Mining

By 1852, mining operations were well under way on the American River near Sacramento.

http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues98/jan98/mining_jpg.html

Open Pit Mine

http://imcg.wr.usgs.gov/usbmak/fig03.gif

Commonly mined materials and end uses Mined material

End uses

CoalGenerating electricity, making iron and steel, manufacturing chemicals and other products.

Sand and gravel Building roads, homes, schools, offices, and factories.

Iron ore Steel products (kitchen utensils, automobiles, ships, buildings).

Aluminum ore (bauxite)

Military aircraft, naval vessels, pots and pans, beverage cans.

Copper ore Electrical motors, generators, communications equipment, wiring.

Silver ore Electric and electronics circuitry, coins, jewelry, photographic film.

Gold ore Jewelry, satellites, sophisticated electronic circuits.

ZincDiecasting, galvanizing brass and bronze, protective coatings on steel, chemical compounds in rubber and paints.

Lead Batteries, solder, electronic components.

ClayBricks, paper, paint, glass, pottery, linoleum, concrete, wallboard, spackling, pencils, microwavable containers, vegetable oil.

Gypsum Concrete, wallboard, spackling, caulking, potting soil.

Phosphate Plant fertilizers.

Salt Cooking, drinking water, plastics, highway de-icing, detergents.

http://www.saltinfo.com/salt%20production4.html

In the solution mining method of extraction, water is forced under pressure into a cavity which forms in the underground salt bed, as the salt dissolves. This turns the water into brine containing about 30% salt.

The saturated raw brine is pumped to the purification plant where calcium, magnesium and other impurities are removed, prior to the evaporation process.

http://www.miningmuseum.org/

http://imcg.wr.usgs.gov/usbmak/fig16.jpg

http://www.mcintoshengineering.com/Services/mineengineering.htm

The illustration above shows a drift type of underground mine. A mine opening is made at the same elevation as the coals seam and mining is conducted using typically either longwall mining or room and pillar mining with continuous mining equipment. Coal is transported to the surface by conveyor belts. This method of mining is used when the coal seam outcrops at the surface, or when a bench has to be constructed on a mountain side to mine the coal.  

http://66.113.204.26/mining/coal/undergnd_mining.htm

The illustration shows a shaft type of underground mine. A mine opening is made by sinking a shaft down to the elevation of the coal seam. Mining is conducted using typically either longwall mining or room and pillar mining with continuous mining equipment. Coal is transported to the surface by a skip hoist. This is the most expensive type of underground mine to build and operate. This method of mining coal is usually utilized when the coal seam is deep below the surface.  

The illustration above shows a slope type of underground mine. A mine opening is made by tunneling from the surface down to the elevation of the coal seam. Mining is conducted using typically either longwall mining or room and pillar mining with continuous mining equipment. Coal is transported to the surface by conveyor belts. This method of mining coal is usually utilized when the coal seam is not far from the surface, and the outcrop of the coal seam is not exposed.  

Reclamation plans include many of the following concerns: drainage control, preservation of top soil, segregation of waste material, erosion and sediment control, solid waste disposal, control of fugitive dust, regrading, and restoration of waste and mine areas. The plan must also consider the effects of mine subsidence, vibration (induced by mining, processing, transport, or subsidence), and impact on surface water and groundwater. These environmental items often dictate the economics of a planned mining operation and determine its viability.

http://www.mines.edu/fs_home/jhoran/ch126/tailings.htm

Pyritic mine tailings leach acid mine drainage originating in a large part to the metabolic activity of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans(5).  This bacterial microbe has been implicated as the major culprit in the pollution of streams emanating from active and abandoned mining operations.  Abiotic oxidation of pyrite is slow.  T. ferrooxidans catalyzes the oxidation of FeS2, producing ferric ions and hydrogen ions. 

Acid Mine Drainage

http://www.mines.edu/fs_home/jhoran/ch126/microbia.htm

http://www.mines.edu/fs_home/jhoran/ch126/amd.htm

AMD (Acid Mine Drainage)

http://www.rainforestweb.org/

Rainforest_Destruction/Mining/

Mining, particularly gold mining, is an increasing threat to the world's rainforests and to forest communities.

1,600 kg (3,600 lb) of aluminum

360 kg (800 lb) of zinc

11,300 kg (25,000 lb) of clay

25,400 kg (56,000 lb) of steel

360 kg (800 lb) of lead

680 kg (1,500 lb) of copper

12,200 kg (27,000 lb) of salt

More than 226,000 kg (500,000 lb) of coal

More than 453,000 kg (1 million lb) of stone, sand, gravel, and cement.

During the lifetime of the average American, he or she will use: http://imcg.wr.usgs.gov/usbmak/thisis.html

Possible Science Fair Experiment

• http://www.mines.edu/fs_home/jhoran/ch126/amd.htm

http://www.calsign.com/mining/images/calmap.gif