Introduction Flashcards
What does use/ demand of earth resources depend on?
Human population
What supply rpoblem is associated with the trend in population?
Net increase at a rate which supply might not be able to meet increasing consumerist demand
What is the trend with life expectancy?
net increase
What are some examples of areas with low and high life exectancy?
Sub-sahran Africa low ~50yrs
Scandinavia ~80+
What was average life expectancy in 2020?
72.63yrs
What is the trend with living standard and why is it the case?
Rapidly increasing
Due to: technological advance,
What happens with the increased surplas of high level tech produced but no longer keep up with consumerism of newest model?
Transported to less developed areas
What is the mojority of demand driven by?
Urbanisation
How many worldwide internet users were there in july 2024?
5.45 billion (67.1% of population)
What is the resource context behind there being so many interent users?
Need interet infrastructure
Suitable hardware
Many users have multiple devices
Lifetime before obsolete
What problem is there with avaliability of resources for tech?
HOarding of old devices means recyling is limited driving exploitation
What is the highest rising catergory for resource use?
Construction materials
What is oil peak?
theorised point of maximum oil production
What is the current maximum oil peak with most economic use?
2047
What does the market forces model 2008 show?
Buyers market - when oil is cheap to extract and cheap to buy (conventional methods)
Sellers market - oil is expensive to extract and expensive to buy (unconventional methods)
What is the genereal consensus about the production of conventional oil?
It has reached it peak and that oil prices are being kept stable by increased unconventioanl extraction
What are soe examples of events that have led to fluctuations in oil price?
US led invasion of Iraq (people focused on survival instead of working in oil production)
2008 financial crisis
How did OPEC affect oil prices?
To combat unconventional sources driving prices too high they greatly reduced the price of conventional oi
How was oil prices affected by covid on a particular day?
DUe to their being no production or demand on a one day it actually cost money to store oil (-$37.73)
What are resources?
Naturally occuring concentrations of substances from which economic extraction occurs now or in the future (price controlled)
What are reserves?
Quantatities of resources that can be extracted proditably and legally under existing conditions
What are renewable resources?
those materials replenished on short time scales of months to years
What are non-renewable resources?
Those materials of which earth contains a fixed quantity and which are not replenished by natural processes operating on short timescales
What is an ore?
Resource of metals that can be profitable and legally extracted under existing conditions
What is a gangue?
Non-useful minerals and rock intermixed with a valuable ore mineral
Host rock
What is the cut-off grade?
Lowest grade (concentration) of a particular deposit that can be mined for a profit
What is the reserve base?
Includes reserves, marginal reserves and a portion of sub-economic resources; this includes those parts of the total resource that have a reasonable potential of becoming economically viable
Is there the chnace that Total reserves and conditional reserves can chnage?
Yes depending on price (price fall- total to conditional)
or
REestriciotns being added or lifted
Out of the 118 elements how many have some sort of use?
112
What are the 3 main sources from which elements for use can be derived?
Biologically (i.e., hydrogen, helium)
Atmospherically (i.e., noble gases)
Mineral and brine derived
What is an example using aluminium and gold for varying abundance?
Aluminium ppm = 82,300
Gold ppm = 0.004
(per crustal tonne)
Becuase some elements are in such low abundance what is need to make it economically viable to extract them?
A way of concentrating them into an ore
Is the composition of earth homogenous or heterogenous?
heterogenous
How is earths composition heterogenouos?
mineral resource accumulations result from active processes in the crust
What controls the location of many mineral resources?
Plate tectonics driven by the convection of earths mantle
3537766
How are earth materials recycled?
AT destructive plate boundaries when the plate is melted the minerals enter the mantle and can then be rejected via volcanism
Why is it difficult to classify concentration process?
As many formed by more than one process
How can magmatic/ metamorphic processes be linked to hydrithermal?
Both produce mineral veins
How can sedimentary concentrations also include biogenic concentrations?
Coal
What are the two main types of magmatic concentrations?
Layered intrusions
Pegmatites
What are layered intrusions?
Vary vertically
Form in previous marine rock like opiolites
Fractionation of typically silica poor magmas
(magnetite, chrome and platinum)
What are pegmatites?
Veins and large intrusions (hot liquid saturated with minerals which precipitate as cooling occurs)
Coarse grained (quartz, feldspars, micas)
Minor or unusual elements at intrusion margins
What are 2 examples of metamorphic concentrations?
contact metamorphism adjacent to igenous intrusion
Regional metamorphism (burial >10km)
What are the features/ effects of contact metamorphism?
Chnages rock properties and fabric maybe becoming suitable for aggregates and buidling stone (limestone to marble)
Potentially skarn mineralisation (calcium silicates)
What are the features/ effects of contact metamorphism?
Rocks and minerals recrystalize and are transformed mineralogically and texturally.
Formation of metamorphic minerals (e.g. garnet, kyanite)
Resistant rocks for aggregates and buildings
What are some examples of hydrithermal concentrations?
Minieral veins
Submarine black smokers
What are mineral veins?
veins emanating from igneous intrusions from circulating hydrothermal fluids
How do submarine black smokers produce hydrithermal concentrations?
mid ocean ridge
and hotspot volcanism
How are sediments formed?
physical and/or chemical break down of existing
rocks by weathering or by biogenic accumulation.
What are some examples of sedimentary concentrations?
Sand and gravel deposits in river channels (e.g. Thames River Gravels)
Placer deposits concentrating and sorting dense, resistant minerals (gold, tin, titanium, diamonds) in river sediment
Manganese and iron nodules in marine settings
Precambrian aged banded ironstone formations
What are some examples of biogenic concentrations of minerals?
Phosphates
Coal, Oil and gas
Limestone
Guano
What are phophate deposits usually rich in?
Fossil teeth and bones (North Caroline and Florida unconsolidated marine phosphates)
What is guano?
The use fo animal poo like bats for fertiliser historically important regionally not globally
What is weatehring?
response of rocks and minerals to
physical and chemical processes including rain, wind,
frost and biological activity; this can form or destroy
resources
What are some examples of weathering?
Feldspars and micas weather to form clays
Olivines and pyroxenes – weather to release iron and magnesium
Tropical weathering of rocks and soils can form bauxite (aluminium) and laterite (iron)
Iron sulphide deposits can weather to produce sulphuric acid destroying the resource
Weathering may result in mineral rich soils
What is erosion?
physical processes moving earth materials downstream or slope in response to gravity; this
can remove or concentrate resources, and is a major control on sedimentary deposits (sands/gravels
and placer deposits).
What are evapouritic concentractions?
evapouration and precipiation from water bodies like lakes and seas
What can evaporation form in enclosed seas?
Salt flats
Where are the most significant salt accumulations in the uk?
slowly subsiding basins with episodic water influx
and continuous evaporation – e.g. Cheshire salt deposits (UK)
What are the thickest salt desposits?
> 1000 m thick; thickness corresponds approximately to rate of basin subsidence
What must be considered when looking at predictions for when resources will run out?
These predictions can be put to bed by discobery of new resocures or alternatives i.e., lead being used less
