1. ROCKS AND MINERAL
RESOURCES
Geology
The Walker School

2. Essential Questions
 What elements are important for our society?
 What is the average crustal content of common
minerals?
 To what extent must a metal be concentrated above
its average crustal content to make mining it
economically viable?

3. Rocks
 A rock is an
aggregate of one or
more minerals.
 There are over a
1,000 different types
of rocks on Earth.

4. Rock Classifications
 Physical Properties
 Chemical Composition
Specimen of Tourmaline and Quartz

5. Rock Formation Cycle

6. WHAT MINERALS ARE
IMPORTANT TO OUR
SOCIETY?

7. Minerals
 A mineral is a naturally
occurring, inorganic
solid with an orderly
crystalline structure and
a definite,
homogeneous chemical
composition.

8. Medieval Manuscripts
 Much of the ink used in
these brilliantly colored
manuscripts came from
various minerals.

9. Economically Important Minerals
 Aluminum
 Coal
 Copper
 Iron
 Lead
 Salt
 Tin

10. MATTER, ELEMENTS, AND
BODING

11. Periodic Table of Elements
Fig. 3-4, p. 74

12. Types of Bonds
 Ionic Bonds
 Covalent Bonds
 Metallic Bonds
 Van Der Waals Bonds Increase
In
Bond
Strength

13. Ionic Bonds in Minerals
Fig. 3-6a, p. 76

14. Covalent Bonds
Sheering
Covalent Bonds in Covalent Bonds in
Diamonds Graphite
Fig. 3-7, p. 76

15. TO WHAT EXTENTS MUST A
MINERAL BE CONCENTRATED
TO BE ECONOMICALLY
VIABLE?

16. Common Elements in Earth’s Crust
Fig. 3-11, p. 80

17. Mineral Contents of Common Rocks
 About 0.0001 to 0.008 weight percent of copper,
lead, zinc and tin
 About 0.00001 to 0.000002 weight percent of
platinum, silver, and gold
 About 6.0 weight percent of iron

18. Economic Determinants of Viable Mineral Deposits
 Mining Technologies
 Market Value

19. Economically Viable Deposits
 25 x crustal content for iron
 60 x crustal content for copper, lead, zinc, and tin
 Only several parts per million for gold and
platinum

20. HOW ARE MINERALS
FORMED?

21. Mineral Formation Processes
 Sedimentation (coal)
 Precipitation (salts, metals)
 Crystallization from Magma Plutons (ores)
 Changes in Temperature and Pressure (ores)
 Fluid Inclusions (ores)

22. Sedimentation of Coal

23. Crystallization from Magma Plumbs

24. Fluid Inclusions

25. Mineral Groups

26. Silicates Contain
 Silicon
 Oxygen
Quartz (SiO2)

27. Carbonates Contain
 Carbon
 Oxygen
 One or More Metallic
Elements
Dolomite

28. Oxides Contain
 Oxygen
 One or More Other
Elements (Usually
Metals)
Iron Oxide

29. Sulfates and Sulfides Contain
 Sulfur
 One or More Other
Elements
Iron Sulfide - Pyrite

30. Halides Contain
 Halogen Ion
 chlorine,
fluorine,
bromide and iodine
 One or More Other
Elements
Fluorite

31. WHAT ARE THE PROPERTIES
OF MINERALS AND HOW ARE
THEY IDENTIFIED?

32. Mineral Identification
 Crystalline Structure  Fluorescence
 Hardness  Magnetism
 Luster  Tenacity
 Color  Radioactivity
 Streak  Piezoelectricity
 Cleavage  Reactivity to Dilute
 Fracture Acids
 Specific Gravity

33. Color
Imperial Topaz - Al2F2SiO4

34. Streak
Hematite is Fe3O4

35. Luster

36. Minerals are Crystalline
Typical of Halite Typical of Pyrite Typical of Typical of
Diamonds Quartz
Most minerals atoms are arranged in regular,
3D frameworks
Fig. 3-8, p. 78

37. Cleavage Patterns
Fig. 3-17, p. 88

38. Mineral Database
http://webmineral.com/

39. WHAT ARE NONRENEWABLE
MINERAL RESOURCES?

40. Metallic Mineral Resources
 Iron
 Tin
 Copper
 Aluminum
 Gold
 Platinum (PGE’s)
Tin Mine, Bolivia

41. Non-Metallic Mineral Resources
 Salt
 Clay
 Sand
 Phosphates
 Soil
Phosphate Mine,
Florida

42. Energy Resources
 Coal
 Oil
 Natural Gas
 Uranium
The Rössing Uranium Mine; located in the Namib
Desert, Erongo Region, Namibia.

43. HOW ARE BURIED MINERAL
DEPOSITS FOUND?

44. Underground Detective Work
 Aerial Photos
 Satellite Image
 Radiation-Measuring Equipment
 Magnetometer
 Gravimeter

45. InfoTerra - Satellites
http://www.infoterra.co.uk/applications_ogm_mineral.php
Example Mineral Analysis

46. Mineral Resource GIS Database
http://gdr.nrcan.gc.ca/minres/data_e.php

47. Magnetometer Survey
Measures changes in the
Earth’s magnetic field
caused by magnetic
minerals, such as iron ore.

48. Deep-Ocean Gravimeter
Measures differences in
gravity caused by
differences in density
between an ore deposit
and the surrounding rock.

49. HOW ARE BURIED MINERAL
DEPOSITS REMOVED?

50. Mining Strategies
 Surface Mining
 Sub-Surface Mining

51. Surface Mining Methods
 Open-Pit Mining
 Glory-Hole Mining
 Dredging
 Area Strip Mining
 Contour Strip Mining
 Mountaintop Removal

52. Appalachian Mountain Top Removal of Coal
http://www.appvoices.org/index.php?/site/mtr_overview/

53. Mineral Deposits Associated with
Magma Intrusions
Located in Siberia,
the mine in the
picture is apparently
the world's largest
diamond mine.
Kimberlites

54. Mineral Deposits Associated with Plate
Boundaries
Fig. 2-26, p. 62

55. Escondida Copper Mine, Chili
 is today the world's largest
producing mine with
750,000 metric tons of
production which was 5.6%
of the world's production in
2000.

56. Sub-Surface Mining Methods
 Digging Deep Vertical Shafts
 Blast Subsurface Tunnels
 Use Machinery to Remove Ore

57. WHAT ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS OF USING MINERAL
RESOURCES?

58. Impacts (mining, processing, use)
 Scarring and disruption of
land surface
 Collapse of land above
mines
 Wind or water erosion of
toxic mineral wastes
 Thermal water pollution
 Acid mine drainage
 Emission of toxic chemical Nickel Tailings in a River
into atmosphere
 Noise Pollution