Minerals: A Nonrenewable Resource

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Minerals A Nonrenewable Resource
Chapter 16
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• A spectacular slide show presentation by Mr.
  Berkheimer and some very, very special guest
  speakers!

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Introduction to Minerals
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Introduction to Minerals

• Mineral Distribution and Formation
• Some minerals very abundant (e.g., Al,
  Fe)
• Some are very scarce (e.g., Cu, Mo)
• Some may be found about anywhere, but in such
  low abundance mining is unprofitable

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Introduction to Minerals

• Mineral Distribution and Formation
• Formation of Mineral Deposits

Magmatic concentration Hydrothermal
processes Sedimentation Evaporation
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Introduction to Minerals

• How Minerals are Found, Extracted, and Processed
• Discovering Mineral Deposits

• aerial photos / satellite images
• examine magnetic field
• seismographs

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Introduction to Minerals

• How Minerals are Found, Extracted, and Processed
• Discovering Mineral Deposits
• Extracting Minerals

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Copper Ore being loaded into a 300 ton truck for
transport to the crusher.
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Conveyors and trucks deposit coarse ore on a heap
leach pad, which has a series of pipes and hoses
dispensing a diluted sulfuric acid solution to
the ore. Copper is dissolved and flows to a pond
at the bottom of the pad. This process can take
several months.
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No Silly, This is one of the largest earth movers
in the world working in a copper strip mine!!!
Is this our soil pit???
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Large man-made piles of mining waste that stretch
for several miles. Piles are on the edge of the
town of Globe, Arizona.
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Hey Jillian, these machines look identical!
Wow Jordan! How could anyone tell them apart???
Four grinding lines composed of four
semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mills and eight
ball mills and corresponding flotation cells.
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The technically advanced and cleanest smelter in
the world is part of an 880 million
modernization program.
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Death to the Lorax, Long live the Wilton!!!
You might see environmental destruction, but I
see growing economies and financial wealth!
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Introduction to Minerals

• How Minerals are Found, Extracted, and Processed
• Discovering Mineral Deposits
• Extracting Minerals
• Processing Minerals

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Environmental Implications of Minerals

• Mining and the Environment
• Disturbs large areas of land
• Uses huge quantities of water
• Affects water quality
• Cost-benefit Analysis of Mine Development
• Benefits of the mining vs. Preservation of the
  land

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Environmental Implications of Minerals
We need to make use of the waste!

• Environmental Impacts of Refining Minerals

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Environmental Implications of Minerals

• Environmental Impacts of Refining Minerals
• The problem of tailings

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Environmental Implications of Minerals

• Environmental Impacts of Refining Minerals
• Case-in-Point Copper Basin, TN

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In southeast Tennessee, decades of extensive
copper and sulfur mining degraded the once lush
area known as the Copper Basin Mining District
Site in Polk County. By the late 1800s,
vegetation refused to grow, acidic conditions and
leaching metals impaired the water quality and
deforestation resulted in severe erosion.
Abandoned and collapsing mine works and other
deteriorating facilities and waste piles posed
significant physical hazards.
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Environmental Implications of Minerals

• Restoration of Mining Lands
• Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act

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After
Before
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The Wilds in Southern Ohio is an example of the
success of the surface mining control and
reclamation act!
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Environmental Implications of Minerals

• Restoration of Mining Lands
• Creative Approaches to Cleaning Up Mining Areas

Conversion to wetlands Phytoremediation
Phytoremediaton is using plants to clean soil
from contaminants!
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Minerals An International Perspective

• Many developed nations have observed
  significant environmental damage due to mining
• Many developed nations exacerbate problem by
  having mining interests in developing countries

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Minerals An International Perspective
Another example of the U.S. using up more than
its fair share of resources!

• U.S. and World Use
• North American consumption of selected metals

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Minerals An International Perspective

• Distribution Versus Consumption
• Some minerals needed for many industrial
  processes
• but only found in abundance in few places
• Results in dependence
• Stockpiling common

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Minerals An International Perspective

• Will We Run Out of Important Minerals?

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Increasing the Supply of Minerals

• Locating and Mining New Deposits
• Many known deposits havent been exploited
  because
• accessibility problems
• technology issues
• too deep

Dont let Wilton know about this problem! He
will exploit all of the earths resources even
further!
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Increasing the Supply of Minerals

• Minerals in Antarctica
• Antartic Treaty (1961) limits activities in
  Antarctica
• If significant mineral deposits were found,
  should they be exploited?

Leave my Planet alone!
Leave Antarctica alone! There are plenty of
minerals on Vulcan!
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Increasing the Supply of Minerals

• Minerals from the Ocean

Manganese nodules
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Increasing the Supply of Minerals
If I could own the ocean, I could control the
worlds manganese supply!

• Minerals from the Ocean

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Increasing the Supply of Minerals

• Advanced Mining and Processing Technologies
• Ability to exploit low-grade ores
• Biomining

Biomining is the use of microorganisms to extract
metals and minerals from ores in the mining
process. Ores of high quality are rapidly being
depleted and biomining allows environmentally
friendly ways of extracting metals from low-grade
ores (ores that have small amounts of valuable
metals scattered throughout).
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Using Substitution and Conservation to Expand
Mineral Supplies

• Finding Mineral Substitutes
• Substituting inexpensive / abundant resources
  for expensive / scarce resources

Glass, plastics, and aluminum have substituted
for tin!
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Using Substitution and Conservation to Expand
Mineral Supplies

• Mineral Conservation
• Reuse
• same product used over and over
• Recycling
• product is processed into another product
• Changing Our Mineral Requirements
• fight the throw away mentality

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Wow, that was almost an interesting powerpoint, I
stayed awake for most of it!