Geologic Resources: Nonrenewable
Mineral and Energy Resources
G. Tyler Miller’s
Living in the Environment
13th Edition
Chapter 15
Dr. Richard Clements
Chattanooga State Technical Community College
Modified by Charlotte Kirkpatrick
Key Concepts
 Types of mineral resources
 Formation and location of mineral
resources
 Extraction and processing of mineral
resources
 Increasing supplies of mineral resources
 Major types, acquisition, advantages,
and disadvantages of fuel resources
Why mine minerals?
Nature of Mineral Resources
Mineral resources: concentration of naturally
occurring material in or on the earth’s crust that can be
extracted and processed into useful materials at an
affordable cost
Metallic: iron, copper , aluminum
Non-metallic: salt, clay, sand, phosphates,
soil
Energy resources: Coal, oil, natural gas,
uranium
General classification of
mineral resources
Fig. 15-2 p. 339
Nature and Formation of Mineral
Resources
Magma: magma flows to the surface at divergent
and convergent plate boundaries it cools, and
crystallizes into mineral containing igneous rocks.
Hydrothermal: hydrothermal vents allow seeping
of metal-bearing solutions to cool and their dissolved
minerals to form hydrothermal ore deposits.
Manganese nodules: cover 25-50% of the
ocean floor very concentrated form of manganese and
other important metals.
Hydrothermal vent
communities and deposits
Black smoker
White
smoker
Sulfide
deposit
Magma
Tube worms
White crab
White clam
Figure 15-3
Page 340
Slide 3
Ores From Sedimentary and
Weathering Processes
Sedimentary processes:
Placer Deposits: form as deposit settle out as
flowing water slow down:gold
Evaporites: water evaporates from inland seas
or lakes with no outlets and concentrations of
dissolved salts increase and precipitate out for
form evaporites mineral deposits such as Salt,
borax, and sodium carbonate
Weathering: moving water removes soluble ions
and leaves behind ions that form Residual
deposits of metal ores:Iron and Bauxite ore
Salt mine from Sal Island
Finding Nonrenewable Mineral
Resources
Satellite imagery
Aerial sensors (magnetometers)
Gravity differences
Core sampling
Seismic surveys
Chemical analysis of water and plants
Removing Nonrenewable Mineral
Resources
Surface mining: basics
Overburden: soil
and rock removed
by stripping away
by mechanized
equipment
Spoil: Waste
material discarded
from overburden
Removing Nonrenewable Mineral
Resources: Surface Mining Types
Open-pit: land is dug up into a large hole to
remove deposits of mineral ores and sandstone, gravel
and stone.
Dredging: removal of minerals from the ocean
floor
Removing Nonrenewable Mineral
Resources: Surface Mining Types
(cont.)
Area Strip Mining: flat terrain mining, removal
of overburden and in strips and if not restored spoil banks
left behind
Contour Strip Mining:same as above except
on hilly terrain and leftover is a erodable wall of dirt
called a high wall.
Mountain Top Removal: explosives and
large machinery used to remove mountain tops to expose
seams of coal underneath. Very environmentally
damaging.
Types of Surface Mining
Open Pit Mine
Figure 15-4 (1)
Page 341
Dredging
Slide 4
Figure 15-4 (2)
Page 341
Slide 5
Contour Strip Mining
Area Strip Mining
Figure 15-4 (3)
Page 341
Figure 15-4 (4)
Page 341
Slide 6
Slide 7
Removing Nonrenewable Mineral
Resources
Subsurface mining: removes minerals too deep
for surface mining
Room and pillar
Longwall
Mine shafts and tunnels
Types of Subsurface Mining
Figure 15-5(1)
Page 342
Underground Coal Mine
Figure 15-5 (2)
Page 342
Room-and-pillar
Slide 9
Slide 8
Longwall Mining of Coal
Figure 15-5 (3)
Page 342
Slide 10
Environmental Effects of Extracting
Mineral Resources
Fig. 15-6 p. 343
Environmental Effects of Processing
Mineral Resources
Ore mineral: Extracted from ore, contains
the desired metal
Gangue: Also extracted from ore, waste
material
Tailings: Piles of gangue waste left behind,
allows toxic metals to reach groundwater and
surface water supplies
Smelting: Used to separate the metal from
the other elements in the ore mineral.
See Case Study p. 345
One effect of tailings left behind
Above: A simplified diagram showing natural cyanide degradation
processes at the tailings storage facilities.
1. Waste Rock Embankment. 2. Decant pond. 3. Natural ground.
Typical Lifecycle of a metal
resource
Smelting
Separation
of ore from
gangue
Melting
metal
Metal ore
Conversion
to product
Recycling
Discarding
of product
Surface
mining
Figure 15-8
Page 344
Scattered in environment
Slide 13
Acid Mine Drainage
Fig. 15-7 p. 344
Environmental Effects of Using
Mineral Resources
Disruption of land surface
Subsidence: sinking of the land
Erosion of solid mining waste: tailings,
spoil banks
Acid mine drainage: pollution of water
sources as rainwater seeps into ground and surface
water
Air pollution: smelters, toxic emissions
Storage and leakage of liquid mining
waste: smelters, holding ponds
Supplies of Mineral Resources
 Economic depletion
 Depletion time:
shortened by recycle, reuse,
reduce, improved
technology, new discoveries,
higher prices
 Reserve-to-production
ratio: the number of years
that proven reserves of a
particular nonrenewable
mineral will last at current
annual production rates.
Fig. 15-9 p. 346
Supplies of Mineral Resources
 Foreign sources: we are highly dependent on
sources outside the U.S.
 Economics:mine higher grade ore first, lower grade
ores are more environmentally damaging. Most of the
environmental costs for mining are not included in the
prices for processed metals and products
 Follow normal supply and demand
 Mining law of 1872: hard rock minerals may be mined
without paying royalties, by patenting parcels of land,
no environmental cleanup required,
World Mineral Map
World Mineral Reserves
Environmental concerns
Environmental concerns: 5-10% of world
energy use is for extraction of minerals. Major
contributor to air and water pollution. Largely
determined by mineral content or grade.
 Mining on Public lands; national forests, parks,
resource lands and wilderness.
Supplies of Mineral Resources
 Mining lower grade ores: New earth-moving
equipment, improved techniques for removing
impurities, technical advances in mineral
extraction and processing
 Mining the ocean: Many mineral elements found
in seawater, sediments and deposits on the shallow
continental shelf, hydrothermal ore deposits, and
manganese rich nodules
 Finding substitutes: Mainly plastics and ceramics
Evaluating Energy Resources
 Renewable energy:Energy resources that can be
used sustainably and be available for future generations.
 Non-renewable energy: Energy that has a finite
supply and the only way to increase supply is through
conservation techniques.
 Environmental effects: Use of mostly
nonrenewable energy resources has resulted in an increase
in air and water pollution, land disruption, and greenhouse
gas emissions.
Evaluating Energy Resources
World
Fig. 15-12 p. 351
U.S.
Nuclear power
6%
Hydropower, geothermal,
solar, wind
7%
Natural
Gas
12%
Biomass
11%
Coal
21%
Oil
32%
World
Figure 15-12 (1)
Page 351
Slide 17
Nonrenewable: 82%
Renewable: 18%
Nonrenewable:91%
Renewable : 9%
Evaluating Energy Resources
 Future
availability: depends
largely on how we use
the resources.
 Cost: affected by the
promotion of subsidies,
and tax breaks,
availability of resource
Net Energy Yield
Net energy yield: Usable amount of high-quality
energy available from a given quantity of an energy
resource.
Determined by the total energy available from a
resource minus the energy needed to find, extract,
process, and bring to consumers.
Figured by estimating the total energy available for
use over its lifetime minus the amount of energy 1.
used (1st law), 2.automatically wasted (2nd law), and
3. Unnecessarily wasted for finding, processing,
concentrating, and transporting.
Net Energy Ratios
High-Temperature Industrial Heat
Surface-mined coal
Underground-mined coal
Natural gas
Oil
Coal gasification
Direct solar (highly
concentrated by
mirrors, heliostats, or
other devices)
28.2
25.8
4.9
4.7
1.5
0.9
Figure 15-17 (2)
Page 354
Slide 25
Transportation
Photovoltaic (solar) cells
Natural gas
4.9
Gasoline (refined crude oil)
2-10
4.1
Biofuel (ethyl alcohol)
1.9
2-13
Coal liquefaction
Oil shale
1.4
1.2
Figure 15-17 (3)
Page 354
Figure 15-17 (4)
Page 354
Slide 26
Slide 27
Fuel Resources Over Time
100
Contribution to total energy
consumption (percent)
Wood
80
Coal
Natural gas
60
Oil
40
Hydrogen
Solar
20
Nuclear
0
1800
1875
1950
Year
2025
2100
Figure 15-16
Page 353
Slide 23
Some Important Energy Sources
Fig. 15-10 p. 350
Oil
Petroleum (crude oil): oil as it comes out of
the ground, is a thick liquid consisting of hundreds
of combustible hydrocarbons along with small
amounts of sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen impurities.
Formed from decomposition of dead organic
matter from plants (plankton) and animals
buried under lake and ocean sediments from 2140 million years ago (MYA)
Oil
Primary recovery:Involves drilling a well
and pumping out the oil that flows by gravity
into the bottom of the well.
Secondary recovery: After flowing oil is
removed water can be infected into a nearby
well to force some of the heavy oil to the
surface.
Tertiary recovery: steam or carbon dioxide
gas are injected to remove approximately 10%
of the remaining heavy oil
Oil
 Oil and Natural gas are usually found
together trapped in a dome deep within the
earth’s crust.
 Heavy Crude oil is too expensive to extract
so most wells are only getting about 35% of
the oil out.
 Drilling causes little land damage yet it always
involves some oil spills on land and at sea and the
harmful effects of using associated with extraction,
processing, and using oil
Oil
Refining: based on boiling points
components are removed at various levels in
a giant distillation column. The most volatile
components with the lowest boiling points
are removed at the top.
Transporting: by pipeline, trucks or ships
Petrochemicals: Products of oil distillation
that are used as raw materials in industrial
organic chemicals, pesticides, plastics, etc.
Oil refining by Distillation
Most volatile
Fig. 15-18 p. 355
Who has the World’s Oil?
• Oil reserves are identified deposits from
which oil can be extracted profitably at
current prices with current technology.
• OPEC contains 67% of the world’s crude oil
reserves (see bottom of page 355). Mainly in
Saudi Arabia (26%)
• The remaining is found in Latin America,
Africa, the former Soviet Union, Asia, the
United States and Western Europe.
North American Energy Resources
Fig. 15-20
p. 356
Oil Use in the U.S.
• Most oil drilled in the U.S. comes from
offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and
form drilling in Alaska’s North Slope.
• U.S. only produces 3% of the world’s oil
yet uses 26% of the crude oil extracted each
year.
• Therefore, much of our oil is imported each
year, mainly from the Persian Gulf
• 1973 imported 36%, 2001 imported 55%
and predicted to import 61% by 2010.
Oil Usage and How Long Will
it Last?
• We are not currently running out of oil!!
• However, our known reserves of oil are
limited and if we continue to use them at
current rates we may have only 53 years
left. And if we increase usage by only 2%
per year only 42 years of oil are left.
• Undiscovered oil supplies might add
another 20-40 years to the global supplies.
• See page 358
Consumption (million barrels per day)
Oil Consumption
60
History
50
Projections
Developed
countries
40
30
Developing
countries
20
10
0
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
Year
Figure 15-19
Page 355
Slide 29
Pros and Cons of Oil
Advantages
Ample supply for
42–93 years
Low cost (with
huge subsidies)
High net
energy yield
Easily transported
within and
between countries
Low land use
Efficient distribution system
Disadvantages
Need to find
substitute within
50 years
Artificially low
price encourages
waste and
discourages
search for
alternatives
Air pollution
when burned
Releases CO2
when burned
Moderate water
pollution
Figure 15-26
Page 361
Slide 37
Oil Shale and Tar Sands
Oil shale: shale
Keragen must be refined before
use and to be sent by pipeline
rock that contains oil.
to
the
refinery
it
must
be
heated
Keragen: actual
to increase flow and processed
substance locked in the
to remove impurities.
shale, converted to oil
Bitumen must be removed,
Tar sand: sand
purified, and chemically
that contains clay, sand,
upgraded into a synthetic
water and bitumen
crude oil suitable for refining.
Bitumen: heavy
Canada has a very rich Tar
oil with a high sulfur
sand supply and has been
content (high sulfur
using it since 1978
oil)
Pros and Cons of Shale Oil
and Tar Sands
Natural Gas
 50-90% methane with small amounts of
heavier gases (propane,butane) and hydrogen
sulfide
 Conventional gas:Lies just above crude oil
reservoirs
 Unconventional gas: found by itself in
underground sources. Not economical to extract, yet.
 Ex. Methane hydrate: composed of small
bubbles of natural gas trapped inice crystals deep
under the arctic permafrost and beneath deep ocean
sediments.
Natural Gas
 Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG): When a
natural gas field is tapped the propane and butane
are liquefied and removed and stored in pressurized
tanks mainly for use in rural areas not serviced by
gas pipelines.
 Liquefied natural gas (LNG):The remainder of
the gas is dried, cleansed of impurities, and pumped into
pressurized pipelines (natural gas at your homes). Then, if
exposed to a very low temperature, it can be converted into
LNG. And if refrigerated it can be transported by tankers
 Approximate 200 year supply
Pros and Cons of Natural Gas
Coal
 Primarily strip-mined
 Used mostly for generating electricity
 Enough coal for about 1000 years
 Highest environmental impact
 Coal gasification and liquefaction
Coal: Stages of Formation
Fig. 15-30 p. 363
Burning Coal More Cleanly
 Fluidized-Bed
Combustion
Fig. 15-32 p. 364
Nuclear Energy
Fission
reactors
Uranium-235
Potentially
dangerous
Radioactive
wastes
Refer to Introductory Essay p. 338
Fig. 15-35 p. 366
The Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Fig. 15-36
p. 367
Dealing with Nuclear Waste
Low-level waste
High-level waste
Fig. 15-40
p. 370
Dealing with Nuclear Waste
Underground burial
Disposal in space
Fig. 15-40
p. 370
Burial in ice sheets
Dumping into subduction zones
Burial in ocean mud
Conversion into harmless materials
Nuclear Alternatives
 Breeder nuclear
fission reactors
 Nuclear fusion
 New reactor designs
Storage Containers
Fuel rod
Primary canister
Ground Level
Unloaded from train
Personnal
elevator
Air shaft
Nuclear waste
shaft
Lowered down shaft
Fig. 15-42
p. 376
Overpack
container
sealed
Underground
Buried and capped
Groups for Presentations (Period 4)
Group #1
Passive Solar Heating System
Lindsey Whang, Michelle Manzer, Jake McCune,
Group #2
Active Solar Heating System
Tim Hawes, White Xie, Kathy Chou, Rachel Kim
Group #3
Solar Thermal Systems
Sabaha Khakoo, Christine Buzan, Bryan Koorstad
Group #4
Electricity from Solar Cells
Christopher Gray, Andrew Plaza, Riley
Thornburgh
Group #5
Hydroelectric Power
Lauren Comise, Michael Shin, Kate Wyrick
Group #6
Electricity from Tides and
Waves
Ryan Kim, Alex Conrad, Anish Gala
Group#7
Heat stored in Tropical Oceans Jessica Shim, Sujan T., Timothy Tran
and Solar Ponds
Group #8
Electricity from Wind
Michael Wurth, Patrick Goh, Jennifer Chow
Group #9
Biomass plantations and
burning wood
Christine Kobayashi, Karthick Bhaskaran, Henry
Kaplan
Group #10 Burning Agricultural wastes
Jason Perecko, Ryan Haggerty, Jenn Hori
Group #11 Solar Hydrogen
Jimmy Jea, Ernie Chen, James Bai
Group #12 Geothermal Energy
Robin Kim, Eileen Ong, Nikhil Gupta
Groups for Presentations (Period 5)
Group #1
Passive Solar Heating System
Danielle Reyes, Bhumi Desai, Hershel Mehta
Group #2
Active Solar Heating System
Christopher DeLeon, Linh Duong
Group #3
Solar Thermal Systems
Hannah Cole, Rachel Nishimura
Group #4
Electricity from Solar Cells
Brent Reed, Sung Jin, Dale Stoica
Group #5
Hydroelectric Power
Nirlai Shah, Colin Webber, Scott Shin
Group #6
Electricity from Tides and
Waves
Daniel Chung, Paul Kang
Group#7
Heat stored in Tropical Oceans Andrew Murase, Nicole Uchida
and Solar Ponds
Group #8
Electricity from Wind
Kacey Kim, Janet Lee, Michelle Lee
Group #9
Biomass plantations and
burning wood
Elliot Kim, Eunice Choi
Group #10 Burning Agricultural wastes
Kasen Bien, Rachel Yang
Group #11 Solar Hydrogen
Christie Hsu, Zain Lalani, Priya Gohil
Group #12 Geothermal Energy
Kevin Wang, Sarah Ortiz, Justin Wang
Groups for Presentations (Period 6)
Group #1
Passive Solar Heating System
Jane Huh, Brandon Wong, Harrison Lam, Alison
Ozaki
Group #2
Active Solar Heating System
Justin Phan, Mackenzie Chang, Christopher
Guevara, Arti Kothari
Group #3
Solar Thermal Systems
Alexander Kim, Tiffany Lai, Riye Takahashi
Group #4
Electricity from Solar Cells
Alyssa Pasternack, Brandon Liu, Dayanita
Ramesh
Group #5
Hydroelectric Power
Dionne Bang, Vivian Wu, Namrata Doshi
Group #6
Electricity from Tides and
Waves
HaYon Chun, Kathy Li, Emma Hartman
Group#7
Heat stored in Tropical Oceans Sophia Chou, Nataya Chayasriwong, Marko
and Solar Ponds
Cristal
Group #8
Electricity from Wind
Kyle Barnes, Mark Kim, Christopher Patuwo
Group #9
Biomass plantations and
burning wood
Nicholas Lowe, Joshua Ahn, Isabella Luong
Group #10 Burning Agricultural wastes
Andrew Tran, Patricia Shnell, David Lin
Group #11 Solar Hydrogen
Jason Su, Rachel Chen, Grace Yee
Group #12 Geothermal Energy
Alex Norby, Brandon Hui, Gerardo Saucedo