Geo 20F Ms. Jones
Canada is the third largest producer of minerals. Only the United States and Russia produce more. Canada is the worlds largest exporter of minerals. We export 80% of the minerals we produce. Canada earns roughly $83 billion annually from its mineral resources.
Go back and review your notes on Forestry. What similarities do you notice between Canada’s forestry stats and our mining stats? Observations: What are the reason for these stats? (3)
A mineral is a naturally occurring, pure, non- living substance found in the rocks of the earth. There are many minerals that have no economic value, but some are hugely valuable. All minerals are divided into three distinct groups: Metallic Minerals Fossil Fuels Industrial Minerals
Metallic Minerals are minerals that when they are refined, yield materials we call metals. Some metallic minerals are mined for the rarity and beauty and some are mined for their strength. Examples: ??? (Page 317 of your text)
A fossil fuel is any mineral that can be burned to create energy. Fossils fuels are given this name due to the fact that they were formed by dead plants and animals being compressed and heated over millions of years. Examples: ??? (Page 317 of your text)
Industrial minerals vary greatly in their characteristics. For this reason it is very difficult to describe them in a simple way. Industrial minerals are often described in terms of what they are not. Industrial minerals are all things that are mined that are not metallic minerals or fossil fuels. Examples: ??? (Page 317 of your text)
Look at the map on Page 319 of your textbook. Jot down on your resource map by re-creating the “circles” of what type of mineral is mined in each province/territory. Make sure you include the key so you know what color represents what type of mineral. (also in the textbook) Also jot down how much money each province is making from its mineral resources. Once you are done, identify the three biggest producers of each of the three types of minerals.