1 / 21

Mineral Resources

Mineral Resources. Earth and Space Science Ms. Pollock 2010 - 2011. Hoover Dam. Built across Colorado River near Las Vegas in 1930s Built to supply water and electricity to arid (dry) lands Also affects environment. Hoover Dam. Disruption to normal river flow

gelsey
Download Presentation

Mineral Resources

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. Mineral Resources Earth and Space Science Ms. Pollock 2010 - 2011

  2. Hoover Dam • Built across Colorado River near Las Vegas in 1930s • Built to supply water and electricity to arid (dry) lands • Also affects environment

  3. Hoover Dam • Disruption to normal river flow • Flooding from reservoir behind dam • Water deprivation downstream from dam

  4. Mineral Resources Useful resources contained in Earth’s crust Formation of many resources takes millions of years Over 3,000 identified minerals Can be metals or nonmetals

  5. Mineral Resources

  6. Ores Metallic minerals also called native elements Most minerals found in compound form, as they are unstable Ores are mineral deposits from which metals and nonmetals can be removed profitably.

  7. Ores Iron ore from hematite or magnetite Mercury ore from cannabar Aluminum ore from bauxite

  8. Ores Formed by Cooling Magma • As magma cools, dense metallic minerals sink and accumulate at the bottom of magma chambers to form ore deposits. • Chromium • Nickel • lead

  9. Ores Formed by Cooling Magma

  10. Ores Formed by Contact Metamorphism Magma in contact with existing rock Can be caused by hydrothermal solutions (hot water) passing through cracks in rock Hydrothermal solutions cause formation of veins – narrow zones of ores. Lode – many thick mineral veins formed in small region

  11. Ores Formed by Contact Metamorphism Gold vein in Zamibia Silver lode deposit locations in British Columbia

  12. Ores Formed by Moving Water Tiny fragments of native elements released from rock as it is broken down by weathering Fragments carried downstream by moving water Placer deposit – concentration of fragments of native element at bottom of stream bed

  13. Ores Formed by Moving Water

  14. Uses of Mineral Resources • See page 157 in your textbook – Table 1 • Some metals prized for beauty and rarity • Some nonmetals considered gemstones • Some building materials

  15. Mineral Exploration and Mining • Companies often in search of new mining areas • Area only good for mining if it contains 100 to 1,000 times the amount of mineral found elsewhere • Local geology a factor • Aerial studies of magnetism, gravity, radioactivity, and rock color • Collection and testing of rock samples

  16. Mineral Exploration and Mining

  17. Subsurface Mining • Many mineral deposits located below Earth’s surface • Miners working underground to recover the minerals

  18. Surface Mining • Mineral deposits located close to Earth’s surface • Overlying rock stripped away to reveal mineral deposits

  19. Placer Mining • Mined by dredging • Large buckets attached to floating barge • Sediments scooped up in front of barge • Dense placer deposits separated and sediments released into water

  20. Undersea Mining • Nodules – lumps of minerals on deep-ocean floor • Difficult to mine due to location • Iron • Manganese • nickel

  21. Assignment Complete page 158 # 1 – 7. You do not need to write the question.

More Related