Exam 15: Mineral Resources and the Environment

Placer deposits are expected in what type of rock?

________ deposits form through the desiccation of marine basins or lakes.

A(n) ________ is a resource that is currently available to be legally and economically mined.

What is the principal social impact of mining operations?

How is biotechnology helping to reduce the environmental impacts of mining?

Smelter emissions often cause what type of adverse environmental degradation?

Sulfide deposits of copper and iron form through seawater circulation at ________ plate boundaries.

Weathering processes are primarily responsible for the concentration of what types of ore?

The R to C ratio defines time available to find a solution to resource depletion.

________ mine drainage results from oxidation of sulfide-bearing deposits.

The ________ of a metal is a measure of its concentration necessary for profitable mining.

What does the Fossil Trace Golf Course in Golden, Colorado, have to do with mineral resources?

Environmental regulation has largely failed to reduce pollution from mining.

Biotechnology may help to reduce the use of the hazardous chemical ________ in ore processing.

A concentration of minerals that could now be legally mined at a profit is called a

The concentration factor for gold is less than the concentration factor for copper.

Because it is isolated from the land surface, groundwater is rarely contaminated by mining.

Affluent nations tend to be totally reliant on domestic mineral sources.

Agricultural chemicals are typically extracted from sedimentary deposits.

Because of the low levels of energy involved, weathering processes rarely produce valuable mineral concentrations.