnetometer… Only $700!

  10. Finding Mineral Deposits • Drilling a deep well and extracting ore samples. Exploration Drilling

  11. Surface Mining • Minerals must be shallowly deposited. • Removed rock and soil is called overburden or spoil.

  12. Types of Surface Mining Open Pit Mining • Dig hole and remove ores • Fe, Cu, and Sand

  13. Types of Surface Mining Dredging (Sand) • Draglines scrape up underwater mineral deposits

  14. Types of Surface Mining • Area Strip Mining • Cut new strips away; spoil placed on side, mineral taken out.

  15. Types of Surface Mining Mountaintop Removal • Use TNT, huge shovels, and large machines to remove top of a mtn and expose coal underneath.

  16. Case Study Gold: Cyanide Heap Leaching • Cyanide sprayed on low grade gold ore in a giant heap (pile). • Gold flows down w/ cyanide and is collected at bottom of heap. Heap

  17. Case Study Gold: Cyanide Heap Leaching • Toxic to birds and mammals. • Leach ponds can overflow  H2O pollution • Leaky liners? Leach Liner

  18. Subsurface Mining • Used to remove minerals deep in Earth’s surface. • Less env. Impact

  19. Types of Subsurface Mining • Room and Pillar • Machines are used to cut out minerals and are placed on a shuttle car. Scraper

  20. Types of Subsurface Mining • Longwall Coal Mining • Moveable steel props support cave while machinery cut off coal onto a conveyor belt.

  21. Environmental Damage • Collapse/subsidence of land from subsurface mines. • Causes houses to tilt, sewer lines crack, gas mains break.

  22. Environmental Damage • Wind/water carry away [by erosion] toxic mining waste. • Goes in food webs and watersheds.

  23. Environmental Damage Habitat Loss!!

  24. My Home!!!

  25. Environmental Damage • Transportation of minerals  global warming, lung probs.

  26. Environmental Damage Acid mine drainage • Bacteria eat FeS in spoil  create H2SO4  runs off into streams

  27. Surface Mining Reclamation and Control Act • Mining ops must reclaim area after land has been used and abused. • Must put aside $$$ to reclaim before mining op’s begin. • States oversee Act. • Land put back, trees grow, no toxic runoff!

More Related