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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