Mining & Non Renewable

Resources

Mineral ResourcesCan be extracted from the Earth’s crust

& processed into raw materials and products

• Two Types:

1.Metallics– Aluminum

– Gold

2.Non metallics– Sand

– Limestone

Removing Mineral Deposits

• Surface mining

• Subsurface mining

Surface MiningRemoval of shallow mineral deposits by

removing materials overlying a deposit to expose resource

• Types:– Open pit

– Strip mining

– Contour strip mining

– Mountaintop removal

• Type used depends:– Resource

– Local topography

Open PitMachines dig large holes to remove

metal ores as well as sand, gravel, &

limestone

Strip MiningUseful & economic way to remove mineral

deposits that lie in horizontal

•Overburden from

one layer is used to

fill the void from

resource removal

•Next cut is made

parallel to the

previous

Contour Strip MiningHuge power shovels and bulldozers cut a

series of terraces into the side of a hill

• Usually coal

• Mountains/hills

• Left with highly

erodible bank

Mountain Top Removal Explosives, earth movers, & large power

shovels are used to remove the top of a

mountain and expose seams of coal

• Appalachian Mountains

Mountain Top Removal

Subsurface MiningUnderground mineral resources are

removed through tunnels and shafts

•Less waste

Mining: Harmful

Environmental Effects• Scarring and disruption of land

– No topsoil, chemical weathering, erosion

• Mountain top removal– Loss of rivers & streams

– Air pollution

– Groundwater contamination • Arsenic & Mercury

• Biodiversity loss– Clearing forest

– Pollution

Mining: Harmful

Environmental Effects

• Subsurface mining

– Subsidence

– Acid mine drainage

• Rainwater seeping through mine picks up

sulfuric acid

• Major pollutant of water and air

• Large amounts of solid waste

– ¾ of US solid waste

Life Cycle of a Metal Resource

Harmful Effects of

Removing Ores• Smelting

– Using heat or chemicals to

remove mineral from its ore

• Air & Water Pollution

• Liquid & Solid

hazardous waste

– Cyanide salts used to extract

gold

Non Renewable Energy

Energy Use: World & US

1st Law of ThermodynamicsWhen energy is converted from one form toanother in a physical or chemical change, no

energy is created or destroyed

2nd Law of ThermodynamicsWhenever energy is changed from one form to another, we end up with lower-quality or less

usable energy than we started with

Net Energy Total amount of useful energy available from a

resource minus the energy needed to make the

energy available to consumers

• Net Energy Ratio

– Ratio of energy produced to energy used to produce

it

– Ex: Producing corn into ethanol that gives you 10

units of energy but it took 9 units of energy to

produce it

– 10/9 = 1.1 units

– Higher ratio = higher energy output

– Below 1 = energy loss

Energy Waste• 84% of all commercial energy used in

the U.S. is wasted – 43% after accounting for second law of thermodynamics

Energy Efficient BuildingsEnergy Efficient Cars

Petroleum• 1/3 of commercial energy

– 40% US

• Rapid increase since 1950

Oil Reserves

Oil Reserves• Proven oil reserves

– Identified deposits that can be extracted profitably with current technology

• Unproven reserves – Probable reserves: 50% chance of recovery

– Possible reserves: 10-40% chance of recovery

• Proven and unproven reserves will be 80% depleted sometime between 2050 and 2100

Issues with US Future Oil

• Potential reserves are not proven reserves

• Must use net energy yield to evaluate potential of any oil deposit

• Must take into account high global use of oil

Arctic Oil

Coal• Solid fossil fuel

– Organism remains exposed to heat & pressure for

300-400 billion years

• 42% of world’s electricity

– 46% in US

Coal• World’s most abundant fossil fuel

– US has most with 28%

Environmental Effects of

Coal• Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel

• Land degradation

– Mining

• Air pollutants

– Sulfur dioxide

– Soot

– Carbon dioxide

– Trace radioactive materials

Coal AshHighly toxic chemicals left from burning & emissions

• Most buried or put in ponds

• 2008 – Kingston, TN spill

– Equivalent of 300 football fields

– Destroyed 40 homes & buildings

– Tainted waterways & soil

– Cleaned up April 2015

Natural Gas• Mixture of gas

– 50-90% methane

• Found mostly in

Russia & Iran

• Benefits:

– ½ CO2

– 1/3 NOx

– Less SOx

• Methane:70x more

powerful greenhouse gas

FrackingTechnique to fracture rocks using pressurized

chemically treated water (sometimes sand) to

allow natural gas & petroleum to flow more freely

• First success - 1950

Fracking Environmental

Impacts• Constructions of drilling equipment

• Chemical Waste

• Groundwater contamination

• Flowback water management

• Water demands

• Air pollution

– Methane & VOCs

• Earthquakes

Nuclear Power

Nuclear Energy• Uranium

• ½ life

– 703.8 million years

• Must store after use # of Half Lives

Elapsed

Percentage

Remaining

0 100

1 50

2 25

3 12.5

4 6.25

5 3.125

6 1.563

7 0.781

Nuclear Fuel Cycle

• Mine Uranium

• Process Uranium

• Use in reactor

• Safely store waste

• Decommission

reactor

TVA Nuclear Facilities

Brown’s Ferry

Sequoyah

Watt’s Bar

Red – Hydroelectric

Yellow – Coal Burning

Purple - Nuclear

U.S. Nuclear Facilities

World Nuclear Facilities

Decline in Nuclear Power • Cost

• Disposal

• Good where fossil fuels are limited

– 75% France’s energy needs

Three Mile Island• 1979 – Pennsylvania

• Low amount of radioactive release

• No detectable health effects

• Aftermath brought important

changes in safety measures

Chernobyl • 1986 – Ukraine

• Explosions caused a reactor roof to

blow

• Partial meltdown & burn for 10 days

• Effects

– Estimated 32,000 deaths (premature)

– 62,000 square mile contamination

– $400 billion

Fukushima• 2011-Japan

• Tsunami caused meltdown of 3

out of 6 reactors