Chapter 27: Minerals and the Environment:

Importance of Minerals to Society: We need minerals: silica for glasses, clay for dishes, phosphorus for fertilizers, and steel for utensils. The availability of minerals resources is a measure of the wealth of society. To maintain our standard of living, each person, in the US, needs to 10 tons of nonfuel minerals each year. Minerals are nonrenewable. Although, new minerals are in the process of forming, they are being produced at a very slow rate, so slow that they will not be of any use to us. Most of the easy to discover deposits have already been exploited. How are the Minerals Deposits Formed: Metals in minerals form in high concentrations. These are Ore Deposits. These ore deposits allowed early people to exploit copper, tin, gold, silver and other metals. The origin and distribution of minerals resources is related to the history of the biosphere and the geologic cycle. Lets look at the distribution of mineral resources on Earth and then describe the processes that form these deposits. Distribution of Mineral Resources: Earths outer crust is silica rich. The distribution of elements is not evenly distributed. There are 9 elements that make up 99% of the crust by weight: Oxygen (45%), Aluminum (27%), Iron (8%), Calcium (6%), Magnesium (3%), Sodium (2%), Potassium (2%), and Titanium (1%). The ocean covers about 71% of the earth, and it is another reservoir for elements. Most elements in the ocean have been washed from rocks on land and transported to the ocean by rivers, wind or glaciers. Oceans have chlorine, zinc, copper, tin, silver, and gold (in a much lower concentration). Why is the concentration of elements uneven? Gravity initially attracted the matter together (to form earth). The mass increased and was heated. The crust formed of lighter elements, the heavier elements sank. The elements are not evenly distributed because of geologic and biological processes that transport matter. Plate Boundaries: Plate tectonics is responsible for the formation of some mineral deposits. Plates are light rocks. As the plates move slowly across the surface, it is thought that the metallic ores are thought to be deposited where the plates come together and where they diverge. As the plates diverge, cold ocean water comes into with hot molten rock. The heated water is lighter and more active. It rises through fractured rock and leeches metals. Metals are cooled and deposited as the metal solidifies when the rock cools. At the convergent plate boundaries, rocks saturated with sea water are forced together, heated and subjected to intense pressure this causes a partial melting. This mobilizes the metals in the molten rocks. Igneous Process: This process is related to the molten rock material: magma. Ore deposits can form when magma cools. The heavier minerals solidify (crystallizes) early and slowly sinks/settles toward the bottom of the magma. Deposits of Chromium are thought to form this way. When magma contains a little bit of carbon and is subjected to high pressure and slow cooling, you get diamonds. 1

Hot water moving within the crust may be the source of most ore deposits. Circulating ground water is heated and enriched with minerals on contact with deeply buried rock. The water then moves up or to colder rocks which cools the water and deposits the dissolved minerals. Sedimentary Process: The wind, water and glaciers will move and concentrate minerals for extraction. As the sediments move, they are segregated by size, shape and density (like how sand and gravel are segregated). Streams sort by size and density. The more dense the materials stay on the bedrock of the stream (gold). Streams may concentrate metals in areas with less water velocity or turbulence. These places are called Placer Deposits. These are often in crevices or fractures at the bottom of pools, in the inside curves of bends or shallow waterthis is where people will plan for gold. Rivers and streams empty into oceans and lakes, and they carry a huge amount of dissolved material derived from the weathering of rocks. Overtime, these lakes and even shallow marine basins can be isolated with no inlets or outlets. The water will evaporate, leaving behind Evaporates (there are 3 groups). 1) Marine Evaporates: (solids) Potassium, Sodium, Salts, Gypsum and Anhydrite 2) Nonmarine Evaporates: (solids) Sodium, Calcium Carbonate, Sulfate, Borate, Nitrate, Iodine (limited) and Strontium Compounds. 3) Brines: (liquids from well, thermal springs inland salt lakes and sea water) Bromine, Iodine, Calcium Chloride, and Magnesium Evaporated minerals are widely used in industrial and agricultural activities.

Biological Processes: Deposits can be affected by life. Banded iron formation found that date back to 2 billion years ago. Whats interesting is that there are red bands. The red bands are there because the iron is oxidized. Organisms can also produce calcium carbonate, bone and 31 other different minerals. These play a huge role in the sedimentary process. Weathering Processes: The chemical and mechanical decomposition of rocks can concentrate some minerals in the soil, unless they are lost to erosion. Resources and Reserves: Minerals are classified into two categories: Resources and Reserves. Resources: can be extracted to obtain a usable commoditysomething that can be bought and sold. Reserve: Portion of a resource that is identified that can be legally and economically extracted. Resources are not reserves. Resources are your total income, but reserves are your liquid assets. Classification, Availability, and Use of Mineral Resources: Earths mineral resources are divided into different categories: Elements for metal production/technology Building materials Minerals for chemical industry Minerals for Agriculture

Some minerals are important for life (salt), other minerals are desirable or are considered necessary to maintain our level of technology. Most mined minerals are non-metallic (except for iron).

Availability of Mineral Resources: Basic Issue with mined resources: not that the exhaustion or extinction but the cost of maintaining an adequate stock within the economy through mining and recycling. At some point, the cost of mining exceeds the worth of material. When the availability of a particular mineral becomes a limitation, there are 4 possible solutions: 1. Find more sources 2. Recycle and reuse 3. Reduce consumption 4. Find a substitute The choice or combination of choices depends on the social, economical, and environmental factors. Mineral resources are limited, how long will a particular resource last? How much short term or long term environmental deterioration are we willing to accept to ensure the resources are developed in a particular area? How can we make the best use of available resources? Mineral Consumption: We can use a mineral resource in 1 of three ways: 1. Rapid consumption 2. Consumption with conservation 3. Consumption and conservation with recycling. Which option we choose depends on economic, social, and political criteria. We start with the rapid consumption then our resources run in short supply. We move to consumption with conservation. Then the resource becomes more scarce, and we start to consume, conserve and recycle. US Supply of Mineral Resources: Domestic supplies of many mineral resources in the US are insufficient for current use and must be supplemented by imports from other nations. This doesnt mean that the mineral doesnt exist in the US. There are other reasons: economic, political, environmental that makes it easier to import the mineral. This results in political alliances that might be awkward or unlikely. Impacts of Mineral Development: The impact of mineral exploitation on the environment depends on: ore quality, mining procedures, local hydrologic conditions, climate, rock type, site of operation, topography, and other factors. The impact also varies with the stage of development. In addition, the use of the mineral resources has social impact. Environmental Impacts: Exploitative activities for mineral deposits vary from collection to analysis of remote sensing data that is gathered from airplanes or satellites to field work that might involve surface mapping to drilling. Usually exploration activities have minimal impact on the environment, but you need to be careful with sensitive areas, e.g. desert (there is a thin layer of pebbles called the desert pavement on top that can be lost, and then youd have loss of sand). The mining and processing of mineral resources has a considerable impact on land, air, water and biological resources. As you remove the lower and lower grades of ore, negative environmental effects become a greater problem.

A major practical issue is whether surface (open pit) or subsurface (under the surface) mines be developed in an area. What are the differences? 1. Subsurface mines are much smaller than open pit mines. 2. Mining activities at subsurface mines are less visible. 3. Subsurface mining produces little waste rock. Open pit mines often produce a lot of waste rock with large visible impact. 4. Surface mining is cheaper and has more direct environmental effects. The trend has been away from subsurface mines to the larger open pit, surface mines. E.g. Bingham Canyon Copper Mine: one of the largest mines: 8 km2 in area and 800 m deep. Surface mines cover about 0.5% of the US. The impact is usually local, but the local problems will eventually cause larger problems. Environmental degradation occurs beyond the land mined. Often the mining operation will move land from the mine and dump it somewhere else. This will change the topography. Dust at mines may affect air resources. Mines can also release trace elements into the environment. Water resources are particularly vulnerable. The trace elements that leach out of mining waste can concentrate in water, plants or the soil. Ground water may be polluted. The waste can come into contact with slow moving subsurface water. It is difficult and expensive to reclaim ground water. Physical changes to the land, soil, water and air due to mining may directly and indirectly affect the biological environment. Indirect impacts include: change in the nutrient cycle, element cycles, total biomass, species diversity, and ecosystem stability. Social Impacts: There is a social impact associated with large scale mining that can cause a large influx of workers. Stress is placed on services: water, schools, solid waste disposal, housing The increase of people also stresses parks and recreation, cause construction activity and urbanization. The urbanization and construction can also affect local streams and rivers (sedimentation) which will reduce water quality and increase runoff. Air quality is also reduced due to more vehicles, dust from construction and generation of power. The closing of mines can also have a huge impact. Towns become dependent on the income of the working miners. Closures of mines can make ghost towns like in the Old American West. The cost of coal and other minerals directly affects the livelihood of many small towns. A reason that mining costs are rising: increased level of environmental resources. The regulations have also made mining safer and facilitated land reclamation. Minimizing Environmental Impact of Mineral Development: To minimize the environmental impact of mineral development, you need to consider the cycle of mineral resource development: EarthExplorationMineral Extraction (waste is produced) Refine/Process (waste is produced) Metals, Chemicals, etc. (waste is produced) Products (cars, appliances, structures, etc) (waste is produced) All waste will go to the disposal Earth The products can also to back to refine and metals by recycling! All waste goes to disposal. You can tell the major impact centers around waste. Waste produces pollution that may be toxic to humans, may harm ecosystems and the biosphere, and may be ugly. Waste may affect air, water, soil and living system organisms. 4

Environmental regulations at federal, state and local levels address pollution like sediment, air, and water pollution as the result of the mineral cycle. Results also address land reclamation (about 50% of t he land used for mining has been reclaimed. Minimizing of environmental effects associated with mining takes several paths: These are interrelated: Reclaiming areas where physical, hydrological and biological disturbances have taken place. Stabilizing soils that contain metals to minimize the effects on the environment. Often, the contaminated soil needs to be removed and placed in a waste facility. Controlling air emissions of metals and other materials from mining areas. Preventing (by treatment) contaminated water from leaving or treating contaminated water that has left a mining site. A chemical sued in miningacid (Acid mining) must be treated. This is done by adding lime (base) and is done at a waste treatment plant. Treating Waste onsite and offsite. Need to control on and offsite problems: control sediment, water and air pollution. Interested in developing bioxidation, bioleching, and biosorption: use plants, bacteria and fungus to help clean up areas. Practice the 3 Rs of Waste Management: reduce amount of waste, reuse materials, and recycle as much as possible. Focus on the 3 Rs: Wastes from some parts of the mineral cycle may be referred to as oresthey may contain materials that might be recycled and used again to provide energy or useful products. Some metals: iron, aluminum, copper and lead have been recycled for many years. Total volume of recycled metals is about $50 billion. Iron and steel are 90% by weight and 40% of value of the recycled metal. Iron and steel are recycle in large volumes for 3 reasons: 1) Market for iron and steel is huge 2) If we dont recycle, there will be a huge economic burden 3) Not recycling will take a huge toll on environment. You will need to dispose of 50 million tons of steel. It is estimated that each ton of recycled steel saves 1,136 kg of iron ore, 455 kg of coal and 18 kg of limestone. Also, 1/3 as much energy is required to produce steel from recycled scrap. When other metals are recycled, we save energy, as well. Minerals and Sustainability: Nonrenewable mineral resources are consumed over time and sustainability is a long-term concept where we want to leave the next generation a fair share of resources. We need to use our ingenuity to find new materials for the minerals we use. For example, copper: we use it because it conducts electricity. Can we find some other mineral/material that can conduct electricity as well? Finding substances or ways to use nonrenewable resources more efficiently requires a lot of R and D. A measure of the time available for finding the solutions to depletion of nonrenewable resources is the R to C ratio, where R=reserves (i.e. Hundreds of tons of metal) and C= consumption (thousands of tons of metals used by people). The R to C ratio is often misinterpreted as the time a reserve will last at the present rate of consumption. For the past 50 years R to C for metals, copper and zinc, have fluctuated around 30 years. The ratio does provide a view of how scarce a particular mineral resource may be. Metals with small ratios are in short supply, and you will need to find substitutes . 5

We need to find ways to use resources more wisely, develop more efficient ways of mining resources, using resources more efficiently, recycling more, and applying our ingenuity to find substitutes for a particular function to replace the nonrenewable resource.