Mining Ne w Opportunities 11 Miner al Explor ation Miner al E v aluation Mine C onstr uction Miner al P r oduction and P r oc essing Mine Closur e and R eclamation Envir onmental Manag ement and C ommunity Inv olv ement Explor e the Mining P r oc ess Le ar n i ng A ct iv it y 11 Student Handout 1 of 4 M i ni ng me ans e x tracting r emov ing v alua ble r o c k f r om t he E ar t h G old a s b e st o s sand diamonds and p e tr ole um ar e all mineral r e s our c e s but none of t he s e r e s our c e s b e long t o t he same c a t e g or y Ter e ar e ve di er en t ty p e s of mineral r e s our c e s me t allic minerals industr ial minerals c onstr uction ma t er ials g emst one s and f o ssil f ue ls M e t all ic mi ner al s ar e me t allic c hemic al e lemen t s and minerals c om p o s e d of v alua ble me t als Copp er g old ir on silver nic k e l and man y ot her me t als b e long t o t his c a t e g or y Indu str i al mi ner al s ar e minerals w it h c hemic al or ph ysic al pr op er tie s t ha t ha ve an industr ial us e A s b e st o s t alc silic a salt g ra phit e p ot a sh and mic a ar e all industr ial minerals Constr uc tion ma ter i al s ar e r o c k y ma t er ials us e d in c onstr uction Tis c a t e g or y inc lude s lime st one c emen t dimension st one sand and g ra ve l ll ma t er ial c onc r e t e c la y br ic k g ranit e mar ble sla t e and s c hist dimension st one S ome c onstr uction ma t er ials suc h a s l i m e s t o n e a n d c l a y a l s o h a v e n u m e r o u s i n d u s t r i a l a p p l i c a t i o n s F o r e x a m p l e l i m e s t o n e is us e d in pa p er mak ing and in r e duc ing air and w a t er p ollution G emstone s ar e minerals and or ganic ma t er ials t ha t ha ve sp e c ial c haract er istic s mak ing t hem d e s i r a b l e f o r j e w e l l e r y a n d o r n a m e n t s T e y a r e s e t a p a r t f r o m o t h e r m i n e r a l s b y t h e i r b e a u t y rar ity and dura bility F o ssil f uel s ar e ma t er ials made up s ole ly of de c om p o s e d plan t ma t t er a g o o d s our c e of f ue l Coal p e tr ole um and na t ural ga s all b e long t o t he c a t e g or y of f o ssil f ue ls Te M i ni ng Pro ce ss Te ve st ag e s of t he mining pr o c e ss inc lude mineral e x plora tion mineral e v alua tion mine c onstr uction mineral pr o duction and pr o c e ssing and mine c lo sur e and r e c lama tion A ne w st ag e in t he pr o c e ss w ill not b e g in unle ss wor k in t he pr e v ious st ag e ha s b e en suc c e ssf ully c om ple t e d F r om st ar t t o nish t he mining s e q uenc e c an t ak e a ver y long time W or k in e ac h st ag e c an t ak e man y ye ars t o c om ple t e and c an c o st millions of dollars En v ir onmen t al manag emen t o c curs a t e ver y st ag e of t he mining pr o c e ss B ef or e mining b e g ins a mining c om pan y m ust mak e sur e t ha t t he en v ir onmen t w ill not b e har me d by it s mining practic e s L ong b ef or e t he rst r o c k s ar e br ok en in a mine biolo g ist s and en v ir onmen t al sp e c ialist s r e s e ar c h all a sp e ct s of t he en v ir onmen t and c olle ct da t a against whic h f ut ur e t e st r e sult s w ill b e c om par e d Te s e sp e c ialist s lo ok a t t he s oil w a t er w ildlif e and ve g e t a tion and als o t he air q uality and c lima t e Af t er mining is c om ple t e it is im p or t an t t ha t t he en v ir onmen t a t t he mine is lef t in a saf e st a ble and pr o ductive st a t e t ha t na t urally blends w it h t he sur r ounding en v ir onmen t Te ar r iv al of mineral e x plora tion c om panie s and