MININGReview notes from fossil fuels - coal

MINING

Diamond mine, SiberiaLargest hole

Diamond mine, South Africa

Largest hand-dug hole

Text

Largest copper mineUtah

Some mined minerals other than coal

Mine tailings

TAR CREEKOKLAHOMA

Chat pilesDamage from lead & zinc

mines

TAILINGS - waste after ore has been processed.

Often dumped in a “tailing pond” to allow sedimentation. Left to leach in

soils or runoff into streams.Also called mine dumps.

OVERBURDEN - materials located

above mined minerals that is

removed.

How are tailings & overburden similar?

different?

ACID MINE DRAINAGE

(AMD)

Acid mine drainage from gold mine in South Africa

water with pH<5 with high

concentrations of metals, from

(usually abandoned) metal

or coal mines

SUBSIDENCE - to sink or settle down.

Southeast of Picher, OK

MINING - ONE CAUSE OF SUBSIDENCE

Centralia, PA after fire in coal mine

Fire started in 1962. As of May 2012, still

burning.

LEACHATELeach: Make a soluble substance drain away from soil

by percolation.Leachate: Liquid that passes through matter, extracting materials from the material

through which it passes.Leachates are also created from factories, landfills and

composting sites.

Tar Creek “Beneath it All”KOTV, 2011

Part IPart IIPart III

Picher 2012

What was found in high levels in children’s blood?

What does elevated lead levels cause?What is subsidence?

What causes sinkholes in this area?Describe the groundwater.How long has Picher been a

“Superfund” site?How was contaminated soil

“remediated”? What problems resulted?

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA OR

SUPERFUND)Amended in 1986•Enacted to address abandoned

hazardous waste sites.

•TAR CREEK - first site (worst)

•Run by the EPA

ORE - rock containing minerals, including metals that is

extracted through mining.

Metal ores - usually oxides, sulfides or silicates, not a pure

metalOres must be processed to extract

metalsOres deposits may be due to

volcanic activity, hydrothermal activity, sedimentary activity (alluvial for example) or other

Most processing techniques are variations of

1. crushing the ore into small pieces

2. heating the ore to liquify the metal

3. pouring off the liquid metal

Mining Laws & Regulations

General Mining Law, 1872Materials Disposal Act, 1947Surface Resources Act, 1955

Federal Land Policy & Management Act, 1976

Surface Mining Control & Reclamation Act, 1977

General Mining Law, 1872To mine you must

demonstrate there is a valuable mineral depositShow proper use or occupancy to support mining operationsHave title to the claimHave performed $500 worth of improvements on claim

Enacted topromote the exploration % development of domestic mineral resources, mostly in the West. U.S. citizens can freely prospect for

minerals on federal lands, stake a claim and obtain a patent. These claims then become

private property for a small feeThis law is hotly debated? Why?

Materials Disposal Act, 1947

Govern the disposal & removal of certain mineral

waste materials

Surface Resources Act, 1955

Decides whether mining claims before 1955 are free from

restrictions.Governs the disposal and

removal of certain mineral wast materials

Federal Land Policy & Management Act, 1976

Requires a validity determination before a mine

plan can be approved. Regulated by the Bureau of

Land Management

Surface Mining Control & Reclamation Act, 1977

Designed to prevent & repair environmental

damage from coal strip mining. Requires miners to obtain a permit & submit a

detailed reclamation plan