Subject : People and the Earth's Ecosystem Topic : People and Soil

1. People and Soil
Presented by :
Dela Cruz, Rubylyn
Sulayao, Kacey Ann
Orcajada , Bryan

2. Mineral Resources in
the Philippines

3. Mineral Resources
➔ Are natural substances usually comprising “inorganic element or
compound, having an orderly internal structure and characteristics,
chemical composition, crystal form and physical properties.” Any
concentration of these minerals with a potential value that can be
extracted at a profit, is considered a mineral resource.
➔ It is occurrence of natural, solid, inorganic or fossilized organic
material in or on the Earth's crust in such quantity and of such
quantity that it can be used for economic productivity.

4. ➔ There are various ways by which mineral resources are extracted from
the crust. Those which are deeply buried are due through subsurface
mining, while the shallow deposits are removed through subsurface
mining. Satellite information is used in subsurface mining to identify
depth and abundance of deposits. Once the presence of mineral
deposits is identified, mining explorations are organized and
underground tunnels or caves are constructed. Dynamites or other
explosives are used to extract the mineral ones.

5. Locating Mineral Resources
➔ Satellite and Air Imagery
➔ Radiation Detectors
➔ Magnetometers
➔ Gravity differences
➔ Seismic surveys
➔ Chemical analysis
Processing Mineral
Resources
➔ Ore Mineral
➔ Gangue
➔ Tailing
➔ Smelting

6. Supplies of Mineral Resources
● Economic depletion
● Depletion time
● Foreign sources
● Environmental
● Economics
● New technologies
● Finding Substitutes
Categories of Mineral Resources
● Identified Resources
● Undiscovered Resources
● Reserves
● Others

7. Types of Mineral Resources
1. Metallic Minerals
➔ A metallic minerals has a distinction,
shiny, metallic luster. Metallic minerals such as gold and
silver are also economic minerals. These are valued as
beautifully collectible pieces and also for their potential
industrial use. The Classification of metallic minerals are Ferrous and
Non-ferrous metallic minerals.
1. Non-metallic Minerals
➔ There are non-combustible solid rocks or minerals used in industry and
construction in natural form or after mechanical, thermal, or chemical
processing or for the extraction of nonmetallic elements or their
components.

8. 3. Energy Resources
● Mineral Fuel it is a type of fuel mined or stripped from the
Earth.
4. Ores

9. ➔ The Philippines is situated along the Circum - Pacific Ring of Fire, where
the processes of volcanism and plate convergence caused the
deposition of minerals, both metallic and non-metallic.
➔ The large reserves of various kinds of minerals beneath our ground has
put the country in the world mineral map as 5th mineral country in the
world, 3rd in gold reserves , 4th copper, and 5th in nickel.
➔ Around 9 million hectares,of 30 million hectares, are believed to contain
important metallic mineral deposits while 5million hectares are potential
sites for non-metallic reserves. The country’s estimated mineral reserves
are placed at about 14.5 billion metric tons of metallic minerals and
about 67.66 billion metric tons of non-metallic minerals.

10. ➔ The country’s offshore areas, which cover around 2.2 million square
kilometers, also contain placer minerals including gold, magnetite
and chromite- bearing sands, aggregate sands like sand and
gravel, decorative stones, and polymetallic sulfide deposits. Also
the other important metallic minerals found in various parts of the
country are : iron, copper, nickel, Cobalt and platinum, while the
other non-metallic resources include limestone, marble, clay and
other quarry materials.
➔ The Mines and Geo Sciences Bureau has estimated that the country
has estimated $840billion worth of untapped mineral wealth.
➔ The most prolific copper and gold producers in the Philippines are
found in Baguio and Mankayan districts, Province of Benguet;
although the Surigao-Davao districts. Also nickel producers are in
Palawan and Surigao.

11. Environmental Impacts
of the Mineral
Extraction

12. Mining
➔ Is the extraction of valuable
minerals or other geologic
materials from the earth from an ore
body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or
placer deposits which form the
mineralized package of economic
interest to the miner.
1. Exploration
2. Development and
Construction
3. Utilization / Commercial /
Operation
4. Decommissioning / Final
Mining Stage /
Rehabilitation Stage
Different Stages of
Mining

13. How Minerals Extracted
1. Surface Mining is the extraction of mineral
and energy resources near Earth’s surface by
first removing the soil, subsoil, and rock strata.
● Overburden - Soil and rock overlying a useful
mineral deposits.
1. Subsurface mining is the extraction of
mineral and energy resources from deep
resources from deep underground deposits. It
is used for mineral deposits which are easier
to extract from the crust.

14. Surface and Subsurface Mining

15. 1. Open - pit mining or quarrying- Is the method in which limestone,
sandstone, granite, and marble are removed from the resource site. It
requires removal of large tracts of land using bulldozer and other heavy
equipments.
2. Dredging -Is the use of chain buckets or draglines to scoop out
underwater minerals from the ocean or sea bed.
3. Strip Mining - Large machines such as bulldors or powershovels are
used to remove in strips , the layer rocks and soil that cover the mineral
deposits.
● Spoil bank - Is a hill of loose rock created when the overburden from a
new trench is put into the already excavated trench during strip mining.
Types of Surface Mining

16. 4. Mountain stop removal
● Is a form of coal mining that mines coal seams beneath
mountain tops by first removing the mountaintop overlying the
coal seem.
● Explosive are used to break up rock layers.

17. Underground Mining
It is the extracting minerals and ores that are buried too far underground
to be mined surface mining methods.
● Adits - is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal,
by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, ventilated, and
minerals extracted at the lowest convenient level.
● Shaft mining or Shaft - refers to the method of excavating a
vertical or near - vertical tunnel from the top down, where there is
initially no access to the bottom.
● Drift mining - involves cutting an opening horizontally into the side
of a mountain or hillside to access a mineral seam.
- Creation of a drift, a tunnel dug and driven directly along a
horizontal path.

18. Milling or Recovery Process
● Crushing and screening are the first stages of controlled size
reduction followed by guiding where rocks are pulverized.
● Extract rocks undergo process of mineral separation and recovery.
1. Heavy media separation
2. Magnetic separation
3. Floatation
4. Cyanide heap leaching

19. Mining In the Philippines
The Philippines has rich mineral resources which are distributed all over
the world.The Mining Industry helps uplift the country’s economy.
However, it also causes environmental degradation which includes the
large - scale disruption of the ecosystems within the mine site due to the
following:
● Displacement of indigenous species due to habitat destruction.
● Increased soil erosion;
● Increased sedimentation of lakes and streams;
● Contamination of the water supply;
● Toxic emissions in the atmosphere due to ore processing; and
● Loss of lives - aquatic, wildlife and humans.

20. How is mining regulated ?
➢ Republic Act No. 7942 (Philippine Mining Act of 1995) and it's
Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations, DENR
Administration Order 96 - 40, as amended, is the main legal
framework regulating the mining industry.
➢ On the other hand, Republic Act No. 7076 and it's Implementing
Rules, DENR Administration Order 34, series of 1992 governs
small scale mining.
➢ EO 79 - People's Small Scale Mining Areas

21. Environmental Impacts
● Flooding
● Erosion and sedimentation
● Subsidence
● Water and Air Pollution
● Damage to Wildlife and Habitat
● Acid mine drainage
● Impacts on air quality
● Heavy metal contamination
● Storage and Leakage of liquid
Mining waste
Other Effects :
● Deforestation
● Waste of land as if neither
remain suitable for industrial
use for agricultural purposes
● Loss of fauna and Flora
● Degradation of soil quality and
fertility
● Land Subsidence and slope
failure

22. Environmental Impacts of Mining Mineral Resources

23. Social Impacts
● Human Displacement and
Resettlement
● Impacts on Migration and
Livelihood
● Lost access to clean water
● Impacts on public health
● Topsoil replacement using
uncontaminated soil
● Reintroduction of Flora and
Fauna
● Neutralizing acidic waters
● Backfilling and sealing of
abandoned underground mines
● Stabilizing the slope to reduce
erosion
Impact Preventive Measures

24. Environmental Effects

25. Environmental Issues
Extraction and processing has large environmental impacts in terms
of such things as air quality, surface water quality, groundwater
quality, soils, vegetation, and aesthetics. Acid mine drainage is one
example, Sulfide minerals newly exposed to Oxygen and water near
the surface create sulfuric acid. Rainwater falling on the mine
tailings becomes acidified and can create toxic conditions in the
runoff. This can mobilize potentially dangerous heavy metals and
kill organisms in the streams draining the tailings.

26. Soil Properties and Processes

27. Soil
➔ Which consists of mineral and organic matter modified by the natural
actions of agents such as weather, wind, water, and organisms.
➔ It supports virtually all terrestrial food webs. Also many ecosystems are
depend largely on soil.It provides the nutrients and other resources which
are critical for the survival of species.
➔ It is formed from parent material, rock that is slowly broken down, or
fragmented into smaller particles by biological, chemical, and physical
weathering processes. It takes a long time, sometimes thousands of years
for rock to disintegrate into finer and finer mineral particles. Time is also
required for organic material to accumulate in the soil.

28. Soil Formation and Composition
Soil Formation - is a continuous process that involves interactions between
Earth's solid crust and the biosphere. The weathering of parent material
beneath already formed soil continues to add new soil.
● Organisms and climate both play essential roles in weathering sometimes
working together.
● Soil is composed of four distinct parts : mineral particles, organic
matter, water and Air. The mineral portion, which comes from weathered
rock (parent material), is the main component of the soil.
● Humus - The black or dark brown organic material that remains after
extended decomposition. A mix of many organic compounds, binds to
nutrient mineral ions and holds water. These are beneficial for plants and
other organisms living in it.

29. ● The way in which soil forms depends on: parent material, climate,
topography, living organisms and time
1. Solid rock particles break down from
mechanical weathering.
2. Chemical weathering releases
important nutrients from the rock
grains.
3. Seeds are blown or carried onto the
soil grains and may grow into plants
that enrich the soil when they die.
4. Micro-organisms decompose the
remains of plants to form humus
which further enriches the soil.
5. The cycle continues until soils
reaches maximum fertility given the
climate it is in.

30. Soil Characterization
1. Soil Profile
● Horizon - horizontal layers into which may soils are organized from the
surface to the underlying parent material . It has distinct
characteristics, described according to it's physical and chemical
properties such as color, texture, and composition.Its thickness varies
from a few centimeters to a meter or thicker.
❖ O horizon : Organic matter: litter and humus :
soil moisture retention, mobilization and
provision of nutrients. The topmost layer.
❖ A horizon : Humus and clays (water retention
of humus limits eluviation). The topsoil which is
the first mineral layer. It is very useful in
planting/farming and helps in preventing
flooding.

31. Picture of Real Soil layer and Illustration

32. ❖ E horizon : Sand and silt (clays and other oxides eluviated down to B).
❖ B horizon : Clays and oxides illuviated from E deposited here. Subsoil
layer. It is rich in clay, organic matter and other mineral components. The
Other materials is lighter in color, with reddish or brownish shades, it
maybe very thick; thus it may also divided into sublayers depending on
the variations on properties.
❖ C horizon : Weathered bedrock, exclusive of the bedrock, not affected
by biota.
❖ R horizon : Bedrock
2. Soil Texture - refers to the proportion of sand, silt, and clay in a soil.
● Soil Containing equal amount of sand, silt, and clay is called Loam.
● It could be estimated by feel method.

33. ● It Affects in Infiltration rate, drainage, nutrient storage, ease of
seedling emergence and root penetration.
3. Soil Color - gives an indication of the various processes going-on in the
soil as well as the type of minerals in the soil. The presence of humus usually
gives the soil a dark color. Light colored soil are usually deplete of organic
materials. Reddish brown soil is rich in iron. To identify soil color, soil
analysts usually refer to a color chart which identifies more than a hundred
colors for soil.
4. Soil Consistence - is the resistance of a soil to deformation or rupture and
is determined by the cohensive and adhesive properties. This is a term used
to designate the manifestation of the cohesive and adhesive properties of soil
at various moisture contents. It gives also an indication of the soil

34. texture. It is also described for the three moisture levels : Wet , Moist and
Dry Soil
5. Soil Acidity - is affected by the chemical nature of the parent material, the
kind of water it absorbs (like acid rain), and the natural and man-made
processes which happen in soil as well as on it. Lime is usually added to soil
when it is too acidic for plants. Also the acidity influences the kind of plants
which can grow in it.
6. Soil Structure - refers to the aggregation of primary soil particles into
compound particles or cluster of primary particles which are separated by the
adjoining aggregates by surfaces of weakness.It defined in terms of grade,
class and type of aggregates.

35. ● It modifies the effect of texture in regard to moisture and air relationships,
availability of nutrients, action of micro-organisms and tooth growth.
7. Soil Porosity :
Pore spaces - spaces occupied by air and water
between in a given volume of the soil.
● The percentage of the soil volume occupied by
pore space or by the interstitial spaces.
● It depends upon the texture, structure,
compactness and organic content of the soil.
● Increases with the increase in the percentage
of organic matter in soil. It also decreases as
the soil particles become much smaller in their
dimension because of decrease in pore
spaces. It also decreases with depth of the soil.

36. The pore spaces are responsible for better plant growth because they
contain enough air and moisture.
● Percentage of solids in soils can be determined by companing bulk
density and particle density and multiplying by hundred.
1. Micro- pore spaces (capillary pore spaces)
2. Macro- pore spaces (non- capillary pore spaces)
Capillary pore spaces can hold more water and restrict the free
movement of water and Air in soil to a considerable extent, whereas macro-
pore spaces have little water holding capacity and allow free movement of
moisture and air in the soil under normal conditions.

37. 8. Soil Density - is expressed in two well accepted concept as bulk
density and particle density.
● Particle density - The weight per unit volume of the solid portion of
soil.
● Bulk density - The overdry weight of a unit volume of soil inclusive of
pore spaces.
Nutrient Cycling
● The pathway of various nutrient minerals or elements from the
environment through organisms and back to the environment.
● In a balanced ecosystem, cycle from the soil to organisms and then
back to the soil.

38. Soil Problems and
Conservation

39. There are physical, chemical, and soil problems which arise from how we
manage soil and land. Soil as an important resource provides us with a number
of materials and chemicals. These human activities often cause or exacerbate
soil problems such as erosion, mineral depletion, soil salinization,
desertification, and soil pollution, all of which occur worldwide.
Sustainable Soil Use - The wise use of soil resources, without a reduction in
the amount or fertility of the soil, so it is protective for future generations.
Soil Pollution - is any physical or chemical or chemical change in soil that
adversely affects the health of plants and other organisms living in or on the
soil. It is important not only in its own right but because many soil pollutants
tend to also pollute surface water, groundwater, and the atmosphere.

40. Salinization -Irrigation of agricultural fields often results in their becoming
increasingly saline, an occurrence. It results when the concentration of salt
ions builds up in the soil.
Sedimentation - is one of the leading cause of pollution of bodies of water.
Soil Erosion
● Is the detachment, transport, and deposition of soil particles on land
surface.Also termed as loss of soil.
● It caused by natural processes such as wind and water ; and also
human activities such as overcropping, overgrazing,
deforestation.

41. ● The Effects of Soil Erosion is it reduced the crop production, plant
productivity decline, eroded soil is deposited on riverbeds, raising their
levels and leading to devastating floods and desertification , etc.
Leaching - is the process of removing or extracting the components of a
soluble material with the help of a solvent which, in soil, is usually water.

42. Soil Conservation
➔ Is the prevention of soil loss from erosion or reduced fertility caused by
over usage, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil
contamination.
➔ Is a set of management strategies / practices utilize or for prevention
of soil from being eroded fromthe Earth's surface or becoming
chemically altered by …
➔ It is important because : Provide nutrients, Recycle / filter water, stores
water and soil is the basis of life in which plants get nutrients from soil
and provide glucose and oxygen.

44. Methods of Conservation
1. Covercrops
2. Plant trees
3. Terrace Farming
4. No-Till Farming
5. Contour Farming
6. Crop Rotation
7. Intercropping
8. Salinity Management
9. Wind breaks
10.Soil organisms
11.Soil ph
Soil Conservation
Practices
● Restore Wet lands
● Planting vegetation and forest
restoration
● Proper waste disposal and
management

45. THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!