Types of Mining and Fracking
Sophie Koconis, Shelley Saffan, and Emily Bergstrom
Surface Mining
Mining in which soil and the rock over the minerals are removed
http://www.scienceclarified.com/Ma-Mu/Mining.html
http://www.scienceclarified.com/Ma-Mu/Mining.html
Surface Mining Types
Open Pit Mining
- is used when ore bed cover a very large area with distance and depth
- using tools such as scrapers and explosives
Strip Mining
- is used when the ore bed covers a wide area but is not very deep
- Scrapers are used mainly
Mountain Top Removal
- mining of the summit or summit ridge of a mountain
- Explosives are most commonly used
Subsurface Mining
The process of digging holes to get to the desired mineral in the ground
http://www.umwa.org/?q=content/types-underground-coal-mines
http://www.umwa.org/?q=content/types-underground-coal-mines
Subsurface Mining Types
Shaft Mining
- mining a vertical or horizontal tunnel
- explosives are used to blast apart sections of ore
- use mine carts to transport materials
- the most common type of mining
Drift Mining
- vertical passage way made for mining ore in the sides of mountains
- May or may not touch the ground surface
- machines are used to mine and drill out the sides of the mountains
http://www.greatmining.com/drift-mining.htm
Slope Mining
- digging straight down or vertically
- done when ores are on the sides of mountains
- not usually deep
- usually mined on an incline
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slope_mining
Fracking
What Is It?
Drilling and injecting fluid into the ground to fracture rocks and get the oils
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1211740/images/o-FRACKING-facebook.jpg
http://stewartacuff.com/anti-fracking-activist/
http://www.dangersoffracking.com/
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1211740/images/o-FRACKING-facebook.jpg
http://stewartacuff.com/anti-fracking-activist/
http://www.dangersoffracking.com/
How is it done?
- First, Water is brought to a fracking site and it is mixed with chemicals and sand to make the fluid for fracking
- Next, Fluid is injected into the ground with a pipe and goes down into a deep well where the pressure is so high, it can crack the rocks
- This allows the workers collect the oils
Why is this important?
This is important because fracking can be hurting the environment around it. Fracking fluid can contaminate other water sources with its chemicals. The liquid contains chemicals such as:
http://goldenageofgaia.com/2015/06/08/special-edition-fracking-really-is-not-safe/
- Lead
- Uranium
- Mercury
- Methanol
- Formaldehyde
- and many more dangerous chemicals
http://goldenageofgaia.com/2015/06/08/special-edition-fracking-really-is-not-safe/