Mining and Fracking
Tate Mulkey
Types of Mining
The two types of mining are surface and subsurface. Surface mining happens on the surface of earth and sub surface happens below or under ground
Surface Mining
Surface mining, strip mining, open pit mining, and mountaintop removal mining are different ways to surface mine. Soil and rock are removed to find the types of minerals they are looking for. This effects the environment greatly because it demands a great amount of land to bring in machines and people to dig. It could destroy an animals habitat.
Subsurface Mining
Subsurface mining contains digging holes and tunnels in the ground to reach buried ore deposits. Ore and waste rock are brought back up through the tunnels. Many valuable minerals are formed underground by heat and pressure. Digging down in the ground is the only way to get these minerals. This effects the environment by interfering with some organisms habitats by clearing land for huge digging sights.
Fracking
Fracking is the process of drilling fluid into the ground at high pressure to break the rocks and release natural gas. Water from precipitation is carried in a truck to the gas well. The water is mixed with sand and chemicals to become fracking fluid. The fluid is then injected into the ground with a drilling pipeline. The mixture reaches the end of the well and cracks the shale rock creating natural gas. The waste fluid is evaporated. This effects the environment because the evaporated fluid is still infected causing contaminated air, acid rain, and ground level ozone.