What type of materials can be extracted from the ground

Innovation and technological developments are needed to break the link between human prosperity and footprint on the planet. Our current technology simply cannot keep up with population growth.

But this can change:. Natural ecosystems are losing their ability to adjust. They are reaching critical thresholds beyond which they will no longer be able to recover. According to the American ecologist, professor Jared Diamond, we are approaching such tipping points in at the latest beyond which it will no longer be possible to save the Earth.

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Find ethical companies when you are browsing. See more here. We are draining planet earth Hungry consumer societies. A demanding global population of consumers The growing world population - and especially the growing population of consumers - is the main driver of the increased demand for natural resources. See more. Environmental effects of materials extraction Size of sample is 11 by 9 cm. Photographs by Philip Verplanck, U. Geological Survey.

SIR J. Blocks of biotitic meta-sandstone from the lower part of the Gunsight Formation, and drill core from the underlying banded siltite unit of the Apple Creek Formation, lying on the dump of the lower workings of the Copper Queen mine, southeast of the Blackbird cobalt-copper mine area.

Sampling acid mine drainage residuals in Elk County, Pennsylvania. The USGS has pioneered a new use for these residuals that are currently a disposal challenge, using them to filter phosphorus from agricultural and municipal wastewaters. Skip to main content. Search Search. The primary methods used to extract minerals from the ground are: Underground mining Surface open pit mining Placer mining The location and shape of the deposit, strength of the rock, ore grade, mining costs, and current market price of the commodity are some of the determining factors for selecting which mining method to use.

Learn more: The Lifecycle of a Mineral Deposit. Apply Filter. Where can I find information about mineral commodities? What is the difference between a rock and a mineral? A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic element or compound having an orderly internal structure and characteristic chemical composition, crystal form, and physical properties. Common minerals include quartz, feldspar, mica, amphibole, olivine, and calcite.

A rock is an aggregate of one or more minerals, or a body of undifferentiated mineral How much silver has been found in the world? All the silver discovered thus far would fit in a cube 55 meters on a side. Learn more: USGS commodity website for silver. How much gold has been found in the world? About , metric tons of gold has been discovered to date , metric tons historically produced plus current underground reserves of 57, metric tons. Most of that gold has come from just three countries: China, Australia, and South Africa.

The United States ranked fourth in gold production in All of the gold discovered thus far How much copper has been found in the world? To date, roughly million metric tons of copper have been produced around the world. This would fit into a cube measuring about meters on a side.

Identified deposits contain an estimated 2. This would fit into a cube How many pounds of minerals are required by the average person in a year? To maintain our standard of living, each person in the United States requires over 40, pounds of minerals each year: 10, pounds of stone 7, pounds of sand and gravel pounds of cement pounds of clays pounds of salt pounds of iron ore pounds of phosphate rock 35 pounds of soda ash 34 pounds of aluminum 12 pounds of How large is a lifetime supply of minerals for the average person?

At today's level of consumption, the average newborn infant will need a lifetime supply of: pounds of lead pounds of zinc pounds of copper 2, pounds of aluminum 21, pounds of iron ore 11, pounds of clays 30, pounds of salt 1,, pounds of stone, sand, gravel, and cement Learn more: Mineral Resources Education Products.

Does the USGS have reports on the background levels of elements in soils and other surficial materials? The following USGS products will be helpful in determining the background levels of various elements in soils and other surficial materials: Geochemical and Mineralogical Data for Soils of the Conterminous United States Data for samples collected at three intervals cm surficial soils, A-Horizon soils, and C-Horizon soils across the What minerals produce the colors in fireworks?

Mineral elements provide the color in fireworks. Filter Total Items: Hofstra, Albert H. View Citation. Hofstra, A. Geological Survey Open-File Report —, 26 p. Year Published: International geoscience collaboration to support critical mineral discovery The importance of critical minerals and the need to expand and diversify critical mineral supply chains has been endorsed by the Federal governments of Australia, Canada, and the United States. Kelley, K. Mining is required to obtain any material that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or created artificially in a laboratory or factory.

Mining in a wider sense includes extraction of any non-renewable resource such as petroleum, natural gas, or even water. Mining of stone and metal has been done since pre-historic times. Modern mining processes involve prospecting for ore bodies, analysis of the profit potential of a proposed mine, extraction of the desired materials, and final reclamation of the land after the mine is closed.

The nature of mining processes creates a potential negative impact on the environment both during the mining operations and for years after the mine is closed. Safety has long been a concern as well, and modern practices have improved safety in mines significantly.

The process of mining from discovery of an ore body through extraction of minerals and finally to returning the land to its natural state consists of several distinct steps. The first is discovery of the ore body, which is carried out through prospecting or exploration to find and then define the extent, location and value of the ore body. This leads to a mathematical resource estimation to estimate the size and grade of the deposit.

This estimation is used to conduct a pre-feasibility study to determine the theoretical economics of the ore deposit. This identifies, early on, whether further investment in estimation and engineering studies is warranted and identifies key risks and areas for further work. The next step is to conduct a feasibility study to evaluate the financial viability, the technical and financial risks, and the robustness of the project.

This is when the mining company makes the decision whether to develop the mine or to walk away from the project. This includes mine planning to evaluate the economically recoverable portion of the deposit, the metallurgy and ore recoverability, marketability and payability of the ore concentrates, engineering concerns, milling and infrastructure costs, finance and equity requirements, and an analysis of the proposed mine from the initial excavation all the way through to reclamation.

The proportion of a deposit that is economically recoverable is dependent on the enrichment factor of the ore in the area. To gain access to the mineral deposit within an area it is often necessary to mine through or remove waste material which is not of immediate interest to the miner.

The total movement of ore and waste constitutes the mining process. Often more waste than ore is mined during the life of a mine, depending on the nature and location of the ore body. Waste removal and placement is a major cost to the mining operator, so a detailed characterization of the waste material forms an essential part of the geological exploration program for a mining operation.

Once the analysis determines a given ore body is worth recovering, development begins to create access to the ore body. The mine buildings and processing plants are built, and any necessary equipment is obtained. The operation of the mine to recover the ore begins and continues as long as the company operating the mine finds it economical to do so.

Once all the ore that the mine can produce profitably is recovered, reclamation begins to make the land used by the mine suitable for future use. Mining techniques can be divided into two common excavation types: surface mining and sub-surface underground mining. Targets are divided into two general categories of materials: placer deposits , consisting of valuable minerals contained within river gravels, beach sands, and other unconsolidated materials; and lode deposits , where valuable minerals are found in veins, in layers, or in mineral grains generally distributed throughout a mass of actual rock.

Both types of ore deposit, placer or lode, are mined by both surface and underground methods. Some mining, including much of the rare earth elements and uranium mining, is done by less-common methods, such as in-situ leaching: this technique involves digging neither at the surface nor underground. The extraction of target minerals by this technique requires that they be soluble, e. Some minerals, such as copper minerals and uranium oxide, require acid or carbonate solutions to dissolve.

Surface mining is done by removing stripping surface vegetation, dirt, and, if necessary, layers of bedrock in order to reach buried ore deposits. Most but not all placer deposits, because of their shallowly buried nature, are mined by surface methods. Finally, landfill mining involves sites where landfills are excavated and processed. Open-pit mining , or open-cast mining is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow.

This form of mining differs from extractive methods that require tunneling into the earth, such as long wall mining. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful minerals or rocks are found near the surface; that is, where the overburden surface material covering the valuable deposit is relatively thin or the material of interest is structurally unsuitable for tunneling as would be the case for sand, cinder, and gravel.

For minerals that occur deep below the surface—where the overburden is thick or the mineral occurs as veins in hard rock—underground mining methods extract the valued material. Open-pit mines are typically enlarged until either the mineral resource is exhausted, or an increasing ratio of overburden to ore makes further mining uneconomic.

When this occurs, the exhausted mines are sometimes converted to landfills for disposal of solid wastes. However, some form of water control is usually required to keep the mine pit from becoming a lake, if the mine is situated in a climate of considerable precipitation or if any layers of the pit forming the mine border productive aquifers.

Figure 3. Open-cast mines are dug on benches, which describe vertical levels of the hole. These benches are usually on four to sixty meter intervals, depending on the size of the machinery that is being used.

Many quarries do not use benches, as they are usually shallow. Most walls of the pit are generally dug on an angle less than vertical, to prevent and minimize damage and danger from rock falls.

This depends on how weathered the rocks are, and the type of rock, and also how many structural weaknesses occur within the rocks, such as a faults, shears, joints orfoliations. The walls are stepped. The inclined section of the wall is known as the batter, and the flat part of the step is known as the bench or berm. The steps in the walls help prevent rock falls continuing down the entire face of the wall. In some instances additional ground support is required and rock bolts, cable bolts and shotcrete are used.

De-watering bores may be used to relieve water pressure by drilling horizontally into the wall, which is often enough to cause failures in the wall by itself. A haul road is usually situated at the side of the pit, forming a ramp up which trucks can drive, carrying ore and waste rock.

Waste rock is piled up at the surface, near the edge of the open pit. This is known as the waste dump. The waste dump is also tiered and stepped, to minimize degradation. Ore which has been processed is known as tailings, and is generally a slurry. This is pumped to a tailings dam or settling pond, where the water evaporates. Tailings dams can often be toxic due to the presence of unextracted sulfide minerals, some forms of toxic minerals in the gangue, and often cyanide which is used to treat gold ore via the cyanide leach process.

This toxicity can harm the surrounding environment. Gold is generally extracted in open-pit mines at 1 to 2 ppm parts per million but in certain cases, 0. Nickel, generally as laterite, is extracted via open-pit down to 0.

Copper is extracted at grades as low as 0. Figure 4. Mantrip used for transporting miners within an underground mine. Sub-surface mining consists of digging tunnels or shafts into the earth to reach buried ore deposits.