The Lithosphere Flashcards
(32 cards)
What is the lithosphere?
The crust and the upper most mantle
The mineral resources from the lithosphere are non renewable. What does this mean?
They are reformed too slowly to be replaced with timescales that would allow human use
What is copper used for?
Electric cables, water pipes
What is aluminium used for?
Packaging foil, vehicles window
What is a mineral deposit?
The rock that contains atleast one mineral
What is an ore?
A rock containing a mineral but at a purity high enough to be extracted commercially for a proft
What is the cut off grade? (COOG)
The % of metal the rock would need to contain in order to be economically viable to extract.
What is the stock?
All material that can be found in the lithosphere including the ones that we will never be able to extract
What is a resource?
All material that could theoretically be exploited in the future with improved technology and increased market pricing
What does grade mean?
Used to describe the purity of an ore or the % of the rock that is metal
What is the reserve?
The reserve is the proportion of minerals that can be extracted right now economically using existing technology and prices
What is Lasky’s Principle?
As the purity of the mineral decreases, the quantity of the mineral on Earth increases exponentially
Meaning many low grade ores have not been extracted so there is a huge amount available to mine
What is deep/underground mining?
Mineral extraction technique that occurs underground involving a high level of planning and health and safety regulations
Low habitat destruction
What is surface/open-cast mining?
Mineral extraction technique on the earths surface involving the creation of large shallow pits
There is much more habitat destruction than underground mining.
What is dredging?
When a mineral deposit is submerged in water on land or by coasts, dredging extracts minerals from the sediment
How does ore grade affect the viability of a mine?
The ore grade must be high enough to ensure a profit determined by the COOG and ensure less waste (cost, pollution)
How does overburden affect the viability of a mine?
Overburden is usually removed by controlled explosions
If the overburden is deep and/hard then it will be more difficult to remove, create more waste and require more explosives = more cost
It may need support to reduce landslide risk = cost
Drainage systems may need to be installed to prevent flood = cost
How does suitable infrastructure that can be used for transport affect mine viability?
Roads needing to be built = costly
Land use conflict = costly to resolve
Money may need to be spent felling trees or a permit may be required
What would cause the largest amount of habitat lost?
Open cast mining
How do you reduce habitat loss?
Habitat restoration after extraction e.g The Eden Project was built on an old quarry site
Horizontal drilling
Relocate protected species safely
What can cause dust pollution?
- explosions
- large machinery can kick up dust
What effects does dust pollution have?
- reduce photosynthesis
- respiratory illnesses
How can dust pollution be reduced?
Water sprays that make dust denser and cause it to fall to the ground
What effect does noise pollution have?
Change animal behaviours
Prevent breeding
Can cause death
Affect nearby people
