minerals and mining

Minerals and
Mining


Minerals
• Concentration of
naturally occurring
elements in/on
Earth.
• Formed over
millions of yrs 
non-renewable
resource.


What We Mine?!?
• Metallic minerals: Iron, Copper, Aluminum
• Non-metallic minerals: salt, clay, sand
• Energy minerals: coal, oil, uranium
Crushed Iron

Sodium Chloride
Crystal

“Dur”rty Coal



Ore
• Rock that has
metallic

mineral.
• Usable stuff is
the mineral
• Non-usable is
called gangue
 landfill

Gold

Gangue


Smelt
ers

• Used to remove mineral from gangue in
an ore  major polluters (Runescape!).


Bauxite
Most Important Aluminum Ore


Oxygen: The Most Abundant
Element in the Earth’s Crust


Finding Mineral
Deposits

• Use aerial photos and satellite
images to see rock formations.


Finding Mineral
Deposits

• Use planes w/ Geiger meter
(uranium) or magnetometer (iron)
Geiger Meter…
Only $460!

Magnetometer…
Only $700!


Finding Mineral
Deposits
• Drilling a deep well and extracting
ore samples.

Exploration Drilling


Surface
Mining

• Minerals must be shallowly deposited.
• Removed rock and soil is called
overburden or spoil.

Types of Surface
Mining

Open Pit Mining
• Dig hole and remove ores
• Fe, Cu, and Sand




Types of Surface
Mining

Dredging (Sand)
• Draglines scrape up underwater mineral
deposits



Types of Surface
Mining

Area Strip Mining
• Cut new strips away; spoil placed on side,
mineral taken out.


Types of Surface

Mining

Mountaintop Removal
• Use TNT, huge shovels, and large machines
to remove top of a mtn and expose coal
underneath.



Case Study Gold:
Cyanide Heap Leaching
• Cyanide
sprayed on low
grade gold ore
in a giant heap
(pile).
• Gold flows down
w/ cyanide and
is collected at
bottom of heap.

Heap


Case Study Gold:
Cyanide Heap Leaching
• Toxic to birds
and mammals.
• Leach ponds
can overflow

 H2O
pollution
• Leaky liners?
Leach Liner


Subsurface
Mining
• Used to
remove
minerals deep
in Earth’s
surface.
• Less env.
Impact


Types of Subsurface Mining
• Room and
Pillar
• Machines
are used to
cut out
minerals
and are
placed on a
shuttle car.

Scraper

Types of Subsurface Mining
• Longwall Coal
Mining
• Moveable steel
props support
cave while
machinery cut
off coal onto a
conveyor belt.