5. Placer deposits involve minerals that are heavy, durable and chemically resistant.
Gold is the best known placer deposit. In 1848, placer deposits of gold were discovered in California, sparking the famous California gold rush.
The San Francisco 49ers are a reference to the California Gold Rush, when immigrants from around the United States came to what would become The Golden State to mine placer deposits.
6. Non metallic mineral resources are extracted and processed either for the nonmetallic elements they contain or for their physical and chemical properties.
7. Nonmetallic mineral resources are divided into two broad groups: Building materials and industrial minerals.
For example, Limestone can be used as a building material or can be crushed to make cement. As an industrial mineral. Limestone is used in the manufacture of steel. Farmers use it to neutralize acidic soils.
9. Underground mining is used to recover ores that are deeper into earth’s surface.
Underground mining is very expensive and dangerous. Fresh air and lights must be brought into the tunnels for the miners, and accidents are far too common.
10. Rocks are crushed so that the valuable minerals can be separated from the waste rock.
Real Life Connection Aluminum in bauxite ore is extracted from the ground and refined to be used in aluminum foil and many other products. The cost of creating a product from a mineral depends on how abundant the mineral is and how much the extraction and refining processes cost.
Each student on a table will draw an image representative of the lesson. Each student will try to guess what the drawing is about. Each student will have three recorded answers per drawing. Once all papers are answered each student will explain their work.
Hydrothermal deposits form from hot, metal – rich fluids that are left when magma cools. The metal ions collect as mineral deposits in small openings such as rock fractures.
Placer deposits are minerals that are carried by moving water from a source upstream. By following the deposit as string, it is possible to find the original deposit.