Extracting Metals

Cards (9)

  • Limited or unlimited : The Earth's resource of metal ores?
    • Limited
  • Renewable or non-renewable : Metal ores on the earth ?
  • What is happening to copper ores?
    • Becoming scarce
  • Ways of extracting low-grade ores
    • Phytomining
    • Bioleaching
  • Advantages of using bioleaching and phytomining
    Avoids traditional mining methods :
    • digging
    • moving + disposing large amounts of rock
  • Describe the process of phytomining
    • Uses plants to absorb metal compounds
    • Plants are harvested and then burned
    • To produce ash containing metal compounds
  • Describe the process of bioleaching
    • Uses bacteria to produce leachate solutions
    • leachate solutions contain metal compounds
  • What happens to the metal compounds?
    • Processed to obtain the metal
  • Example of obtaining copper
    • Obtained from solutions of copper compounds by displacement using scrap iron.
    • Electrolysis