Nonfuel Minerals Resources

Question 1

What are Ores in terms of non fuel Mineral Resources?

Answer 1

Mineral deposits that is concentrated high enough to make profit when extracted

(That means its dependent of demand, price, and technology and changes over time)

Question 2

What are the 6 steps that involves exploitation of a mineral resource?

Answer 2

Exploration
Extraction
Concentration
Smelting/Refining
Transportation
Manufacturing

(Each step requires input of energy and materials)

Question 3

What is the practicality and profitability of mining a specific deposit of a mineral determined by?

Answer 3

Value
Quantity available
richness of the ore
distance to market
land acquisition
royalty costs

Question 4

What minerals have a limited number of “years remaining?”

Answer 4

Silver
Zinc
tin

Question 5

What minerals are ready to exist far into the future?

Answer 5

Coal
Sand
Gravel
Potash

Question 6

What larger countries are more likely to contain commercially exploitable deposits?

Answer 6

Russia
China
Canada
USA
Brazil
Australia

Question 7

Is it true that no country contains all economically important mineral resources?

Answer 7

Yes

Question 8

What encourages the search for substitutes in terms for the distribution of non fuel minerals?

Answer 8

The increasing costs and declining availability.

Question 9

Why is copper important to industrialized societies?

Answer 9

Conducts heat and electricity well, allowable, resists corrosion

Question 10

Who holds the largest deposits of copper?

Answer 10

Western North America
Western south America
Australia

Question 11

Who leads the world in production?

Answer 11

Chile

Question 12

What happened to copper when the demand is greater than supply?

Answer 12

Prices increase
US ores decreased
caused new exploration for deposits (deep sea bed mining)
Increased recovery by recycling
Exploration for substitutes (Aluminum, plastic, glass fibers, steel)

Question 13

How much copper is used in building construction?

Answer 13

43%

Question 14

What is copper in terms of economic activities?

Answer 14

Its an indicator

Question 15

What are land resources?

Answer 15

Forests

Question 16

How much does the forest cover on the world’s land area?

Answer 16

1/3

Question 17

Where are the commercial forests restricted to at the 2 global belts?

Answer 17

Upper mid-latitudes of Northern Hemisphere

Equatorial zones of South and Central America, central Africa and southeast Asia

Question 18

What does the forest serve to the earth?

Answer 18

Timber
soil and watershed conservation
wildlife habitat
recreation
recycling of water
carbon
oxygen

Question 19

What is clear cutting?

Answer 19

tree gone in given area

Question 20

What is Selective cutting?

Answer 20

Medium/large tress get chopped singly or in small groups

Question 21

How much of the US is forested?

Answer 21

1/3

Question 22

What happened in the US forests?

Answer 22

A lot of timber gone

Question 23

How are the wildlife habitats endangered?

Answer 23

Clear cutting and road building

Question 24

What happened to rain forest?

Answer 24

Some countries subsidize conversion of forests to:
Farming
cattle ranching
mining
etc.

so acres go bye-bye each year

Question 25

Who has the largest area of tropical rain forests?

Answer 25

Brazil

Question 26

What is the fish-bone phenomenon?

Answer 26

When clearing forest to develop agriculture

Question 27

What are the global concerns of clearing tropical forests?

Answer 27

Oxygen and carbon balance
Contribution to air pollution and climate change
loss of biological diversity

Question 28

When does deforestation Incurs?

Answer 28

When heavy environmental, economic, and social costs on local basis

Question 29

What does the acceleration of soil erosion and siltation of streams and irrigation channels cause?

Answer 29

It causes an area to be vulnerable to flooding and drought, leading to future shortages of food and fuelwood.

Question 30

What happens to land cleared for agriculture?

Answer 30

I can cause the land to become unsustainable for agriculture