Exploring mining and reclamation

921 Words2 Pages

Objectives

• To evaluate the difficulty of mining and reclamation

• To calculate costs, expenses, income, and profit from a hands-on mining exercise

• To evaluate the effectiveness of reclamation and its added costs to mining

• To describe the increasing rarity of some non-renewable mineral resources

Introduction

Minerals play an important role in our day-to-day life but we often not contemplate how the minerals are obtained. Minerals are scattered all over the world just like any other resources. Due to the natural processes of magma flow, hydrothermal gradients, sedimentation, and evaporation, Minerals are concentrated in various areas of the Earth’s crust. Obtaining these minerals for human use involves four general steps:

• Locating the minerals

• Then, extracting the minerals from the Earth in the form of ore or rock

• Then, processing (smelting) the ore to separate the impurities from the desired mineral

• Finally, creating a useful product from the minerals

Procedure

1. The area to mine was decided and purchased off on credit. The chosen area and cost are listed below:

Chips Ahoy™: $5.00

2. Then, mining equipment were rented. No hands were used for mining process. The mining equipment costs are

Flat Toothpick $2.00

Round Toothpick $5.00

Paperclip $7.00

Note: the replacement cost for broken tools is double the rental price.

3. After the purchase of land (cookie) and equipment, the cookie was placed on the graph paper and its outline was traced. Then, the initial topography of the region was determined and recorded (Turn the cookie on its side and draw the side-view).

4. The cost of mining and reclaiming my land (labor, etc.) was $2.00/minute. Both mining and reclamation were timed.

5. Work was done on ...

... middle of paper ...

...s this additional expense necessary? Why or why not?

Yes, this additional expense is necessary and mining affects the plant and animal population, hydrological cycle. And it’s necessary to maintain this for sustainable development.

Q5. Would you change your mining techniques in this activity? Why or why not? Were you "caught" by any “officials”?

No, I would not like to change my mining technique in this activity as I was able to extract minerals in a quick time. I was not caught by any officials.

Q6. The average copper ore mined in 1900 was five percent copper by weight. Copper ore mined in 1990 was approximately 0.5 percent copper by weight. What factors could account for this difference?

The different activities that could account for this difference are:

1. Consistent mining activity in this area.

2. Depletion of minerals.

3. Improper reclamation of land.

Open Document