earth history geol 2110 stewardship and sustainability of earth resources
TRANSCRIPT
Earth History GEOL 2110
Stewardship and Sustainability of
Earth Resources
Terminology and Definitions
Biological Resources• renewable• recycleable• reuseable
Mineral Resources• non-renewable• recycleable• reuseable
Water Resources• unlimited• recycleable• reuseable
Wind and Solar• unlimited
“Sustainable Development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs” (1984, United Nations Commission)
Stewardship - “administration, management, control, including responsible use of resources” (Oxford English Dictionary Online)
Natural Resources – materials, and energy that occur naturally within the Earth’s spheres. Many are essential for our survival,
while others are used for satisfying our wants.
Stuff
STEWARDSHIP: the individual’s responsibility to manage his life and property with proper regard to the rights of others
Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (1987)
Stewardship of Earth Resources
Responsible stewardship of mineral resources demands that we make sensible and fair choices of where, how, and when to acquire critical resources we need for today and for the future.
Making these choices also requires that we face some other inconvenient truths about the earth and our interaction with it.
Inconvenient Truth #1We Use the Earth
From the Minerals Education Coalition
Mineral Resources are Necessary in our Modern Lives
Computers26 different elements66 different minerals
National Mining Institute, 2005
Smart Phones
Inconvenient Truth #2If it wasn’t grown, it had to be mined
Inconvenient Truth #3Everything comes from something, but something isn’t
everywhere
Porphyry Cu deposits in young mountain belts
gone
Porphyry Cu Mine, Bagdad, AZ
Sulfide Flotation Cells Sulfide Floating Electroplating Copper
Buried too Deep
Just Buried
Inconvenient Truth #4Most of the world’s base metal comes from sulfide minerals
ChalcopyriteCuFeS2 Bornite
Cu5FeS4
CobaltiteCoAsS
SphaleriteZnS
GalenaPbS
ChalcociteCu2S
MolybdeniteMoS2
Pentlandite(Fe,Ni)9S8
CinnabarHgS
Traditional
New Tech
Sudbury, Ontario
Hydrometallurgy
Roasting/Smelting Monchegorsk, Russia
Separating Metal from Sulfur
The Environmental ChallengePreventing Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) and Metals
Release 2FeS2(s) + 7O2(g) + 2H2O(l) → 2Fe2+(aq) + 4SO4
2-(aq) + 4H+(aq)
Inconvenient Truth #5
The western world consumes the most, but mines the least amount of mineral
resources
Data from USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries
32% from Recycled Cu
Building Construction
43%
Electrical/ Electronics19%Consumer
Products12%
Transportation19%
(10% in 2002)
Industrial Machinery7%
Cu Markets2014
United States AZ, UT,NM,NV,MT7%
Canada4%
Mexico3%
Chile31%
Peru7%
Russia & Poland9%
China9%
Australia & Indonesia7%
Zambia & Congo10%
Rest of the World13%
Global CuMining2014
Global Production = 18.7 million tons
Cu in a Standard Car with Combustion Engine
43-55 lbs
Cu in a Prius - 80 lbs
Cu in a Volt - 150 lbs
COPPER An Important Metal in a Green Economy
NW Mining Association, 2009
Inconvenient Truth #6If we don’t mine it here, it will be mined somewhere else....Often
BADLY
PGE – Platinum Group Elements
Pt – Platinum
Pd – Palladium
Os – Osmium
Ru – Ruthenium
Rh – Rhodium
Ir - Iridium
Bushveld ComplexSouth Africa
Supplying the 70% of the World’s Platinum
Merensky Reef, Eastern Bushveld ComplexMerensky Reef, Amplats Mine, Rustenburg, SA
Palladium: “The Environmental Metal”
PdUses
The Stillwater Mine (Montana)Only Precious Metals Mine in the U.S.
(recently owned by Noril’sk Nickel)
Sulfide Smelter in Monchegorsk, RussiaIn 1998, responsible for 50% of SO2
in the northern hemisphere
Noril’sk, RussiaCu-Ni-PGE Deposits
Supplies 60% of the World’s Palladium
A Looming Stewardship Question for Minnesotans
:
When should we develop this
immense copper-nickel-precious metal
mineral resource?
Sulfur Contamination creating the Cu-Ni-PGE Sulfide Deposits of the Duluth Complex
SCu Ni Co Pd + Pt + Au
S
Cu-Ni-PGE Sulfide Depositsof the Duluth Complex
Current ExplorationPolymet – NorthmetTeck American – MesabaTwin Metals MN – Maturi, Dunka Pit, Birch Lake, Spruce Rd Encampment – South Filson Cr, Serpentine
World Class Ores of the Duluth Complex
#1 or 2 in contained Copper#4 in contained PGE#3 in contained Nickel
Compared to other Magmatic Sulfide Deposits, the Duluth Complex is:
Only the Bushveld, Great Dyke, and Noril’sk contain
more PGE
From Peterson, 2010
World Scale of the Maturi Deposit
Nokomis
From Peterson, 2010 and DM press release 12/2012
Maturi
Maturi
Maturi
The Largest UNDEVELOPED Cu-Ni Deposit on Earth
From Peterson, 2010
Duluth deposits are perceived as low grade. But compared to the source of most of the world’s copper - Porphyry
Copper Deposits...
…the Duluth Complex ores are HIGHER GRADE with MORE CONTAINED METAL than nearly all porphyry systems.
The largest copper ore deposits in the USA are on this diagram, and the Duluth Complex ores are much larger then all of them.
CONCLUSION: The base and precious metal deposits of the Duluth Complex are a World Class Resource that will be mined …. SOMEDAY
Next Wednesday
Course ReviewPrepping for the Final
Return Old Quizzes and Exams
FINAL EXAM – Wednesday, 5/13 2-4 AM, Cina 308