how are solid non-fuel mineral resources formed and...
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Part II: Solid Nonfuel Mineral Resources
AuCu SnO2
Marble
Gabbro
Slate Fig. 1.11, p. 11
Resources
Renewable Nonrenewable
PotentiallyRenewable
Freshair
Freshwater
Fertile
soil
Plants andanimals(biodiversity)
Directsolarenergy
Winds,tides,flowingwater
Fossilfuels
Metallicminerals
Non-Metallic
minerals & rocks(iron, gold,
copper,aluminum)
(clay, sand,marble, slate)
or “Nonrenewable
Mineral Resources”
These two are
sometimes
Called: “Solid
Nonfuel
Mineral
Resources”
What’s Environmental
Degradation?
How are solid non-fuel mineral resources
formed and concentrated?
• Rock CycleWeb Links: please read about this:
http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/geo/basics/diagrams.htm
http://www.usgs.gov/science/instance.php?term=8
A series of events / processes, both internal and external,
through which a rock changes between igneous, sedimentary
and metamorphic forms. Cycle takes millions of years and is
responsible for concentrating Earth’s Nonrenewable
Mineral Resources.
• + Plate Tectonics / Hydrologic Cycle……
How are solid non-fuel mineral resources formed and concentrated?
• Internal Processes (magma generation, hot water circulation, pressure & heat)
– Magmatic deposits
– Hydrothermal deposits
– Metamorphism
• External Processes (weathering, erosion, transport and deposition by wind and water; evaporation)
– Sedimentary deposits: wind, water, placers
– Evaporites
– Secondary Enrichment
Fig. 12-19a, p.351
Magmatic Rocks & Minerals
granite, diorite, quartz, feldspar, chromite,
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Common Magmatic Rock / Mineral Resources
& Their Use (Read later)
• Granite / Diorite / Gabbro: building materials, dimension stone,
roads, shoulders, furniture, counter tops, interior/exterior surfaces
• (FeMg)Cr2O4 Chromite: important ore of chromium, used to
harden and manufacture steel, coloring agent, making bricks,
tanning leather, dyes, also used in common materials such as cars,
planes, engines, satellites, weapons, home appliances (form from
basaltic magmas)
• Opal (Quartz): gems, abrasives, mortar, glass, silica brick,
porcelain, paints, sandpaper, scouring soaps, wood filler, radios,
watchesl
• Platinum, Magnetite, Cobalt and Manganese: also used in
manufacturing cars, planes, engines, satellites, weapons, home
appliances (form from basaltic magmas)
Hydrothermal Deposits
Metallic chemical elements, Sulfides and Oxides form
in association with magma and water.
Hydrothermal deposits often occur in “veins”
Disseminated deposits / gangue
e.g. Au rich deposits of CA Sierra Nevada.
Black Smokers (undersea hot springs) form at Oceanic
Ridges (divergent plate boundaries) and at undersea hot
spots.
Fe
Au, Cu
Pb, Zn, Ag, CuSn, Mo
FeAu,
Cu
Pb, Zn,
Ag, Cu
SnIron
Chromium
Nickel
Formation of Metals: Hydrothermal and MagmaticRead this Figure over very carefully
Know these symbols / names:
Fe = Iron
Au = Gold
Ni = Nickel
Cu = Copper
Pb = Lead
Zn = Zinc
Ag = Silver
Sn = Tin
Cr = Chromium
Iron
Copper
Zinc
Lead
Divergent
Plate BoundaryConvergent
Plate Boundary
Hydrothermal Activity
Black smokers (undersea hot
springs) form at mid-ocean
ridge/divergent boundaries.
Hydrothermal vein deposits. e.g.
rich Au deposits of CA Sierra
Nevada.
Picture taken from
Submersible Alvin,
1/7/09
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Common Hydrothermal Mineral Resources & Their UseRead later
• Fe / Iron: bikes, cars, bridges, magnets, machines, nails, tools, food
supplements
• Fe / Hematite (Fe2O3 ): ore of iron, pigments, polishing powder, jewelry
• Au / Gold: circuit boards, electronics, jewelry, planes, space shuttles, compact
discs, cameras, telephones
• Cu / Copper: electrical purposes, circuit boards, wire, sculpture,
brass = Cu and Zn, bronze = Cu + Sn and some Zn, German silver
• Pb / Galena (PbS): lead sulfide, major source of lead, used in making metals, pipe, sheets, solder, glass
• Zn / Sphalerite (ZnS): ore of zinc, important metal alloy used in making
brass, paint, zinc oxide, batteries
• Ag / Silver: photographic film and paper, photosensitive glass, mirrors,
batteries, silverware
• Sn / Tin: metals, coins, cups, plates, cans, solder, opalescent glass, enamel,
weather resistant vinyl siding
How are solid non-fuel mineral resources formed and concentrated?
• Internal Processes (magma generation, hot water circulation, pressure & heat)
– Magmatic deposits Rare Earth Elements– Hydrothermal deposits
– Metamorphism
• External Processes (weathering, erosion, transport and deposition by wind and water; evaporation)
– Sedimentary deposits: wind, water, placers
– Evaporites
– Secondary Enrichment
The Rare Earth Elements
“REE”Web Link
The 17 Rare Earth Elementshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_earth
_element
Ru Ruthenuim Os Osmium
Rh Rodium Ir Iridium
Pd Palladium Pt Platinum
Se Selinium
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Wide Variety of uses: medical (MRI), military, missiles, clean
energy technology, catalytic converters, magnets, hybrid car
batteries.
Consumer Products: cell phones, computer hard drives, monitors,
power tools, sun glasses, wine bottles, fluorescent light bulbs, TVs,
automobiles, SUV’s
MRI’s
missiles, drones
night vision goggles
• Also used in Cell Phones
Until the mid 1980’s, US led the world in REE production; has
~13% of world reserves.
China has ~48% of world reserves, but supplies >97% of the
world’s needs. Russia, Canada and Australia also have large
deposits.
Over 3 Square miles
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Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine in Mountain Pass California,
Mojave Desert. Closed in 2002, re-opened in August 2012
Web Link: The Only American Mine for Rare Earth Metals
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/02/a-visit-to-the-only-
american-mine-for-rare-earth-metals/253372/
Environmental Concerns• Need to excavate a lot of earth / dig huge holes / takes a lot of
energy + a lots of solid waste rock.
• Some elements associated with the REE are radioactive such as
Uranium and Thorium. They end up in slurry pools and can enter
groundwater.
• Toxic acids and chemicals are required during the refining process,
often end up in slurry pools and can enter groundwater.
• Baotou, a city in China where ~80% of REE are mined produces
~10 million tons of wastewater/year.
• Birth defects and Leukemia have been linked to rare earth refinery
in Malaysia and China
• In 2008, ~1/3 of REE in China were mined illegally by heavy
polluting, violent criminal gangs.
The Lynas Plant in Malaysia is
the world's largest processing
facility of rare earths.
How are solid non-fuel mineral resources formed and concentrated?
Most of the world’s major metal deposits occur at past or present plate
boundaries. Surface processes also play an important role in
concentrating nonmetallic minerals and rocks.
• Internal Processes (magma generation, hot water circulation, pressure & heat)
– Magmatic deposits
– Hydrothermal deposits
– Metamorphism
• External Processes (weathering, erosion, transport and deposition by wind and water; evaporation)
– Sedimentary deposits
– Evaporites
– Water / Placer deposits
– Secondary Enrichment
Metamorphism How are solid non-fuel mineral resources formed and concentrated?
Most of the world’s major metal deposits occur at past or present plate
boundaries. Surface processes also play an important role in
concentrating nonmetallic minerals and rocks.
• Internal Processes (magma generation, hot water circulation, pressure & heat)
– Magmatic deposits
– Hydrothermal deposits
– Metamorphism
• External Processes (weathering, erosion, transport and deposition by wind and water; evaporation)
– Sedimentary deposits: wind, water, placers
– Evaporites
– Secondary Enrichment
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Sand Mining in Monterey Bay has been occurring
since 1906, ~150,000 – 250,000 cubic yards/yr,
with no regulation until 1960s.
3 companies for ~80 years, only one is left.
A connection between mining and shoreline erosion
was determined in the mid
1980s, but still 1 company
mines ~200,000 cubic yards
each year.
Sand Mining in Monterey Bay http://coastalcare.org/2014/09/monterey-bay-california-beach-sand-mining-from-a-national-
marine-sanctuary-by-gary-griggs/
(web link)
Sedimentary Deposits: Sand and gravel accumulate in river
channels and bars, coastal offshore bars, sand dunes, beaches and
glacial outwash plains.
After deposition sediments lithify by compaction and cementation.
Materials used for: road beds, cement production, bricks, tiles, abrasives,
water filtration, glass production…..
Placer DepositsRead this slide over very carefully.
“Point Bars”
Evaporites: (Salts: halite, gypsum, borates) water evaporates
from shallow inland seas or lakes in warm arid climates.
Materials used in: making glass, ceramics, metals, preservatives,
cleaning agents, water softeners……..
How are solid non-fuel mineral resources formed and concentrated?
Most of the world’s major metal deposits occur at past or present plate
boundaries. Surface processes also play an important role in
concentrating nonmetallic minerals and rocks.
• Internal Processes (magma generation, hot water circulation, pressure & heat)
– Magmatic deposits
– Hydrothermal deposits
– Metamorphism
• External Processes (weathering, erosion, transport and deposition by wind and water; evaporation)
– Sedimentary deposits: wind, water, placers
– Evaporites
– Secondary Enrichment
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Secondary Enrichment
How are mineral resources found?Understand the geologic/plate tectonic history of an area
Make Maps: rock formations, faults, structure
Drill, extract and analyze rock/sediment samples
Aerial photos and satellite images,
reveals outcrops and types of rock types
Seismic & gravitational surveys give
info about buried rock layers
Chemical analysis of water and plants
to detect minerals leached into water and
absorbed by plants
Remote sensing: (detect /analyze wave
transmitted energy) reveals outcrops and
types of rock
Measure radiation, magnetism to detect
radioactive metals, iron and other
How are Mineral Resources Extracted?
Surface Mining
machines strip away millions
of tons of “Overburden”
(rock/earth covering ore) and pile
it up as waste material
sometimes called “Spoil”
1) Open-pit mining:
commonly used surface
mining technique; used for
mining most major metal
deposits, also sand, gravel and
stone. The Palabora open pit in NE South Africa. The hard rock
allows the pit walls to be cut much steeper than is
normal in open-pit Copper mining.
Bingham Copper Mine, Utah>4km wide, 1.2 km deep, >6 billion tons of rock mined since 1906
More Surface Mining2) Hydraulic Mining: wash away overburden on hillsides;
mine uplifted placer deposits. In CA huge volumes of sediment
washed into SF-San Joaquin delta harming navigation and
agriculture, ~ 1850’s – 1890’s.
~13 billion cubic
yards of sediment
have been washed
away from the
Sierra Nevada
3) Dredging: used on underwater mineral deposits;
gold mining of CA riverbed sediments until 1960s;
leaves great piles of spoil alongside channels called
spoil banks/dredge fields.
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How are ores processed?
• Remove undesired parts of ore (gangue)
• Smelting extracts metals from other elements
• Pure metal is then converted to desired product by manufacturing
companies
Drawbacks? Results in air, water, soil pollution; solid and liquid
hazardous wastes; safety and health hazards Start Here:Surface Mining
Metal ore
Separation
of ore fromgangue
Scattered in environment
Recycling
Discarding of product
Conversion
to product
Melting metal
Smelting or “Extractive Metallurgy” is the practice of extracting metal from ore, purifying it, and recycling it
Why do we mine?Concerns? Environmental degradation from mining and processing, depletion
time, economic depletion, exhaustion, import dependence, high cost
Supply and Consumption of Mineral Resources
• Economic Depletion
– Costs more to find, extract, transport and process mineral than
deposit is worth.
– Options: 1) recycle or reuse existing supplies, 2)waste less, 3) use
less, 4) find substitute, 5) do without.
• Depletion Time:
– time it takes to use up 80% of reserves of a mineral at a given rate
of use.
• US currently imports ~50% of its most important non-fuel minerals.
– Used faster than they can be produced here
– Foreign ores are higher grade and can be extracted cheaper than
US reserves
Present
Depletiontime A
Depletiontime B
Depletiontime C
Time
Pro
du
cti
on
C
B
A
Recycle, reuse, reduceconsumption; increase
reserves by improvedmining technology,higher prices, and
new discoveries
Recycle; increase reservesby improved mining
technology, higher prices,and new discoveries
Mine, use, throw away;no new discoveries;
rising prices
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