Homework 1Minerals and Mining (20 points)EAPS 10000 Y01Planet Earthonline courseSp15Name_____________________________If writing by hand, be sure to print legibly.1.Introduction:This homework assignment briefly explores the topics of the uses of minerals, and theeffects of mining on the environment.Minerals have very large range of uses in our modern world.Alarge number of minerals are mined for their use in many products (manufacturing, food, energy, etc.) thatwe use today, and our society and our way of life are dependent on these minerals and the miningoperations that provide them.There is also a significant economic impact related to mining andinternational trade related to minerals.Fossil fuels (mostly crude oil, natural gas and coal) are oftenincluded in discussions of minerals.However, here we will be concerned primarily with non-fuelminerals.Many minerals (including those containing rare earth elements used in modern electroniccomponents) are relatively scarce and are mined only in restricted regions of the world.Nearly alleconomic minerals are also considered non-renewable resources as the time for formation of the mineralsis so long that the minerals resources available to us for exploitation are relatively old and are fossilresources.
