Mineral and Mineral
Resources
Section 1
What Is a Mineral?
• A mineral is a naturally occurring,
usually inorganic solid that has a
characteristic chemical
composition, an orderly internal
structure, and a characteristic set
of physical properties.
Mineral Resources
• We depend on the use of mineral
resources in almost every aspect of
our daily life.
• The current challenge is to obtain
the minerals that an ever-increasing
world population demands at
minimal cost to the environment.
Mineral Consumption per Person
(U.S.)
The Top 10 U.S. Mineral Commodities
What Is a Mineral?
• Native elements, these include the
elements gold, silver, and copper.
• Most minerals are compounds.
• The mineral quartz is made up of
silica, which consists of one silicon
atom and two oxygen
atoms.
Ore Minerals
• An ore mineral is a mineral that contains
one or more elements of economic value.
• Ore minerals, are refined using various
methods to extract the valuable elements
they contain.
• For mining to be profitable, the price of
the final product must be greater than
the costs of extraction and refining.
Metallic Minerals
• Ore minerals are either metallic or
nonmetallic.
• Metals have the following
characteristics:
• can conduct electricity
• have shiny surfaces
• are opaque
• Examples: gold, silver, and copper.
Nonmetallic Minerals
• Nonmetals have the following
characteristics:
•tend to be good insulators
•may have shiny or dull surfaces
•may allow light to pass through
Mineral Environments
Mineral Resources and Their Uses
• Certain metals are of major economic
and industrial importance.
•
• Alloys: 2 or more metals combine.
Example: zinc, brass
Mineral Resources and Their Uses
Mineral Resources and Their Uses
• Nonmetals are among the most
widely used minerals in the world.
• Gypsum, is used to make building
materials such as wallboard and
concrete.
• Gemstones: include diamond, ruby,
sapphire, emerald, topaz.
Gypsum
Types of Mining
Subsurface mining
• Subsurface mining is a mining
method in which soil and rocks are
removed to reach underlying coal or
minerals.
• Room-and-pillar mining is a
common method of subsurface
mining. This method is used to
extract salt and coal.
• Longwall mining is a more efficient
method of removing coal from a
subsurface seam.
• A machine called a shearer moves back
and forth along the face of a coal seam.
• Solution mining is an economical
method to mine for deposits of
soluble mineral ores, such as potash,
salt, and sulfur.
Surface Mining
• Surface mining is a mining method
in which soil and rocks are removed
to reach underlying coal or minerals.
• In open-pit mining, ores are mined
downward, layer by layer.
• coal, gold, and copper are mined
with open-pit mining.
Quarrying
• Quarries are open pit used to mine
near-surface materials such as building
stone, crushed rock, sand, and gravel.
• Aggregates, which are sand, gravel, and
crushed rock, are produced by
quarrying.
Solar Evaporation
• The solar evaporation process
consists of placing sea water into
enormous shallow ponds.
• The sun evaporates the sea water,
which causes the sodium chloride
concentration to increase.
• About 30% of the world’s salt comes
from the solar evaporation process.
Placer Mining
• Placer deposits are deposits that
contain valuable minerals that have
been concentrated by weathered
rocks.
• Stream placers are the most important
placers. Streams transport mineral
grains to a point where they fall to the
streambed and are concentrated.
Smelting
• Smelting is the melting or fusing
of ore in order to separate
impurities from pure metal.
• Flux – materials that bond with
impurities and separates from
the molten metal.
Undersea Mining
• The ocean floor contains significant
mineral resources,
• Since the late 1950s, several attempts
have been made to mine the ocean,.
• 2 Reasons why unsuccessful:
• Competition with land-based companies
that can mine minerals more cheaply and
the great water depths at which some
mineral deposits.
The Environmental Impacts of
Mining
• Mining has a large impact on the
environment.
• Mining industries are heavily regulated in
the U.S.
• There are high costs to preserve the
environment.
• Reclaiming the land, is now a part of
every surface mining coal operation.
Air and Noise Pollution
• Noise is created by equipment and
by blasting. Blasting can cause
physical damage to nearby
structures.
• Large amounts of dust are
produced by all aspects of mining.
Water Contamination
• Water that seeps through mine sites can
pick up or dissolve toxic substances.
• These contaminants can wash into
streams, where they can harm or kill
aquatic life.
• The sulfur in coal reacts with oxygen and
water to produce sulfuric acid.
Displacement of Wildlife
• Removing soil removes all plant life.
• A good development plan to reclaim
a mine site can ensure that the
displacement of wildlife is
temporary.
• Dredging a river disturbs river
bottoms and destroys aquatic life.
Erosion and Sedimentation
• Excess rock from mines is
sometimes dumped into large
piles called dumps.
• Running water erodes
unprotected dumps and
transports sediments into nearby
streams.
Soil Degradation
• Soil at a mine site is removed from the
uppermost layer downward.
Subsidence
• Subsidence is the sinking of
regions of the ground with little or
no horizontal movement.
Underground Mine Fires
• Fires are a serious environmental
consequences of coal mining.
• Lightning, forest fires, and burning trash
can all cause coal-seam fires.
• Underground fires that burn their way to
the surface release smoke and gases that
can cause respiratory problems
Mining Regulation and Reclamation
• Mines are regulated by federal
and state laws.
• Mining companies must comply
with the Clean Water Act and the
Safe Drinking Water Act,
Endangered Species Act.
Reclamation
• Reclamation is the process of
returning land to its original
condition after mining is completed.
• The Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act of 1977 created a
program for the regulation of surface
coal mining on public and private
land.
State Regulation of Mining
• Permits from state environmental
agencies are required.
• State agencies inspect mines to ensure
compliance with environmental
regulations.
• Agencies issue violations to companies
that do not comply with environmental
regulations and assess fines for
noncompliance.