Learner's objectives

1.      Investigate the reasons for extracting rocks and minerals

2.      Draw conclusion on the impact of rock and mineral extraction on the environment and the populations and how it can be used sustainably

a rock with enough of an important element to make it worth mining

Ores

provide the metals and alloys needed to make products such as computers, mobile phones, cars, wires and nails

Metallic ores

Words to study

​Extraction of Rocks and Minerals from the Earth

• Minerals provide a wide range of materials that we use in everyday life

• Metallic ores provide the metals and alloys needed to make products such as computers, mobile phones, cars, wires and nails

• The demand for minerals continues to increase, both from developed and developing countries

​Searching for Minerals

• The simplest way to find mineral deposits is to look carefully at the surface rocks. This process PROSPECTING has found nearly all the surface deposits of minerals worldwide

• Deposits on the Earth's surface can also be found using a range of REMOTE SENSING methods. Aerial photography cover much more ground than a person walking over the surface of rocks

• Mineral deposits are producing mineral oxides which can be detected by their unique radiation pattern, recorded by satellite and downloaded to a computer for analysis

​Methods of Extraction

1. Surface mining - a type of mining used when the mineral is either exposed on the surface or overlain by only small amounts of overburden (the rock and soil overlaying an economically viable mineral deposit.

2. Open-pit mining - is the activity of removing the earth to access the mineral deposits and continuing to do it vertically in an open-pit. 

3. Strip-mining - is the activity of removing a layer of earth to access the minerals that are in shallow deposits and continuing to do the same in adjacent areas without digging deeper vertically.

4. Sub-surface mining - used when the deposit is covered by a deep layer of unwanted rock

5. Underground mining - sometimes called deep mining, is a process that retrieves coal from deep below the Earth’s surface—sometimes as far as 300 meters (1,000 feet).

6. Shaft mining - is a form of underground mining where shafts are pushed vertically from top to bottom to excavate the ores and minerals. It is also called shaft sinking.

Impacts of Rock and Mineral Extraction

1. Loss of habitat for some species of plants and animals

2. Pollution - can take form of noise, water, land, air and visual

Managing the Impact of Rock and Mineral Extraction

1. Safe disposal of mining waste

2. Land restoration and bioremediation

Sustainable Use of Rocks and Minerals

1. Efficiency of extraction

2. Efficiency of use and recycling

​Any question?