EVSC 2800 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Rhyolite, Gabbro, Basalt
12 May 2016
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Document Summary
Large-scale operations that mine and process many millions of tons of rock are the only economical means of recovery. To obtain the ore, bulk rock is blasted and hauled away to a processing plant. After the ore and its host rock are crushed and ground, less dense silicate rock particles are separated from metallic mineral grains in a flotation process. Tailings are finely ground rock that no longer contain enough ore to make it worthwhile. They are pumped in a slurry to an impoundment. During mining, many thousands of tons of rock are dug up and crushed. Any mineral left in the waste rock chemically oxidizes upon exposure to air and water. The result is generation of acid- acid mine drainage (amd). We spend millions of dollars annually in the us to treat amd. A rock is an aggregate of one or more minerals. A rock"s identity depends on its mineralogy (identity and relative abundance) and its texture.
