Do Now: Journal In your journal, write a half-page reflection about the following quote: “The meek shall inherit the Earth but not the mineral rights.” Things to think about: Where does the original quote come from? What would you do if valuable minerals were found on your land? B Day: this is our fifth journal entry—time to catch up! Mr. Koons will update you next class. FF Article reflection, Tomorrow’s Population module, Notes from Riverside walk, Biodiversity Species Listing, Meek/Mineral quote.

Mining, Regulations, and Reclamation Unit 5: The Geosphere

Mineral Exploration Technology has improved for this a lot in recent years (computers, models, satellites/airplanes telling us where) Patterns in gravity, magnetism, or radioactivity Mineral deposit has 100-1000x more than normal rocks Samples are taken first to determine the ore metal content Holes are drilled to determine the extent of the deposit If all the cards fall right, we open a mine! (last two bullets)

Subsurface Mining Ore deposits found greater than 50m below earth’s surface Room-and-pillar mining – pillars of coal (or salt) are left to support the roof! Longwall mining – a machine called a shearer moves back and forth along a coal seam As coal is sheared from its face it falls on to a conveyor; hydraulic supports protect Solution mining – soluble mineral ores (e.g. salt and sulfur); hot water is injected into the ore and dissolves it and compressed air gets it to the surface!

Surface Mining Open-pit mining – coal ore is mined downward by layer (explosives are needed!); haul trucks take it away Take off the overburden; get the coal; replace the overburden Quarrying – most commonly granite and marble, but also clay, gypsum, and talc Solar Evaporation – placing sea water into large, shallow ponds. As water evaporates, salt conc. inc. and begins to crystallize Salt harvesting occurs about once a year Most often in areas with a High E/P ratio At 25%

Placer Mining, Smelting, and Undersea Mining Placer mining – when rock weathers and disintegrates, minerals are released and settle into “placer deposits” Fall into streams and become concentrated where current is weak Placer gold, diamonds, and other heavy metals Smelting – crushed ore is melted at a high temperature to separate out the “imperfect” metals; because the pure metals are more dense they fall to the bottom Undersea mining – minerals in the ocean floor; mining has variable degrees of success.

Environmental Impacts of Mining Has become one of the most heavily regulated industries—mining companies have to spend a lot of money reclaiming the land Ethics – we pay the costs for crimes done long ago Examples Air and noise pollution (encouraged by winds; blasting can even cause physical damage!) Water contamination (leads to “Acid Mine Drainage”) Displacement of wildlife (strip mining affects plants; dredging bad in water) Erosion and sedimentation (erodes “dumps” of land) Soil degradation (when land is reclaimed, soil must be put back correctly) Subsidence (sinking of regions into land!) Underground mine fires/collapses (usually burn out themselves)

Mining Reclamation and Regulations Must comply with acts like Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act (generally states regulate) Reclamation – must return land to its original state! (Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act) Can even establish a fund to “pay” for these damages Bonds – companies do not get these back if they do not reclaim the land

SuperFun(d) Poster Activity What is it? “A United States federal government program designed to fund the cleanup of sites contaminated with hazardous substances and pollutants.” Go to the Superfund National Priorities List by the EPA, click on NPL sites, navigate. to Virginia, and choose one of the 31 Superfund sites Make a poster (use color!; groups of no more than 4) with the following information (from the links in the columns to the right): Site name/city Two maps: where it is in Virginia and more locally Brief history of the site including when it became one Contaminants present Potential threats to community What is being done? What could/should be done?