Mining

  Check out this mine shaft...kinda scary!  media type="youtube" key="K7f9hHt41og" height="385" width="480"  Location and Types of Minerals  Canada's minerals; can be broken down into four major categories: METALLIC, NON- METALLIC, STRUCTURAL and FUELS. Each type is created under certain geological conditions and, as a result, occurs in specific geological region. Most metallic minerals, or metals, are associated with igneous rock, particularly the Precambrian Shield, which is often called "Canada's Mineral Storehouse".

 The shield covers much of Quebec and Ontario, consequently, these provinces produce nearly 50% of this country's metallic minerals. They are particularly important as sources of iron ore, nickel, base metals and precious metals. Base metals include copper, lead and zinc, which are "inferior" in value to precious metals and are used for commercial and industrial purposes. Precious metals ~ mainly gold, silver and platinum - are valued for other than commercial and industrial purposes.  The Appalachian and Cordilleran regions are also significant sources of metallic minerals, though only where they are intrusions of igneous rock into the sedi~entary rocks that largely make up these mountains. B.C. produces over 40% of Canada's copper, and New Brunswick contributes nearly 25% of its zinc.

 Metals make up the most valuable category of minerals mined in Canada. However, non-metallic minerals, or non-metals, are also significant. The most important are gypsum, potash, salt and asbestos. They are mainly used in industrial and manufacturing processes in their natural state, and are frequently referred to as industrial minerals. Non-metals are generally found in the sedimentary rocks of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and southern Ontario. They owe their origin to the ancient saltwater seas that once covered these regions. As the seas slowly evaporated, the salts in the water were deposited on the ocean floor in thick layers. Asbestos is an exception: it is contained in igneous rock which has been superheated, twisted, shredded and squeezed to create a metamorphic mineral with fibrous characteristics.  Structural or building minerals include limestone, aggregate (sand and gravel) and clay. These rarely receive the glamourous attention accorded to gold or silver, yet as a group they are almost as valuable as non- metals, because they are the basic materials for the construction of most roads and buildings. When aggregate - sand and gravel- is mixed with cement, it becomes concrete. Deposits of aggregate and clay are found in every geological region of Canada, but are most numerous in areas where they was a lot of glacial deposition. Ontario - particularly southern Ontario, because of its geology and large urban and industrial base - dominates Canada's production and consumption of structural minerals.

Asbestos-it must be mentioned that Asbestos causes CANCER. It is only mined in one area of Quebec and it is banned from use in Canada. HOWEVER, it is shipped to India where they use it to fireproof parts of their homes. Of course, it causes cancer. Why would we ban it here because it is unsafe and yet ship it to another country where they'll get cancer from it? Is this right? You decide!

1. For both metals AND non-metals give the a) the physiographic region in which they are found b) the rock types c) three specific examples of minerals

 Fuels, like coal, oil and natural gas are all associated with sedimentary rocks. An the majority of these resources are found in Alberta and Saskatchewan with smaller deposits in B.C. and Nova Scotia. Uranium, another fuel is found in igneous rocks in the Canadian Shield with major deposits found in northern Saskatchewan and Ontario.

 From Mine to Marketplace  Canada has some 300 mines producing a vast array of minerals. However, before any of these mines actually reach the point where a mineral or rock can be sold profitably a number of activities must take place. These include exploration, extraction/production and refining. These activities require enormous amounts of investment. The process is always a lengthy one' for example, the Thompson North mine at Thompson Manitoba was opened in 1986 after five years of development, at a cost of $100 million! It is estimated that the average base-metal mine in Canada needs between $50 and $150 million, and between eight and ten years of exploration and development, before it actually goes into production.

 Exploration  For many people, hunting for minerals being to mind a scruffy prospector struggling through the woods with a pick, shovel and packsack. In the past many of Canada's greatest mineral discoveries were made by such individuals as they examined exposed surface rocks for signs of mineralization. But despite their successes, the early prospectors were unable to detect most of Canada's mineral wealth, which lies far below the surface. Modern exploration relies heavily on geophysics, a branch of science that combines geology, the study of rocks, with physics, the study of matter and energy. Geophysical surveys are conducted on the ground or by aircraft towing complex measuring instruments over thousands of square kilometres of wilderness. The instruments measure and collect magnetic, radiation and gravitational data about the rocks beneath the surface. One of the most widely used instruments is the magnetometer, which measures changes in the earth's magnetic field. Geologists look for differences in the regular pattern of the rocks. These may indicate the presence of a mineral deposit like nickel or iron ore. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> Once a possible deposit has been located, a detailed study is made to determine its exact location, size and mineral composition. Unless the mineral is exposed on the surface, a drilling crew must be sent in to take thousands of core samples, or "rock worms" of the underlying rock. Core samples are cylindrical pieces of rock extracted with a hollow drill. Only after a close examination and an assay (scientific testing) of the core samples can the geologist begin to know what lies buried in the rock. In most cases, the assay indicates that the valuable-mineral content is non-existent, or so low that mining would not be profitable. On average, only one in a thousand exploration prospects ever develops into a mine.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Many Canadian mining companies

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> From Ore to Metal <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> Very rarely will an ore extracted from the earth have a high enough valuable mineral content that it can be used without further processing. This is particularly true of metallic ores, which require considerably more processing than other minerals. Most metallic ores have an extremely small percentage of valuable minerals - the rest is waste. The rich nickel ores of the Sudbury region are about 96% waste; most gold ores have less than six grams of gold per tonne of ore. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> A variety of processes have been developed to recover the minerals profitably. In the mill, which is usually close to the mine, the ore is crushed and ground into particles the size of grains of sand. Depending on the physical and chemical properties of the valuable minerals, the ore may be washed, sorted, passed over a magnetic field or treated with chemicals. Whichever process is used, the end result is that the valuable minerals are collected in a form called concentrate and the waste, or tailing, is disposed of. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> In Sudbury's mills, the concentrate is a mixture of nickel, copper, gold, silver, platinum and cobalt, along with a variety of other minerals and impurities. At the smelter the nickel-rick concentrate is heated to high temperatures, in combination with other chemicals. The heat drives off water and many of the impurities, leaving a metal of about 50% purity. Finally, it must go to a refinery, where it is further purified to almost 100% nickel, and is ready for sale to the industries that use it. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> Most other metal-bearing ores follow a similar path from mine to refinery. Some refining processes are simpler than other; all however, involve a series of steps. Most non-metallic and structural minerals require far less processing, since they occur naturally pure or almost pure. Crushing, washing, screening and sorting are the most common methods of processing these minerals.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">This process of extracting the ore has serious effects on the environment. In Sudbury, there are very few trees because of the pollution.

<span style="background-color: #b3dfdf; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">3. Why is it necessary to send metallic ores to a mill, smelter and refinery?