Envci: Unit 6 Mining Vocabulary

Mountaintop removal

a form of surface mining that involves the mining of the summit or summit ridge of a mountain.

Miners remove the entire top of a mountain with explosives

energy

the ability to do work, most electricity in central Ohio comes from coal burning power plants

fossil fuels

nonrenewable resources that formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals, coal, oil, natural gas

electricity

A form of energy caused by the movement of electrons.

energy return on investment

energy obtained per unit energy used to obtain it;

(energy obtained from the fuel)/ (energy invested to obtain fuel)

overburden

Layer of soil and rock overlying a mineral deposit. Surface mining removes this layer.

surface mining

where materials that are lying over a deposit are removed to expose the resource for processing,

much cheaper than subsurface mining, but has more direct environmental effects

subsurface mining

the practice of digging shafts deep into the ground to find and remove a mineral

acid mine drainage

outflow of acidic water from (usually abandoned) metal mines or coal mines,

Sources:

mines

Effect:

lowers PH

leaches metals from soil

kills plants and animals

environmental impact statement

a description of the effects a proposed project will have on the environment

carbon capture and sequestration

the process of removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it

reclamation

a process in which mined land must be recovered with soil and replanted with vegetation

coal

fossil fuel consisting of carbonized plant matter deposited in the Carboniferous period

ore

a rock that contains a large enough concentration of a mineral making it profitable to mine

spoil piles

piles left over from surface mining that contain remains of the ore and any other chemicals used in mining process, when it rains these chemicals runoff and contaminate nearby water resources

turbine

a large wheel that rotates when pushed by water, wind, or steam to generate electricity

smelting

The process by which ore is melted to separate the useful metal from other elements.