Seeking and Conserving Mineral Resources (1976)

[Music] is pharmaceuticals is plastics and additives [Music] siba geygi is agricultural products and many specialty chemicals and most of all sivagi is people thousands of people thousands of products all dedicated to making life better [Music] the science screen report is proudly presented by siba geiger [Music] the science screen report bringing you each month the latest discoveries developments and applications of science engineering and medicine made to help solve the problems of modern life [Music] throughout north america they can be found places where men came by the thousands to dig the earth and pan the streams in search of minerals until the mines were played out [Music] some believe that today cities may also become ghost towns as the finite mineral wealth of the planet is exhausted or that intensive mining will degrade and damage our fragile environment today scientists and engineers are devising ways to extend resources while conserving ecosystems this science green report profiles these approaches to the minerals challenge [Music] with their limited technology the miners of the last century could take advantage of only the high grade or deposit when those rich veins were gone the mines died and the towns with them today we are still dependent on the treasures of the earth the earth's mineral wealth remains the backbone of society nearly every manufactured product starts as ore from a mine meeting the minerals challenge involves three major disciplines scientific research engineering technology and conservation practices [Music] scientific insights into the earth's geological history have resulted from the national science foundation's deep sea drilling project aboard the drillship glomar challenger studies made of core samples from many sites have supported the theory of plate tectonics that the earth's continents rest upon a few massive crustal plates these plates have shifted over millions of years resulting in earthquakes mountain building volcanic activity and the formation of poor deposits recently french and american scientists studied one of the plate boundaries the mid-atlantic ridge formed between two massive diverging plates three kilometers below sea level the researchers observed fissures and fractures lava flow fronts crusts of precipitated sediment dormant evidence of hot materials welling up from the earth's mental layer and interacting with the sea [Music] clues that metals are produced at such spreading boundaries were found in the red sea where two other plates diverge two thousand meters down pools of hot water brine rich in metallic sulfides were mapped pools holding millions of metric tons of zinc copper and lead one theory of mineral deposition suggests that heavy metals rise at plate divergences such as the mid-atlantic ridge where the volcanic rock encounters salt water the sea water then acts as a leaching agent on the volcanic rocks percolating down into hot fissures separating metals out then carrying them to the surface when the sea water cools the oars are deposited in layers around the open sea floor vents support for this theory can be found in metal-rich fragments of uplifted ancient crustal rocks in newfoundland [Music] more indications appear in satellite photographs of cypress the dark areas are volcanic crust the light ones deposited deep sea sediment atop the boundary are numerous copper ore deposits when plates converge and overlap the same extraction processes occur in this case trapped salt water provides pressure to help magma rise to form a volcano meanwhile the same water leeches out and concentrates metals which are carried toward the surface [Music] still other minerals such as major nickel iron deposits in canada were produced by ancient meteor bombardments a second aspect of meeting the minerals challenge is engineering new technology to find collect and process mineral resources [Music] until recently men depended on natural forces to reveal hidden minerals in the last decade views from earth orbit have given fresh insights geologists have long known that minerals are most easily found near surface faults faults often disguised by later erosion but from space radiometers electromagnetic spectrum recorders and infrared photography can pinpoint such minerals bearing formations which otherwise might be missed [Music] manned and robot satellites carrying special sensors can provide images of nearly every square kilometer of this planet a basis for aerial search flights [Music] to minerals their original collectors could not detect or were not seeking new technology is also making accessible new resources even on the ocean bottom these sea bottom minerals take the form of potato sized nodules holding manganese nickel copper cobalt and other metals [Music] in a recent test of one deep sea mining system the research ship deep sea miner took station over the blake plateau off south carolina a dredge head that can collect nodules is lowered first then sections of pipe more than a kilometer in all [Music] now the ship moves slow ahead in the mining control center the dredgehead tv camera scans the ocean bottom operations screening collecting lifting the system is designed to work for depths up to several kilometers compressed air from the surface lifts a slurry of nodules silt and water to the ship in a full-scale production operation nodules would be stored aboard an ore carrier for later processing ashore such efforts should make available enormous new supplies of minerals in other engineering studies canada's national research council has devised a new way to extract about 40 percent of the estimated 900 billion barrels of oil locked in alberta's oil tar sands deposits [Music] the new approach uses a solvent which allows oil and sand to be separated further processing of the sand removes more oil sand coming off in oil-free lumps a full-scale plant could be operating in five years still other technologists are working on ways to mine and process low-grade ores at cost-effective rates a third aspect of the minerals challenge is learning not to waste to reuse natural resources and conserve the environment scrap and trash can be seen as a type of mineral resource one that increases every year for example re-smelting aluminum cans uses only five percent of the energy consumed in preparing the original cans the steel industry now reduces junk heaps to scrap metal then re-smelts that metal to be used and used again [Music] protecting and conserving the environment is also part of modern mining practice in recent years conservation efforts have included devising measures to restore mind terrain to a normal state other researchers working with the environmental community have found ways to anticipate and forestall problems caused by the extraction process for example when large amounts of ore were discovered in this beautiful region mining experts cooperated with environmentalists in arranging ecological inventories these served as a baseline to measure what effects if any the mine would have on the surrounding region layout designs were shifted to spare vulnerable areas tree fellings and slope clearings were minimized and followed by reseeding the water used in digging the mine was subsequently purified and aerated the working mine has a self-contained water system [Music] the milling process was removed to the far side of the mountain hidden from public view and linked only by a twenty kilometer railroad line tailings ponds were guarded with interceptor canals to divert runoff protecting the region's water quality such efforts demonstrate how minerals extraction may be carried out while conserving delicate ecosystems the world community needs a continuing supply of minerals to survive together scientists engineers and conservationists are working to manage the world's mineral resources in an era of increasing resource scarcity science screen report has been presented by siba geiger corporation with headquarters in ardsley new york as part of its continuing program in support of science education [Music] you