Copper Mining
Published on Nov 18, 2015
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
COPPER MINING PROCESS
- BY BROCK NICHOLS - PUMPKIN HOLLOW MINE - NEVADA
- Open pit mining:
- A large hole is dug and ore and surrounding rock is removed
- Ore is crushed and ground into finer pieces
- The copper is separated out of the ore by froth flotation method
Photo by SSAVE w/ over 1,750,000 views THX
COPPER MINING PROCESS (CONT.)
- BY BROCK NICHOLS - PUMPKIN HOLLOW MINE - NEVADA
- Froth flotation method - finely ground ore is mixed with water to form slurry
- Chemicals and air bubbles are added
- Chemicals make copper hydrophobic - won't mix into the water
- Copper attaches to air bubbles, floats to top of slurry, and is removed
Photo by Wessex Archaeology
COPPER MINING PROCESS (CONT.)
- BY BROCK NICHOLS - PUMPKIN HOLLOW MINE - NEVADA
- Smelting - ore is heated beyond melting point
- Chemicals or metals are added to allow copper to be removed
- Copper is allowed to cool
- Copper is shipped out
Photo by Pulpolux !!!
GENERAL INFORMATION
- BY BROCK NICHOLS - PUMPKIN HOLLOW MINE - NEVADA
- BY BROCK NICHOLS - PUMPKIN HOLLOW MINE - NEVADA
- 1.5 hours southeast of Reno
- Electrical power grid is near and used in the mining process
- Electrical power grid is near and used in the mining process
- Train rail lines are nearby, used for transportation
- High-grade ore contains copper, gold, and silver
- High-grade ore contains copper, gold, and silver
Photo by arbyreed
GENERAL INFORMATION (CONT.)
- BY BROCK NICHOLS - PUMPKIN HOLLOW MINE - NEVADA
- U.S. Steel discovered the copper deposits in this area in 1960's
- U.S. Steel was only interested in producing steel
- Area has estimated 1.67 billion lbs. of copper
Photo by PeterThoeny
NEGATIVE IMPACTS
- BY BROCK NICHOLS - PUMPKIN HOLLOW MINE - NEVADA
- Erosion - removal of plants and soil leads to washing away of ground
- If runoff goes into streams or rivers, fish and other animals are harmed
- When the pit is built, it should contain the water within the pit
Photo by IITA Image Library
NEGATIVE IMPACTS (CONT.)
- BY BROCK NICHOLS - PUMPKIN HOLLOW MINE - NEVADA
- Water Pollution from tailings (leftover rock)
- Rock is exposed to air and rain
- Iron sulfide contained in rocks reacts with water and oxygen
- Sulfuric acid is produced, which can seep down into the groundwater
Photo by mlhradio
NEGATIVE IMPACTS (CONT.)
- BY BROCK NICHOLS - PUMPKIN HOLLOW MINE - NEVADA
- Water from tailings should be contained
- Acid should be removed from water
Photo by Matthias Rhomberg
NEGATIVE IMPACTS (CONT.)
- BY BROCK NICHOLS - PUMPKIN HOLLOW MINE - NEVADA
- Air pollution - open pit mining releases metal particles into the air
- Winds can blow metal particles into surrounding areas
- Miners can breathe in particles which can cause health problems
Photo by xeno_sapien
NEGATIVE IMPACTS (CONT.)
- BY BROCK NICHOLS - PUMPKIN HOLLOW MINE - NEVADA
- Miners can wear air masks to filter out the particles
- They could cover the ore in the trucks as it's being transported
- They could spray water on the ore
Photo by mwilkie
