1 / 19

MINING

MINING. What Are Minerals?. A MINERAL is any naturally occurring, pure, non-living substance found in the rocks of the earth. Minerals can be divided into 3 categories Metallic Minerals Fossil Fuels Industrial Minerals. Metallic Minerals.

tawny
Download Presentation

MINING

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. MINING

  2. What Are Minerals? • A MINERAL is any naturally occurring, pure, non-living substance found in the rocks of the earth. • Minerals can be divided into 3 categories • Metallic Minerals • Fossil Fuels • Industrial Minerals

  3. Metallic Minerals • When metallic minerals are purified, they are the metals we use everyday. • Metallic minerals need to have some quality that we value to be considered valuable • Beauty (gold, silver) • Strength (iron) • Conducts electricity (copper) • Light and strong (aluminum, tin)

  4. Fossil Fuels • Fossil fuel is the remnant of biotic material. • Coal was one of the first important fossil fuels • Coal, put under sufficient pressure for sufficient time, morphs into diamonds • Oil and natural gas are now the most popular forms of fossil fuels • Fossil fuel mining requires oil rigs, or other pumping mechanisms

  5. Industrial Minerals • Industrial minerals are any mined minerals that are not metallic or fossil in nature • As the name implies, these are minerals primarily used in industry • Asbestos – protects from fire and heat • Potash – used to make fertilizer • Gypsum – makes drywall • Diamond – not just for jewellery; used as a cutting tool as well

  6. Where Do We Find the Minerals? • Saskatchewan – world’s largest potash deposits • Quebec – major asbestos mines • Northwest Territories – diamonds

  7. Importance of Mining • Canada is the third largest producer of minerals in the world • United States, Russia are larger • Largest EXPORTER or minerals • 80% of what we mine we export • $83 Billion dollars (2001) • Helped to develop road and rail systems • Needed to reach the far-flung deposits

  8. How Do We Find Minerals? • Mineral deposits that are economical to develop are called MINERAL RESERVES • Metallic minerals are found in IGNEOUS and METAMORPHIC rocks (like on the Canadian Shield) • In the earth the minerals we want are mixed with other compounds (like rock, other minerals, etc). This mixture is called ORE.

  9. A MAGNETOMETER generates a magnetic field which ore such as nickel, iron and copper respond to. • Satellite images and aerial photos give geologists geomorphologic clues. • Satellites can also be used to create thermal images, infra-red images, and other imaging which various minerals respond to. • Once a likely spot has been located, geologists will drill CORE SAMPLES • Using this method, they can locate the edges of the reserve

  10. Mining Methods • Most mines are located in remote areas • If the ORE BODY is relatively near the surface, the mining company may choose to STRIP or PIT mine. • If the ore body is deep inside the earth, UNDERGROUND or SHAFT mining will be used • This method is more difficult, more dangerous and more expensive

  11. Strip Mining • Used to mine minerals like coal and oil sands that develop in horizontal layers. • OVERBURDEN is removed • Ore is shovelled onto trucks or conveyor belts • The ore is removed for processing

  12. Draw a Diagram of a Strip Mine

  13. Pit Mining • Similar to Strip mining, but used when the ore body extends downward rather than outward • Overburden is removed • Explosives blast apart the ore • The ore is put onto trucks and trucked out of the mine for processing

  14. Draw a Diagram of a Pit Mine

  15. Underground/ Shaft Mining • Used to get at ore deep in the earth • A SHAFT is sunk into the earth at the edge of the ore body • Horizontal tunnels, called ADITS or DRIFTS are dug into the body • This is where the ore is removed from • The chamber at the end of the adit is the STOPE

  16. The rock in the stope is blasted apart with explosives • The rubble is called MUCK • The muck is transported to an ORE PASS where it falls into a CRUSHER • As the name implies, the crusher crushes the ore into smaller pieces • It is funnelled down another ore pass into a SKIP where it is hoisted to the surface and sent for processing

  17. Label the Diagram of a Shaft Mine

  18. Processing Minerals • Metallic mineral ore need to be purified before it is useful • MILLING separates the mineral from the majority of the waste • Usually a physical proceedure • SMELTING involves heating the remainder until the compounds separate. The metal will generally sink to the bottom of the furnace, where a tap will drain it off

  19. Leftovers • The waste material produced by mills and smelters is called TAILINGS • Tailings are often toxic, ugly or otherwise difficult to deal with • A HUGE issue facing the mining industry today is how to safely get rid of the tailings • What are some of the other issues the mining industry must face?

More Related