Extraction of Metals

* Plants can remove metals from low grade ores. The metal can be recovered by processing the ash from burning the plants.

When mining gold there is about 1 ounce of gold per ton though when mining on the surface that statistic drops to about 0.5 ounce of gold per ton. Gold is highly valued at about $120,000 per truck this is because gold is malleable, and it never loses luster or rusts. Next, copper which is also a valued metal because of its specific properties, it conducts electricity and bacteria doesn’t like to come in contact with copper. Many people have found the value in copper and trade copper in the same way stocks and shares of companies are traded. And finally bronze which is made of 80% copper and 20% tin, bronze is used in the manufacturing of bells. Bronze is used in the making of bells because when copper, a pure substance, is hit it creates a ripple effect making the bell easy to dent, with tin the rows of copper atoms are more stabilized, but too much tin can result in a bell cracking as the Liberty bell did.

As for metal, it has many uses. In fact, modern civilization has thrived off of things where iron is used like: buildings, car frames, bridges, and much more.

Some important things made from metals include cars, bridges, appliances, power generation, infrastructure, and obviously many more. Everything electrical needs copper, (which is mined), to function. A major concern for the mine is that it will pollute and destroy the nearby natural

Minerals can affect society in many ways for example; Surface mining destroys vegetation across large areas, increasing erosion. Open-pit mining uses huge quantities of water. Acid mine drainage is pollution caused when dissolved toxic materials wash from mines into nearby lakes and streams. Minerals is approximately 80 percent of mined ore consists of impurities that become wastes after processing. These wastes, called tailings, are usually left in giant piles on the ground or in ponds near the processing plants (Figure 12.9). The tailings contain toxic materials such as cyanide, mercury, and sulfuric acid. Left

The worlds copper needs can easily be met from other mining company’s and locations around the world that are safer and more practical. The mine would most often than not destroy the worlds most valuable salmon habitat and kill a ton of fisherman’s jobs. Fisherman can take up to 50% of the pacific salmon

“It wrecks vast areas of boreal forest through surface mining and subsurface production. It sucks up huge quantities of water from local rivers, turns it into toxic waste and dumps the contaminated water into tailing ponds that now cover nearly 70 square miles.”

Open pit mining creates a hole where groundwater will collect instead of flowing naturally into the watersheds. What water will flow into those watersheds will be contaminated by mercury--from the processing of the ore into taconite pellets and sulfuric acid, causing incredible damage to the ecosystem of the rivers and Lake

The Bronze Age is characterized by the use of bronze in tools and weaponry. Copper and tin are the raw materials for bronze. Tin ore was a limited natural resource and only occurred in certain areas; therefore some

The mining process involves many big vehicles and other technology that release huge amounts of pollution into the atmosphere speeding up global warming and causing climate change.

Iron began being widely used across Central Europe during the 8th century, and across Northern Europe during the 6th century, and the Near Eastern Iron Age took place in two phases during the 12th and 13th century. Asia began using iron at the same time as Europe, and China used iron long before the Common Era. In North and South America, the development of iron began right after the rock age, skipping the Bronze Age. During the early Iron Age, iron was used to make tools when combined with 0.3% to 1.2% by weight of carbon to form the alloy steel. Iron was used to make houses, tools such as swords, daggers, chisels, and knives, and jewellery, among others.

Early uses of the element include jewelry, weapons, and tools. The element was first used around 9000 b.c.e. and was found in northern Iraq. Copper was first used by Native Americans around 2500 b.c.e. One of the first skills that the ancient coppersmith must have learned how to do was shape the metal, possibly by heating. This element was first used to its full potential when Coppersmiths began to use tin with copper to make an alloy called bronze. An alloy is a mixture of two or more metals with properties differs from those of the individual metal. The alloy was first discovered as early as 4000 b.c.e. Bronze was used similar to copper due to the many variety of tools, weapons, and jewelry that are created from the alloy. It differs from copper in the way that with tin added, the alloy is a better conductor and easier to shape than the metal alone. Copper was used as the primary metal of the world to around 3000 b.c.e when society discovered iron. Many copper compounds are used in today’s agricultural, medical, and pest-control jobs. Copper Acetate (Cu20 (C2H3O2) 2) is a

into weapons or tools. Copper has been one of the most useful metals for over

These left over tailings create human and ecological health problems that can be caused from exposure to the dust that are blown from these mine sites since metal toxicants can persist in tailing particles (arizona.edu, 2008).

Mining Many of the planet's rainforests lie over rich mineral deposits. The mining process releases harmful toxins, like mercury and cyanide which are often used in the gold extraction process, into local streams and river, polluting both the waters and the surrounding lands. There is, however, good money in the mining industry and many residents are encouraged to work in the mines.