ESS205H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Hazardous Waste, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, Directional Drilling
Document Summary
Chapter 12: nearly e(cid:448)ery aspe(cid:272)t of (cid:373)oder(cid:374) so(cid:272)ieties depe(cid:374)ds o(cid:374) earth"s (cid:373)i(cid:374)eral resour(cid:272)es. Be(cid:272)ause (cid:373)i(cid:374)eral extraction is costly and can cause severe pollution, society needs to practice conservation and ensure that minerals are extracted safely: certain minerals are used in society for specific applications because of their physical and chemical properties. Various geologic processes concentrate these minerals into deposits that can be mined: enrichment refers to the degree to which mineral deposits are concentrated. Mining profitability depends on the amount of waste material to be removed and the energy this requires. Other factors include ore grade, mining technique, and labor costs: ore processing involves crushing and physical or chemical separation of ores from waste materials. Common separation methods include hydraulic sorting, floatation and magnetic separation, smelting, and leaching: mineral deposits are associated with specific types of geologic environments and are therefore (cid:374)ot e(cid:448)e(cid:374)ly distri(cid:271)uted o(cid:374) earth"s (cid:272)o(cid:374)ti(cid:374)e(cid:374)ts.
