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6.6 Mining (minerals as a resource (minerals (aluminium- light…

- - - - toxic materials can leach out into soil, groundwater etc
      - rock waste letft in piles sludge waste left in ponds
- - - - used to extract mineral deposits that lie in large horizontal bed close to the earth's surface
      - used on: flat terrain, gigantic earthmover strips away the overburden, power shovel removes a mineral resource such as coal or gold, resulting trench is filled with overburden, new cut is made parallel to the previous one, process is repeated over the entire site
    - - explosives are used to remove the top of a mountain to expose seams of coal
      - enormous machines plow waste rock and dirt into valleys below
      - destroys forests, buries mountain stress, increases risk of floodings
    - - used to remove metal ores and coal that are too deep to be extracted by surface mining
      - miners dig a deep blast open subsurface tunnels and chambers to reach deposit
      - use machinery to remove the resource and transport it to the surface
      - pros
        
        much less destructive than surface mining
        
        less waste material
      - cons
        
        expensive
        
        slower
        
        higher risk to miners
    - - cheaper
      - faster
      - safer for miners
    - - destroys huge areas
      - blocks river valleys
      - toxic runoff pollutes rivers