Minerals Extracted From The Lithosphere Flashcards
(42 cards)
What is the litosphere?
The uppermost layer of the mantle and the crust that exists above it it along with the seidments/soils that are sat over it
What can be found in the litosphere?
Minerals and metals which are used by humans for many things
What does non-renewable mean
Mewns that something in this case minerals will run out
Why are minerals non-renewable
They reform too slowy within the earth
The timescale are longer than that of humans.
What are the 3 outcomes for minreals?
- We run out and find alternatives
- We find new sources by using new tech
- We recycle what we can
What are the three types of mineral resource
- Metal and metal ore
- Industrial minerals
- Construction materials
What are industrial minerals?
Sands and gravels
What are construction materials
Limestone and gypsum
What is an igenous intrusion?
When magma cools and solidifies undergroud without breaching earths surface.
What does an igneous intrusion provide
The heat source needed to form a deposit
How does a deposit form by igneous intrusion
Hot fluids from volatiles (rock in magma) or by fluid in surrounding rock dissolve chemical elements.
Fluids cools and drop the sediments crystallising and forming ore veins
What is an ore?
A rock which contains concentrations of minerals of a particular type within it
What are concentrated strands of mineral called?
Veins
What are metamorphic processes?
Tectonic processes cause huge slabs of crust to move and collide
Do not always completely melt the crust
What do collsions of tectonic slabs cause?
Increase in heat and pressure
What happens if the rocks do not reach their melting point?
The rocks become changed but not melted
From sedimentary grain to strong crystallised rocks
What are examples of metamorphic processes?
Limestone turns into marble
Mudstone under pressure becomes slate
Why was the sky and water pink/orange on early Earth
As there was little free oxygen
Proterozoic rocks exposed at the surface had a high level of iron that was released by weathring
What happened at the surface when iron was weathered?
As there was no oxygen iron entered the ocean as the iron ions
What is the name for the primitive phostosynthetic organism?
Blue-green algae
What does blue-green algae produce? (waste)
O2 as a waste from photosynthesis
What did free oxygen form when combined with iron?
Magnetite - iron oxide
What did the iron ion form in the sea floor?
Bands of iron rich sediment
What happened to iron when the biomass expanded
Iron was abke to neutralise all waste O2 this meant O2 rose to toxic levels in the sea water