Geologic Resources: Nonrenewable
Mineral and Energy Resources
G. Tyler Miller’s
Living in the Environment
12th Edition
Chapter 14
Dr. Richard Clements
Chattanooga State Technical Community College
Nonrenewable Mineral Resources
Metallic
Non-metallic
Energy resources
Ores
Nonrenewable Mineral Resources:
Categories
Identified
Undiscovered
Reserves
Other
Fig. 16-10 p. 340
Removing Nonrenewable Mineral
Resources
Surface mining
Subsurface mining
Overburden
Room and pillar
Spoil
Methods
Open-pit
Longwall
Dredging
Strip mining
Refer to Figs. 14-5 and
14-5, p. 324 and 325
Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act
Established 1977
Mine lands must be restored to premining conditions
Taxes on mining companies to
restore pre-1977 sites
Limited success
Environmental Effects of Mining
Mineral Resources
Disruption of land surface
Subsidence
Erosion of solid mining waste
Acid mine drainage
Air pollution
Storage and leakage of liquid mining
waste
Environmental Effects of Extracting
Mineral Resources
Steps
Mining
exploration, extraction
Processing
transportation, purification,
manufacturing
Use
transportation or transmission
to individual user,
eventual use, and discarding
Environmental Effects
Disturbed land; mining accidents;
health hazards; mine waste
dumping; oil spills and blowouts;
noise;
ugliness; heat
Solid wastes; radioactive material;
air, water, and soil pollution;
noise; safety and health
hazards; ugliness; heat
Noise; ugliness
thermal water pollution;
pollution of air, water, and soil;
solid and radioactive wastes;
safety and health hazards; heat
Fig. 14.6, p. 326
Environmental Effects of Processing
Mineral Resources
Ore mineral
Gangue
Subsurface
Mine Opening
Acid drainage from
reaction of mineral
or ore with water
Tailings
Percolation to
groundwater
Smelting
See Case Study p. 328
Surface Mine
Runoff of
sediment
Spoil banks
Leaching of toxic metals
and other compounds
from mine spoil
Leaching may carry
acids into soil and
ground
water supplies
Fig. 14.7, p. 326
Supplies of Mineral Resources
 Economic depletion
 Depletion time
 Foreign sources
 Environmental concerns
 Economics
 New technologies
 Mining the ocean
 Finding substitutes
Fig. 16-16 p. 346
Evaluating Energy Resources
Nuclear power
6%
Hydropower,
geothermal,
Solar, wind
7%
 Renewable energy
 Non-renewable energy
 Future availability
 Net energy yield
Natural
Gas
23%
Coal
22%
Biomass
12%
Oil
30%
 Cost
 Environmental effects
World
Important Nonrenewable Energy
Sources
Oil and Natural Gas
Floating oil drilling
platform
Oil drilling
platform
on legs
Gas well
Oil storage
Oil well
Valves
Pipeline
Pump
Impervious rock
Natural gas
Oil
Water
Coal
Geothermal Energy
Hot water
Contour
storage
strip mining
Geothermal
power plant
Area strip
Pipeline
mining
Drilling
Mined coal
tower
Water
penetrates
Underground
coal mine
down
Water is heated
through
and brought up
the
as dry steam or
rock
wet steam
Coal seam
Hot rock
Water
Magma
Fig. 14.11, p. 332
North American Energy Resources
Arctic
Ocean
Prudhoe Bay
Beaufort
Sea
ALASKA
Arctic
National
Trans Alaska
Wildlife Refuge
oil pipeline
Coal
Gas
Oil
Prince
William Sound
Gulf of
Alaska
High potential
areas
Valdez
CANADA
Pacific
Ocean
UNITED STATES
Grand
Banks
Atlantic
Ocean
MEXICO
Fig. 14.17, p. 338