APES 12/7 & 12/8
Take out your soil lab
Prepare for some notes!
Soil Lab Analysis
Compare answers to your pre and postlab questions
Be prepared to ask me for clarification
in 5 minutes!
Soil Properties and Degradation
by Mining
Particle Size
 Biggest  Smallest
Sand, Silt, Clay
 Fine particles have higher cohesion; that’s why
water can’t get through clay as well
 Using a soil triangle: start at clay side and go
horizontally; then to silt side and go downward
diagonally; finally to sand side and diagonally left.
Other Physical Properties
You should know porosity and
permeability using the lab as the teaching
tool.
Porosity = how much water soil holds;
permeability = how fast water flows
through
Chemical Properties
1. pH
2. Cation Exchange Capacity = ability of soil
to absorb/release pos. charged ions (cations)
Plants need Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+
Clay has a high CEC (b/c of neg. particles)
BUT if there’s too much clay, it absorbs
water and drowns plant roots
FYI, humus also has high CEC
Chemical Properties
3. Base Saturation = ratio of base:acid in soil
Bases are acceptors of extra H+; high ratio
means lots of bases present to take in extra
H+ from acids that might harm plant roots
We have lots of
limestone in NW soil
to counteract acids
(high base saturation)
Soil! Now we know all
about it…
Let’s see how we’re destroying it 
Method #1: Mining
Minerals and Ores
Earth’s crust is 88% iron, silicon, aluminum,
and oxygen
Valuable, rarer elements are found in uneven
clusters because of variable distribution of
rock types
Mineral = naturally occurring, crystalline solid
Ore = valuable, concentrated accumulation
of minerals in rocks
Important Ores
Metallic minerals- valuable for ability
to conduct electricity, structural
purposes, etc. (i.e, copper, gold,
lead, rare earth metals for batteries)
Salt, sand
Fossil fuels (carbon-based)
MICA
COAL
MANGANESE
IRON
What do we mine for?
Metallic
Ferrous
Non-ferrous
Non-metallic
Limestone
Energy
Petroleum
Natural Gas
Iron
Manganese
Gold
Silver
Nitrate
Potash
Chromite
Copper
Dolomite
Pyrite
Lead
Mica
Tungsten
Bauxite
Gypsum
Nickel
Tin
Coal
Cobalt
Magnesium
Petroleum
Coal
Costs of Mining
Why is mining so terrible for the soil and
underlying bedrock? Let’s explore!
Mining Simulation Lab
Materials
Group Roles
 Bucket with your mining site
 Field Geologist (looks for ore)
 Small cup (your truck)
 Accountant (keeps track of
$$$)
 Forceps
 Wooden skewers
 Miner (digger/transporter)
 Paintbrushes
 2 Process engineers (deshell
ore)
 Data table
 2 Env. Engineers (clean up)
Rules and Regulations
1. You are trying to mine as many ores as possible to turn a profit
2. You cannot touch anything directly with your fingers except for
animals
3. We will mine for 15 days (each minute = 1 day)
a. 30 sec of daylight for mining, 30 seconds of dark for cleanup/accounting
4. You must keep your mine shell-free or you will be fined
5. At the end of the 15 days, you will do your final accounting and
clean up (you will be fined $10 if you don’t follow the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 that says you must
restore your land to its pre-mining state)
Pre-Lab Planning (15 min.)
 Decide on a company name and write it on the
board
 Make a data table to track your profits and expenses
(one only-won’t be turned in)
 Sketch your pre-mined site in section 3 of your lab
book
 Decide on up-front expenses:
Buy a mine site for $5 or $2 + 10% final profit?
Buy a reclamation bond for $5 (insurance to avoid
fine at end)?
Buy trucks and extra tools?
Remove rocks, houses, animals? (see costs)
Let’s Play!
Accountants: record your pre-opening
expenses
Due Next Time….
 Lab Questions 3, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14
 Mining FRQ
Mining Basics
 How are sites selected?
consider env. cost, potential profits, amt. and
stability of overburden (materials that must be
removed to reach the mineral)
 Types of Mining
Surface Mining (strip mining, open-pit mining,
mountaintop removal, placer mining(
Subsurface mining
Surface Mining
1. Strip Mining: removal of mineral deposits in
horizontal strips
a. Land is clear-cut and overburden is removed by
explosives/heavy equipment
b. Mineral deposits removed by huge power shovels
c. Overburden is replaced
Land cannot be returned to original state, and heavy
equipment compacts soil. Long-term damage.
Iron-Ore Mine, Liberia
Iron-ore mines like this one have altered the
landscape of Liberia. The Liberian Civil War (19891996) and the declining world demand for iron ore
led to the complete shutdown of Liberian iron-ore
mining in the early 1990s.
Coal Mine in Appalachia
Surface Mining
2. Mountaintop removal
 Entire top of a
mountain is removed
by explosives,
causing it to fall into
surrounding valleys
 Common in coal
mining in Eastern U.S.
 Permanently buries
streams, alters
topography
Surface Mining
3. Open-Pit Mining
 A huge hole is dug using explosives and heavy
equipment; ore is removed
 Pit is abandoned and often fills with water
 Pit becomes acidic and polluted with heavy metals
due to mine waste left behind
 Acid Mine Drainage: Sulfur compounds are oxidized by
air, dissolve in rain water to form sulfuric acid run-off!
One of North America’s largest open-pit copper
mines, located in Kennecott, Utah.
Surface Mining
4. Placer Mining
 Searching for ores in river sediments (i.e.
California Gold Rush of mid-1800’s
 Rivers are diverted, dammed to make
extraction easier
 Mercury is used to chemically remove gold
from ores, polluting rivers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbI_ZA
rJ22U
Subsurface Mining
Deep, vertical shafts are drilled with
horizontal branches
Less surface env. degradation, but can
cause collapse, explosions (methane and
coal dust)
Not just for coal!- any ore too far down to
remove overburden
Types of Coal Mining
Often called
mountaintop
removal
Downsides of Subsurface Mining
 Labor Intensive
 Filling in mines after they
are empty
 Health of workers 
Black lung disease, high
rates of cancer from
particulate matters
 Danger of accidents
Major Coal Mining Accidents
http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/1
3/us/u-s-mine-disasters-fastfacts/
China is by far the most
dangerous!
2010 collapse in Chile
Environmental Impacts
 Clear-cutting of forests
 Destruction of soil horizons
 Soil compaction
 Stream/river destruction, diversion, pollution
 Acidic and metallic waste-water pollution
 Solid waste, toxic dust and emissions
 75% if all solid waste in U.S. comes from mines!
 This waste is called “tailings” or mining spoils- unwanted
waste material
Animas River Spill (8/2015)
https://www.rt.com/usa/319439-epacaused-colorado-mine-spill/
Important Legislation in U.S.
1. Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977
(SMCRA)
 Land must be reclaimed after surface mining
 Clean up any pollution
 **Various levels of enforcement**
2. General Mining Law of 1872
 Encourages exploration of mineral resources
 Corporations can buy large tracts of public land for cheap!
 Minor modifications, but critics argue companies aren’t
paying enough taxes on royalties or cleaning up well.