1. Core Case Study: Environmental Effects of Gold Mining
What countries mine the most gold?
South Africa
Australia
United States
Canada
What is cyanide heap leaching?
To extract gold, miners spray a solution of highly toxic cyanide salts (which react with gold) onto huge open-air piles of crushed rock.

2. Gold Mine with Cyanide Leach Piles and Ponds in South Dakota

3. Ryan would take all his notes
Complete Cornell Notes for all 5 objectives and the answers the 3 summary questions

4. Geology and Nonrenewable Minerals
Chapter 14

5. What Are the Earth’s Major Geological Processes and Hazards?
Objective 1
What Are the Earth’s Major Geological Processes and Hazards?
14-2 of Packet

6. The Earth Is a Dynamic Planet
What is geology?
The science devoted to the student of dynamic processes occurring on the earth’s surface and interior
Three major concentric zones of the earth
Core – inner most zone
Mantle – surrounding the core
Including the asthenosphere
Crust – outermost and thinnest layer
Continental crust – underlies the continents
Oceanic crust: 71% of crust

7. The Earth Beneath Your Feet Is Moving
We tend to think of earth’s crust, mantle, and core as fairly static. In reality, convection cells, or currents move large volumes of rock and heat in loops within the mantle like a gigantic conveyer belt.
Tectonic Plates move extremely slow atop the denser mantle on soft rock in the underlying asthenosphere
Lithosphere are thick plates composed of the continental and oceanic crust and the rigid, outermost part of the mantle.

8. The Earth’s Major Tectonic Plates

9. Three types of boundaries between plates
1) Divergent plates - move apart
Magma – molten rock flows up through the resulting cracks.
Oceanic ridge – is created when plate diverge
2) Convergent plates – oceanic plates collides with a continental plate
Subduction – continental plate rides up over the denser oceanic plate and pushes it down into the mantle
Subduction zone – the area where the collision and subduction take place
Trench – forms at the boundary between the two converging plates
3) Transform fault – plates slide and glide past one another along a fracture (fault) in the lithosphere
example: San Andreas fault

10. The Earth’s Crust Is Made Up of a Mosaic of Huge Rigid Plates: Tectonic Plates
14-3 of Packet

11. The San Andreas Fault as It Crosses Part of the Carrizo Plain in California, U.S.

12. Some Parts of the Earth’s Surface Build Up and Some Wear Down
Internal geologic processes
Generated by heat from the earth’s interior, generally build up the earth’s surface in the form of continental and oceanic crust
External geologic processes
Weathering
Physical, Chemical, and Biological
Driven by the energy from the sun and influenced by gravity, tend to wear down the earth’s surface
Erosion – dissolved, loosened, or worn away
Wind
Flowing water
Human activities
Glaciers – under the influence of gravity, glaciers move slowly down a mountain side or over a wide area

13. Biological, Chemical, & Physical Processes
Copy Figure 14-6 in your notes

14. Volcanoes Release Molten Rock from the Earth’s Interior
Volcano – occurs where magma reaches the earth’s surface through a central vent or a long crack (a.k.a. fissure)
Magma – molten rock
Lava – magma that reaches the earth’s surface
1980: Eruption of Mount St. Helens
The worst volcanic disaster in US history
1991: Eruption of Mount Pinatubo
The largest volcanic eruption during the 20th century
Benefits of volcanic activity – highly fertile soil

15. Creation of a Volcano

16. Pompeii

17. Earthquakes Are Geological Rock-and-Roll Events
Seismic waves – vibrations
Focus – the place where the earth quake begins
Epicenter – the earth’s surface directly above the focus
Magnitude – the severity of an earthquake
Amplitude – size of the seismic waves
Richter scale
Insignificant: <4.0
Minor: 4.0–4.9
Damaging: 5.0–5.9
Destructive: 6.0–6.9
Major: 7.0–7.9
Great: >8.0

18. Major Features and Effects of an Earthquake

19. Areas of Greatest Earthquake Risk in the United States

20. Areas of Greatest Earthquake Risk in the World

21. Earthquakes on the Ocean Floor Can Cause Huge Waves Called Tsunamis
Tsunami a.k.a tidal wave – a series of large waves generated when part of the ocean floor suddenly rises or drops
December 2004: Indian Ocean tsunami
Magnitude of 9.15
Waves as high as 31 meters (100 feet)

22. Formation of a Tsunami and Map of Affected Area of Dec 2004 Tsunami

23. Shore near Gleebruk in Indonesia before and after the Tsunami on June 23, 2004

24. How Are the Earth’s Rocks Recycled?
Objective 2
Copy Figure in your notes

25. There Are Three Major Types of Rocks
Earth’s crust is Composed of
Minerals – an element or inorganic compound that occurs naturally in the earth’s crust
Rocks – a solid combination of one or more minerals found in the earth’s crust
(we will talk more about minerals next objective)
Examples of mineral resources are
fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas)
metallic minerals (such as aluminum, iron, and copper) nonmetallic minerals (such as sand, gravel, & limestone)
As they take so long to produce, these components of the earth’s natural capital are classified as nonrenewable mineral resources.

26. The Earth’s Rocks Are Recycled Very Slowly
Rock cycle – the interaction of physical and chemical processes that change rocks from one type to another
Slowest of the earth’s cyclic processes

27. Three broad classes of rocks, based on formation
Igneous rock is formed below or on the earth’s surface when molten rock wells up and hardens. They form the bulk of the earth’s crust.
Sedimentary rock is formed from small, eroded pieces of rock that are carried to downhill sites. Layers accumulate over time and an increase of weight and pressure plus dissolved minerals bind the sediment particles together to form sedimentary rock.
Metamorphic rock is produced from preexisting rock that is subjected to high temperatures, high pressures, chemically active fluids, or some combination of these.

28. Three broad classes of rocks, based on formation
Sedimentary – made of sediments
Examples of sedimentary rock
Sandstone
Shale
Dolomite
Limestone
Lignite
Bituminous coal
Igneous – forms below or on the earth’s surface when magma cools and hardens
Examples of igneous rock
Granite
Lava rock
Metamorphic – pressure and heat
Examples of metamorphic rock
Anthracite
Slate
Marble

29. What Are Mineral Resources, and what are their Environmental Effects?
Objective 3
What Are Mineral Resources, and what are their Environmental Effects?

30. We Use a Variety of Nonrenewable Mineral Resources
Fossil fuels – like coal
Metallic minerals – like aluminum, iron, & copper
Nonmetallic minerals – like sand, gravel, & lime stone
Ore
After waste material is removed from metal ores they are smelted or treated with chemicals to extract the desired metal.
High-grade ore – contains large amounts of the desired nonrenewable mineral
Low-grade ore – contains a smaller amount of the mineral

31. Mineral resources can be classified into four major categories:
Identified resources with a known location, quantity, and quality.
Reserves are identified resources that can be extracted profitably at current prices.
Undiscovered reserves are potential supplies of a mineral resource assumed to exist.
Other resources are undiscovered resources and identified resources not classified as reserves.

32. The Life Cycle of a Metal Resource

33. Copy Figure 14-15 in your notes

34. There Are Several Ways to Remove Mineral Deposits
Surface mining
Shallow deposits removed
Subsurface mining
Deep deposits removed
Overburden – the soil and rock overlying a useful mineral deposit
Spoils – the overburden that is discarded as waste material

35. There Are Several Ways to Remove Mineral Deposits
Types of surface mining
Open-pit mining – machines dig holes and remove ores
Strip mining – gigantic earthmovers strip away the overburden, and power shovels remove the mineral deposit
Contour mining – is used mostly to mine coal on hilly or mountainous terrain
Mountaintop removal – explosives, large power shovels, and huge machines are used to remove the top of a mountain and expose coal

36. Open-Pit Mine in Western Australia

37. Contour Strip Mining Used in Hilly or Mountainous Region

38. Mountaintop Coal Mining in West Virginia, U.S.

39. Mining Has Harmful Environmental Effects
Scarring and disruption of the land surface
E.g., spoils banks
Loss of rivers and streams
Subsidence – collapse of land above some underground mines
Major pollution of water and air
Effect on aquatic life
Large amounts of solid waste

40. Banks of Waste or Spoils Created by Coal Area Strip Mining in Colorado, U.S.

41. Illegal Gold Mine

42. Ecological Restoration of a Mining Site in New Jersey, U.S.

43. Natural Capital Degradation: Summitville Gold Mining Site in Colorado, U.S.

44. How Long Will Supplies of Nonrenewable Mineral Resources Last?
Objective 4
How Long Will Supplies of Nonrenewable Mineral Resources Last?

45. Mineral Resources Are Distributed Unevenly
Most of the nonrenewable mineral resources are supplied by
United States
Canada
Russia
South Africa
Australia

46. Future supply depends on
Supplies of Nonrenewable Mineral Resources Can Be Economically Depleted
Future supply depends on
Actual or potential supply of the mineral
Rate at which it is used
When it becomes economically depleted
Recycle or reuse existing supplies
Waste less
Use less
Find a substitute
Do without

47. Depletion Curves for a Nonrenewable Resource

48. Read the case study on page 363 The U.S. General Mining Law of 1872
Encouraged mineral exploration and mining of hard-rock minerals on U.S. public lands to boost development on the then-sparsely populated West
Until 1995, land could be bought for prices
Companies must pay for clean-up now

49. Is Mining Lower-Grade Ores the Answer?
Factors that limit the mining of lower-grade ores
Increased cost of mining & processing larger volumes of ore
Availability of freshwater needed to mine and process some minerals
Environmental impact
Land disruption, waste materials, and pollution produced
Improve mining technology
Use microorganisms to extract minerals
in-place or in situ in SY-too mining
Downside is that it is a slow process
Biomining
Genetic Engineering techniques that can produce bacteria

50. How Can We Use Mineral Resources More Sustainably?
Objective 5
How Can We Use Mineral Resources More Sustainably?

51. We Can Find Substitutes for Some Scarce Mineral Resources
Materials revolution
New materials are being used as replacements for metals
For example, development of silicon and ceramics may replace the need for as much metal.
Nanotechnology – tiny tech
Uses science and engineering to manipulate and create materials out of atoms and molecules.

52. We Can Recycle and Reuse Valuable Metals
Recycling
Lower environmental impact than mining and processing metals from ores
Example – Recycling aluminum beverage cans and scrap aluminum produces 95% less air pollution and 97% less water pollution and uses 95% less energy than mining and processing aluminum ore.
Growing signs point to an ecoindustrial revolution taking place over the next 50 years. The goal is to make industrial manufacturing processes cleaner and more sustainable by redesigning them to mimic how nature deals with wastes.

53. Copy Figure 14-24 in your notes

54. An Industrial Ecosystem in Denmark Mimics Natural Food Web

55. Can you answer these questions?
1. Which rock type is made from lava?
Igneous
2. Which rock type is made from lithified sediments?
Sedimentary
3. Which rock type is made from the compression of the two other rock types?
Metamorphic
4. Which mechanical process leads to the formation of sediment?
Weathering
5. What are the two types of igneous rocks?
Granite (formed underground) & lava rock (formed aboveground)

56. Summary
Briefly describe the three major classes of rocks, including how they are formed and examples of each type.
Explain what it means for a mineral to become economically depleted.