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Geology and Mining slides by Kiersten Lippmann
- 1. Geology and MiningEnvironmental Issues Spring 2017 Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 2. Happy happy miners…. • https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=HI0x0KYChq4(2:30 min) • The good ole’ days? • (Snow White movie dated 1937) • When men were dwarfs and women were Snow White and diamonds studded the coal mines… Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 3. Cell Phones andMining for Tantalum • Cell phones contain a tiny amount of tantalum • Found in Congo • Tantalum also found in computer chips, DVD players, game consoles and digital cameras, capacitors (circuit boards) • Tantalum highly heat resistant and conducts electricity • Usually found in the ore “coltan” • Mined by enslaved or very poor laborers in Congo, resulted in massive human rights violations, rape, child abuse, increased spread of AIDS, ecological havoc Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 4. Mining for tantalum (Coltan) Cont… •https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=aF-sJgcoY20 (4 mins, ENOUGHProject, 2009) • “Conflict Minerals” • Congo’s mineral riches have been exploited by foreign nations throughout recent history, but the people remain in poverty/civil war/enslaved. Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 5. Virunga National Park (Congo)and Gorillas • Slightly smaller in size than Yellowstone • Contains unparalleled biodiversity, nearly half of all Africa’s species • Habitats include active volcanoes, lava plains, tropical forests, marshes, savannas, glaciers, mountain snowfields • Rare mountain gorillas, chimps, okapi, lions, hippos…. • Park is recovering after civil war caused death of many animals, including highly endangered gorillas • Future… oil development, could cause further damage to Virunga. • More reading on Congo “Poisonwood Bible” Barbara Kingsolver and “Things Fall Apart”, and Michael Faye’s journey across Africa HERE Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 6. This is anOkapi…. Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 7. Conflict minerals, cont… • Congonot the only source of conflict minerals • Black markets in Brazil, Columbia, and Venezuela in the northern Amazon jungle • Armed gangs use women, children, indigenous people to mine and smuggle mineral • Afghanistan recently discovered mineral reserves as well… likely a future source of conflict. Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 8. Conflict Minerals ofthe Galaxy • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZleU1WXLqDs • Seems familiar…. Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 9. Conflict- free Minerals • Industrygroups, Gov’t, NGOs, creating a certification system for conflict-free coltan • US Law mandates that manufacturers report the origin of coltan in their products • Hopefully will satisfy demand for minerals, but protect people and ecosystems that provide them. • I tried to find conflict-free phones for sale at the major sites, Verizon, Apple, Samsung. I even asked customer reps. THEY DO NOT CARRY CONFLICT-FREE PHONES! Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 10. Geology Basics andPlate Tectonics • Geology-study of Earths physical features, processes and history • Plates move about the surface of earth like skin of an orange • Plates move roughly 1- 6 in per year • Form and reform continents influencing climate and evolution throughout Earth’s history. • Twice have fused to form one super continent • Last time all landmasses were fused 225 years ago into “Pangaea” Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 11. Tectonics produce Earth’s landforms •Plate tectonics build mountains • Shape geography of oceans, islands, and continents • Earthquakes and volcanoes • Coltan mining areas in Congo are along the western edge of Africa’s Great Rift Valley, regions where Africa is slowly pulling aport • Huge lakes in valley floor Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 12. Topography, plate tectonics, andclimate • Topography created by tectonics shapes climate • Alters rainfall, wind, ocean currents, heating and cooling • Weathering and erosion • Ability of plants and animals to inhabit different regions • Tectonics alters life’s evolution by changing climates and conditions Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 13. The Rock Cyclealter Rock • Over geologic time, rocks and the minerals that comprise rock are heated, melted, cooled, broken down, and reassembled • Rock cycle • Rock: solid aggregation of minerals • Mineral: solid element or inorganic compound with crystal structure, specific chemical composition, and distinct physical properties • Type of rock affects soil properties and thus plant and animal communities • Understand rock cycle important for mineral resources, conservation of soils, fossil fuels, other natural resources Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 14. Igneous Rock • Rockmelts at high temperatures • Forms liquid called magma • Once cooled at Earth surface magma turns to lava • Lava cooled to solid state is called igneous rock
- 15. Sedimentary Rock • Allexposed rock weathers with time • Wind, water, freezing, and thawing • Through weathering and erosion, particles of rocks are formed- sediments • Sediments accumulate over time, causing pressure on layers below • Sedimentary Rock is formed from the pressure and dissolved minerals that bind particles together • Fossils are found in sedimentary layers • Fossil fuels also found here • Layers are used to assign dates to fossils
- 16. Metamorphic Rock • Rockunder great heat or pressure may alter it form become ‘metamorphic rock’ • Generally occurs deep underground Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 17. Geologic and NaturalHazards • Earthquakes • Volcanic Eruptions • Caused by tectonics • “Ring of Fire” Pacific volcanoes are along the 25,000 mile arc along a fault system • Most volcanoes and earthquakes in the world occur here • Johnny Cash likes to sing about it Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 18. Earthquakes- movements at plateboundarie and faults • Along tectonic plate boundaries, earth relieves built up pressure in fits and starts • Earthquakes • Can be severe but most are barely perceptible • Worse in loose soils or cities • Earthquake prone areas have specially engineered buildings to bend with the shaking • California, Japan, Alaska, Indonesia… Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 19. Volcanoes • Arise fromrifts, subduction zones, or hotspots • Where molten rock, hot gas, or ash erupts through Earth’s surface • Also at hotspots where plugs of molten rock from lava erupts through crust • Hawaii • Mt. Kilauea in Hawaii has been erupting continuously since 1983! • Sudden eruption – pyroclastic flow- fast moving cloud of toxic gas, ash, and rock fragments that race down slopes enveloping everything in its path • Ash blocks sunlight • Large eruptions depress temperatures • 1915 eruption of Mount Tambora was “year without a summer” Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 20. Pyroclastic flow • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v =Cvjwt9nnwXY Preparedby Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 21. Landslides are aform of mass wasting • Landslides occur when large amounts of rock or soil collapse and flow downhill • Severe, sudden form of mass wasting, where soil, rock move downslope due to gravity • Natural • Caused by human land use practices that expose and loosen soil • Often triggered by heavy rains • Can be massive and deadly, as in 1998 in Nicaragua and Hondorus killed 11,000 people • Mudsides when volcanic eruptions melt snow, called lahars very dangerous. • A lahar in 1985 in Columbia killed 21,000 Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 22. Oso Landslide, Washington State • https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=huNxZGmsUbE •A portion of an unstable hill collapsed, sending mud and debris to the south across the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, engulfing a rural neighborhood, and covering an area of approximately 1 square mile (2.6 km2). Forty-three people were killed and 49 homes and other structures destroyed Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 23. Tsunamis can followearthquakes, volcanoes, or landslides • Tsunami triggered when earthquakes, volcanoes or mudslides displace huge amounts of ocean water instantaneously and trigger a tsunami • Tsunami- immense swell, or wave, of water that can travel thousands of miles across oceans • 2004 Tsunami in Sumatra • 2011 tsunami in Japan, killed 19,000 people, $300 in economic impacts, and meltdown of Fukishima nuclear power plant • Coastal vegetation helps lesson impacts of tsunami Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 24. Boxing Day Tsunami Thailand,2004 Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017 • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9Ua emMtCzE • The earthquake was caused when the Indian Plate was subducted by the Burma Plate and triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing 230,000 people in fourteen countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 metres (100 ft) high. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. Indonesia was the hardest-hit country, followed by Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand.
- 25. Japanese Tsunami 2011 • https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=Gclg7pW4I1o&index=1&list=PLa X9GGu- BsQQjcHTmo33MSXLoHjR0emOi •Nearly 16,000 now confirmed dead • Meltdown of Fukushima power plant Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 26. 1958 Lituya Bay megatsunami •Earthquake and rockslides caused a megatsunami that destroyed vegetation at a height of 1,722 feet Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 27. Humans can worsen orlesson impacts of natural hazards • Heavy rains and flooding • Coastal erosion • Wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes • Although “natural” hazards, the magnitude of their impacts depends on choices we make Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 28. How we worsenimpacts of natural hazards • As population grows, more people live in areas prone to natural disasters • Many chose to live in places that are attractive but prone to hazards -coastlines- tsunamis and erosion -mountainous areas- volcanoes and mass wasting • Engineer landscapes in ways that increase severity of natural hazards like damming and diking rivers, suppressing wildfires, clear cutting, mining practices increase risk of mass wasting. • Global warming alters precipitation, increase risks of drought, fire, flooding, and mudslides. • Global warming and rising sea levels, increased flooding and coastal erosion.
- 29. Lessen impacts of naturalhazards • Thoughtful use of technology, engineering and policy, informed by understanding of geology and ecology • Earthquake-resistant buildings • Early warning systems for hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes • Conserve coastal forests, reefs, salt marshes protect against tsunamis and coastal erosion • Better forestry and mining practices to help prevent landslides • Zoning regs to discourage development in areas prone to hazards • Address emission of greenhouse gases Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 30. Earth’s Mineral Resources •Geologic processes influence distribution of rocks and minerals in the lithosphere and their availability to us • Mining- extraction of any resource that is nonrenewable on the timescale of our society • We can mine minerals, fossil fuels, or groundwater • When referring to minerals, mining is the systematic removal of rock, soil, or other material for the purpose of extracting minerals of economic interest • Most minerals of interest are widely spread and in low concentration • Miner prospect site first for high concentrations before mining Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 31. Prepared by KierstenLippmann 2017
- 32. We use mineminerals extensively • In 2013 the average American consumed over 38,000 lb of new minerals and fuels every year • At current rate, a child born today will use over 2.2 million lb during his/her lifetime • More than half of annual mineral and fuel use is from coal, oil, natural gas • Much of remaining use is sand, gravel and stone in buildings, roads, bridges, parking lots • High potential for recycling and re- use of materials
- 33. Prepared by KierstenLippmann 2017
- 34. Metals are extractedfrom ores • Metal- a type of chemical element that typically is lustrous, opaque, malleable, and conducts heat and electricity • Most metals are not pure, but are found in ore, a mineral, or grouping of minerals from which we extract metals • Copper, iron, lead, gold, aluminum among many economically viable metals we extract from mined ore • Tantalum of conflict minerals fame, is used in electronic components of computers, cell phones, video game consoles and other devices • Comes from the mineral tantalite, which is often found with the mineral columbite within the ore called coltan Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 35. We process metalsafter mining ore • After being extracted most minerals need to be processed • After ores are mined, rock is crushed and pulverized, and desired metals are isolated by chemical or physical means • Processed to purify metals • Coltan- processing facilities use acid solvents to separate tantalite from columbite • Metals fused to another metal or non metal substance to form an alloy • Steel is an alloy with strength and malleability formed by smelting which heats ore beyond its melting point and combines it with other metals or chemicals Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 36. Processing minerals exerts environmentalimpacts • Most methods are energy and water intensive • Extracting metals from ore emits pollution, especially smelting • Soil and water commonly polluted by tailings- portions of ore left over after metals have been extracted • Tailings leach heavy metals as well as chemicals from extraction process • Cyanide to extract gold from ore • Sulfuric acid to extract copper • Toxic slurries of tailings stores in surface impoundments • Impoundments often leak • 2000 break of coal tailings impoundment in Kentucky released 250 to 300 million gallons of coal soil blackening streams, killing aquatic wildlife, affecting drinking water
- 37. Mining nonmetallic mineralsand fuels • Phosphates, limestone, salt potash, other minerals • Gemstones are treasured for their rarity and beauty • Diamonds prized • “Blood diamonds” and diamond trade has prolonged and funded wars in Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and elsewhere • People exploited for mine labor, sell diamonds for profit • Mine substances for fuel- Uranium ore for nuclear power • Mine coal • Mine other fossil fuels Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
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- 39. Mining methods and theirimpacts • Mining is an important industry that provides jobs and revenue • Mining supplies raw materials for products we use daily • But… mining has environmental and social costs • Minerals of interest make up a small portion of rock in mined area • Huge amounts of materials are removed in order to obtain minerals • Mining impacts huge swathes of land • Several mining methods are used Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 40. Strip mining removes surfacelayers of soil and rock • Strip mining removes layers of surface soil and rock (called overburden) from large areas to expose the resource • Used when the resource occurs in shallow horizontal deposits near the surface • After resource is extracted, overburden fills in the strip, and miner proceed to adjacent strip of land to continue • Coal, oil sands, sometimes sand, gravel Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 41. Strip mining cont… • Economicallyefficient • Obliterates natural communities over a large area • Pollutes water through acid mine drainage- where sulfide minerals in exposed rock surfaces react with oxygen and rainwater to produce sulfuric acid • Sulfuric acid run-off leaches heavy metals and other metals from the rocks, many of them toxic • Affects fish and aquatic creatures, and pollutes drinking water and water used for irrigation Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 42. Subsurface mining- working underground •Used when resource is in concentrated pockets or seams deep underground, and when earth allows for safe tunneling • Shafts are extended deep into the ground, and networks of tunnels are dug or blasted out to follow deposits of the mineral • Miners remove the resource and ship it to the surface • Used for coal, zinc, lead, nickel, tin, gold, copper, uranium • Diamonds, phosphate, salt and potash • Also generates acid mine drainage • Most dangerous form of mining, fatal accidents not unusual • 1,000 miners dead in China in 2013 alone • Toxic fumes and coal dust lead to fatal black lung Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 43. Open Pit mining •Creates immense holes in the ground • Used when mineral is spread widely and evenly throughout a rock formation • Or when earth is unsuitable for tunneling • Open pit involves digging a giant hole and removing the desired ore, along with waste rock around the ore • Huge! World’s largest is Bingham Canyon Mine near Salt Lake City, Utah- 2.5 miles across and .75 miles deep • Gigantic trucks and conveyer systems carry out half a million tons of ore and water rock a day Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 44. Open pit mining,cont… • Used to extract copper, iron, gold, diamonds, coal and others • Also clay gravel, sand, and stone (similar pits for stone like marble are called quarries) • Open pit mines are so large because huge volumes of waste rock need to be removed to extract relatively small amounts of ore, which contain even smaller traces of minerals • Huge size means habitat loss and aesthetic degradation • Abandoned pits fill with groundwater, which becomes toxic due to sulfuric acid runoff • Acidic water can harm wildlife and aquifers Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 45. Proposed Pebble Minein Alaska • Pebble mine is at the headwaters of Iliamna Lake, off Bristol Bay in Alaska home to the largest Sockeye salmon runs in the world • Pristine wilderness area • copper, gold, molybdenum • Developers plan to hold back toxic mine waste behind earthern dams which are bound to fail in this earthquake prone region • Damage to salmon and ecosystem is inevitable • Project on hold in 2013, but Trump is putting it back on the table • Pebble deposit is mostly low-grade ore, so would involve massive amounts of earth removal to get to it Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 46. Prepared by KierstenLippmann 2017 Pebble mine, cont…
- 47. Placer mining usesrunning water to isolate minerals Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017 • Metals and gems accumulate in riverbed deposits, carried by flowing water • Miners sift through materials using running water to separate lightweight gravel and mud from heavier minerals • Placer mining used by Congo’s coltan miners searching for high density tantanlite • Congo’s miners using methods similar to methods during the Klondike gold rush • Still used in areas of Alaska and California • Environmentally destructive because large amounts of debris washed into streams, destroying fish habitat • Erosion, destruction of plant communities
- 48. Mountaintop Mining • Mountaintopremoval mining used when a resource occurs in underground seams near the tops of ridges or mountains • Several hundred vertical feet of mountaintop removed • Primarily used for coal in Appalachia • Mountains forests are clear-cut, timber sold, topsoil removed, and rock is blasted • Overburden placed back on mountain after, but is unstable and usually takes up more volume than the original rock, so waste rock is dumped into valleys “valley filling” • Blasted away an area the size of Delaware and buried 2,000 miles of streams Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 49. Impacts of Mountaintop Miningon Communities • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQdD-3wWQeU (Earthjustice, 3:34) • Dumping debris into valleys degrades and destroys massive areas of habitat, clogs streams and rivers, pollutes waterways with acid drainage • Results in erosion, mudslides and flash floods • Appalachian forests have rich biodiversity, and are destroyed • Social and health impacts – blasts from mines crack houses and foundations, loose rocks tumble into yard, flooding • Coal dust causes respiratory illness, birth defects, lung cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, hypertension, pulmonary disorders, mortality Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 50. Mountaintop removal mining andClean Water Act • Mining may violate the Clean Water Act because runoff contains high levels of salts and toxic metals that degrade water quality • Hundreds of permits issued prior, but in 2010 EPA announced new guidelines that prohibit valley fill unless strict measures of water quality can be attained • In 2011, EPA revoked permit of mining operation in W. Virginia citing the new guidelines • 2014 court ruling backed EPAs decision, permits across Appalachia are being re-examined Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 51. Solution mining • Depositdeep underground and can be dissolved in liquid • A narrow borehole drilled to reach deposit, and water, acid or another liquid injected into borehole to leach resource from rock and dissolve into liquid • Solution is then sucked out • Used for salt, lithium, boron, bromine, magnesium, potash, copper, uranium • Less environmental impact, less disturbance • Impacts from leaking of acids into groundwater, and contamination of aquifers with heavy metals or uranium Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 52. Ocean mining • Oceanholds many minerals • Magnesium, salts from seawater • Ocean floor nodules of magnesium, 1.5 trillion tons worth in Pacific alone • Logistical difficulties have limited ocean mining so far • Likely many minerals are found under oceans Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 53. Restoration or Reclamation ofMine sites • Mining companies are required to restore, or reclaim surface- mined sites following mining • Aim of reclamation is to restore site to pre-mining condition • Companies are required to remove buildings, replace overburden, fill in shafts, and replant the areas with vegetation • 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act • Companies must post bond so if they fail to restore site, gov’t has money to do so • Even restored sites have severe and lasting damage such as soil and water damage from acid drainage • High levels of acids or metals make it difficult to restore native plants Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 54. 1872 law stillguides mining policy • General Mining Act of 1872 encourages people and companies to prospect for minerals on federally owned lands • Allows and US citizen, domestic company, or foreign company with permission to do business in US to stake a claim on any plot of public land open to mining • Person or company gains sole rights to minerals from the area • Claim-holder patent the claim (buy the land) for just $5 an acre! • Law requires no payment of any kind to public, despite profits • Supporters say we need to encourage domestic mining • Critics say the policy give away valuable public resources for next to nothing • Law has not yet been amended despite many attempts • Eg. 2009 Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act, filed to get out of Congress Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 55. Towards Sustainable Mineral Use •Minerals are non-renewable, and in finite supply • Reserves of tantalum will last about 170 years at today’s rate of consumption • If demand increases, could run out faster • If everyone consumed at US rates, would last only 13 more years! • Indium is dwindling, used for LCD screens • Gone in 30 years • Platinum also dwindling in supply used for fuel cells and catalytic converters- but usually recycled at high rates Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 56. Discovery of newreserves • With discoveries, number of years left for a resource increases • 2010 discovery of mineral riches of Afghanistan, iron, copper, niobium, lithium worth over $1 trillion • Of course, lessons from Congo and Amazon tell us this may not make Afghanistan wealthy • New extraction technologies, make inaccessible reserves accessible • New technologies may increase demand for minerals, for example cell phones and tantalum • Changes in consumption change demand, along with economic conditions • Recycling allows us to re-use minerals and reduce mining Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 57. Making mineral usemore sustainable • Recycling reduces issues associated with finite supply and environmental damage • Currently, 35% of metals in US are recycled • Car battery recycling supplies 80% of the lead we need for new products • 33% of copper comes from recycling • Recycling decreases energy use substantially, recycling steel requires much less energy than creating new steel from ore • 40% of aluminum in US is recycled • It take 20 X more energy to create Al from new ore than recycled Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 58. Recycle metals frome-waste • The 1.7 billion cell phones sold each year contain about 200 chemical compounds and close to a dollar’s worth of precious metals • An estimated 500 million cell phones are currently lying inactive around the US • A recycled phone may be refurbished and sold to developing country • Or dismantled in a developing country and sold for parts • Only about 10% of phones are recycled today • Recycling reduces demand for virgin ore and decreases pressures on people and ecosystems in Africa and other areas where coltan is mined Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 59. Conclusion • Geology andplate tectonics are important because they shape Earth’s terrain and form foundation for living systems • Natural hazards are generated by geological phenomena including earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, tsunamis • We depend on a diversity of minerals and mine them by various methods depending on how they are distributed • Economically efficient methods of mining generate wealth but have massive environmental impacts • Restoration methods help minimize environmental and social impacts of mining • We can prolong access to minerals and reduce energy use and environmental impacts by recycling and sustainable use Prepared by Kiersten Lippmann 2017
- 60. As promised… TasmanianTiger/Thylacine • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odswge5onw Y