mining_sand_activity_students

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Geology

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Dec 6, 2023

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1 GEORGIA FLORIDA Trail Ridge deposit Mining minerals from sand Learning objectives By completing this activity, you will:  Use ilmenite (a mineral which contains the element titanium), which is mined by DuPont to use as a white pigment, as an example of a mineral resource formed by sedimentary processes.  Summarize the processes that act to make clastic sedimentary rocks.  Diagram how sedimentary processes link together to form placer deposits (the heavy mineral sands).  Explain how the sedimentary processes of mechanical weathering, erosion, and deposition, redistribute and concentrate mineral resources.  Analyze graphs to interpret erosion and deposition processes that create heavy mineral sand deposits.  Apply knowledge of sedimentary environment and processes to infer potential types and locations of heavy mineral sand.  Explain how climate influences chemical weathering and how chemical weathering concentrates certain mineral resources. Brief background Figure 1. Map showing the location of the Trail Ridge heavy mineral sand deposit in Florida. The southern portion of the deposit is being actively mined by the DuPont Corporation. Map created using Google Maps; deposit located with Google Earth imagery and sketch map in Force, 1991. TIC OCEAN

Layers of dark sand, rich in heavy minerals, can be mined for the heavy minerals they contain. For example, the DuPont Corporation mines heavy mineral sand from the Trail Ridge sand deposit in northern Florida. The mineral ilmenite is used as a source of titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ), which is used to make white plastic and paints more opaque. Other minerals, like zircon and staurolite, are mined to be used as abrasives (to use in sandblasting and to etch tombstones, for example). The right combination of factors existed in central Florida to make these heavy mineral sand deposits, and incorporate aspects of the geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. By studying these processes, geoscientists can predict other places that might have heavy mineral deposits, and thus guide exploration. Part 1. How the sand at the Trail Ridge deposit came to be Quartz is found in many rocks, but some of the heavy minerals like sillimanite and kyanite only form in metamorphic rocks that make up the cores of mountains. These rocks broke apart into sand. The sand was carried to the ocean by streams and deposited. Waves picked up the sand from offshore and deposited it on the beach. Winds picked up some of the sand and deposited it in dunes behind the beach. 1. In the description of how the sand deposit formed, circle examples of weathering. 2. In the description of how the sand deposit formed, draw rectangles around examples of erosion. 3. Draw a diagram of how the sand deposit formed.

4. Although its exact age is not known, the Trail Ridge deposit formed in the Pliocene or Pleistocene (sometime between 12 thousand and 5.33 million years ago). Based on today’s location of the Trail Ridge deposit, what happened to sea level between the time this sand was deposited and today. Explain how you came up with your answer. Part 2. Characteristics of the heavy mineral sands, and how sedimentary processes led to their formation Heavy minerals Formula Specific gravity ilmenite FeTiO 3 4.7–4.79 zircon ZrSiO 4 4.6–4.7 staurolite (Fe,Mg) 2 (Al,Fe) 9 O 6 (SiO 4 ) 4 (O,OH) 2 3.74–3.83 sillimanite Al 2 SiO 5 3.23–3.27 kyanite Al 2 SiO 5 3.53–3.65 Other minerals Formula Specific gravity quartz SiO 2 2.65 Table 1. Some minerals found in the Trail Ridge sands. Recall, specific gravity is a mineral property akin to density. Except for quartz, all the minerals listed are considered “heavy minerals.”

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