unit 8

• Minerals


  Inorganic substances that occur naturally in the Earth's crust, usually as a crystalline solid
• Rocks


  A solid combination of one or more minerals found in the earth's crust
• Ore


  A rock that contains a large enough concentration of a particular mineral, making it profitable for mining or extraction
• Types of ores


  • High-grade ores
  • Low-grade ores
• Metals


  Minerals that are malleable, lustrous and good conductors of heat and electricity
• Non-metallic minerals


  Minerals that lack the characteristics of metals - they are brittle, dull and are usually insulators
• Mineral resources


  Concentrations of naturally occurring solid, liquid or gaseous material from the earth's crust in a form and amount such that extracting and converting it into useful materials or items is currently or potentially profitable
• Reserves


  Identified resources from which the mineral can be extracted profitably at current prices
• Mining methods


  • Surface mining
  • Subsurface mining
• Shaft mining


  A direct vertical shaft to the vein of the ore, with the ore broken up underground and sent up the shaft in buckets
• Slope mining


  A slanting passage that makes it possible to haul the broken ore out of the mine in cars and not buckets
• Open pit mining


  A giant hole, known as a quarry, is dug to remove ores, sand, gravel and stone such as limestone and marble
• Strip mining

  Used to extract mineral deposits that lie in horizontal beds close to the earth's surface
• Mountaintop removal


  The top of a mountain is removed to expose coal seams, which are then removed
• Overburden


  Soil or rock overlying a useful mineral deposit
• Mineral processing and refining

  1. Concentrating the mineral and removing impurities

  2. Using the purified mineral to make the product
• Jamaica is the third largest producer of bauxite ore in the world, with total bauxite reserves estimated to be 2 billion tonnes
• Environmental implications of mining

  • Deforestation and habitat destruction
  • Land disturbance and ecosystem damage
  • Air, soil and water pollution from processing and disposal
  • Soil erosion
  • Noise pollution
• Solutions to environmental issues from mining

  • Install pollution control devices
  • Reclaim and restore abandoned mine land
  • Safer disposal methods for waste
  • Construct marshes/ponds to prevent toxic runoff
• Energy


  The capacity to do work by performing mechanical, physical, chemical or electrical tasks or to cause a heat transfer between two objects at different temperatures
• Forms of energy


  • Mechanical
  • Electrical
  • Solar
  • Nuclear
• Energy sources


  • Renewable
  • Non-renewable
• Fossil fuels


  Composed of partially decayed remnants of organisms, formed millions of years ago
• Formation of coal


  1. Ancient swamp plants died and fell into swamps, where they were covered by water and prevented from fully decomposing

  2. Over time, layers of sediment accumulated, converting the plant material into coal
• Formation of oil


  1. Microscopic aquatic organisms died and settled in sediments, where their decomposition depleted oxygen and prevented further decomposition

  2. Over time, heat and pressure converted these remains into oil
• Formation of natural gas


  Formed by the same process as oil, but at higher temperatures
• Burning fossil fuels releases CO2 which contributes to global warming, with coal burning contributing more air pollution than oil or natural gas
• Nuclear energy


  Energy released by nuclear fission or fusion