Chapter 16 Environmental Science

What is a mineral?

A mineral is a solid inorganic substance of natural occurrence.

What is a placer deposit?

A placer deposit is a deposit of materials that have been concentrated by mechanical action.

What is an element?

An element is a substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical means while a mineral is any naturally occurring, inorganic substance.

What is an ore mineral?

An ore mineral is a metalliferous mineral that may be extracted profitably from an orebody, while a gangue mineral is the material that surrounds, or is closely mixed with a wanted mineral in an ore deposit.

Evaporites most commonly form in?

Arid regions where rates of evaporation are high.

How does reclaimed soil become degraded?

If the soil layers from deep underground are placed over the topsoil it could cause problems. This is especially true when these deeper soils contain a lot of sulfur that can then acidify the soil.

What is the purpose of a state bond forfeiture program?

It is an encouragement to companies to restore the land and provide money to fix problems if the proper reclamation does not happen.

What is the difference between native elements and compounds?

Native elements are elements, while compounds are composed of 2 or more elements.

What is reclamation?

Reclamation is the act of returning something to a former, better state.

What is smelting?

Smelting is the action of extracting metal from its ore by a process involving heating and melting.

How does solar evaporation work?

Solar evaporation uses the sun's energy to evaporate water, and leave salt.

What is subsidence?

Subsidence is the gradual caving in or sinking of an area of land.

What are the surface and subsurface methods for coal mining?

Surface mining can be open-pit or surface, Subsurface methods are room and pillar or longwall.

Why is undersea mining largely unsuccessful?

Undersea mining has been unsuccessful because deposits at great water depths are difficult to work.

A quarry could also be called-

an open pit

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

atoms in random patterns

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

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

flux

minerals that have no commercial value

gangue minerals

nonmetallic minerals prized for their beauty, rarity, or durability

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

minerals that are economical to extract

ore minerals

Rocks that cover coal seams near the surface-

overburden

A network of entries in coal mines

rooms

A layer of impurities that forms atop molten metal during smelting-

slag

Ore deposits formed in cracks in rocks

veins

What percent of the world's salt comes from the solar evaporation process?

30%