Minerals & Mining Chapter 15

General Mining Law (1872) 1872 – do you think it was good or bad?? Encouraged settlement of western states Anyone can stake a mining claim on federal lands, buy for $2.50 - $5 per acre, extract the resources, & keep all profits. No provisions for environmental protection

…General Mining Law (1872) More than 50 of the 100,000 to 500,000 abandoned mines in the US are Superfund sites! Cleanup of all Superfund mining sites will cost an estimated $12.5-$17.5 billion. 2000: Congress enacted new mining regulations to protect taxpayers and the environment from the worst abuses of the General Mining Law. President G.W.Bush: weakened the new rules in response to pressure from the mining industry. The issue: are the jobs produced by mining worth the environmental damage?

Minerals Elements or compounds of elements that occur naturally in Earth’s crust. Ex: steel (mixture), aluminum, copper, concrete (mixture), sulfur, salt, quartz, gold, … you get it. Changed the course of history… Britain = explored for tin. Bronze Age = ruled by the alloy of copper & tin. New World = explored for gold & silver. California = gold rush (1840s) Rain forests destruction = gold

…Minerals Mineral Groups: Can be: NATURALLY OCCURRING INORGANIC SPECIFIC CHEM. COMP. SOLID DEF. CRYSTAL STRUCTURE Mineral Groups: Sulfides (S + another element) Oxides (O + metals) Halides (F, Cl, Br, I) Silicates (Si + O) Carbonates (C + O) Native Elements (any pure element) Can be: Metallic Nonmetallic Rocks = combo of minerals + other stuff Ore = rock that contains a large enough concentration of a mineral that makes it profitable to mine for. High-grade ore: large amounts of minerals Low-grade ore: low amounts of minerals.

Distribution & Formation Widely distributed worldwide (see next slide) Some countries have a lot, some have a little. =============================================== Magmatic Concentration Magma cools & separates into layers Heavy (Fe, Mg) on bottom, Light (SiO2) on top Hydrothermal Processes Hot groundwater dissolves minerals & react with S, making sulfides Sulfides aren’t soluble, so they settle out. Sedimentation Water transports weathered particles and deposits them as sediment Evaporation Salts & minerals are left behind when water evaporates.

Resources Review RENEWABLE? REPLENISHABLE? NONRENEWABLE? How do these relate to NATURAL CAPITAL & NATURAL INCOME? ARE MINERALS SUSTAINABLE?

MAKE THEM INTO A PRODUCT! How is mining done? STEP 1: DISCOVER THEM! STEP 2: EXTRACT THEM! STEP 3: PROCESS & REFINE THEM! STEP 4: MAKE THEM INTO A PRODUCT!

Step 1: DISCOVERY Aerial or Satellite photography Measure Earth’s magnetic field & gravity Geological knowledge of how minerals form Drill for samples & analyze composition Sea floor?? Detailed 3D maps!

Step 2: EXTRACTION 2 ways: Surface & Subsurface Mining! Surface Mining (less $$, less danger) Overburden must be removed 4 Kinds: Open-pit mining = dig a big hole to make a quarry. Strip Mining = dig parallel trenches and create a spoil bank (dump new trench’s overburden in old trench) Mountaintop Removal = BAD!!! “Strip Mining on Steroids” Dredging = chain buckets & draglines scrape underwater minerals Subsurface Mining (more $$, more danger)

Open-Pit Mine: Bingham Canyon, UT Largest man-made hole in the world 2.5 miles wide, 0.5 miles deep Material removed = 7X amount moved to create the Panama Canal

Strip Mine: SPOIL BANK TRENCH http://www.coal.ca/content/images/stories/stripmine.htm SPOIL BANK TRENCH

STRIP MINING (spoil bank & trench)

STRIP MINING (spoil bank & trench)

Mountaintop Removal (MTR)

“Strip Mining on Steroids” Widespread in WV, KY, TN, VA, PA Boston.com, 3/16/08: “Short of a nationwide shift away from coal and toward renewable sources, the Appalachia activists would like to see Congress pass the Clean Water Protection Act. This bill would reverse one of the Bush administration's most damaging concessions to industry on the environmental front. The Environmental Protection Agency decided in 2002 that mountaintop-removal miners' practice of dumping their waste into stream beds did not violate the Clean Water Act of 1970. The EPA decided the material was "fill," not waste.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPixjCneseE

Step 2: EXTRACTION Subsurface Mining (more $$, more danger) Surface Mining (less $$, less danger) Subsurface Mining (more $$, more danger) Less damage to the environment (@ surface) Can cause subsidence & even miners’ deaths. 4 Kinds: Shaft Mine = direct vertical shaft, hauled out in buckets. Slope Mine = slanting passage, hauled out in cars. Room-and-pillar = some coal left in place as pillars to prevent collapse. Longwall = narrow tunnel supported by movable metal roof supports. Allowed to collapse after mining is completed.

Shaft (think of your first idea of a mine), Slope (Reed Gold Mine), Room&Pillar (see in drift/slope/shaft), Longwall (in the drift mine, see next slide)

Shaft Mine Remember the Goonies Shaft Mine Remember the Goonies? Most of that movie was filmed in a mine.

Slope Mine

ROOM AND PILLAR (viewed from above)

LONGWALL

Subsurface Mining What effects could occur because of subsurface mining???? Think back to what we’ve learned so far this year…. Subsidence Sinkholes Pollution at the surface Human injury (falls, miners, etc) Any others?

Step 3: PROCESSING Smelting Melting ore at high temperatures to help separate impurities from the molten metal. Uses a Blast Furnace Ore, coke, and limestone react with heat to create: Purified molten iron (denser) Iron Ore + Coke = molten iron + carbon dioxide Impurities (“Slag”) (less dense) Limestone + Impurities = slag Exhaust gases are dangerous!

… that means… Create a Product!! Duh! Step 4: CREATE PRODUCT … that means… Create a Product!! Duh!

Environmental Implications p.336-340 Get in groups of 6. Choose a partner within your group. Each pair summarizes one of the following: 1 – Mining & the Environment (& c-b analysis) 2 – Environmental Impacts of Refining Minerals 3 – Restoration of Mining Lands (& creative approaches) Vocab is key!!! …8min total! Teach your Home Group! …3min each!

Increasing our Mineral Supplies p.340-344 Locating & Mining New Deposits Minerals in Antarctica Minerals from the Ocean Advanced Mining Techniques

Increasing our Supplies… Locating and Mining New Deposits Sometimes we know there are resources out there… but they’re inaccessible. Malaria in Indonesia, Ice in Antarctica, High sedimentation in Amazon Basin Create new technologies Dig 10km below surface, go through ice sheets, etc. Possible to find new resources?? USGS: sure!

Increasing our Supplies… Minerals in Antarctica To date, no substantial mineral deposits have been found in Antarctica. But we might find some! FYI – nobody owns Antarctica… so the rules can get sticky when people want to exploit resources. ANTARCTIC TREATY – 1961 Limits activity in Antarctica to peaceful uses such as scientific studies. Environmental Protection Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty (Madrid Protocol) – 1990 Moratorium on mineral exploration and development for >50yrs People are already ruining Antarctica’s fragile ecosystem… science, tourism, noise, pollution…

Increasing our Supplies… Minerals from the Ocean What’s there? Minerals from the seawater (evaporation) – NaCl, Br Manganese Nodules! (p.344 in book) – Pacific has lots! How do we get them? Dredging mostly. $$$$$$$$$ Problems? BAAAAD for the marine life. Who has the rights? It’s in international waters! Controversy: Some: it’s inevitable… Let’s mine it. Others: so much ecological damage… Let’s declare it off-limits.

Increasing our Supplies… Advanced Mining Technologies Use more low-grade mineral deposits. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Causes greater land disruption Produces far more pollution than high-grade ores In arid regions, lots of water needs to be pumped in to help with the mining process. Biomining Microorganisms can extract minerals from low-grade ores Copper mining uses it. They help!! 90% recovery of gold with them 75% recovery without them.

Expanding our Supplies by Substitution and Conservation Finding Mineral Substitutes Use inexpensive, abundant materials instead! Old=Tin. New=plastic, glass, aluminum. Old=Copper wires. New=fiber optics (glass). Mineral Conservation – important!! (they’re nonrenewable!) Reuse & Recycle Changing our Mineral Requirements Become a low-waste society! Sustainable manufacturing (minimize waste in industry) Dematerialization Decrease weight of products.

“Throwaway” Mentality

Sustainable Manufacturing Traditional Flow of Minerals Low-Waste Society Flow of Minerals Sustainable Manufacturing

RELEVANT LEGISLATION General Mining Law (1872) Allowed people to “stake claims” & make profit Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (1977) Required reclamation of previously mined areas Only from coal mining!! Antarctic Treaty (1961) Limits activity in Antarctica to peaceful uses such as scientific studies Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities (1980s) Never ratified – would have permitted exploitation of Ant. minerals Environmental Protection Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty (Madrid Protocol) (1990) Moratorium on mineral exploration & development for >50 years Designated Antarctica & its marine ecosystem as a “natural reserve dedicated to peace and society”