1. Consequences of Human Activities
4.3 Mining and Mineral use
Consequences of Human Activities

2. Learning Targets: Explain how minerals are mined
Describe how metals are made from mineral ores
Summarize the ways in which gemstones are used
Identify some useful minerals

3. Mining and Using Minerals
Almost everything you own or use is made from one of these two things
Plant and Animal remains: wood, cotton, food, oil, plastics
Minerals: metal, rock, cement, glass

4. Minerals Because minerals are made by natural processes, they must be
Found
Mined
Processed
Used/Disposed of
There are economic and environmental concerns in each of these steps

5. Finding Minerals Ore: mineral deposits that can be mined for a profit
Mining is very expensive, so extensive research is done before it begins
Geologist find mineral deposits by:
Studying local rocks
Mapping the area
Taking rock samples

6. Mining
Surface mining: mining operations that are exposed on the earth’s surface
Pit mining
Strip mining
Quarrying
Underground mining: mining operations that are accessed by underground tunnels

7. Copper Mine: note the green water

8. Pit Mine

9. Coal Mine: note the depth and layering

10. Coal Mine

11. Quarry: note the size of the blocks

12. Abandoned quarries often become lakes

13. Underground Mines

14. Economic and Environmental Concerns
Mining and ore handling provide many people with jobs
Almost every product we use requires mined material
Mines can be very bad for the local environment

15. Environmental Concerns
Mines affect the environment by
Removing soil and biodiversity
Deforestation
Changing courses of flowing water
Altering local topography
Releasing heavy metals and volatile chemicals

16. Sinkholes (Subsidence)
Sinkholes are common where the rock below the land surface is limestone, carbonate rock, salt beds, or rocks that can naturally be dissolved by groundwater circulating through them. As the rock dissolves, spaces and caverns develop underground.

17. West Virginian Mountain Removal

18. Seams of coal and a stream that is being filled with debris

19. Dangers of changing water flow

20. Processing Metals Metals are taken from rocks
Ores require a lot of processing to get usable metal
Heap leaching: addition of chemicals to remove ore
Flotation: attaches compound that floats minerals out of solution
Smelting: super-heating rock causing it to celebrate into layers
Recycling metals is important

21. Reclamation
In the past, we did nothing to rejuvenate the land after mining.
Present, Bureau of Reclamation
"The process of reconverting disturbed land to its former or other productive uses."

22. Processing Gemstones
Gem (gemstone): valuable rocks used in jewelry or industry