GEOGRAPHY GRADE 5 TERM 4 Flashcards
Where can you find rocks
Under buildings and soil
What do rocks contain
They contain minerals
What do minerals look like
They sometimes look like shiny coloured pieces of rock
How old are rocks
Most rocks are millions of years old
What are the main minerals mines in South Africa
Gold Platinum Chrome Iron Diamonds Manganese Copper
What is Gold used for
Jewellery
Dentistry
What is Platinum used for
Jewellery
Car industry
Electrical industry
What is chrome used for
Making other metals
Shiny parts of machines
What is iron used for
Buildings
Vehicles
Machines
Making other metals
What are diamonds used for
Jewellery
Cutting machines
What is manganese used for
Batteries
Cans
Making other metals
What is copper used for
Pipes
Electrical wires
Making jewellery
What is coal
Coal is a rock made from the remains of plants that died millions of years ago
How much coal is in the world
enough to last about 100 years
How is coal formed
- Millions of years ago the climate was different. Thick forest grew in wet areas called swamps. Each year some of the trees died and fell into the swamps
- The swamps filled up with dead trees. Rivers washed sand/soil into the swamps. The dead trees were buried under the sand
- More sand/rock piled on top of the old swamps. All the water squeezed out. Slowly all the buried sand, soil and trees squashes into different rocks and trees became coal
Name the uses of coal
- Most important in SA is to make electricity
- We use coal to make petrol and other oils to burn
- We use things we get from coal in industries (to make steel, tar, concrete, plastic and paper), buildings and in our homes (to make soap, shampoo, medicines, foods)
Where do people live
They live in areas where they can find jobs and where there is water and where there is good farming land.
What is mining
Mining is the process of digging rocks out of the ground by minders
Name 2 ways of mining
Open pit or surface mining
Shaft of deep level mining
What is open pit surface mining
It is when minerals are near the surface of the land
What is one of the biggest human-made holes in the world
Kimberley Mine in the Northern Cape
Describe the Kimberley mine
The hole was once about 1200 metres deep
50 000 diamond miners dug this hole with spades and picks over 100 years ago
By 1914 all the diamonds had been found and taken out from the area
What is Shaft or deep level mining
Miners dig shafts/tunnels under the ground to mine rocks that are below the surface of the land
People can only work in deep level mines if there is ventilation.
What is the environment
Everything around us for example water, air, soil, people, plants and animals
Why is the environment damaged by mining
Miners use machines that remove large areas of soil and vegetation
Animals that live in the plants and soil lose their homes
Some animal die because their food supplies are destroyed
Valuable farmland/forests may be made into open pit mines
People breath dust and it is bad for their health
Water mixes with chemicals that come from broken rocks. The chemicals make water become like acid
Why does mining cause pollution
The effect of mining pollute the air, water and soil
It is bad for the environment
It is bad for people’s health
What does the law require when mining
The law require new open pit mine owner to rebuild the land after they have mined the area
Mine owners are supposed to save the soil and replant the area with the same kind of plants after mining
What happens when rocks are mined
Miners dig a lot of rock out to get to the minerals
Machines break the rocks to seperate the useful minerals from the rest of the rock
The unused materials gets thrown away
What happens to the waste material of the mining
Mining companies only use a small amount of material they mine
Mines produce a lot of waste
Mine processes use strong chemicals
These chemicals may stay in the waste material
The chemicals stop new plants from growing and is dangerous for animals and people
What does the law require mines do with waste products
The law required the mines to be more careful with their waste disposal
They are not allowed to pollute the environment
What is happening in the Free state and Gauteng mines
Old gold mines are being reworked to get more gold out of the waste. The waste is then buried in old mine shafts
What happens to people in mines every year
Many people die or are badly hurt.
What are the challenges of working in a deep gold mine
Some mine shafts are almost 4 kilometres deep
What are the health and safety risks for miners
Silicoses is one of the lung diseases miners can get and it caused by breathing air that contains a lot of dust
The dust attacks the lining of the lungs
Over the years parts of the miner’s lungs become damaged
Silicoses stops the lungs from getting enough oxygen from the air
Miners with lung diseases can’t do heavy work and may have to stop working or leave the mine
What must all miners do
They must wear a helmet, boots, work gloves and overalls
They must work in groups of at least 2
They must wear masks when working in thick dust
They must report machines that are not working correctly
They must follow the team leader’s instructions
What must all miners not do
They must not take matches/lighters into the mine
They must not do jobs they are not trained to do
They must not work alone or in restricted areas.
