5.9 Mining: Environmental and Economic Impacts

Flashcards covering key concepts related to mining, including vocabulary terms and their definitions.

Mining

The extraction of natural resources from the earth, specifically ores containing valuable minerals.

Ores

Commercially valuable deposits of concentrated minerals that can be harvested and used as raw materials.

Removal of overburden to access ore near surface

Metals

elements that conduct electricity, heat, and have structural properties for building (found within ores)

Reserve

The known amount of a resource left that can be mined.

Usually measured in years left of extraction

Overburden

Soil, vegetation, and rocks that are removed to access ore deposits below.

Removal of overburden to access ore near surface

Tailings & Slag

Leftover waste material separated from the valuable metal or mineral within ore, often stored in ponds at the mine site.

A relationship

As ore near surface becomes scarcer, mining moves deeper underground to subsurface mining (more dangerous & expensive)

Surface mining

Open pit, strip, mountaintop removal, placer

Mnt. top removal is esp. damaging to landscape & habitats, streams nearby

A mining technique that involves removing large sections of soil and rock to access ore near the surface.

Subsurface mining

A mining method that involves extracting minerals from below the earth's surface, typically more expensive and dangerous than surface mining.

There are risks such as cancer, poor vetilation, and falling rocks

Env. impacts of mining: Acid mine drainage

When rainwater leaks into abandoned mine tunnels and mixes with pyrite, forming sulfuric acid, leading to environmental damage.

Reclamation

The process of restoring land to its original state after mining operations have ceased.

Environmental impacts of mining

Negative effects such as habitat loss, water contamination, and air pollution resulting from mining activities.