Module 25 Mining

Crustal abundance

The average concentration of an element in Earth’s crust.

Ore

A concentrated accumulation of minerals from which economically valuable materials can be extracted.

metal

An element with properties that allow it to conduct electricity and heat energy, and to perform other important functions.

Reserve

In resource management, the known quantity of a resource that can be economically recovered.

Elemental composition of Earth’s crust

Oxygen is the most abundant element followed by silicon, aluminum, and iron.

Strip Mining

The removal of strips of soil and rock to expose ore.

Mining Tailings

Unwanted waste material created during mining including mineral and other residues that are left behind after the desired metal or ore is removed.

Open-pit mining

Mining technique that creates a large visible pit/hole in the ground

Mountaintop removal

Mining technique where the entire top of a mountain is removed via explosives

Placer Mining

Process of looking for minerals, metals, and precious stones in river sediments.

Subsurface Mining

Mining where the desire resource like coal, diamond, and gold, are less than 330 feet below the surface of Earth (100 m).

Surface Mining

Includes the 4 different types of mining: Strip, open-pit, mountaintop removal, and placer mining.

Acid Mine Drainage

The low-pH water pumped from underground mines to keep them from flooding, which causes ecosystem damage by altering the pH of nearby soils and streams

Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA)

An act regulating surface coal mining and the surface effects of subsurface coal mining that mandates that land be minimally disturbed during mining and reclaimed after mining is complete.