CH 16 Study Guide

a law that regulates the release of hazardous substances into the air, soil, and water by mining operations

Comprehensive Response Compensation and Liability Act

a law that sets standards to minimize the surface effects coal mining on the environment

Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977

contaminated water that results when acid dissolves toxic minerals remaining in mines and excess rocks

acid mine drainage

A quarry could also be called

an open pit

Evaporites most commonly form in

arid regions where rates of evaporation are high

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a mineral?

atoms in random patterns

funds posted before a mining project begins

bond

Surface mining can cause

both air and noise pollution

two or more atoms chemically bonded together

compound

What do hot, subsurface waters contain when they are identified as hydrothermal solutions?

dissolved minerals

a floating barge on which buckets fixed on a conveyor excavate sediments

dredge

large piles of excess rock from mines

dumps

What is one property that may be used to distinguish metallic from nonmetallic minerals?

electrical conductivity

The first step in finding an ore deposit is

exploring rock formations for mineralization

a layer of impurities that forms atop molten metal during smelting

flux

a material that bonds with impurities and separates them from molten metal during smelting

flux

nonmetallic minerals prized mainly for their beauty, rarity, or durability are called

gemstones

For mining to be profitable, the price of the final product must be

greater than the costs of extraction and refining

Which of the following would not likely be mined using solution mining?

gypsum

Placer deposits are surface deposits concentrated by

movement of wind and water

What can contaminate a river as a result of dredging?

muddy sediments

minerals that are economic to extract

ore minerals

rocks that cover coal seems near the surface

overburden

Subsidence can result from the collapse of

pillars in abandoned mines

a network of entries in coal mines

rooms

The layer of impurities on top of molten metal that forms during smelting

slag

Which of the following is a water contaminant that can cause acid mine drainage

sulfuric acid

Which of the following is not a regulation mining companies must follow?

the Hazardous Products Act

ore deposits formed in cracks in rocks

veins

About ___ percent of the world's salt comes from the solar evaporation process.

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