Environmental Assessments

Environmental Assessments

Minerals

How do minerals affect society?

The presence of gemstones in jewelry, marbles in buildings, and microprocessors in technologies show that minerals are found everywhere. It is such an important subject of our society that we often take it for granted. It is well-oiled machine that sustain our society (Upson, 2008). It facilitates us to adapt new techniques of mining, impacts of destructing ecosystem, and study the environmental impact on the regulation of the mineral industry. Life processes are involved to produce minerals and aesthetically and chemically into different products (Nickel, 1995).

What is the difference between metallic and non-metallic minerals? Provide two examples from each category and discuss their uses?

Metallic minerals are those minerals that possess the tendency to melt and yield to produce new products. Non-metallic minerals are those minerals that do not possess the tendency to yield new products on melting. There are many significant examples of metallic and non-metallic minerals. Iron and copper are two examples for metallic minerals. Coal and salt are two examples of non-metallic minerals (Smirnov, 2011).

Metallic minerals are used for extraction of other metal orders. These minerals are used for the construction of spacecraft and auto bodies (automobiles). Whereas, non-metallic minerals are used for the construction of roads, bridges, buildings and other concrete structures (Sillitoe & Walter, 2011).

Mining

How are minerals extracted from the Earth and processed?

The ancient mining techniques and mineral processing have been primitively developed over the ancient times. Surface mining and underground mining are two broad classifications. Beach sands, sandy areas, and river beds are a common location for minerals (Gao et al., 2010). These alluvial deposits can be extracted through surface mining. Deep underground minerals are extracted through veins or pipes (in long streaks) through the techniques of underground mining.

Mineral dressing is specialized science of crushing, grinding, and washing minerals or metals from their raw materials and is processed through gravity-dependent or minor shaking methods (Desert, 2010).

What are the different ways minerals can be mined? Provide a brief description of at least three types of mining

Open-cast mining and underground mining are two broad examples. These are further classified into string mining, placer mining, mountain top process, hydraulic mining, dredging mining, open pit mining, slope mining, hard rock process, drift mining, shaft process, and borehole process (Hartman, 1992).

Strip mining process is stripping the earth surface to alleviate the soil and rocks through heavy machineries. Sedimentary rocks are prime examples. The cheapest and earliest method of mining are an open pit process that dug open holes in the grounds (Cummins, 1973). Shaft process is the deepest form of underground mining that excavate vertical passageway to elevate miners up and down.

What effect does extracting minerals have on the environment?

Land erosion, forest loss, degradation on biodiversity, soil contamination, coal fires, sinkholes formation are hazardous impact of extracting mineral on environment. These activities are executed in the vicinity of mines for several decades that results in health affect on the local population (Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits, ...