Mineral Extraction Methods | AQA A-Level Environmental Science Revision | Primrose Kitten

Mineral deposit

A rock containing at least one valuable mineral.

Ore

A rock with high enough purity to be economically extracted for profit.

Grade

Describes the purity of an ore or the percentage of the rock that is valuable metal.

Cut off grade

The minimum percentage of valuable metal in a rock required for it to be economically viable to extract.

Stock

All material in the lithosphere, including minerals that are unlikely to ever be extracted

Resource

Material that could be exploited in the future with improved technology and pricing.

Reserve

The proportion of minerals that are extractable with current technology and prices.

Lasky's Principle

States that as mineral purity decreases, the quantity of minerals on Earth increases exponentially.

Logarithmic scale

A scale used to represent a wide range of values on a graph.

Deep mining

A technique to extract ore body deep underground.

Open cast mining

A surface mining technique that creates large, shallow pits.

Dredging

A method used to extract minerals from submerged deposits.

Viability of a mine

Factors affecting the profitability and practicality of mining a site.

Overburden

The rock above a mineral deposit that requires removal for extraction.

Hydrology of the mine site

Describes how water moves through the mine and its impact on operations. Affected by permeability of rock type.

Land use conflict

Issues such as protected species or conflicting land use that affect mining operations.