Unit two

Vocabulary practice
1. Is the process of searching or inspecting an area for mineral deposits.
2. The earths crust or surface and the minerals in it. Combines geology and
physics and applies chemistry to the study of the earths features.
3. its a device for measuring the strength of the earths magnetic field.
4. its a device to detect radioactivity, the energy given off by unstable
elements.
5. A break in a body of rock where layers or types of rock have moved in
relation to each other.
6. The process of drilling with a hollow cylinder to obtain samples of subsurface
materials; the samples are called cores.
7. its a device for measuring the earths gravity.
8. its a device for measuring vibrations in the earth: it can be used to detect
earthquakes or to record mechanical vibrations.
9. Study the evidences of prehistoric life based on fossil remains.
10. A trace of something that lived long ago. Because they were formed from
organisms which lived millions of years ago.
11. The rock or soil above a valuable mineral deposit sometimes called burden.
12. The branch of mathematics that calculates the results in a problem where
the factors may vary.
13. its a floating barge used for excavation in shallow waters.
14. A small round lump of matter; manganese is obtained from nodules
recovered from the ocean.
Discussion
1. Were those that occurred naturally in a pure state such as gold, silver and
copper. It was discovered early that copper, and then tin and iron.
2. The kinds of areas and types of rocks that might contain the desired
minerals.
3. Its called exploring and prospecting.

4. Geology (the study of the earths crust or surface and the minerals in it)
Geophysics (a new science that combines geology and physics)
Geochemistry (another new science that deals with the chemical
composition of the matter in the earths crust)
5. Is a geological survey of a large or small area. The kinds of information
yielded by the survey include classification of the types of rock, evidences of
past geological process, formation of mineral structures, and presence or
absence of ore-bearing rocks.
6. In many places on the surface of the earth, rocks have moved or fracture to
expose several different layers called faults, and they provide an important
clue to what lies below the surface.
7. The clues come from geochemical and geophysical techniques.
8. The technique is through core drilling
9. Because different densities of rocks have different gravitational pulls, the
gravimeter indicates this effect.
10. The densities of different rocks beneath the surface show changes in
magnetism that can be read with this meter.
11. It is used to record the waves of manmade vibrations created by an
explosive blast in the ground. The waves reflect different kinds of rocks under
the surface.
12. Detects the presence of radioactive substances. This meter detects the
elements used in nuclear reactors as fuels.
13. is especially important in the search for fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum
and natural gas.
14. That may be commercially valuable. The expense of mining makes careful
exploration and evaluation necessary before actual operations begin.
15. The cores may be taken at different distances from the original deposit or
at different depths or they may be drilled in the direction in which it is believed
the vein extends. When the deposit is near the surface, ditches are dug at
various distances from the original find to indicate the amount and depth of the
overburden, or material above the deposit, as well as the dimension and
direction of the deposit.
16. To analyze whether a deposit is rich enough to be a worthwhile commercial
mining venture.

17. There is considerable evidence that mineral wealth lies under the seas,
particularly where the layers that make up the crust of the earth come
together.
18. Is for tin, found as the mineral cassiterite on the ocean floor off Malaysia
and Java.
19. Oil produced from underwater wells is profitable, but this has yet to be
proved for deposits of minerals. Thats why the mining industry is involved in
extensive exploration and analysis.
Review
1. True
2. True
3. False
4. False
5. True
6. True
7. False
8. False
9. True
10. False
11. True
12. True
13. False
14. True
15. True
16. False
B1. It is of great significance because it can be very useful for various human
activities related to the extraction of certain mineral resources, energy
resources, water resources, activities etc.

2. The geochemical data are useful in the study of depositaries environments

and surface geochemistry can help determine the likelihood of finding oil or gas
in depth.
3. Is dedicated to measuring the physical properties of materials that make up
the ground in order to locate and evaluate natural resources and do research
that interest land for the construction of road works
4. Its objectives are, in addition to the reconstruction of the living creatures
that lived in the past, the study of their origin, their changes over time
(evolution and phylogeny), relationships between them and their environment
(paleoecology, evolution biosphere), its spatial distribution and migration
(paleobiogeography), extinctions, fossilization processes (taphonomy) or the
correlation and dating of the rocks that contain them (biostratigraphy).
Unit three
Vocabulary practice
1. Excavating mineral deposits by methods that do not involve shafts or
tunnels into the earth
2. A device with a number of bucketlike shovels on a moving belt; it can dig up
and dump waste material in a continuous operation
3. A surface mine in which working levels, like terraces, are cut into the ground,
sometimes called an open cut mine
4. A working level in an open pit mine
5. An attempt at a mathematical analysis of the forces acting along the joints
of natural rock formations
6. A form of surface mining in which the overburden is removed so that a vein
of ore or seam of coal roughly horizontal to the surface can be removed. It
differs from open pit mining in that benches are not usually used in strip mining
operations
7. Strip mining which follows the contours (lines that separate different heights
or elevations) in hilly or mountainous areas
8. Sand, clay and gravel deposited by flowing water
9. A system of mining in which heavier substances are separated from lighter
ones in flowing water by the force of gravity
10. A solid lump, usually of pure gold

11. A system of mining using a stream of water under pressure to break up

alluvial deposits; the nozzle that directs the water is called a hydraulic giant
12. A channel for directing and controlling the flow of water
13. Loose material consisting of small, rounded fragments of rock
14. A drill that works by means of compressed air
15. A device with two flat sides that come together at an angle or point; it can
be driven into an object to split it
16. Crushed rock mixed with cement to produce concrete
17. The upper layer of soil normally suitable for agricultural purposes

Discussion
1. through surface mining
2. Iron and copper, phosphates a group of minerals containing the element
phosphorus, are used for agricultural fertilizers and industrial products such as
detergents
3. Can be removed with equipment such as power shovels or bucket excavators
4. Must be broken by blasting. Explosives are placed in holes drilled at intervals
determined in advance. Some of the factors involved in locating these holes
are the kind of explosive used, the nature of rock and the size of the fragments.
5. Open pit or open cut mine. The benches are connected to each other so that
railroad tracks or roadways for trucks can be built and used to remove the ore.
6. To prevent rockslides
7. Determining the nature of the overburden and the best system for removing
waste
8. Causes flooding
9. Butte, Montana and Mesabi range of northern Minnesota
10. Is used when mineral deposits are under a shallow, easily removed
overburden and when the vein of ore or seam of coal runs more or less
horizontal to the surface
11. Is usually scooped out of the pit by a bucket shovel

12. Contour strip mining because it follows the contours that connect points of
the same height or elevation along a hillside. In this system, a terrace is cut
along the line of a hill; when the deposit is worked out, another terrace is cut at
a lower level and debris from the new excavation is placed on the previous
terrace. It is obviously critical in this method to calculate the slope carefully to
prevent slides.
13. Are found in alluvial deposits of sand, clay or gravel that have been carried
along and then laid down by flowing water
14. Is based on the fact that heavier substances can be separated from lighter
ones in water
15. When the mineral-bearing alluvium is shaken in the water-filled pan, the
heavier particles sink to the bottom while the lighter ones wash away. Still
works in Atrato River, Colombia
16. Through mechanized placer mining
17. The dredges employed for placer mining not only have scoops but also
devices for washing sand or gravel and screening it so that gravity settles the
heavier and more valuable particles. Are used in rivers, lakes, ponds and
offshore shallow waters
18. A stream of water is shot under pressure from a large nozzle, the water
pressure breaks up alluvial banks and terrace, the loosened material is then
washed through a sluice, which also contains devices for collecting the heavier
substances
19. Granite, marble, sandstone and slate. They are obtained through quarrying
20. Can be separated by using low-powered explosives and using wedges into
the hole
21. Are used explosive charges they can be used as an aggregate; mixed with
water, sand, cement, tar or asphalt
22. This is a result not only of technological advances but of increased demand
for coal because of the high price of petroleum. There is also more open pit
mining for metal ores since it is now commercially feasible to recover low-grade
ores from open pits
23. Has caused great concern about damage to the environment. In some
areas valuable farmland has been stripped away to mine the minerals beneath;
other areas have been deforested; in many places the land has been left
unrestored, subject to erosion, flooding and other natural calamities

24. Most countries with large mining operations and most states of the United
States now have some laws to require restoration of land as closely as possible
to its former condition. This is costly, since topsoil from the site mist be
excavated separately and preserved; when the mine is worked out, the rea
must be regarded, the topsoil replaced, and the land replanted.
Review
A1. Surface mining
2. Bucket excavator
3. Open cut mine
4. Mechanics, rockslides
5. Contour
6. Alluvial
7. Placer
8. Open pit
9. Dredge
10. Phosphates, phosphorus
11. Pneumatic
12. Explosives
13. Hydraulic
14. Gravel
15. Environment
16. Gravity
B1. When the mineral-bearing alluvium is shaken in the water-filled pan, the
heavier particles sink to the bottom while the lighter ones wash away
2. The ore or coal is usually scooped out of the pit by a bucket shovel on the
end of a boom long enough so that the ore can be dumped directly onto truck
3. Bucket excavator has a series of bucketlike shovels connected on a moving
belt so that the waste material can be dug up and dumped out in a continuous
operation

4. When the mineral-bearing alluvium is shaken in the water-filled pan, the

heavier particles sink to the bottom while the lighter ones wash away
5. Must be broken by blasting, explosives are placed in holes drilled at intervals
determined in advance. After blasting, the waste material is removed
6. The overburden must first be removed, then holes are drilled and the final
step is to drive wedges in to the holes until the rock splits
7. A terrace is cut along the line of a hill; when the deposit is worked out,
another terrace is cut at a lower level
8. Explosives charges are used, in most cases the fragments must be crushed
into pieces of uniform size.
C. These control methods are one of the steps to protect the environment, as it
currently has been reduced flora and fauna due to the processes of extraction
of minerals, these measures will contribute to much the integrity of soil.