Mining and Mineral Resources Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes about mining and mineral resources.

Mineral

A naturally occurring, usually inorganic solid that has a characteristic chemical composition, an orderly internal structure, and a characteristic set of physical properties.

Ore Minerals

Minerals that are valuable and economical to extract.

Gangue Minerals

Minerals that have no commercial value.

Hydrothermal solutions

Hot, subsurface waters that contain dissolved minerals which can crystallize out and form ore deposits called veins.

Evaporites

Form when water in seas and lakes evaporates, leaving behind deposits of salts; commonly forms in arid regions.

Alloy

Two or more metals combined.

Ore grade

The concentration of a valuable mineral within a rock sample.

Room-and-pillar mining

A subsurface mining method commonly used for mining coal, where rooms are cut into a seam and pillars of coal are left to support the roof.

Placer Mining

Surface deposits where minerals are concentrated by wind and water.

Smelting

Crushed ore is melted at high temperatures in a furnace to separate the molten metals from impurities.