Geologic Processes
This type of the rock is the most abundant on the Earth's crust.
What is igneous rock?
This contains a large concentration of the desired mineral.
What is high-grade ore?
The overburden, or soil and rock overlying a useful mineral deposit, is usually deposited in piles of waste called this.
What are spoils?
This law was designed to encourage mineral exploration and mining of this during the Westward Expansion.
What are hard rock minerals?
This is another name for tiny tech.
What is nanotechnology?
Most mineral resources are found within the layers of this type of rock.
What is igneous rock?
This commonly used nonmetallic ore is made mostly of silicon dioxide and is used to make glass, bricks, and concrete.
What is sand?
To extract Gold from the ore, miners spray a toxic solution of this onto huge piles of crushed rock.
What is cyanide? What are cyanide salts?
This law allows private companies to file a mining claim on this type of land.
What are public lands?
We may be able to purify water and desalinate water at a afford cost with this.
What is a nanofilter?
This is what molten rock is called when it is above ground.
This is a mixture (alloy) of Iron and other elements, like Manganese, Cobalt, and Chromium.
What is steel?
When metallic ore is heated and melted in this process it can sometimes smell like garlic, hence how the town of Ajo got its name.
What is smelting?
According to the Bureau of Land Management, mining companies remove at least $4 billion worth of hard rock minerals per year from US public land, but only pay this percent of profits back to taxpayers.
What is only 2.3%?
The materials revolution will replace metals with these three substances.
What are silicon, ceramic, and plastic?
This physical, chemical, and geological process breaks down rocks into smaller particles.
What is weathering? What is erosion?
These metallic ores are two of Arizona's 5 Cs.
What are Cobalt (Co) and Copper (Cu)?
During the processing of ore, ore deposits are separated from the unwanted rock material. The unwanted rock material called this is usually left behind.
What are tailings?
Critics of this law want to permanently ban this aspect of the law.
What is to place a permanent ban on any future sales of public lands?
These are replacing copper and aluminum wires in telephone cables, in fact, if you use CenturyLink as your cable and internet provider, you are already using them!
What are fiber-optic glass cables?
This is the most commonly used igneous rock, often found in kitchens.
What is granite?
This nonmetallic ore is used in inorganic fertilizer and household detergents.
What is phosphate salt?
This is the most recycled metallic ore and even has a buyback program in some states.
What is Aluminum (Al)?
A proposed amendment to this law would increase the taxpayer royalty to around this percent, which is a similar percentage to the rates paid by oil, natural gas, and coal companies.
What is an increase to 8-12%? What is 13.2% paid by oil, gas, and coal?
This element, commonly used because it is light weight, has the molecular strength to replace important metals in the tech and aerospace industries.
What is carbon? What is carbon fiber?