minerals Flashcards
What are the different types of copper?
Ores
part -refined
Refined
Recycling (meets 40% of worlds demand)
How is the demand for copper changing?
Growing demand (electric vehicles (9x in 9 years) renewables ect. Currently in deficit which looks set to continue due to decline in supply
Why is ore extraction unstainable?
Land take (habit loss) Pollution: noise and dust water turbidity Spoil Disposal Toxic Leachates Water usage Engery input
What can be done to make ore extraction more stable ?
Restoration of mines (more and more a legal recruitment)
Island copper mine in vancouver - waste rock mines
Baffle mounds
Spray (to stop dust)
Holding laggos- settle sediment
Filter the heavy metals out using limestone
Conflict over mines using the water
Use conservation technique to reuse water
Canada reduced water use by 30%
Why is mineral ore processing unsustainable?
Extraction of copper from ore(crushed/dissolved in acid/ smelted (100C)-
stored in tailing ponds
Toxic lactates into local water sources
Energy intensive Water intensive (Pump seawater over long distances Energy use
What is a resource curse?
This is the argument that a country rich in natural resources can struggled and achieve poor levels of economic welfare
What are the issues with primary product dependency?
Don’t diversify
Volatile price fluctuations
Discorges invest in other areas of the economy
What are the issues with TNC development of Mineral ore extraction?
Profit repatriation
Unequal bargaining strengths
Lack of ownership and control over non-renewable resources
Social and environmental issues
Outline the impacts of China’s trade relationship with Africa.
Ch
Impact of primary product dependency> government measures to ensure secondary industry eg. indonesia
LICs dependence on TNCs fro development of mineral ore extraction> implementation of corporate social responsibility (international Council of Mining and Metals: UN
What are the patterns of production?
Widening gap between production and consumption
Production of ores varies
Secondary industries of smelting/refinery still based in developed countries
What are the Global patters of consumption?
Increasing
Industrialisation vs industrialization
What are the Global patterns of mineral ore trade?
Decline in late 20th century
Demand/supply (inelasticity:re
Doinated by TNCs
How does conflict affect minerals?
Give an example
Conflict resources fund/cause ongoing wars and often linked to forced/child labour
Additionally these conflicts may impact accessibility and resource price
Eg. Demographic Republic of Congo Gov vs Militia =tin; tantalum; tungsten; gold
Eg. Conflit Angola, Liberia and Sierra Leone:
How has china accumulated reserves?
Investment in Africa vs neocolonialism
support of corrupt regime
lack of provision of african worker in investment projects
Eg. Angola> Democratic Republic Benguela Railway, Zimbabwe and Zambia
How has china changed the demand for copper?
Chinese demand has driven price increase (eg. China purcheed 47% of the worlds iron ore in 2007 driving price increase by 455% 2001-08)
How does china dominate copper?
Dominance in mineral resource trade- rare earth elements and implications for global mineral security.
China’s weaponizing of Rare Earth Elements
Eg. Japan 2010 (dispoutures over senkaku islands in East China Sea)
Increasing treats of use to win the trade war with the USA.
What is the background of the Grasberg mine?
Indonesia
2nd largest copper mine in the world
Owned by a group of TNCs and the insonian government
Grasberg mine
Where is the mine located?
Indonisia
Grasberg mine
What companies/Nations own/run the mine?
Owned by a group of TNCs and the insonian government
Grasberg mine
What is being mined/ How?
Copper and gold mine
Grasberg mine
What are the environmental impacts of mine construction/ ore extraction?
Polluting the river system
Acid drainage
Rock dumping the rivers
Toxic waste
Grasberg mine
What are the environmental impacts of mine’s distribution networks?
3 pipelines transport slurry containing copper-gold concentrate to Ampara, a port town in Indonesia where it is filtered and shipped to smelters (approx. 63 miles).
Some road networks for distribution of soils material
Where is Mexico City located?
In the valley of Mexico on the central Mexican plateau.
On top of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire.
The core of the city comprises the Federal District.
What are the physical causes of Water Scarcity in Mexico city?
Heavy reliance on aquifers, but rate of extraction exceeds rate of replenishment.
Lakes were drained by Spanish settlers.
What are the human causes of water scarcity in Mexico city?
As a consequence of the 1980 economic crisis, the Mexican irrigation infrastructure became a victim of underinvestment and neglect. Of the 82 irrigation districts present, 42 are in a state of slow deterioration,exacerbating an inefficient usage of water.
With an increasing population, and considerable economic activities, the Mexican residents of semi-arid and arid north, northwest and central regions use on average 75 gallons of water a day, compared to their US counterparts who use only 50.
These regions also account for 84% of Mexico’s GDP, have 77% of the population, but have only 28% of runoff water supply. Such high demand factors coupled with low water supplies, means water scarcity is particular evident and serious in these regions
Strategies to improve water security:
Mexico city
-Cutzamala system
A feat of hydraulic engineering and supplies water from the Cutzamala River in the Balasa basin.
Lifts more than 1000m in altitude by a series of pumps and storage reservoirs
- Deeper aquifer Abstraction
- Rainwater harvesting(domestic)
- Rainwater capture (ecological)
- Fixing leaks in the whole system
- Increasing the use of recycled water
- New construction of drainage tunnels
- Finish a massive water treatment plant
How to water straties affect the way that the way water is used in mexio city?
Mexicans consume more bolted water than any other country. 127 gallons of bottled water per person per year
Stopped the wastage of water
Allowed the capture of water from tropical stores
What impacts has water scarcity had on human welfare?
Mexico city
Conflicts between government and conservation groups / indigenous people.
Frequent water shut offs.
Those that live in the outskirts have to rely on water trucks from the government - these sometimes do not come for weeks.
Pressure on women and children to trek long distances to obtain water for their families.
Often not enough water for sanitation and hygiene = major health concerns.
How has the physical geography affected the cost and availability of the resource?
Mexico city?
About 70% of the city has fewer than 12 hours of running water per day.
Very low availability.
Government has considered privatising the water supply - opponents say this would raise costs even higher without the guarantee of higher quality.
Some families spend an estimated fifth of their income on water.
Mineral ore futures: technological - deep sea mining
Exploration:
Remote sensing
Magnetometry (identify magnetic content); gravimetry (rock density)
Deep sea exploration (below 200m)
What are the regulations controlling deep sea mining?
Prospecting and Exploration for Polymetallic Nodules in the Area (2000)
the Regulations on Prospecting and Exploration for Polymetallic Sulphides in the Area
Regulations on Prospecting and Exploration for Cobalt-Rich Crusts
UNCLOS
Mining Code by the international seabed Authorit
Currently, how many contracts are there for deep-sea exploration? (March 2021)
30 contracts for 21 contractors
Only one person has attempted and this was unsuccessful
For exploration for polymetallic
What are the potential environmental impacts of deep sea mining?
Sediment plumes (scraping/returning sediment) Smothers species and entire ecological communities
Noise, Vibrabration and light pollution disrupts ecosystems eg. Whales
Long term negative impacts (initial deep sea mining simulation 1989 has not yet recovered)
Why might ISA argue that managing mining is sustainable?
Laws requires mining contractors to assess what lives within their claim area
Increasing knowledge of Deep sea
Mining and resualant monitoring
What are the methods of extraction of deep sea mining?
Mechanisation Electronic technology Exploiting low grade ores Hydrometallurgy Bioleaching Phytomining
Mineral ore futures: Economic
Supply
Limited reserved- increasing extraction costs
Mineral ore futures: Economic
Demand
Increased population/standard of living = increased demand
Increased recycling; substitution of metals = decreased demand
Increase in prices due to fall in supply/increase in demand
Economic impacts curries unable to afford minerals
Mineral ore futures: enviromental
Resource frontiers
Deep sea mining
Antarctica (global commons/tragedy of the commons)
Mineral ore futures: Political
Conflict
Sites less likely to be explored
Antarctica
Alaska
Deep-sea mining
Trend in movement to emerging economies: Latin America, Africa, Asia
Governments/TNCs forces to recognize the right of insigenous communities
Eg. australia
China and Africa
