Rocks & Minerals Exploitation
Rocks & Minerals Exploitation
- Types of grains:
o Interlocking grains that fit tightly together. Granite is a rock with interlocking grains.
o Rounded grains. Sandstone is a rock with rounded grains.
- Porous rocks
Rocks with rounded grains are more likely to absorb water than rocks with interlocking grains. This is
because the water can get into the gaps between the grains. Rocks that absorb water are described as
being porous.
Rocks with rounded grains are usually softer and more crumbly than rocks with interlocking grains. So
porous rocks tend to be softer than non-porous rocks.
- There are three types or rocks:
1. Igneous rocks
2. Sedimentary Rocks
3. Metamorphic rocks
1. Igneous rocks
Igneous rocks are formed from molten rock that has cooled and solidified.
The inside of the Earth is very hot - hot enough to melt rocks. Molten (liquid) rock is called magma.
When the magma cools enough, it solidifies and igneous rock forms.
There are two main types of igneous rock, extrusive and intrusive, shown in the table:
Extrusive (plutonic) Intrusive (volcanic)
Where the magma cooled On the surface Underground
How fast the magma cooled Quickly Slowly
Size of crystals Small Large
Examples Obsidian and basalt Granite and gabbro
Picture
Extrusive igneous rocks form from magma that erupted onto the surface as lava, where it cooled
quickly. On the other hand, intrusive igneous rocks form from magma that cooled slowly, deep
underground.
2. Sedimentary rocks
Sedimentary rocks are formed from the broken remains of other rocks that become joined together.
These processes eventually make a type of rock called sedimentary rock. It may take millions of
years for sedimentary rocks to form.
Metamorphic rocks are formed from other rocks that are changed because of heat or pressure. They are
not made from molten rock – rocks that do melt form igneous rocks instead.
Earth movements can cause rocks to be deeply buried or squeezed. As a result, the rocks are heated and
put under great pressure. They do not melt, but the minerals they contain are changed chemically,
forming metamorphic rocks.
- Weathering is the wearing away or breaking down of rocks by the action of weather, plants, animals
and chemical processes.
- Erosion is the movement of the broken pieces away from the site of weathering
- Transport is the movement of the rocks by water along rivers
For example, a limestone cliff may be weathered by freeze-thaw, a type of physical weathering. This
means that rock in the cliff becomes broken into smaller pieces.
Erosion happens when these pieces of rock fall away down the cliff.
- Rock cycle
o Remember that there are three main types of rock:
igneous (for example, basalt and granite)
sedimentary (for example, limestone, sandstone and shale)
metamorphic (for example, slate and marble)
o Continual change
The Earth's rocks do not stay the same forever. They are continually changing because of
processes such as weathering, erosion and large earth movements. The rocks are gradually
recycled over millions of years. This is called the rock cycle.
For example, sedimentary rocks can be changed into metamorphic rocks. These can be
weathered, eroded, and the pieces transported away. The pieces of rock could be deposited in a
lake or sea, eventually forming new sedimentary rock. Many routes through the rock cycle are
possible.
o The rock cycle
The processes in the rock cycle are summarised in this diagram:
Description
Letter
Weathering breaks down rocks on the surface of the Earth. There are three types of
A weathering (biological physical and chemical). Wind and water move the broken rock
particles away. This is called erosion.
Rivers and streams transport rock particles to other places. Rock particles are deposited in
B
lakes and seas.
C Rock particles form layers.
Compaction and cementation presses the layers and sticks the particles together. This
D
creates sedimentary rock.
Rocks underground get heated and put under pressure, and are changed into metamorphic
E
rock.
Rocks underground that get heated so much they melt turn into magma. Magma also
comes from deeper inside the Earth, from a region called the mantle. Pressure can force
F magma out of the ground, creating a volcano. When the magma (lava) cools quickly, it
turns into solid extrusive igneous rock. Magma that cools slowly underground forms solid
intrusive igneous rock.
Areas of rock can move slowly upwards, pushed up by pressure of the rocks forming
G
underneath. This is called uplift.
1.2 Extraction of rocks and minerals from the Earth
- Exploring (searching) for minerals
o Prospecting: the simplest way to find mineral deposits is to look carefully at the surface of the
rocks
o Remote sensing:
Photographs of the area are taken from air.
The images are carefully analysed for mineral presence.
Aerial photography can map a large area and can reach inaccessible area
o Radiation detection
Mineral deposits are weathered at the Earth’s surface, forming mineral oxides.
They can be detected by their unique radiation pattern (recorded by a satellite and
downloaded to a computer for analysis).
o Satellite signals
Some satellites send signals to the Earth’s surface and collect the reflected signals,
indicating the presence of minerals.
The system works in all weather conditions.
o Satellite images
Computers are used to process the data from a region of interest to check for mineral
presence.
Geologists confirm the presence of the mineral by visiting the location (recorded by the
satellite’s positioning system).
Geologists can further check the availability of the mineral in nearby areas.
Using satellites saves time and costs less.
o Geochemical analysis
Analysing the chemical properties of rocks (by taking samples).
The samples can be taken from stream sediments, soil or rocks (using shallow drilling).
o Geophysics
A method to identify mineral ores present in rocks using their physical properties.
A series of vibrations (seismic waves) are sent through the Earth’s surface.
Several sensors are placed at different distances from the source of vibrations on the
surface.
The vibrations create shock waves that travel down into the rock layers.
They are reflected back to the sensors on the surface.
The shock waves record different patterns depending on the mineral present in the rock
layers.
- Methods of extraction
o Surface mining: Open-cast mining (open-pit/open-cut/strip mining)
Used when a valuable deposit is located near the surface, buried below a thick
layer of worthless material called overburden.
Steps:
o Overburden removed first to expose the deposit
o Mines dug in sections called benches kept at an angle to reduce the risk of
rock falls
o Roads made to allow removal of mineral deposit and overburden
Building materials such as sand, gravel and stone are removed from open pits
called quarries
Open pit mines stop being worked when
o Much valuable deposit has been removed
o Amount of overburden increase to an extent the mine is no longer
profitable
Strip mining is used to mine a seam of mineral
The overburden (overlying rock and soil) is removed as a thin strip
Used to mine coal
o Subsurface mining (Deep/shaft mining)
Sub surface mining involves digging tunnels into the ground to reach deposits that are too
deep to be removed by surface mining
Horizontal tunnels: dug directly into the side of a hill or a mountain, this is a draft
mine entered by an adit (the entrance to a horizontal/drift mine)
Sloping tunnels: dug to reach deeper deposits
Vertical shafts: dug to reach the deepest deposits
o Horizontal galleries are then dug into the mineral deposits
o This type is more expensive and difficult than horizontal and sloping
tunnels
Difficulties with sub-surface mining:
Supply of fresh air and water drainage has to be provided
Dangers of collapsing tunnels
Risk of poisonous gas, explosion and underground fire.
o Geology:
High-grade ores yield more of the required chemical elements than low-grade ores.
Small deposits of high-grade ore are worth mining.
Small deposits of low-grade ore that cannot be mined at a profit are left as reserves.
o Accessibility:
Transporting the ore from the mine to processing plants can be difficult and expensive.
The cost of building road or rail links to the processing plant or to the nearest port for
export has to be considered.
Carrying out some processing at the mine reduces transport costs.
The mining company must be given a licence before extracting a deposit.
A long-term agreement between the government and mining company must be reached to
avoid rapid rises in the tax, which makes the mining unprofitable.
o Supply and demand: the relation between how much of a commodity is available and how
much is needed or wanted by the consumers.
Increase in world demand for any mineral ore will elevate the prices.
The profit from a working mine depends on changes in supply and demand.
If the demand is too high, mines that were not profitable before become worth mining.
If the demand falls, working mines may get into a loss due to the transport and extraction
expenses.
o Strike rate: The frequency with which attempts to find a desired mineral are successful
Brownfield sites are areas that have already been mined
Greenfield sites are areas that have never been mined for minerals
Brownfield sites usually have higher strike rates than greenfield sites
- Environmental impacts
o Habitat and biodiversity loss due to clearing huge area of land for mining
o Visual pollution due to removing large areas of landscape
o Noise pollution due to machinery and explosives
o Water pollution due to using toxic chemicals and heavy metals in refining minerals, heavy
metal ions can run off to nearby rivers
Organisms can absorb heavy metal ions and retain them so they reach high
concentrations in their bodies. This process is called bioaccumulation.
The concentration further increase in organisms that are higher up in the food chain. This
is called biomagnification. High concentration of these ions can lead to death.
o Air pollution due to crushing and refining minerals releasing dust that contain dangerous
substances. This can cause:
Lung diseases and the dust enters the lung
Plant photosynthesis and growth as the dust particles decrease the light penetration to the
leaves.
o Soil erosion as the top layer can be easily removed
by rain and wind after disturbing the soil for mining.
This can lead to:
Disturb plant growth for years in addition to
the presence of toxic wastes
Sedimentation as the eroded soil is carried by
rain water to the river.
- Economic impacts
o Creating jobs for people in different sectors
Mineral extraction and refining jobs
Further jobs in transport, catering, mining equipment, etc...
o Providing taxes for the environment
o Improves local and national economy
- Social impacts
o Better paid work raises standard of living for workers and their families
o Local councils use taxes to improve services for the community
o Improving quality of life for local people through improving the infrastructure of transport,
communication network, water supplies and waste disposal systems built for the mine.
o Employees and their families may have cheap or free access to mine facilities such as its
hospital, school or sport facilities.
1.4 Managing the impact of rock and mineral extraction
- Land restoration
o Soil improvement; covering mine waste by a layer of soil enriched with fertilisers
o Tree planting; after improving the soil fertility plant and trees can be grown helping an
ecosystem to be reborn
o Bioremediation is the process of removing pollutants from waste using living organisms such as
bacteria or plants. Contaminated waste can be treated;
In situ; where it was left
Ex situ, waste can be removed from site to a treatment plant
- Sustainable resource: a resource that can be continuously replenished e.g. agriculture, forestry,
etc…
- Sustainable development: development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.