mining, minerals, & ores

Resource

volume of rock enriched in one or more useful materials

Ore

body of material from that one or more valuable resources can be extracted economically ($$$)

defining an ore is based

on tech, economics, and politics.

immediate issues with mineral resources

concentrated in small areas, non-renewable, easy-to-find deposits are hard to find

non-metallics

sand, gravel, lime, etc. — consumed at a higher rate because of construction.

non-metals

phosphates, salts, etc.

Magmatic Ore Deposits

substances concentrated within a igneous rock.

Hydrothermal Ore Deposits

hot water dissolves valuable material in igneous

Metamorphic Ore Deposits

metamorphism of pre-existing deposits

Sedimentary and Placer Ore Deposits

concentrated by flowing surface waters, the water carries and moves minerals.

deepest underground record

AngloGold Ashanti’s Mponeng Gold Mine

surface record

Bingham Canyon Mine: largest man-made excavation, deepest open pit.

surface mining

less expensive and fewer work hazards but large amount of waste (less risk, high waste)

underground mining

requires blasting = dust inside lungs and risks for collapse, but less waste (high risk, less waste)

processing

removing ore and metals from rocks, crushing > sieving

separation

diff methods for dense, light, etc materials

Froth separator

add a chemical that binds material and air bubbles and material rises to the top

Magnetic separation

magnetic roller catches minerals and separates it

Chemical Processing

smelting or leaching

smelting

minerals are melted to break down bonds and release desired element

heap leaching

solution absorbed through piled crushed ore, run off acid processed to get the ore.

lithium

used in nuclear cooling, mostly batteries, (finite resource, growing demand for it.)

cobalt is found in

congo, mined in undesirable conditions w/ low wage, controlled by china

cobalt

used in electronics for batteries and communication technology.

rare earth elements (REE’s)

crucial in high tech manufacturing: camera lenses, military weapons, smart phone, turbines, etc. (HIGHLY UNHEALTHY WASTE)

Bayan Obo Mine, China

REE mine: produces sulfuric & hydrofluoric acid - “waste gas.”, high levels of lung cancer in workers

Environmental effects of mining

air pollution, erosion, acid mine drainage

abandoned metal mines

causes health issues in the & acid mine drainage