*Describe how are Minerals are found mined and processed for

human use.
 Minerals can be found throughout the world in the earth's crust but
usually in such small amounts that they not worth extracting. Only with the
help of certain geological processes are minerals concentrated into
economically viable deposits. Mineral deposits can only be extracted where
they are found. Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other
geological materials from the earth usually from an ore body, lode, vein,
seam, and reef or placer deposits. These deposits form a mineralized package
that is of economic interest to the miner. Ores recovered by mining include
metals, coal, oil shale, gemstones, limestone, chalk, dimension stone, rock
salt, potash, gravel, and clay. Mining is required to obtain any material that
cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or created artificially in a
laboratory or factory. Mining in a wider sense includes extraction of any non-
renewable resource such as petroleum, natural gas, or even water. Mining of
stones and metal has been a human activity since pre-historic times. Modern
mining processes involve prospecting for ore bodies, analysis of the profit
potential of a proposed mine, extraction of the desired materials, and final
reclamation of the land after the mine is closed. Mining operations usually
create a negative environmental impact, both during the mining activity and
after the mine has closed. Hence, most of the world's nations have passed
regulations to decrease the impact. Work safety has long been a concern as
well, and modern practices have significantly improved safety in mines.
Levels of metals recycling are generally low. Unless future end-of-life
recycling rates are stepped up, some rare metals may become unavailable for
use in a variety of consumer products. Due to the low recycling rates, some
landfills now contain higher concentrations of metal than mines themselves.
*Cite ways to prevent and lessen the Environmental impact that
result from the Exploitation, Extraction and use of mineral
resources.
1. Reducing the consumption of minerals
People can reduce the consumer goods they use or the content of
minerals in manufactured processes can be reduced. For example, instead of
building more cars, we could rely more on public transit.
2. The efficiency of manufacturing processes can be increased to reduce
the amount of new minerals required
For example, structural beams might be designed to be equally strong
while using less steel.
3. Substitution of other materials and processes with more
environmentally friendly materials and processes
For example, plastics might be used instead of metal to build
appliances. Or biomass can be used instead of uranium to produce energy.
4. Using recycled materials instead of mined materials
For example, if tin cans are efficiently recycled, less material needs to
be mined to make cans.
5. Improving environmental performance at mines
Mines can be designed so that they produce less waste or use less toxic
chemicals.
6. Legislation and regulations to reduce environmental impacts can be
enacted and enforced
Governments can require mines to adopt increasingly effective
environmental procedures and invoke penalties for failure to comply.
7. Cleaning up abandoned mine sites
Companies and governments can be held accountable for abandoned
sites and be required to carry out an environmental cleanup.
8. Economic measures
Like tax shifting, can be introduced to provide incentives for practices
like product substitution and disincentives for poor environmental
performance.
Reducing the consumption of minerals
`Mining produces materials used in manufacturing all kinds of
products, from consumer goods to fertilizers to energy supplies. During the
20th Century, per capita resource consumption rose fourfold. Today, the
production of goods and services requires, on average, over eighty tons of
natural resources annually per person, including materials from mining. By
2050, consumption of natural resources is expected to rise by an additional
factor of three.
One way to limit the impact of mining on the environment is to
consume less, so that less minerals are needed to build products like cars,
appliances, electronics, etc. This can be accomplished through more efficient
resource use, but also by simply using less and recycling more.
Improving the efficiency of manufacturing processes
The World Resources Institute is conducting research on resource and
materials use. WRI has been working to develop databases and indicators that
document the flow of materials through industrial economies. Material flows
analyses track the physical flows of natural resources through extraction,
production, fabrication, use and recycling, and final disposal, accounting for
losses along the way.
Material Substitution
A long list of environmental ills, from toxic pollutants to deforestation
to species loss to climate change, are due in part to the gargantuan appetite
for materials, especially in industrial countries. Recognizing that "business-
as-usual" practices are unsustainable, some nations, international
organizations, and environmental groups are calling for major reductions in
materials use-often by as much as 90 percent.
Incremental efficiency gains will not do the job. Instead, an imaginative
remaking of the industrial world-one that aligns economies with the natural
environment that supports them is the sustainable way forward.
Nations and businesses are discovering ways to use materials more
intelligently-to provide the goods and services people want using much less
wood, metal, stone, plastic, and other materials. By reducing wasteful use,
and by steering production toward durable goods that are easy to reuse,
remanufacture, or recycle, a few pioneering firms are recasting the role of
materials in our lives. Some businesses have even shifted out of
manufacturing and become purveyors of services-dramatically lowering
levels of materials use. This creative trend stems from a recognition of the
environmental costs of excessive materials use.
Using recycled materials
Mining exacts a severe and sometimes irreversible toll on public health,
water and air quality, fish and wildlife habitat, and community interests. If we
hope to decrease our reliance on this activity while meeting our current and
future metal needs, we must look at getting more of our raw materials from
secondary sources-the only other terrestrial supply currently available. In
large part, the failure to use recycled materials can be attributed to the
distortionary subsidies for virgin minerals extraction, which make it cheaper
to dig up new minerals than to reuse aboveground stocks.
Recycling has a number of advantages. For example, it takes far less
energy to recycle discarded materials than to extract, process, and refine
metals from ore. It takes 95% less energy to produce aluminum from recycled
materials rather than from bauxite ore. Recycling copper takes seven times
less energy than processing ore; recycled steel uses three-and-a-half times
less.
Improving environmental performance
Mining moves enormous quantities of earth; altogether, it strips more
of the Earth's surface each year than natural erosion by rivers does. Very little
of this material is actually used-for example, on average, some 220 tons of
earth are excavated to produce just a ton of copper. Mining also uses large
amounts of chemicals in processing and results in significant emissions to air
and water. By systematically examining environmental impacts and adopting
measures to mitigate these impacts, it is possible to make mining less
destructive of the environment.
Better legislation and regulations
Better regulations and better enforcement of existing regulations are
keys to improving environmental performance in mining.
*How fossil fuels are formed

Although fossil fuels are continually being formed via natural

processes, they are generally considered to be non-renewable resources
because they take millions of years to form and the known viable reserves are
being depleted much faster than new ones are being made. The use of fossil
fuels raises serious environmental concerns. The burning of fossil fuels
produces around 21.3 billion tones (21.3 gigatonnes) of carbon dioxide
(CO2) per year. It is estimated that natural processes can only absorb about
half of that amount, so there is a net increase of 10.65 billion tons of
atmospheric carbon dioxide per year. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas
that increases radioactive forcing and contributes to global warming. A global
movement towards the generation of renewable energy is underway to help
reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
A fossil fuel is a fuel formed by natural processes, such as anaerobic
decomposition of buried dead organisms, containing energy originating in
ancient photosynthesis. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil
fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years.
Fossil fuels contain high percentages of carbon and include petroleum, coal,
and natural gas. Other commonly used derivatives include kerosene and
propane. Fossil fuels range from volatile materials with low carbon to
hydrogen ratios like methane, to liquids like petroleum, to nonvolatile
materials composed of almost pure carbon, like anthracite coal. Methane can
be found in hydrocarbon fields either alone, associated with oil, or in the
form of methane clathrates. The theory that fossil fuels formed from the
fossilized remains of dead plants by exposure to heat and pressure in the
Earth's crust over millions of years was first introduced by Georgius Agricola
in 1556 and later by Mikhail Lomonosov in the 18th century.

*How heat from inside the Earth is tapped as a source of energy

(GEOTHERMAL) for human use.
Earth's internal heat powers most geological processes and drives plate
tectonics. Despite its geological significance, this heat energy coming from
Earth's interior is actually only 0.03% of Earth's total energy budget at the
surface, which is dominated by 173,000 TW of incoming solar radiation. The
insolation that eventually, after reflection, reaches the surface penetrates only
several tens of centimeters on the daily cycle and only several tens of meters
on the annual cycle. This renders solar radiation irrelevant for internal
processes.
Geothermal energy is generated by heat from Earth’s rocks, liquids and
steam. It can come from shallow ground, where the temperature is a steady
10 to 16 C, hot water and rocks deeper in the ground, or possibly very hot
molten rock (magma) deep below Earth’s surface. As with clean-energy
sources like solar, geothermal energy systems vary, from those that use hot
water from the ground directly to heat buildings, greenhouses and water, to
those that pump underground hot water or steam to drive turbines. The David
Suzuki Foundation’s Vancouver and Montreal offices use geothermal.
 According to National Geographic, geothermal power plants use three
methods to produce electricity: dry steam, flash steam and binary cycle. Dry
steam uses steam from fractures in the ground. “Flash plants pull deep, high-
pressure hot water into cooler, low-pressure water,” which creates steam. In
binary plants, which produce no greenhouse gas emissions and will likely
become dominant, “hot water is passed by a secondary fluid with a much
lower boiling point,” which turns the secondary fluid into vapor.
Unlike wind and solar, geothermal provides steady energy and can
serve as a more cost-effective and less environmentally damaging form of
base load power than fossil fuels or nuclear. It’s not entirely without
environmental impacts, but most are minor and can be overcome with good
planning and siting. Geothermal fluids can contain gases and heavy metals,
but most new systems recycle them back into the ground. Operations should
also be located to avoid mixing geothermal liquids with groundwater and to
eliminate impacts on nearby natural features like hot springs. Some
geothermal plants can produce small amounts of CO2, but binary systems are
emissions-free. In some cases, resources that provide heat can become
depleted over time.
Although geothermal potential has been constrained by the need to
locate operations in areas with high volcanic activity, geysers or hot springs,
new developments are making it more widely viable. One controversial
method being tested is similar to “fracking” for oil and gas. Water is injected
into a well with enough pressure to break rock and release heat to produce
hot water and steam to generate power through a turbine or binary system.
Researchers have also been studying urban “heat islands” as sources of
geothermal energy. Urban areas are warmer than their rural surroundings,
both above and below ground, because of the effects of buildings, basements
and sewage and water systems. Geothermal pumps could make the
underground energy available to heat buildings in winter and cool them in
summer.
New methods of getting energy from the ground could also give
geothermal a boost. Entrepreneur Manoj Bhargava is working with
researchers to bring heat to the surface using graphene cords rather than
steam or hot water. Graphene is stronger than steel and conducts heat well.
Bhargava says the technology would be simple to develop and could be
integrated with existing power grids.
Unfortunately, geothermal hasn’t received the same level of
government support as other sources of energy, including fossil fuels and
nuclear. That’s partly because upfront costs are high and, as with oil and gas
exploration, geothermal sources aren’t always located where developers hope
they’ll be. As Desmog notes, resources are often found in areas that already
have access to inexpensive hydro power.
Rapid advancements in renewable-energy and power-grid technologies
could put the world on track to a mix of clean sources fairly quickly which is
absolutely necessary to curtail global warming. Geothermal energy should be
part of that mix.
*How energy (Hydroelectric) is harnessed from flowing water.

Hydroelectric power installations harness the energy contained in

flowing water to produce electricity. Hydroelectric power is considered a
renewable energy source because the water isn’t consumed during the
process and because water is part of a constantly regenerating natural cycle. It
also doesn’t produce greenhouse gases.

Hydroelectric power stations work when flowing water runs through

a turbine, which spins the rotor of an electricity generator and creates a
magnetic field that induces an electric current.
 A turbine spins a rotor to produce electricity from water.

Despite drawing power from a natural resource, hydropower certainly has

an effect on the environment:

 The reservoirs created by dam-type hydroelectric plants destroy a

significant amount of natural space, displacing vegetation, wildlife, and
even people.

 Power plants create major difficulties for migratory fish, which can get
sucked into the turbines or find their paths blocked.

 Hydroelectric plants can alter the gas composition of water that flows
through them and can trap organisms in the still water of the reservoir,
affecting the health of the wildlife that uses the river.
 A hydroelectric plant provides power from water.
Hydroelectric power can be adapted for everything from large-scale
utilities that provide power to cities by damming water in a reservoir to
small-scale single-home systems that draw power from a turbine placed in a
free-flowing stream of water.

*Cite ways to address the different environmental concerns related

to the use of fossil fuels, GEOTHERMAL ENERGY and
HYDROELECTRIC ENERGY.
 Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels like coal, petroleum and natural gas can cause climate change is
that sera gases such as CO2 and methane resulting from the combustion
process keep heat in their structure. The sun gives heat and radiation in
atmosphere from sunrise to sunset. For continuance of the natural cycle, this
heat must be retransferred to the space. However, sera gases resulting from
the fossil fuels cause keeping of some part of the heat in atmosphere. In this
manner, the world begins to heat and change the climate.

In Table, the effects of sera gases on global warming are given in

percentages.

Greenhouse Gas Global Warming

Effects [%]

Carbon dioxide (CO2) 50

Chlorofluorocarbons (CHF) 22
Methane (CH4) 13

Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) 7

Ozone (O3) 7

Water Vapor (H2O) 3

Hydroelectric Energy

The hydroelectric power plants have climatic, hydroelectric,

ecological, socio-economic and cultural effects. The water collecting part of a
hydroelectric power plant (reservoir) creates environmental effect when it is
in operation. As the surface area of a reservoir is wider than a river and as the
vaporizing increases, climatic effects occur. In this manner, humid rate in air
increases, air movements change and temperature, raining and wind events
differ. The flora and animal living both on land and in water of the region
enter into sudden changing and animal species that can adapt themselves in
such an environment can survive. The hydrological effects result from
flowing regime of stream and changing of physic co-chemical parameters. To
convert rivers to reservoirs cause vaporizing of water and increasing of
quantity of salt and other minerals in water. In transition from stream to lake,
natural cleaning capacity decreases depending on decrease in water speed
diffusion and oxygen taking capacity and the lake enters into mortification
process. Changes in water quality of lake cause alterations in hygrophilous
living. Blocking of migration ways both on land and in water, living areas
remaining under water and annihilation of some important species cause
occurring of ecological effects. Dissolution of air azoth in excessive
saturation level because of falling off waters is fatal for the fish. On the other
hand, the social-economic and cultural effects are felt negatively and
positively since construction phase of barrage. As a result of the
expropriation made depending on size and quality of the land under water,
internal and external migration events are experienced and value of land
changes. However, because of the manpower movement during construction
phase, the regional economy enlivens and infrastructure services and social
services (school, health facilities, etc.) cause positive effects especially in
integrated projects. The barrage lake is a resource for recreation and
production of water products. However, unless the natural resources and
historical assets in the region are protected, cultural values may disappear.
 Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is used in electric production, it comes before

fossil fuels with its almost zero waste even though it is only evaluated with
sulfide emissions. In geothermal power plants, azoth oxide emissions have
much lower values than the power plants that use fossil fuels. For this reason,
geothermal power plants are considered as a clean energy resource as they
are classified risk free in respect to its effect on ozone layer and health. 27%
of total electric production in Philippines and 7% in California State are
being covered from geothermal plants and 56MWe -capacity geothermal
electric energy production is made in Papua New Guinea. 75% of energy
need of gold mining is covered from geothermal. 86% of total heat energy
(city heating) in Iceland is covered from geothermal. Among the advantages
of geothermal energy there are; it is environment friendly, it does not need
fossil energy to heat and vaporize water and it uses natural resources. One of
the disadvantages of geothermal energy is that it requires re-injection because
of emission of gases like hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide.
*How water is distributed on Earth.

The distribution of water on the Earth’s surface is extremely uneven.

Only 3% of water on the surface is fresh; the remaining 97% resides in the
ocean. Of freshwater, 69% resides in glaciers, 30% underground, and less
than 1% is located in lakes, rivers and swamps. Looked at another way, only
one percent of the water on the Earth’s surface is usable by humans, and 99%
of the usable quantity is situated underground.

All one needs to do is study rainfall maps to appreciate how uneven the
distribution of water really is. The white areas in the map below had annual
rainfall under 400 mm for the last year, which makes them semi-arid or arid.
And, remember, projections are for significant acidification to occur in many
dry regions and for more severe rainfall events to characterize wet regions.

*Identify the various water resources on Earth.

 Water resources are sources of water that are potentially useful. Uses of
water include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and
environmental activities. All living things require water to grow and
reproduce. The97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three
percent is fresh water; slightly over two thirds of this is frozen in glaciers and
polar ice caps. The remaining unfrozen freshwater is found mainly as
groundwater, with only a small fraction present above ground or in the air.
 Fresh water is a renewable resource, yet the world's supply of
groundwater is steadily decreasing, with depletion occurring most
prominently in Asia, South America and North America, although it is still
unclear how much natural renewal balances this usage, and whether
ecosystems are threatened. The framework for allocating water resources to
water users (where such a framework exists) is known as water rights.
Distribution of Water on the Earth’s Surface.
 Research
In
Science

Submitted by:
Ralfh Jayson A. Ilisan