rocks and minerals

Question 1

what dose the term rock refer to?

Answer 1

A combination of one or more mineral.

Question 2

what is an Igneous Rock?

Answer 2

Rock made during a volcanic process.

Question 3

What dose the term mineral refer to?

Answer 3

A naturally occurring inorganic substance
with a specific chemical composition.

Question 4

What is a crystal and how is it made?

Answer 4

crystals are solids in which all of the atoms
are arranged in repeating patterns.
Those found in rocks form when solutions of minerals cannot absorb any more dissolved minerals.
Some of each mineral type precipitates out of solution to form the centre of a crystal. More mineral ions precipitate onto the surface, and the crystal becomes larger until the solution disappears.
Quick cooling = small crystals, slow = large.

Question 5

what is magma?

Answer 5

molten rock beneath the surface of the earth.

Question 6

Explain the three states of matter?

Answer 6

Solid: firm and stable in shape, cannot flow or be compressed (squashed), as particles have little space to move, or to move into

Liquid: flows freely and take the shape of its
container, as particles can move around each other, but cannot be compressed, because particles are close together and have no space to move into

Gas: flows freely and will expand to fill the whole container, as particles can move quickly in all directions, and can be compressed, because their particles are far apart and have space to move into

Question 7

what is a solution?

Answer 7

a solid dissolved in a liquid

Question 8

what dose Precipitates mean?

Answer 8

When a substance comes out of a solution.

Question 9

what is an Ion?

Answer 9

An atom in which the number of positively
charged protons are not equal to the number of negatively charged electrons.

Question 10

what is a Sedimentary Rock, give examples?

Answer 10

A rock formed from material derived from
the weathering of other rocks or the
accumulation of dead plants and animals.
Builds in layers.
E.g. limestone, sandstone, shale.

Question 11

what is a metamorphic rock, give examples?

Answer 11

A rock formed from existing rocks (igneous,
sedimentary and other metamorphic rock)
by a combination of heat and pressure.
E.g. granite (igneous) to gneiss
shale (sedimentary) to slate
limestone (sedimentary) to marble
The conditions to make metamorphic rock destroy any fossils that might be in the rock.

Question 12

what is the rock cycle?

Answer 12

A representation of the changes between
the three rock types and the processes
causing them.

Question 13

what is ore?

Answer 13

A rock with enough of an important metal or mineral to make it worth mining, and
producing a profit.

Question 14

what is prospecting, explain; remote sensing, field surveys, and geophysical analysis?

Answer 14

A process of searching for minerals.
- Remote sensing: cheaper when covering very large area.
- Field surveys: geochemical analysis - where chemicals in the samples are identified.
- geophysical analysis - a series of vibrations (seismic waves) are sent through the Earth’s surface and are reflected back to sensors
on the surface.

Question 15

Explain more about remote sensing?

Answer 15

A process in which information is gathered
about the Earth’s surface from above.
Aerial photos
Satellites:
- Picking up mineral deposits unique
radiation patterns
Or
- Reflected signals from the surface of the
Earth

Question 16

What does the term geochemical refer to?

Answer 16

The chemical properties of rocks

Question 17

what does the term geophysical refer to?

Answer 17

The physical properties of rocks.
A type of mining used when the mineral is
either exposed on the surface or overlain by
only small amounts of overburden

Question 18

what is overburden?

Answer 18

The rock and soil overlying an economically
viable mineral deposit.

Question 19

what is open pit mining?

Answer 19

Open-pit mining is a surface mining technique that involves extracting minerals or rock from the earth by removing the soil and rock above the mineral deposit.

Question 20

what is surface mining?

Answer 20

Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in which the overlying rock is left in place, and the mineral is removed through shafts or tunnels.

Question 21

what is strip mining?

Answer 21

Strip mining is a form of surface mining that is employed to strip away a layer or seam of soil, natural vegetation, and rocks (known as overburden) to extract the mineral deposits underneath.

Question 22

what is subsurface mining, pros and cons?

Answer 22

A type of mining used when the deposit is
covered by a deep layer(s) of unwanted rock.
Pros:
- Less environmental impact; only a small area of
land is cleared of vegetation, but mine waste will build up above ground.
Cons:
- Expensive
- Dangerous
- Can cause land collapse
Whether you use a shaft, sloping or drift mine depends on how deep you need to go.

Question 23

what is deep mining and what are some things that can go wrong?

Answer 23

Mining that goes more than 1500m below the surface. Deep rock mass is characterised by high in situ stress, high temperature, and high water
pressure.
Compared with shallow resource extraction, deep mining may be associated with disasters such as
rockbursts (when the opening of mine workings relieves neighbouring rocks of tremendous pressure, which can literally cause the rock to explode, or trigger abrupt movement on nearby geological structures), large-scale caving, and large inrush of mixed coal, gas, and water.

Question 24

what is a mine shaft?

Answer 24

Shaft mining refers to the method of excavating a vertical or near-vertical tunnel from the top down with no bottom access. . When the top of the excavation is the ground surface, it is referred to as a shaft; when the top of the excavation is underground, it is called a winze or a subshaft.

Question 25

pros and cons of Surface Mining?

Answer 25

Pros:
- more efficient than sub-surface mining: quicker and higher recovery rate of minerals
- Cheaper
- Safer

Cons:
- Destroys environment: flora and fauna, water
contamination, air pollution, noise pollution, visual pollution

Question 26

what is dredging sand?

Answer 26

scraping up the underwater mineral deposits.

Question 27

what is mountain top removal?

Answer 27

when the overburden is the top of a mountain

Question 29

when will a pit mine cease to operate and what should happen after it ceases to operate?

Answer 29

A pit/mine will cease to operate when:
* costs of removing a mineral is greater than the
profit made from excavating a site, because…
* there is not enough mineral at the site to
begin with to make it worthwhile
* the easy to get to minerals have all been
removed, so costs suddenly increase for
getting the left overs
After (as should be set out in the mining licence
application): safe disposal of mining waste, land restoration, bioremediation.

Question 30

what is a adit?

Answer 30

Entrance to a horizontal drift mine.

Question 31

What are the factors affecting the viability of extraction of minerals?

Answer 31

Factors affecting the viability of extraction of minerals:
* cost of exploration and extraction
* geology
* climate
* accessibility
* environmental impact
* supply and demand

Question 32

define strike rate?

Answer 32

The frequency with which attempts to find a
desired mineral are successful.

Question 33

what is supply and demand

Answer 33

The relationship between how much of a
commodity is available and how much of s
needed or wanted by consumers of the
product.

Question 34

what is a environmental impact assessment?

Answer 34

A process by which the probable effects on
the environment of a development are
assessed and measured.
It is submitted with a license application
before mining is permitted.

Question 35

what is biomagnification?

Answer 35

The process in which the concentration of a
substance in living things becomes higher at
progressively higher levels in a food chain or web.

Question 36

pros and cons of mining?

Answer 36

Pros:
- Jobs
- prosperity to an area
- taxes
- Improves local infrastructure, healthcare and
education
- Resources for industry, energy, technology etc.
Cons:
- Most mining is done by machinery, so few people
are directly employed in the mining process
- Pollution: air, water, visual, sound, and land

Question 37

what is Bioremediation?

Answer 37

A process in which living things are used to
remove toxic chemicals from a natural site.