Mineral Resources, Mining and Environmental Geology

What the resources cover

The unit brings together the full chain from finding a resource to dealing with its effects. Several mind maps are titled Economic Geology, and the one with the most detail covers four methods of finding economic resources, water storage and waste disposal with its pollution issues. The notes called Surveys and Mining add aerial methods such as magnetic surveys, where iron, nickel and cobalt change the surrounding field, and gravity surveys, where dense rocks change the pull.

Resources and minerals

For the materials themselves, look at Metallic Mineral Deposits, Gold Ores, Iron Mining and Non-metallic Resources. The Minerals and Energy Resources flashcard deck tests power plants by location, including thermal and nuclear stations. Geology 1_4 explains how fossil fuels are made and why they cannot be replaced quickly.

Environment and earth cycles

The environmental side runs through lecture mind maps on the carbon cycle through time, the oxygen cycle and nutrient cycles, including the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles and the Redfield ratio. The LNAPL Process Chart is a flowchart that starts with a desk study of historic site data and moves on to site inspection. The GLD110 Midterm flashcards define terms such as acceptable risk, carrying capacity and environmental unity.

A sensible order

1. Start with a broad mind map such as Economic Geology to see the topics.
2. Move to flashcards such as Mineral Resources to learn the terms.
3. Read Surveys and Mining for the methods.
4. Finish with the quizzes, such as Economic Geology or What is Environmental Geology? - Quiz, to find what needs another look.

Use maps and quizzes together: read a branch, then answer questions on it, and return to the map for any you miss.

Where it fits

This unit sits in the Hazards, Resources and Environment strand of Geology and earth sciences. Some resources mention A-level Geography and GCSE. Open a map, take a quiz, and see what you can add yourself.