1. 14-4 How Long Will Supplies of Nonrenewable Mineral Resources Last?
Concept 14-4A All nonrenewable mineral resources exist in finite amounts, and as we get closer to depleting any mineral resource, the environmental impacts of extracting it generally become more harmful.
Concept 14-4B Raising the price of a scarce mineral resource can lead to an increase in its supply, but there are environmental limits to this effect.

2. Mineral Resources Are Distributed Unevenly (1)
Mineral deposits are _______ shared evenly among countries
Five nations supply most of the world’s nonrenewable mineral resources…
United States
Canada
Russia
South Africa
Australia
NOT

3. Mineral Resources Are Distributed Unevenly (1)
Since 1950, the U.S. has had a sharp ________________ in its use of mineral resources…
Both __________ use and _______ capita
As a result, the U.S. has _________________ some of their once rich mineral resources like…
Lead
Aluminum
iron
increase
total
per
depleted

4. Mineral Resources Are Distributed Unevenly (2)
Experts are concerned about four _______________ metal resources that are essential for a country’s _______________ and _________________ strength
Manganese (Mn)
Cobalt (Co)
Chromium (Cr)
Platinum (Pt)
U.S. has little or no reserves of these metals so we must depend on _________________
strategic
economy
military
- Adds more strength to steel
- Put in high temp. alloys (jet engines)
- “chrome” plating, stainless steel
- jewelry, electroplating, medical uses
imports

5. Supplies of Nonrenewable Mineral Resources Can Be Economically Depleted (1)
The future supply of a mineral depends on…
_______________ or potential supply of the mineral
_____________ at which it is used
We have never completely run out of a mineral, but they can be ____________________ depleted
When it costs more than it is worth to find or extract and process
actual
rate
economically

6. Supplies of Nonrenewable Mineral Resources Can Be Economically Depleted (2)
When a mineral does become economically depleted we have five choices…
___________________ or reuse existing supplies
Waste _________
________less
Find a ___________________
Do ____________
Depletion time: time it takes to use a certain portion of reserves…usually _______
Experts may ________________ on estimated depletion times because they are making different assumptions about supplies or rate of use
recycle
less
Use
substitute
without
80%
differ

7. Natural Capital Depletion: Depletion Curves for a Nonrenewable Resource
Shortest Depletion Time
Assumes _____ recycling,
reuse, or increase in reserves NO
Longer Depletion Time
Assumes recycling and _____
deposit discoveries
new
Figure 14.19: Natural capital depletion.
Each of these depletion curves for a nonrenewable resource (such as aluminum or copper) is based on a different set of assumptions. Dashed vertical lines represent the times at which 80% depletion occurs.
Longest Depletion Time
Also assumes _________
and reduced consumption
reuse
Fig , p. 361

8. Market Prices Affect Supplies of Nonrenewable Minerals
__________________ processes determine the quantity and location of a mineral resource
_________________ determines what part of the know supply is extracted and used
If you wanted a reserve to last longer, would you increase or decrease the price of a mineral?
Geological
Economics
Increase!

9. Higher prices also stimulate…
Typically, a mineral resource is ____________ when its supply is plentiful
A mineral resources becomes more expensive as its supply becomes ______________
Higher prices also stimulate…
the development of better mining _______________
the search for new _________________
the search for ____________________
resource _______________________
the use of _______________ grade ores
cheaper
scarce
technologies
deposits
substitutes
conservation
lower

10. Market Prices Affect Supplies of Nonrenewable Minerals
However, most mineral prices are kept _________________ low because governments subsidize the development of their own domestic mineral resources in order to promote…
Economic ________________
National ________________
So the minerals that you use are actually more expensive than their ______________ value…
Consumers pay ____________ to cover the “extra” cost associated with _________________ and environmental __________________
artificially
growth
security
market
taxes
extraction
clean-up

11. Case Study: The U.S. General Mining Law of 1872 – An ____________ Subsidy
Outdated
The U.S. General Mining Law of 1872 was intended to …
encouraged mineral exploration and mining of _________ rock like gold, silver, and copper
help develop _________________ territories
To obtain the subsidy, you simply had to file a ___________ stating that you wanted to purchase land containing valuable minerals
Until __________, land could be bought for 1872 prices
hard
western
claim
1995

12. Before 1995, many companies used this law to cheaply buy land and then…
_______________ on it
_______________ the land to someone else
use it for essentially ___________ purpose
Golf courses
Hunting lodges
Hotels
House subdivisions
build
lease
any

13. Colorado Gold Mine Must Be Cleaned up by the EPA
Mining companies
can also buy land
for ______ prices and
then declare bankruptcy
before they _________
the site to fix
environmental damage
In 1992, the law was
altered and required
companies to post
____________ covering
100% of the cleanup
low
clean
Figure 14.20: Natural capital degradation.
This Summitville gold mining site near Alamosa, Colorado, became a toxic waste site after the Canadian company that owned it declared bankruptcy and abandoned it, rather than cleaning up the acids and toxic metals that leaked from the site into the nearby Alamosa River. Cleanup by the EPA will cost U.S. taxpayers about $120 million.
bonds
Gold Mine in Summitville Colorado
Fig , p. 363

14. Mining companies argue for keeping the outdated law because….
They must invest large sums just to ____________ and ______________ and ore site before they make any profit
government subsidized land allows them to provide…
__________ paying jobs to miners
vital resources for _________________
locate
develop
high
industries

15. Is Mining Lower-Grade Ores the Answer?
Some analysts contend that we can increase the supplies of some minerals by extracting __________ grade ores (those that contain __________ of the desired mineral)
Ex: Our current copper ore is only ______ copper but before the 1900s it was _______ copper
Better extraction __________________ make this more profitable
lower
less
.5% 5%
technologies

16. Is Mining Lower-Grade Ores the Answer?
Several factors limit the mining of lower-grade ores…
Increased cost of mining and processing ___________ _______________ of ore
Availability of having enough _________________ for processing extracted material, especially in arid areas
Environmental impact of the increased land _____________________
larger
volumes
freshwater
disruption

17. Is Mining Lower-Grade Ores the Answer?
One way around this is to use __________________ technology
Use _________________ to breakdown rock material and extract minerals, in a process called…
_______________ or _______________ mining
Desired metal is then acquired through ___________ bored into the deposits
Leaves the surrounding area ___________________ and reduces _______________________
Slow process
Will require ________________ engineering of the microbes
biomining
microorganisms
in-place
in-situ
wells
unharmed
pollution
genetic

18. Can We Extend Supplies by Getting More Minerals from the Ocean? (1)
Another mining option involves acquiring _______________ mineral resources from the ocean
Mostly ___________ concentrations
Higher concentrations are found along the continental shelf and _______________________
Sand and gravel
Phosphates and sulfur
Tin, copper, iron, tungsten, silver, titanium, platinum and diamonds
dissolved
low
shoreline

19. Can We Extend Supplies by Getting More Minerals from the Ocean? (2)
_________________ ore deposits
“black smokers”
Sea floor _____________ that slowly join together
manganese _________
We will need to think about….
aquatic life
Hydrothermal
sediments
“nodules”

20. 14-5 How Can We Use Mineral Resources More Sustainability?
Concept We can try to find substitutes for scarce resources, reduce resource waste, and recycle and reuse minerals.

21. We Can Find Substitutes for Some Scarce Mineral Resources (1)
Our search for mineral substitutes has lead to the __________________ ____________________
Examples…
Ceramics and __________________ plastics
fiber-optic ____________ cables that transmit pulses of light are replacing ____________ and ___________ wires in telephone cables
The use of _______________________ may help use one day to create many other substitutes
Basically means _________________
nano- = _________
material
revolution
high-strength
glass
copper
aluminum
nanotechnology
“tiny tech”
10-9

22. We Can Find Substitutes for Some Scarce Mineral Resources (1)
Nanotechnology scientists plan to use __________ of abundant substances, such as carbon, silicon, silver, titanium, and boron, to create everything from….
_______________________
Nanomaterials are currently used in ______ consumer products
Wrinkle free coating on clothes
Sunscreens
Antibacterial food containers
atoms
medicines
Solar cells
automobiles
800

23. In the future, we would like to use nanoparticles to…
remove industrial ____________________ from the air, water, and soil
desalinize water with small affordable _______________________
Recycle garbage at a ________________ rate
The catch? As particles get smaller they are potentially more ______________
Studies show that nanoparticles can move across….
The placenta from a mother to her _____________
From the nasal passage to the ______________
pollution
nanofilters
faster
toxic
fetus
brain

24. We Can Find Substitutes for Some Scarce Mineral Resources (2)
Studies have also shown that…
Certain _______________ nanotubes could damage lungs in the same way that asbestos does
Nanosilver particles disrupted ________________ __________________ in zebra fish
Before we use nanotechnology on a large-scale, we must…
_____________________ the potential risks
Create _______________________ for using this technology
carbon
embryo
development
investigate
guidelines

25. We Can Find Substitutes for Some Scarce Mineral Resources (2)
It is also important to remember that substitutions are ________ a cure-all
Examples
Platinum is currently unrivaled as a ________________ for industrial processes
Chromium is an essential part of __________________
A more sustainable way to use nonrenewable mineral resources is to __________________ or ______________ them
________________ environmental impact than mining and processing metals from ores
NOT
catalyst
stainless steel
reuse
recycle
Less

26. Solutions: Sustainable Use of Nonrenewable Minerals
Figure 14.23: We can use nonrenewable mineral resources more sustainably (Concept 14-5). Questions: Which two of these solutions do you think are the most important? Why?
Fig , p. 366

27. Case Study: Pollution Prevention Pays
In 1975, the U.S. based Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, (_______), began a Pollution Prevention Pays (_______) program
________________ equipment and processes
Used ______________ hazardous chemicals
sold ______________ products to other companies that could use them
Began making __________________ products 3M 3P
Redesigned
less
waste
non-polluting

28. Case Study: Pollution Prevention Pays
Between 1975 and 2008…
Prevented more than _________________ tons of pollution from reaching the environment
Saved ____________________ in waste disposal and material cost
Sparked ______________ ________________ movement
1.5 million
$ 1.2 billion
cleaner
production

29. Review Questions What are strategic metal resources?
How might higher prices affect mining?
Important for economy and military strength
Develop new mining technology
substitutes
Find new deposits? Ocean resources?
Better conservation

30. Review Questions What does nanotechnology basically mean?
Do we have replacements for all of scarce mineral resources?
What are some ways to use minerals more sustainably?
Tiny tech
No Examples….platinum and chromium
Waste less
Recycle/reuse
Raise prices
Cleaner production