APES 2012

MINERAL & FOSSIL FUEL FORMATION

AND EXTRACTION

How does the uneven distribution of minerals and resources impact social and political relationships between different countries?

WARMUP…

Oxygen, silicon, aluminum, and iron are unevenly distributed over 88 percent of the crust

Ores consist of concentrated accumulation of economically valuable minerals and metals

UNEVEN DISTRIBUTION OF MINERALS

GLOBAL MINERAL DISTRIBUTION

Two kinds of mining take place on land: SURFACE MINING

Strip Mining Open-pit Mining Mountaintop Removal Placer mining

SUBSURFACE MINING

TYPES OF MINING

STRIP MINING Removes strips of soil and rock to expose ore. Used when ore is relatively close to the Earth’s

surface (ex. Sedimentary materials such as coal and sand)

SURFACE MINING

OPEN-PIT MINING Creates a large pit or hole in the ground. Used when resource is close to the surface but extends

beneath the surface horizontally and vertically (ex. Copper mines)

Kennecott Bingham Canyon Mine

near Salt Lake City, UT

one of the largest open-pit

mines in the world

SURFACE MINING

MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL Miners remove the entire top of a mountain with

explosives. Large earth-moving equipment removes the resource and deposits the tailings in

lower-elevation regions nearby, often in or near rivers and streams

(ex. Coal)

SURFACE MINING

The Last Mountain

PLACER MINING The process of looking for metals and precious stones

in river sediments. River water is used to separate heavier items like

diamonds, tantalum, and gold, from lighter items like sand and mud. (ex. California gold rush)

SURFACE MINING

Used when resources are more than 100 meters (328 feet) below Earth’s surface.

(ex. Coal, diamonds, and gold)

SUBSURFACE MINING

What are some possible environmental impacts of mining?

Which type of mining causes the most harm to the environment?

Which type of mining creates the least amount of damage to the environment?

TURN AND TALK…

The extraction of mineral has various environmental impacts and human health consequences Deposit of spoils and tailings could cause contamination and

the blocking or changing the flow of rivers.

MINING SAFETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Subsurface mining can cause acid mine drainage, where lower pH water from the mine is pumped and drained above ground, lowering the pH of nearby soils and streams.

MINING SAFETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Acid Mine drainage

Subsurface mining accidents are extremely dangerous to miners, while long term exposure to gases and particles can cause respiratory diseases.

Human impact Subsurface mining

MINING SAFETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

How will the growth of human populations and industrialization affect the demand for mined resources?

How will this impact the environment?Are mineral resources considered renewable or non-

renewable? Why?

TURN AND TALK…

Governments have sought to regulate the mining process for many years: The Mining Law of 1872 (General Mining Act) – regulates

the mining of silver, copper, and gold ore as well as fuels, including natural gas and oil, on federal lands. Written to encourage development and settlement in the western United States, it contains very few environmental protection provisions.

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 – regulates surface mining of coal and the surface effects of subsurface coal mining. The act mandates that land be minimally disturbed during the mining process and reclaimed after mining is complete Mining legislation does not uniformly regulate all of the

practices that can have harmful effects on air, water, and land.

MINING LEGISLATION

In the U.S. the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 requires coal mining companies to restore the lands they have mined. Regulations also require other types of mining operations to do some level of restoration. 1. Fill in the hole or depression in the landscape.2. Fill material must be relatively free of metals, acids, and

other compounds and shaped to follow the preexisting contours.

3. The land must be replanted to re-create the communities of organisms that inhabited the area before mining.

Properly completed reclamation makes the soil physically stable so that erosion does not occur and water infiltration and retention can proceed.

WORKING TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY

Oil drilling explained –

AND THEN THERE’S OIL

Fossil fuel formation

COAL between layers of sediment. As surface coal reserves

deplete, subsurface mining techniques are used to mine for coal ores.

FOSSIL FUELS

Burning fossil fuels…

Removing surfaces from a mountaintop….

Chemical runoff from strip mining…

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF EXTRACTION - COAL

Mountain top extraction is the “worst” for the environment

In the US, mining companies must “restore” strip mined land (is that even possible?)

In 2002, the US loosened regulations on mountaintop removal, allowing companies to dump removed and slide material into river valleys

The rest of the world has even looser regulations

COAL MINING LEGISLATION

PETROLEUM A fluid mixture of hydrocarbons, water, and sulfur that occurs in underground

deposits. Petroleum removed from the ground is known as crude oil and contains natural gas.

Formed as the remains of ocean-dwelling phytoplankton (microscopic algae) that died 50 million to 150 million years ago get trapped between porous sedimentary rock and nonporous rocks.

Petroleum fills the pore spaces in the rock over millions of years and migrates up to the highest point of the porous rock, where it is trapped by nonporous rock.

Petroleum is generally extracted through the use of pumps through drilled wells.

Once extracted petroleum is transferred through pipelines and tankers to various refineries where it is refined into tar, asphalt, gasoline, diesel, and kerosene.

FOSSIL FUELS

Primary extraction: Easiest and cheapest. Whatever oil can be pumped without extra effort

Secondary extraction: Input more energy/matter to force the oil out. Much more expensive and energetically demanding.

Secondary extraction methods are only economically feasible if primary extraction is not possible

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EXTRACTION

Burning fossil fuels adds CO2 to the atmosphere (usage)

Pollution of water through oil spills and leakage (extraction)….sludge

Drilling can alter local ecosystem health: (vegetation, wildlife, etc).

For example, drilling in Alaska has been shown to adversely affect bird populations and reproductive success and affect caribou and polar bear populations

PETROLEUM ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

NATURAL GAS Exists as a gaseous deposit on

its own as well as a component of petroleum.

80 to 95 percent methane (CH4) and 5 to 20 percent ethane,

propane, and butane. Mostly extracted in association

with petroleum but direct drilling for natural gas has recently been explored. One way of extracting natural gas is through fracking

FOSSIL FUELS

Fracking CNN

Extraction can: Contaminate groundwater (for drinking!)Alter air quality (for breathing!)Bring harmful chemicals to the surface

NATURAL GAS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

OTHER FOSSIL FUELS Oil Sands and Liquefied Coal are two types of fossil fuel

deposits that contain a great deal of energy but are not readily available. Oil sands are slow-flowing, viscous deposits of bitumen mixed with

sand, water, and clay Oil sands can be extracted by surface mining, which have serious negative

environmental impacts. Requires large amounts of water to extract, can be inefficient, and releases more

CO2 than conventional oil production Liquefied Coal is created from converting solid coal into a liquid

fuel through a process known as CTL (coal-to-liquid) With more goal reserves than petroleum reserves, liquefied coal can help alleviate

the world’s dependence on petroleum However, emissions from liquefied coal are more than twice of those from

conventionally produced oil.

FOSSIL FUELS

What are some environmental impacts of extracting these fossil fuels?

Do you think the extraction methods for one are worst than the others? Why or why not?

Can you think of any major controversies in recent years over extraction of certain fossil fuels?

Are these fuels considered renewable resources? Why or why not?

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