Geology Exam

chile

__ produces about a 3rd of the world's copper

BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Japan's Sumiono Corp

Companies that are mining copper in Chile, active copper mines

Jobs available

Boron, Ca focuses on some __ at a mine

Chemists
• Geologists
• Engineers
• Environmental scientists
• Millwright
• Electrician
• Equipment operators
• Senior quality advisor
• Business planning and analysis

Jobs available at the U.S Borax Mine

geopolitics and trade

the videos on rare Earth minerals from china focus on:

war and human right abuses

videos on Tantalum from the Congo focus on precious minerals paying for military weapons, leading to___

conflict

___ minerals that are used in cell phones, mined mostly in war torn Congo

Tungsten (W)

conflict mineral, makes your phone vibrate

Tantalum (Ta)

conflict mineral, stores electricity for its battery

Gold (Au)

conflict mineral, coats its wires

Tin (Sn)

conflict mineral, solders the circuit board

Acidic

pH closer to 0 example Battery Acid

Alkaline

closer to pH 14 example liquid drain cleaner

Coal seams

Pyrite can occur in shales that may be interbedded with ____, especially those that form in marine coastal swamps.

acidification of local surface waters

strip mining of such coal seams commonly causes _____ because of the oxidation pyrite by exposure to O2 and H2O, The supply of O2 and H2O is usually unlimited

thiobacillus ferrooxidans

colourless, rod-shaped, aerobic, airborne bacteria. they convert insoluble metals to their soluble state.

iron

Thiobacillus ferrooxidans is a highly acidophilic bacterium that obtains its energy through the oxidation of:

1.5 to 2.0

Thiobacillus ferrooxidans acidophilic pH

large

The pH scale is logarithmic.This means that a small change
in pH represents a ____change in H+ concentration

buffers

Solutions that resist changes to pH are called __. These act
like sponges to absorb excess H+

buffering

Fluids in living organisms and seawater have strong ___
capacity. In contrast, rainwater does not

rainforests, jungles

Where are acid soils commonly found?

deserts

Where are alkaline soils commonly found?

rain (H2O) naturally combines with CO2 in the atmosphere to form a weak acid (H2CO3). Clean rainwater has a pH of 5.6-5.7

What effect does rainfall have on soil pH?

acidic; 5.5 - 7

The natural pH range for most plants is ___, between ___

true

sulfide minerals like pyrite that are underwater will not weather significantly

gossan

What is the geological name for a rusty exposure of rock?

Treatment for acid mine drainage

- add a buffer material like limestone
• limit the area of exposed rock
• compacting acid-generating rock
• covering the rock with sealing layers

Skeletons

A study of medieval ____________ showed that people who ate more fish had fewer cavities

40%

About ______ of all cases of dental fluorosis are caused by ingesting fluorinated public drinking water, but the effect is largely aesthetic

Hydroxyapatite

Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body and contains the highest percentage of minerals. The main mineral is ___________, which is a crystalline form of calcium phosphate

dissolution

Alkaline groundwater generally tends to increase the solubility of fluorite and fluorapatite, which can lead to _______________ of these minerals and a corresponding increase in F- concentration in the groundwater

none of the above

Based on your knowledge of heavy metals in the human body, which system in the body would be most impacted by an excess of mercury

60%

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the pleura (lining of the lungs) caused by asbestos inhalation. Mesothelioma kills ___________ of people within a year after their symptoms appear

silica

The mineral name for crystalline __________ is quartz. It is the main mineral in desert sand and on many beaches around the world

Zone 1: High

According to the Radon Potential Map of Canada by Radon Environmental Management Corp., the radon potential for Calgary is

calcium-rich white clay

The oldest evidence for geophagy may be ___________ found alongside bones of Homo habilus at Kalambo Falls near the border of Zambia and Tanzania

intestines

In many parts of Africa and Asia, clay is consumed in order to reduce nausea and supplement a mineral-deficient diet. Some researchers suspect the clay coats the _________________ and absorbs toxins

lead

which metal is NOT found in dental amalgam

kidney stones

____ can form when there is a decrease in urine volume or lack of inhibitors.

high IQ

Which of the following is not considered a risk factor for gallstones?

methylmercury

Mercury is converted to ______________ by bacteria in water or sediments. This compound bioaccumulates in aquatic animals and can pose a risk to human health from consumption of predatory fish

H+

In the chemical reaction for the oxidation of pyrite, what product of the reaction makes rivers and streams more acidic?

coal seams

Pyrite can occur in shales that may be interbedded with __________, especially those that formed in marine coastal swamps

gossan

The geological name for a rusty exposure of rock is a:

allowing oil to escape above or below the boom

Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, containment booms were deployed, either to corral the oil or as barriers to protect marshes, mangroves, and shrimp/crab/oyster farms. However, booms were criticized for:

physical barrier

Water cover and dry cover, short term,

chemical barrier/passivation

inorganic coating and organic coating,

AMD preventions

bacteria inhibition, physical barrier, chemical barrier/passivation, desulfurization and electrochemical cover

wet cover

suitable at specific sites where complete inundation is established, but this approach requires high maintenance cost

dry cover

plastic liners are expensive and rarely used for large volumes of waste

Bactericides

Can suppress oxidation, but are only effective on fresh tailings and short-lived, and do not serve as a permanent solution to AMD. may be toxic to aquaticorganisms

inorganic coating

silica is the most promising, stable, acid-resistant and long lasting

100-1000s of years

Acid will leach from the rock as long as the source rock is exposed to air and water and until the sulphides are leached out, this can last ______

rainwater or surface damage

how acid is carried off the mine site and into nearby streams, river lakes, groundwater

physical, chemical, and biological

Acid mine drainage is responsible for ______ degradation of stream habitat. It jeopardizes notonly fish, but also the animals who feed on them.

soft, malleable, pounded thin, drawn out to make a thin wire, made into shapes, doesn't rust or tarnish

Physical properties of gold

silver

gold is usually bounded to other metals such as:

helps extract the gold from the other metals, and leach it into the surrounding water

What role does cyanide play in gold processing?

1600 degrees Celsius

temperature of a gold smelter

slag

what are impurities in the smelting process called?

gold cyanidation

used in 90% of production. controversial due to very toxic nature.

effects of gold cyanidation

can have a devastating effect on rivers, sometimes killing everything for several miles downstream.

2000 Baia Mara cyanide spill

was a leak in Romania, into the Someș River by the gold mining company Aurul, a joint-venture of the Australian company Esmeralda Exploration and the Romanian government

polluted waters killed a large number of fish. worst environmental disaster in Europe since the Chernobyl disaster.

what happened in Baia Mare

interferes with the cell's ability to use oxygen, causing cellular suffocation. This leads to depression of the central nervous system and respiratory arrests

health effects of cyanide

50%

The toxicity of cyanide is typically expressed as the concentration that is lethal to ____ of the exposed population

inhalation, ingestion, eyes and skin

how cyanide gets into the body

Montana, Wisconsin, Czech Republic and Hungary

where cyanide is banned for gold extraction

cyanide code

voluntary in the mining industry, aims to reduce environmental impacts with third party audits of a company's management.

Mercury

a chemical element that can be found in small concentrations in many rocks and is the main component of the mineral cinnabar (HgS). Natural background levels can bedetected in soils, air, and water around the world

Volcanoes, base metal smelting and gold mining

How does mercury get into the environment

two-thirds

medical waste incinerators, municipal waste combustors, and coal-fired power plants make up ____ of total u.s mercury emissions

Coal- and oil-fired power plants

\____ emit harmful pollutants, including mercury, metallic toxins, and acid gases

elemental form of mercury

liquid metal

inorganic form of mercury

mercuric chloride and Mercuric sulfide (cinnabar)

organic form of mercury

methyl, ethyl, dimentyl, phenyl groups

methymercury

formula [H3CHg]+.It is the major source of organic mercury for all humans. 100% absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract

Methylmercury biomagnifies

in aquatic animals,and the concentrations can increase by a million fold inanimals at the top of the food chain.

neurotoxin

As a reproductive toxin and a potent ____, mercury affects the brain and the central nervous system

Pregnant women, women of childbearing age, and small children

who's is at greatest risk of mercury. Mercury can cross the placenta and cause irreparable neurological damage to the fetus

1 in 10, 400,000

In March 2001 a study by the CDC found that ____ women in the U.S. have mercury levels high enough to cause neurological damage in their children about ___ babies a year.

1971 poison grain disaster

mass methylmercury poisoning incident. Grain treated with a methylmercury fungicide and never intended for human consumption was imported into Iraq as seed grain from Mexico and the United States. Due to a number of factors, including foreign-language labelling and late distribution within the growing cycle, this toxic grain was consumed as food by Iraqi residents in rural areas. The recorded death toll was 459 people

paresthesia

numbness of skin

ataxia

lack of coordination of muscle movements

Minamata Disease (Japan)

neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. It was caused by the release of methylmercury in the industrial wastewater from the Chisso Corporation's chemical factory. 1784 killed

Ontario Minamata disease

It severely affected two First Nation communities (GrassyNarrows and Whitedog) following consumption of local fish contaminated with mercury

90%

amount of people that showed signs in Ontario mina mate disease

Dental amalgam 'silver fillings'

filling material used to fill cavities caused by tooth decay. a mixture of metals, consisting of liquid (elemental)mercury and a powdered alloy composed of silver, tin, and copper.

50%

of dental amalgam is elemental mercury by weight

mixes the powdered alloy with the liquid mercury to forman amalgam putty

How do dentists make dental amalgam?

no

Is the mercury in dental amalgam the same as the mercury in some types of fish?

releases elemental mercury as a vapor

risk of dental amalgam

yes

is dental amalgam used in Canada

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Mexico, considered the largest in history

embedded in the sand

oil found in Florida, scientists say oil is ___

Turtles

What animals does the video mention as a "poster animal" for the spill? The oil affects the animal at every stage of life

can't thermoregulate, spend all their time preening

What are the main effects of oil on birds?

baseline data

data about the area prior to an event or disaster

Corexit

chemical dispersant, sinks to sea floor when mixed with oil. Dispute about toxicity.