Name Class Date
Assessment
Chapter 16 Test B
Mining and Mineral Resources
MATCHING
In the space provided, write the letter of the term or phrase that best matches the description.
1. funds posted by a mining company before mine operations can begin
2. type of subsurface mining
3. required by SMCRA
4. protected by the Endangered Species Act
5. mineral with the highest per capita consumption in the United States
6. bonds with impurities
7. mineral type that often conducts electricity well
8. concentration of metal present in an ore
9. lead-containing ore
10. mineral type that may be translucent
MULTIPLE CHOICE
In the space provided, write the letter of the term or phrase that best completes each statement or best answers each question.
11. Metallic minerals are able to concentrate when magma ______underground because they ______in the magma.
a. heats and becomes liquid, melt first and rise
b. cools and hardens, form first and rise
c. cools and hardens, form first and sink
d. remains liquid, heat last and rise
12. The ______method is used when large coal or ore deposits are found ______the surface.
a. quarrying, deep below c. open-pit mining, near
b. open-pit mining, deep below d. long all mining, near
13. Acid mine drainage
a. harms or kills aquatic life. c. causes acid rain.
b. purifies streams. d. is unregulated in the U.S.
Chapter Test B continued
SHORT ANSWER
Write the answers to the following questions in the spaces provided.
14. What distinguishes native elements from most minerals? Give two examples of minerals that exist in nature as native elements.
15. How are ore deposits—known as veins—formed?
16. What data and characteristics of an area can be collected from airborne observations and combined to indicate the best locations to look for ore deposits?
17. How must soil and overburden be handled in surface coal mining in order to minimize environmental damage?
18. What potential environmental problem of the smelting process must be con-trolled? How can this problem be controlled?
19. Why does surface mining completely transform ecosystems, even after reclamation?
Chapter Test B continued
PROBLEM SOLVING
Give solutions for the following problems in the spaces provided.
20. This problem illustrates how growth in the rate of mineral resource extraction affects the lifetime of those resources. Assume that a coal deposit is located and estimated to contain 100,000 tons of extractable and marketable coal. During the first year of mining, 1,000 tons of coal are removed from the mine. The next year, and every following year, the number of tons removed doubles so that 2,000 tons are removed in the second year, 4,000 in the third, and so on. In how many years will the entire 100,000 tons be removed?
21. The presence of sulfur in finely ground waste material from the ore enrichment process is a serious environmental problem. These waste materials are often referred to as mine tailings. Why do mine tailings pose a risk to the environment? Propose a method for controlling pollution from mine tailings.
22. The mining of uranium presents unique environmental problems. Uranium-bearing formations contain rocks that have naturally occurring radio activity, including radioactive radon that enters the air as a gas. These rocks are extracted and crushed into fine sands for processing and uranium extraction. What measures should be taken to protect the public from the special hazards presented by these materials?
Chapter Test B continued
ESSAY
Write the answers to the following questions in the spaces provided.
23. Gold panning involves dipping a special pan that allows water to flow through it into the sandy bed of a stream or river. Sand, rocks, and the potentially valuable minerals remain and can be separated in the pan. Explain why small deposits of gold can sometimes be found in streambeds by panning.
24. Name three products you use that are derived from mined minerals. For each of these products, explain briefly the minerals needed to make it and by which mining methods those minerals are obtained.
25. International organizations concerned with the environment and mining have suggested that mining industries be more concerned with sustainability of the processes that extract minerals and produce metals and other materials for end use by consumers. What do you think sustainability means, and why is it of long-term benefit to society?