Mineral Resources. Questions for Discussion. Mineral Resource Categories. Non-renewable Recyclable / Abundant. Non-renewable Non-recyclable

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1 Bingham Canyon Coppr Min, Utah Minral Rsourcs Qustions for Discussion What is mant by rnwabl rsourcs? Exampls? What dos it man to rcycl a rsourc? Exampls? LR RR What is mant by non-rnwabl rsourcs? Exampls? What is an or? LF RF Minral Rsourc Catgoris Rnwabl Frsh Watr Non-rnwabl Rcyclabl / Abundant Iron Gold Coppr Iron Rock Sand Non-rnwabl Non-rcyclabl Fossil Fuls Soils Phosphat

2 Frsh Watr Frsh watr is a rnwabl rsourc if it is usd sustainably. Fr-flowing artsian wll EPA Suprfund sits - sourcs of groundwatr and surfac watr contamination

3 Rock-Forming Minrals Silicats Labradorit Quartz K-Fldspar Albit Garnt Muscovit Biotit Kaolinit Hornblnd Augit livin Minral Familis

4 Silicat Anion Si 4-4 oxygn oxygn silicon oxygn oxygn Ttrahdron How silicat ttrahdra bond togthr Dirct bonding of ttrahdra F F Bonding to intrmdiat cation (rlativly wak bond) F Shard oxygn (rlativly strong bond) livin a principl constitunt of th uppr mantl and ocanic crust. (Mg, F) 2 Si 4 Nsosilicats Th Garnt Group Common in mtamorphic rocks. High hardnss (6.5-7), usd as an industrial abrasiv. (A 3, B 2 ) Si 4 A = Mg 2+, Mn 2+, F 2+, Ca 2+ B= Al 3+, F 3+, Cr 3+

5 Augit Pyroxn Inosilicats: common in ignous and mtamorphic rocks Hornblnd Amphibol Phyllosilicats: mica and clay minrals Muscovit Biotit Kaolinit Mica and clays ar soft, flaky minrals bcaus of thir sht silicat structur.

6 Quartz (Si 2 ) Tctosilicats (3-dimnsional framwork) all ttrahdra ar intrconnctd (no cations) minral fracturs - all bonds ar th sam most common surfac minral, found in sand and gravl Quartz Fldspars Tctosilicats (3-dimnsional framwork) similar to quartz, but with Al 3+ rplacing som Si 4+ cations ndd to balanc Al 3+, can b K +, Na + or Ca 2+ Al 3+ ions crat waknss in th crystal lattic, rsulting in clavag (2 dirctions)

7 Ca Fldspars Na Albit K Labradorit K-fldspar Sand, Gravl, Clay, Ston Non-rnwabl / Abundant Low valu, high volum commoditis Local sourcs prfrrd du to high cost of transportation. Sand and gravl for construction in USA app. 790 million mtric tons = $6 billion in Clays ar quarrid for us in cramics, brickmaking. Ston is quarrid for construction matrial and road-building aggrgat. Strs Pit sand min, Northport, NY circa 1960 thr Minral Rsourcs Nativ lmnts - natural occurrncs of singl lmnt minrals (g. Gold). Simpl compounds (g. NaCl) thr complx ions (g. CaC 3 ) Lss common than silicats, but many ar conomically important.

8 Nativ Elmnts Minrals composd of a singl lmnt. x. Gold, Coppr, Silvr, Platinum, Sulfur Gold Nuggt Panning for gold in Alaska

9 Panning for gold in Alaska Panning for gold in Alaska Nativ Elmnts Platinum nuggts

10 Nativ Elmnts Coppr Nativ Iron (only found in mtorits and th Earth s Cor) Widmanstattn lins Iron mtorit on th surfac of Mars Prcious Mtals Rsourcs Non-rnwabl / Rcyclabl High valu, low volum commoditis Nativ sourcs ar vry rar - most occur as simpl compounds (xcpt for Gold / Platinum) r dposits contain high amounts of mtal lmnts du to concntration by ignous or wathring procsss. Whthr or not a body of rock is an or dpnds on th pric of th mtal commodity. Low grad dposits bcom ors if th pric is high nough.

11 Currnt Pric Simpl Compounds r minrals - mind to obtain valuabl lmnts. Ratio of valuabl to non-valuabl lmnts in compound is high. Easy to sparat valuabl and non-valuabl. Economically fasibl to min and procss. xid family - valuabl lmnt + oxygn. Sulfid family - valuabl lmnt + sulfur. Iron xids Hmatit (F 2 3 ) Magntit (F 3 4 ) Which is mor valuabl, a ton of hmatit or a ton of magntit? Why?

12 Bandd Iron Formations Enormous quantitis of iron oxid wr dpositd around th world btwn 3.0 and 2.0 billion yars ago, forming our richst dposits of iron or. Dissolvd iron pumpd into th ocans by volcanism along mid-ocan ridgs ractd with oxygn bing producd by photosynthsizing bactria, prcipitating out layrs of magntit (F34). Coppr xid Titanium xid Cuprit (Cu2) Ilmnit (FTi3) Uranium xid Nuclar Fission Uraninit (U2) Uranium 235 is th ful usd in nuclar fission ractors.

13 Coppr Sulfids Bornit (Cu 5 FS 4 ) Chalcopyrit (CuFS 2 ) Lad Sulfid Iron Sulfid Galna (PbS) Pyrit (FS 2 ) thr Simpl Compounds Halids - compounds with Halogns Fluorin Chlorin Bromin Iodin Halit - (NaCl) rock salt. Fluorit - (CaF) fluorscnt. Halit (NaCl) Fluorit (CaF)

14 Most salt is mind from ancint dposits of rock salt, although som is harvstd from salt laks and th sa. Salt Min nar Gnso, NY Aluminum r Bauxit (AlH3) Bauxit bing loadd for xport from th Dominican Rpublic Ar w running out of mtals? Thr ar vast quantitis of usful mtals in th crust of th Earth. Shortag of a mtal drivs up th pric, which maks it conomically fasibl to min lowr grad ors. Mining has nvironmntal costs - traditionally ths hav not bn factord into th cost of th commodity. Mtals ar usually not consumd - thy can b rcycld. Economics of rcycling would b bttr if nvironmntal costs wr factord in.

15 Complx Ion Minral Familis Phosphats - (P 4 ) 3- ttrahdron Sulfats - (S 4 ) 2- ttrahdron Carbonats - (C 3 ) 2- triangl Qustion: Why don t ths structurs allow for as many diffrnt kinds of minrals as th silicat ttrahdron? Phosphats (P 4 ) 3- Apatit - Ca 5 (P 4 ) 3 F Apatit is scrtd by vrtbrat organisms to construct bons and tth. Important sourc of agricultural frtilizr. Phosphats ar non-rnwabl, by mid-21st cntury half of rsrvs will b usd up! Phosphat Min Apatit Turquois Sulfats (S 4 ) 2- Most common sulfats ar calcium sulfats - anhydrid and gypsum. Both ar formd from th vaporation of sawatr. Gypsum is an important conomic minral bcaus of its us in plastr and wall board matrials. Gypsum (CaS 4 2H 2 ) Alabastr - fin-graind gypsum, usd for sculpting.

16 Carbonats (C3)2Limstons - CaC3 Dolostons - CaMgC3 Carbonat minrals form in tropical, marin nvironmnts. Most carbonat minral is producd biologically by coral, bactria, alga, and phytoplankton. Cmnt and Concrt Limston hat Calcium xid Carbon dioxid + (CaC03) 1450 C (Ca) (C2) Watr + Cmnt + Aggrgat Concrt Cmnt Min sand gravl Limston is abundant in th crust of th Earth, but thr ar somtims nvironmntal costs associatd with quarrying it. Cmnt production also producs about 5% of th C2 gas addd to th atmosphr ach yar by human activitis. Minral Familis vrviw Silicats Nsosilicats Sorosilicats Cyclosilicats Inosilicats Phyllosilicats Tctosilicats Carbonats Rock-forming minrals

17 xids Sulfids Nativ lmnts r minrals Halids Phosphats Sulfats thr usful minrals Silicats Carbonats xids Sulfids Nativ lmnts Halids Phosphats Sulfats plastr stl graphit coppr frtilizr clay glass salt cramics aluminum concrt gold Silicats Carbonats glass concrt cramics clay xids Sulfids Nativ lmnts stl aluminum coppr graphit gold Halids Phosphats Sulfats salt frtilizr plastr