Earth Resources

Flashcards about Earth Resources

What are some key minerals in high demand for modern society and technology?

Copper, lithium, rare earth elements, silica sand, aggregate

What was the earliest use of stone for toolmaking?

At least 2.6 million years ago (Oldowan Toolkit, East Africa)

When did humans begin making pottery with clay in Asia?

About 18,000 years ago

When was the first glass made by humans and where?

Around 4000 years ago in Mesopotamia

How long ago was bitumen used by humans?

At least 70,000 years ago in Syria

How long ago was coal first used as a fuel in China?

Up to 3600 years ago

What was the first metal used by humans and mention its increasing importance

Copper – only becoming more important (electronics)

What type of fuels drove industrial development?

Fossil fuels

What market value is the Solar panel PhotoVoltaic glass market forecast to reach by 2025?

US$48.2 billion

What materials are used in a 3 MW windmill?

335 tons of steel, 4.7 tons of copper, 1,200 tons of concrete, 3 tons of aluminium, 2 tons of rare earth elements, zinc, molybdenum

What minerals are used in smartphones?

Boron, Palladium, Beryllium, Zinc, Copper, Tungsten, Tantalum, Graphite, Lithium, Silicon, Rare Earth Elements, Tin, Gold, Aluminium

Which countries are the largest producers of boron?

Turkey and USA

What is palladium used for in smartphones and where does it come from?

Used in smartphone electrical circuits and contacts; largely obtained as a by-product of copper and nickel mining. Russia and South Africa currently produce most of the world's palladium

What minerals are used to extract beryllium and where are the leading producers?

Extracted from beryl and bertrandite ores with the current leading producers being USA, China and Mozambique

What type of mineral is sphalerite and what is it used for?

Zinc; is used in smartphone circuit boards and when alloyed with aluminium can increase the strength of smartphone cases

What is chalcopyrite and what is it used for?

Copper; high electrical and heat conductivity make it ideal for use in the electrical wiring of a smartphone

What is wolframite and where does it come from?

Tungsten; Wolframite is considered to be a conflict mineral due to unethical mining practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The top producers of tungsten are China (with more than 80% of the worlds production), Vietnam and Russia.

What is Tantalite used for and where does it come from?

Tantalum; is used to manufacture the anodes in smartphone capacitors. The current leading producers of tantalum are the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Brazil.

What countries produce most of the world's graphite?

China produces almost all of the world's graphite, with smaller quantities coming from India.

What is spodumene and what are the leading producing countries?

Lithium; Australia is the current leading producer of spodumene.

What is the processor in a smartphone made from and what mineral is needed to produce it?

Silicon; Quartz

What is the mineral monazite used for?

Source of rare earth elements (REE)

What is cassiterite used for and where does it come from?

Tin; used in smartphones for soldering different metal components together. The current leading producers of tin are China, Indonesia and Myanmar.

What are the current leading producers of gold?

China, Australia and the USA

What is bauxite used for and where does it come from?

Aluminium; Almost all aluminium we use comes from bauxite ore. Currently Australia, China and Brazil are the leading producers of bauxite.

What are E-tech minerals also known as?

Green-tech metals, used for renewable energy and other smart technologies.

What are some examples of critical minerals at risk of supply disruptions?

Lithium, Rare Earth Elements, Tantalum, Niobium, Beryllium

True or false: Rare earth elements are truly rare

False

What are the two most economically important types of sources for Lithium?

hard-rock – pegmatite and Brines

List the countries that are leading producers of each Lithium source

hard-rock – pegmatite: Australia > China > also Zimbabwe, Portugal and Namibia and Brines: Chile > Argentina

Name the countries that mine/process rare earth elements

Mine: USA, Australia, China, India, Russia, Vietnam and Madagascar, Process: Burma and Brazil

What is a carbonatite?

An unusual type of igneous rock that is carbonate-rich lavas

What is the Manganese amount present in the Bulk and Continental Crust?

600 g/g

What is copper's average concentration in the upper crust?

less than 0.03 wt%

What are the dominant world source of copper and molybdenum?

Porphyry deposits

What qualities are needed to make industrial silica sand?

At least 95% purity quartz (SiO2)

What is the main sand mining lake in China?

Poyang Lake

What are Polymetallic nodules rich in?

iron, manganese (iron-manganese hydroxyoxides), also nickel, cobalt, zinc, lithium, copper, and rare earth elements

What is the most mined mineral in the world and what percentage of concrete is made from it?

Crushed stone/aggregate, 80%