Mineral Formation & Mining

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Alexandra Lawrence
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1 Words Worth Knowing Pluton Pegmatite Limestone Ore Mining Mineral Formation & Mining Take notes using pages 11 and 13 in your ISN all RED words must be in notes 1

2 How do minerals form? Magma Plutons Magma on way to crust and stops Cools slowly Forms large crystals Quartz, magnetite Pegmatites Before magma gets to Earth s surface Crystals can become very large Topaz Page 11 Pathways to Mineral Formation Magma Existing Rock Salt Water Solutions Eruption onto Earth s Surface Molecules rearrange or change to form new minerals There are too many minerals and salts to stay dissolved in remaining water 2

3 How do minerals form? Existing Rock -- Metamorphic Heat Pressure Cause molecules to rearrange and form new minerals Muscovite, graphite Page 11 Pathways to Mineral Formation Magma Existing Rock Salt Water Solutions Eruption onto Earth s Surface Molecules rearrange or change to form new minerals There are too many minerals and salts to stay dissolved in remaining water 3

Calcite Hot-Water Solutions Heated by magma Dissolved minerals crystallize out Gold, sulfur, galena Pathways to

4 How do minerals form? Salt Water Solutions Evaporation Leaves behind minerals Halite Limestones Crystallize on bottom of lakes and seas Calcite Hot-Water Solutions Heated by magma Dissolved minerals crystallize out Gold, sulfur, galena Pathways to Mineral Formation Magma Existing Rock Salt Water Solutions Eruption onto Earth s Surface Molecules rearrange or change to form new minerals There are too many minerals and salts to stay dissolved in remaining water 4

5 Add on page 11 Environment where minerals are formed determined it s properties How do we get the minerals out? 5

6 Ore A mineral deposit large and pure enough to be mined Mining the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth Mine Types Surface and Subsurface 6

7 Surface Mining Open pits, Surface coal mines (strip mines) Quarries Open Pits Gold, copper Ore is mined down layer by layer Stair-step excavation 7

8 World Diamond Mines Ekita Diamond Mine in Canada 8

9 Mirny, Russia, East Siberia The biggest open diamond mine in the world. 525 m deep (almost 6 football fields deep), 1200 meter diameter. The air zone within this mine is closed for helicopters - happened after a few accidents when they were "sucked in" by downward air flow... Fort Knox Gold Mine 9

10 Quarries Open pits Building stone, crushed rock, sand, gravel Bucks Rocks The Intelligencer by Sarah Larson 9/2/07 PA has an abundance of natural deposits such as: oil, gas, coal, limestone, sandstone, agrillite (a fine-grained rock) PA is among the top 10 producers in the country of crushed stone and aggregate (a hard granular substance used in concrete, mortar, plaster and blacktop) Bucks County produces the most stone of any county in PA (13.3 million tons in 2005) Rock mined here has helped build the Southeast PA we know today. No special rock in Bucks County Just a big market due to road and housing construction in southeastern PA. Bucks is home to 21 active quarries 10

11 Bucks Rocks Materials from the quarries are used in Road beds Sidewalks Mixed into concrete Used in bridges Even toothpaste! (finely ground limestone) There are environmental concerns with all quarries: Loud blasting Heavy truck traffic Clouds of dust Silted water runoff PA Quarries Warrington Quarry, 1506 Easton Rd, Warrington Edison Quarry, Quarry Rd, Edison Miller Quarries Inc, Mill Creek Rushland Rush Valley Quarry, Swamp Rd, Rushland PA Quarries Map 11

12 Subsurface Mining Subsurface Mining Mineral deposits too deep for surface mining Passageways horizontal or at an angle Vertical if very deep 12

13 Mining Machines Problems with Mining Leave behind large pits and large amounts of waste material 13

land in a positive way For another purpose Restore the habitat

14 Mine Reclamation The process of restoring land that has been mined to its original or better state after mining Changing the land in a positive way For another purpose Restore the habitat for nature More visually appealing **Required by law! Golf Course 14

15 Air Field 15

The Use of Minerals. Chapter 3

The Use of Minerals. Chapter 3 Section 3 The Formation, Mining, and Use of Minerals The Use of Minerals Metallic Minerals are good conductors of heat and electricity. They can be processed for various uses, including building aircraft,