Week 6: Minerals and Mining Answers

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How is coal extracted from mountaintop removal mines?

Dynamite is used to create underground tunnels where miners go to extract the coal.

Dynamite is used to break apart rocks and then draglines are used to remove the broken rock and reach the coal.

Coal in mountaintops is extracted by digging strips in the landscape to reach the coal.

Placer deposits in mountain river bottoms are removed by sifting through sediment.

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Which of the following is not a consequence of moving from underground mining to surface mining?

increased land degradation

increased water and air pollution

mining collapses

changes to the landscape

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid with a regular, repeating structure.

Reclamation restores an environment affected by mining to a state where it can sustain its ecosystem.

Which of the following is a way in which surface mines impact an environment ecologically?

soil erosion

introducing new species of flora and fauna

creation of groundwater systems

all of the above

What are the two types of minerals?

industrial and environmental

valuable and invaluable

metallic and nonmetallic

important and unimportant

Mining has only short-term effects on the Earth.

What is the most likely consequence of open pit mining on plant life?

a dramatic reduction in the variety of plant species

an increase in the number of plant species

the complete loss of plant life in the area occupied by the surface mine

a temporary decrease in plant populations

Which of the following is not a long-term effect of mining in the Picher Mining District?

increased levels of lead in the bloodstream

increased incidents of kidney disease

increased levels of particulates in the air

increased amounts of vegetation

Which type of mining is likely the least harmful to the environment?

surface mining

placer mining

subsurface mining

none of the above

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