MINING

What Are Minerals?

• A MINERAL is any natural, pure, non-living
material found in the rocks of the earth.
• Minerals can be divided into 3 groups
– Metallic Minerals
– Fossil Fuels
– Industrial Minerals
 Metallic Minerals
• When metallic minerals are made pure, they
become the metals we use everyday.
• Metallic minerals need to have some quality
that we value
– Beauty (gold, silver)
– Strength (iron)
– Conducts electricity (copper)
– Light and strong (aluminum, tin)
 Fossil Fuels
• Fossil fuel is the leftover of biotic
material (material that used to be
living).
• Coal was one of the first
important fossil fuels
– When it is under a lot of pressure,
coal changes into diamonds
• Oil and natural gas are now the
most popular forms of fossil fuels
• Fossil fuel mining requires oil rigs,
or other pumping mechanisms
 Industrial Minerals
• Industrial minerals are any mined minerals
that are not metallic or fossil
• These are minerals mostly used in industries
• Asbestos – protects from fire and heat
• Potash – used to make fertilizer
• Gypsum – makes drywall
• Diamond – not just for jewellery; used as a
cutting tool as well
 Where Do We Find the Minerals?
• Saskatchewan – world’s largest potash
deposits
• Quebec – major asbestos mines
• Northwest Territories – diamonds
• Minerals – Canadian Shield
• Oil/gas - Alberta
 Importance of Mining
• Canada is the third largest producer of minerals
in the world
– United States, Russia are larger
• Largest EXPORTER or minerals
– 80% of what we mine we export
– Mining exports make up 18% of Canada’s total exports
• $57 Billion dollars GDP (2014)
• Helped to develop road and rail systems
– Needed to reach the remote (far away) deposits
 How Do We Find Minerals?
• Mineral deposits that are economical to
develop are called MINERAL RESERVES
• Metallic minerals are found in IGNEOUS and
METAMORPHIC rocks (like on the Canadian
Shield)
• In the earth the minerals we want are mixed
with other compounds (like rock, other
minerals, etc). This mixture is called ORE.
• A MAGNETOMETER creates a magnetic field
which ore like nickel, iron and copper react to.
• Satellite images and aerial photos give
geologists clues.
• Satellites can also be used to create thermal
images, infra-red images, and other imaging
which various minerals react to.
• Once a potential site has been located,
geologists will drill CORE SAMPLES
• Using this method, they can locate the edges
of the reserve
 Mining Methods
• Most mines are located in remote areas
• If the ORE BODY is near the surface, the
mining company may choose to STRIP or PIT
mine.
• If the ore body is deep inside the earth,
UNDERGROUND or SHAFT mining will be used
– This method is more difficult, more dangerous and
more expensive
 Strip Mining
• Strip mining is used to
mine minerals like coal and
oil sands that develop in
horizontal layers near the Surface of the Earth
surface of the Earth. Overburden

• OVERBURDEN is removed Ore Body

• Ore is shovelled onto

trucks or conveyor belts
and sent for processing
Strip Mine
 Pit Mining
Surface of the Earth
• Similar to Strip mining,
but used when the ore Overburden
body extends downward
rather than outward
• Overburden is removed
• Explosives blast apart the Ore Body

ore
• The ore is put onto trucks
and trucked out of the
mine for processing
 Underground/ Shaft Mining
• Used to get at ore deep in
the earth
• A SHAFT is drilled into the Surface of the Earth
earth at the edge of the
ore body
• Horizontal tunnels, called
ADITS or DRIFTS are dug Mining Shaft
into the body
– This is where the ore is
removed from
– The chamber at the end of
the adit is the STOPE Ore Body
• The rock in the stope is blasted apart with
explosives
– The debris is called MUCK
• The muck is transported to an ORE PASS
where it falls into a CRUSHER
• As the name implies, the crusher crushes the
ore into smaller pieces
• It is funnelled down another ore pass into a
SKIP where it is hoisted to the surface and
sent for processing
Label
the
Diagram
of a
Shaft
Mine
 Processing Minerals
• Metallic mineral ore needs to be purified
before it is useful
• MILLING separates the mineral from the
majority of the waste
– Usually a physical procedure
• SMELTING involves heating the remainder
until the compounds separate. The metal will
generally sink to the bottom of the furnace,
where a tap will drain it off
 Leftovers
• The waste material produced by mills and
smelters is called TAILINGS
• Tailings are often toxic, ugly or otherwise
difficult to deal with
• A HUGE issue facing the mining industry today
is how to safely get rid of the tailings
• What are some of the other issues the mining
industry must face?