Mining Methods (continued) • Solution Mining – Put a chemical solution into the ground to leach resources out – Solution reacts with ore and liquid is removed pulling resource with it – Used in salt mines • Placer Mining – Sift through material in riverbeds to gather loose pieces of resource – gold
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Mining Methods (continued)
• Solution Mining– Put a chemical solution into the ground to
leach resources out
– Solution reacts with ore and liquid is removed pulling resource with it
– Used in salt mines
• Placer Mining– Sift through material in riverbeds to gather
loose pieces of resource
– gold
Mining Methods (continued)
• Undersea Mining
– Dredging vacuum cleaner to collect sand and gravel from sea floor
– Diamonds, copper, silver
– Expensive to access
– Hydrothermal vents heat dissolves metals and cold water crystallizes the material
Processing Minerals and Metals
• Remove ore from the ground• Processing happens at the mining site• Transporting is expensive and wasteful• Breakdown ore crushed into correct particle
sizes• Separate ore
– Froth flotation – mix ore and water into a slurry– Chemicals and air added– Minerals become hydrophobic (don’t react with
water) and attract to air bubbles– Minerals float to the top with the air bubbles– froth flotation– froth flotation 2
• Mineral Leasing Act of 1920– Governs the mining of fossil fuels on public land– Must pay annual rental fees to rent land– Pay royalties on products extracted
• Amending the General Mining Law– Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act
• Ends the patenting process• Miners pay government 4% of profit from existing mines
and 8% of profit from new mines– Money goes towards environmental cleanup and
reimbursement to communities affected by mining
• More public land set aside not to be mined• Tells mining companies how to fix land and reduce water
pollution
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
• Companies must reclaim, or restore, land after mining is complete
• Post bonds to cover costs of reclamation in case company doesn’t restore land
• Must remove structures
• Replace soil and rocks, fill in holes, and plant vegetation
Mining Safety
• Established ventilation requirements
• Still accidents so improvements need to be made
Responsible Mineral Use
• New technologies make some minerals more in demand