Deck 11: Geology, Minerals, and Mining

Question 1

Minerals are components of ______________.

A) sedimentary rocks
B) soil horizons
C) organic components of Earthʹs crust
D) the troposphere
E) the lithosphere

Answer 1

the lithosphere

Question 2

Choose the item that best matches each item in the following:
Dissolves and extracts resources via a narrow borehole

A)strip mining
B)open pit mining
C)subsurface mining
D)solution mining
E)mountaintop removal mining
F)prospecting
G)placer mining
H)reclamation
I)ecological mining

Answer 2

solution mining

Question 3

Use the figure above to answer the following question
Another conclusion drawn from the bar graph is that ______________.

A) neither recycling, reducing consumption, nor finding alternative materials will keep prices from rising
B) our collective use of metal resources is presently unsustainable
C) we are using metals sustainably at present
D) after 400 years all the metals shown will have entirely disappeared from the earth
E) known global reserves are increasing to keep pace with consumption

Answer 3

our collective use of metal resources is presently unsustainable

Question 4

Choose the item that best matches each item in the following:
Excavating a giant hole in the landscape to remove widely spread mineral deposits

A)strip mining
B)open pit mining
C)subsurface mining
D)solution mining
E)mountaintop removal mining
F)prospecting
G)placer mining
H)reclamation
I)ecological mining

Question 5

Smelting of iron ore involves ______________.

A) washing the ore with acid to extract iron
B) dissolving the ore in hot water to separate iron and aluminum
C) oxidizing iron to ferric oxide and then adding silicon and boron
D) heating beyond ironʹs melting point and combining the material with carbon
E) crushing and heating the ore at its melting point

Question 6

Choose the item that best matches each item in the following:
Restoration of mined areas to pre-mining conditions

A)strip mining
B)open pit mining
C)subsurface mining
D)solution mining
E)mountaintop removal mining
F)prospecting
G)placer mining
H)reclamation
I)ecological mining

Question 7

The focus of the 2001 inquiry of the UN General Assembly into coltan mining in Congo was ______________.

A) controlling the high price of the ore charged by the Congolese government
B) stopping the mining and sale of coltan to western nations
C) diverting 30% of the profits from coltan into UN agencies like USESCO and FAO
D) allowing more western nations to benefit from the importation of coltan
E) environmental and social justice for the Congolese

Question 8

Most coltan ore is mined in ______________, but purified and marketed in ______________.

A) Congo; developed nations in North America and Europe
B) South Africa; Congo
C) South America; South Africa
D) the United States; Europe
E) Canada; the United States

Question 9

Tantalum from African coltan is used primarily for the manufacture of ______________.

A) plastics
B) pesticides, fertilizers and biodiesel fuel
C) aerospace engines and aircraft hulls
D) high quality steel
E) electronics: cell phones, computers, digital cameras

Question 10

A naturally occurring solid chemical element with a distinct composition and a crystalline structure is a(n) ______________.

A) organic nutrient
B) rock
C) mineral
D) horizon
E) sediment

Question 11

Choose the item that best matches each item in the following:
Surface layers are removed to expose and extract horizontal mineral deposits

A)strip mining
B)open pit mining
C)subsurface mining
D)solution mining
E)mountaintop removal mining
F)prospecting
G)placer mining
H)reclamation
I)ecological mining

Question 12

Choose the item that best matches each item in the following:
Tunneling deep underground to extract minerals

A)strip mining
B)open pit mining
C)subsurface mining
D)solution mining
E)mountaintop removal mining
F)prospecting
G)placer mining
H)reclamation
I)ecological mining

Question 13

Use the figure above to answer the following question
The effects of increased recycling will, other factors being equal,_____________ .

A) increase the amount of economically recoverable metals
B) shift extraction and mining methods to technically recoverable metals
C) result in discoveries of new metal deposits
D) cause a sharp rise in price of metals
E) increase the lifetime of economically recoverable metals

Question 14

Use the figure above to answer the following question
This bar graph tells us that _______________.

A) if consumption rates on all metals rise, the price should come down
B) using current technology, the prices of lead and zinc will decline in the next century
C) metals are renewable resources
D) at current rates of consumption, most metals will become scarcer and costlier
E) all the metals will be available at current prices for between 100-400 years

Question 15

Most metals, such as iron and copper, do not occur in a pure state in Earthʹs crust, but occur within ______________.

A) the O horizon of the soil
B) ores
C) organic materials
D) igneous rocks
E) sediments

Question 16

Choose the item that best matches each item in the following:
Sifting through sand and silt in riverbeds for minerals using a sluice with running water

A)strip mining
B)open pit mining
C)subsurface mining
D)solution mining
E)mountaintop removal mining
F)prospecting
G)placer mining
H)reclamation
I)ecological mining

Question 17

If a mineral is opaque, lustrous, malleable, and can conduct heat and electricity, it is a(n) ______________.

A) element
B) radioactive element
C) metal
D) gemstone
E) crystal

Question 18

Use the figure above to answer the following question
The effect of rising rates of consumption of metals will _____________.

A) have no effect on price
B) increase the lifetime of economically recoverable metal deposits
C) force prices lower as nations compete for limited resources
D) make prices higher as nations complete for limited resources
E) have the smallest effect on the price of lead, zinc, and copper, but largest for titanium

Question 19

Choose the item that best matches each item in the following:
Mineral extraction by removing 100 vertical meters from hill and mountain tops

A)strip mining
B)open pit mining
C)subsurface mining
D)solution mining
E)mountaintop removal mining
F)prospecting
G)placer mining
H)reclamation
I)ecological mining

Question 20

Use the figure above to answer the following question
The bar graph indicates that all of the metals shown will _______________.

A) become less expensive to extract over time
B) never be exhausted
C) be easily replaced by other metals
D) all be available for at least 500 more years
E) eventually no longer be available, even with current technological capabilities

Question 21

When magma or lava cools, the result is ______________.

A) subduction
B) the formation of minerals
C) metamorphic rock
D) weathering and deposition
E) igneous rock

Question 22

Subsurface mining is used extensively in the extraction of ______________.

A) organic soils for landscaping
B) coal, phosphate, diamonds, gold
C) oil sands
D) limestone, natural gas, peat
E) coltan

Question 23

The U.S. Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 requires ______________.

A) 20% of sales revenues to be donated to national park maintenance
B) all mined minerals to be processed and sold only within the United States
C) no remediation of water pollution, except in the case of uranium mining
D) restoration of the identical ecosystem and biodiversity present before mining began
E) mining companies to post bonds to cover restoration of mined areas before permits are granted

Question 24

As in the mining of coltan in Congo, coal mining in Appalachia has produced issues of ______________.

A) job losses and air pollution
B) environmental damage and social and economic justice
C) industrial smog
D) economic prosperity for local residents, but high prices for everyone else
E) black market activity for stolen and poached minerals

Question 25

The dwindling supplies of rare strategic metals such as indium, tantalum, and platinum may be extended if we rigorously ______________.

A) scour the earth for new deposits
B) relax environmental requirements for mining
C) increase demand for the products in which they are used
D) reduce demands for social and economic justice
E) recycle existing supplies

Question 26

Plate tectonic movement results from ______________.

A) molten materials from the core escaping to the surface
B) high surface winds and erosion
C) unstable surface rock formations
D) convective movements of rock in the underlying mantle
E) mass wasting

Question 27

Earthquakes are likely to occur ______________.

A) where the mantle and the crust make contact
B) along tectonic plate boundaries where there is movement
C) at the boundaries of igneous and sedimentary rock
D) in areas far from tectonic plate boundaries
E) as a result of volcanic activity

Question 28

Electronic waste, or e-waste, consists of discarded cell phones, computers, and other electronic products and is increasing rapidly. Recycling e-waste is essential because ______________.

A) recycling of e-waste reduces the need to extract new deposits of metals and other components
B) recycling of e-wastes at present only captures a small fraction of the e-waste produced
C) recycling helps reduce the amounts of hazardous substances in landfills, because e-wastes contain a number of these substances
D) recycling conserves valuable metals present in e-waste, such as copper, gold, tantalum, and iridium
E) all of the above are correct

Question 29

The lithosphere consists of ______________.

A) the upper mantle and core
B) magma and molten metal
C) the upper part of the asthenosphere
D) the uppermost mantle and the continental and oceanic crust
E) soils and vegetation

Question 30

Heavy landscape damage and water pollution have occurred in ______________ as a result of ______________.

A) Canada; subsurface mining for oil sands
B) Mississippi; strip mining for uranium
C) San Francisco; placer mining for gold
D) Appalachia; mountaintop removal mining for coal
E) Florida; open pit mining of limestone

Question 31

Sedimentary rock is formed ______________.

A) the heating of igneous rock by the heat of the core
B) as sediment materials are pressed together and infiltrated by minerals
C) the cooling of igneous rock
D) from the melting of metamorphic rock
E) vaporization of organic material by magma

Question 32

The relationship between recycling, economics, and energy consumption is demonstrated in the case of aluminum, where ______________.

A) the U.S. failure to recycle aluminum has caused energy to be lost in mining new ore
B) new cheap mining technologies and huge newly discovered aluminum deposits have made recycling unprofitable
C) it costs more than ten times as much to produce items from recycled aluminum than from virgin ore
D) all of the metal recycling industries in the United States went bankrupt by 2009
E) 95% of the energy expended to mine and produce items from virgin ore is saved by recycling

Question 33

At ______________ plate boundaries, tectonic plates are pushed away from each other when magma rises to the surface, creating new crust.

A) divergent
B) convergent
C) subvergent
D) transform
E) trench

Question 34

The newest bonanza for recycling scarce and toxic metals is to recover them from ______________.

A) compact discs, LPs, and 8-track tapes
B) e-wastes
C) car batteries
D) construction dump sites
E) landfills from the 1960s

Question 35

The U.S. General Mining Act of 1872, although encouraging to the domestic mining industry, also ______________

A) has allowed mining in urban centers with dense commercial development
B) has pollution and remediation clauses that are too strict
C) opens mining rights to foreign nations which stake claims on U.S. land
D) makes mining unprofitable except for the largest corporations
E) gives away resources located on public land almost for free and is subject to fraudulent claims

Question 36

Many types of mining, such as for coal and copper, produce a specific type of water pollution called ______________.

A) chlorinated pesticides
B) radon gas
C) eutrophication
D) suspended limestone particles
E) acid drainage

Question 37

Earthʹs mantle ______________

A) is formed by plate boundaries
B) is the outermost part of the earthʹs crust
C) is composed of molten metals
D) surrounds the core as a thick, elastic rock formation
E) is located in Pangaea

Question 38

Placer mining is environmentally damaging because most methods ______________.

A) remove large amounts of surface soil and rock, leading to wide-scale erosion
B) wash large amounts of sediments into streams, making the streams uninhabitable for many forms of aquatic life
C) inject toxic solutions deep into the ground
D) lead to acid drainage that affects nearby streams and rivers
E) create large open pits that fill up with groundwater and react with sulfides to form sulfuric acid

Question 39

Examples of valuable nonmetallic minerals extracted by mining are ______________.

A) gold, platinum, copper
B) nitrogen, hydrogen, neon
C) radon, radium, sodium
D) lead, cadmium, mercury
E) sand, gravel, phosphate

Question 40

Sustainable minerals use and longer projected lifetimes for scarce minerals can be achieved with all of the following, except ______________

A) increasing demand and lowering prices for products using these minerals
B) exploring for new reserves
C) recycling
D) finding more available substitutes for scarce minerals
E) researching more efficient and environmentally friendly techniques of extraction

Question 41

Read the following scenario and answer the question below.
In 2010, geologists working for the U.S. military operations in Afghanistan discovered a literal treasure -trove of mineral deposits with a preliminary estimated value at nearly $1 trillion U.S. dollars. So far, no proposals have been made for extracting these resources, but already parallels have been drawn to the many dimensions of human rights issues that have plagued coltan production in the Congo, oil drilling in Nigeria, and the ʺblood diamondsʺ of Sierra Leone. Also, keep in mind the events surrounding the record-breaking oil spill resulting from the explosion and sinking of BPʹs Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, also in the same year. In this latter event, BP made unprecedented pledges of support for the staggering costs of the Gulf cleanup, under intense pressure from the Obama administration, since the nation suffering the damage was the United States.
Congratulations, you have been appointed as a delegate to the UN -initiated Afghan Minerals Development Council, which will convene in the next few months. The goals of the Council are to oversee the extraction and export of resources, to ensure economic benefits for the Afghans, social and environmental justice, as well as environmental protection.
As far as the share of corporate profits from mineral sales goes, the cut for the Afghans should be ______________.

A) a guaranteed percentage, suggested by Council, and provided to the Afghan central government with advice about spending a designated amount for national infrastructure
B) determined by the corporate interests doing the mining
C) left to negotiations between the corporate miners and the U.S. military
D) set by the U.S. Dept. of Labor
E) worked out between the Afghan government and tribal leaders

Question 42

Read the following scenario and answer the question below.
In 2010, geologists working for the U.S. military operations in Afghanistan discovered a literal treasure -trove of mineral deposits with a preliminary estimated value at nearly $1 trillion U.S. dollars. So far, no proposals have been made for extracting these resources, but already parallels have been drawn to the many dimensions of human rights issues that have plagued coltan production in the Congo, oil drilling in Nigeria, and the ʺblood diamondsʺ of Sierra Leone. Also, keep in mind the events surrounding the record-breaking oil spill resulting from the explosion and sinking of BPʹs Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, also in the same year. In this latter event, BP made unprecedented pledges of support for the staggering costs of the Gulf cleanup, under intense pressure from the Obama administration, since the nation suffering the damage was the United States.
Congratulations, you have been appointed as a delegate to the UN -initiated Afghan Minerals Development Council, which will convene in the next few months. The goals of the Council are to oversee the extraction and export of resources, to ensure economic benefits for the Afghans, social and environmental justice, as well as environmental protection.
Most of the miners are likely to be local villagers supervised by Afghan mining engineers. Compensation for workers should be ______________.

A) giving the money to village leaders and local tribal leaders to determine
B) whatever the Afghan central government, in cooperation with national tribal leaders decides
C) whatever gives the greatest corporate profit for the employer
D) the same rate at which U.S. miners are paid
E) at or above the local Afghan wage with the corporate employer guaranteeing food, adequate housing, medical care, and security

Question 43

The Pacific ʺring of fireʺ is a volcanic area where ______________.

A) pyroclastic flow has caused landslides
B) there is a great deal of mass wasting
C) there are many earthquakes and active plate boundaries
D) there is severe coastal erosion
E) sedimentary rock is being formed from igneous rock

Question 44

Discuss the elements of sustainable minerals management.

Question 45

Read the following scenario and answer the question below.
In 2010, geologists working for the U.S. military operations in Afghanistan discovered a literal treasure -trove of mineral deposits with a preliminary estimated value at nearly $1 trillion U.S. dollars. So far, no proposals have been made for extracting these resources, but already parallels have been drawn to the many dimensions of human rights issues that have plagued coltan production in the Congo, oil drilling in Nigeria, and the ʺblood diamondsʺ of Sierra Leone. Also, keep in mind the events surrounding the record-breaking oil spill resulting from the explosion and sinking of BPʹs Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, also in the same year. In this latter event, BP made unprecedented pledges of support for the staggering costs of the Gulf cleanup, under intense pressure from the Obama administration, since the nation suffering the damage was the United States.
Congratulations, you have been appointed as a delegate to the UN -initiated Afghan Minerals Development Council, which will convene in the next few months. The goals of the Council are to oversee the extraction and export of resources, to ensure economic benefits for the Afghans, social and environmental justice, as well as environmental protection.
A useful benefit from mining profits could be ______________.

A) using the U.S. military to provide security at mines
B) establishing high-end tourist hotels for visiting foreign mine executives and their families
C) creation of improved roads into and around mining sites for corporate transport and mining machinery
D) permanent enclaves of foreign scientists and mine managers located near mining sites
E) training for Afghan mining technicians and establishing Afghan mining institutes

Question 46

Tsunamis are caused by ______________.

A) displacement of sea water by volcanoes, earthquakes or coastal landslides
B) abrupt changes in temperature of seawater
C) boiling water entering the oceans from undersea faults
D) global climate change
E) abnormally high and sustained winds

Question 47

Discuss briefly the economic and social justice issues that can arise from some mining operations.

Question 48

Read the following scenario and answer the question below.
In 2010, geologists working for the U.S. military operations in Afghanistan discovered a literal treasure -trove of mineral deposits with a preliminary estimated value at nearly $1 trillion U.S. dollars. So far, no proposals have been made for extracting these resources, but already parallels have been drawn to the many dimensions of human rights issues that have plagued coltan production in the Congo, oil drilling in Nigeria, and the ʺblood diamondsʺ of Sierra Leone. Also, keep in mind the events surrounding the record-breaking oil spill resulting from the explosion and sinking of BPʹs Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, also in the same year. In this latter event, BP made unprecedented pledges of support for the staggering costs of the Gulf cleanup, under intense pressure from the Obama administration, since the nation suffering the damage was the United States.
Congratulations, you have been appointed as a delegate to the UN -initiated Afghan Minerals Development Council, which will convene in the next few months. The goals of the Council are to oversee the extraction and export of resources, to ensure economic benefits for the Afghans, social and environmental justice, as well as environmental protection.
All of the following could be sensible appointments for the UN Council, except perhaps ______________.

A) regional economists without corporate ties
B) mining engineers from Afghanistan and neighboring nations
C) experts in environmental and social justice from the Arab League of Nations
D) representatives of banking, marketing and corporate law from developed nations
E) mining corporation engineers, university geologists from developed nations

Question 49

Read the following scenario and answer the question below.
In 2010, geologists working for the U.S. military operations in Afghanistan discovered a literal treasure -trove of mineral deposits with a preliminary estimated value at nearly $1 trillion U.S. dollars. So far, no proposals have been made for extracting these resources, but already parallels have been drawn to the many dimensions of human rights issues that have plagued coltan production in the Congo, oil drilling in Nigeria, and the ʺblood diamondsʺ of Sierra Leone. Also, keep in mind the events surrounding the record-breaking oil spill resulting from the explosion and sinking of BPʹs Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, also in the same year. In this latter event, BP made unprecedented pledges of support for the staggering costs of the Gulf cleanup, under intense pressure from the Obama administration, since the nation suffering the damage was the United States.
Congratulations, you have been appointed as a delegate to the UN -initiated Afghan Minerals Development Council, which will convene in the next few months. The goals of the Council are to oversee the extraction and export of resources, to ensure economic benefits for the Afghans, social and environmental justice, as well as environmental protection.
As far as costs of restoration and reclamation of mining sites you recommend ______________.

A) the Afghan central government should take responsibility
B) the U.S. military should take responsibility
C) the costs should be shared by the Afghan central government and also by the most powerful tribal leaders
D) the U.S. EPA should oversee the operation and pay for it
E) any corporation wishing to invest should post a bond for reclamation and hire Afghans to do the work

Question 50

Volcanoes are formed ______________.

A) when the earthʹs core erupts onto the surface
B) after earthquakes have damaged the earthʹs crust
C) as a result of water seeping into the core from the surface
D) in subduction zones or in rift valleys
E) where the earthʹs crust is especially thick

Question 51

Briefly discuss the relationship between plate tectonics, volcanic activity, earthquakes and tsunamis.

Question 52

Discuss the major environmental impacts of mining operations.