Lecture 12: Mining

Question 1

smelting

Answer 1

massive amounts of electricity are needed to convert the white aluminum powder into aluminum metal
apply heat to an ore to extract desired metal products

Question 2

ore

Answer 2

rock with high content of desired mineral/metal

Question 3

tailings (aka overburden, spoil)

Answer 3

leftover materials from the process of smelting

Question 4

acid drainage

Answer 4

formation and movement of highly acidic water containing heavy metals

Question 5

strip mining

Answer 5

type of mining that removes the surface layers of soil to get to the minerals desired

Question 6

mountain top removal

Answer 6

removes the whole mountain to get to the minerals desired

Question 7

indium

Answer 7

element that isn’t hyper rare but not abundant either, used in many eletronics

Question 8

e-waste

Answer 8

waste invovling electronic devices–this is computers, printers, cell phones TV’s MP3 players

Question 9

rare earth elements/metals

Answer 9

china control production, limited supply thereof threatens to limit production of renewable energy technology

Question 10

phosphorus

Answer 10

used in agriculture, may have already hit peak production and less phosphorus means fertilizer is more expensive so food becomes more expensive