MINING

By: Erem, Amanda, Mackai and Sara

Central Idea

How
humans
Central
Idea handle mining affects the planet.

Erem McMillan
Strip Mining

Form/Function Video

How Has Strip

Mining Changed
Over Time?

Early 1700s - About 1705

In the early 18th century, human workers

just used pickaxes and shovels to mine the
minerals and ores. This is quite dangerous
as the workers were very exposed.

Early 1730s - About 1732

Starting in 1730 onwards, large groups of

people were hired for commercial mining.
This is worse due to the fact that more
people are working which means more
people could die.

Late 1880s - About 1888

In 1880s, simple coal cutting machines were

invented. They still required a fair amount of
human labour, but were better than the original
pick n shovel.

Late 1900s - About 1990

In the late 1900s, strip mining machinery

was invented. This was good because there
is very little chance of getting hurt. See the
pictures for examples of machinery.

What does strip mining look like before, during

and after?

Side Note:
These 3 pictures are of the same
area. Astonishing isnt it?

Field Trip to
Britannia Mines
I Connected Britannia Mines To My topic

Why did I go on this trip?

I went to Britannia Mines because

1) Most of my group members were going there so I
thought it was a good idea
2) It was quite close so it was a good idea
3) It would be fun
4) The museum used to be a mine so I would be able to
take pictures of the mine.
5) It was full of information

On this trip I learned:

When I went to Britannia Mines I learned

1) That ores are ground down into fine sand by using
gravity and heavy metal iron spheres.
2) The sand is then covered in bubbles to lift the precious
minerals out of the stone.
3) I also learned that gold sieving is hard because there is a
little chance of getting gold.

On this trip I:

When I went to Britannia Mines

1)
2)
3)
4)

I learned many things

I went gold sieving and I found gold and quartz!
I also went on a tour into the mine and saw copper!
I watched drills in action!

Survey

Do You Know What Strip Mining Is?

What Do People Think About The Environmental

Impacts Due To Strip Mining?

Amanda Nguyen
Hydraulic Mining

How does hydraulic mining work?

What is hydraulic mining?

How Does Hydraulic Mining Affect The Environment?

Cause:

Effect:

Pollution

On environment
Pollution
Waste
Destruction
Kills

How Does Hydraulic Mining Affect The Environment?

Cause:

Effect:

Overpopulation

More people = less gold

MORE and MORE!

How Does Hydraulic Mining Affect The Environment?

Cause:

Effect:

Change

Changed the way people

mined

How Has Hydraulic

Mining Evolved
Overtime?

How Has Hydraulic Mining Evolved Over Time?

Throughout time mining for gold has changed A LOT!
These are some key events that happened.
1848 (Start of Gold Rush)The first piece of gold was found! By James Marshall. After finding the
gold it was the big topic! Thats when gold mining blossomed out to
the public and became one of the biggest jobs then.

How Has Hydraulic Mining Evolved Over Time?

1849 A year after mining, San Francisco became a metropolis for
the mining industries. JACKPOT! Well what they thought was
their jackpot......
1850A year later, bad luck came to the miners, they were out of
gold. Everyone was mining that they eventually ran out!
1853In California, hydraulic mining was introduced! I'm not sure
who thought of the idea, but they sure are pretty SMART!

How Has Hydraulic Mining Evolved Over Time?

1857THE GOLD RUSH WAS FINALLY STABLE! Hydraulic mining

really solved the problem!
1884Bad luck again. This time hydraulic mining was outlawed,
due to all the destruction in the environment. (Pollution, dust,
and loose rocks)

Field Trip to
Britannia Mines

My Questions

When I went to Britannia, my goal was to find facts about my

interest area, hydraulic mining, but I only found out about
hard rock mining.
My questions were:
How have the conditions when mining changed over time?
What tools were used the most, besides from a pickaxe and
shovel?
What types of ores/ minerals were mined/found at
Britannia?

How Had The Conditions When Mining Changed Over

Time?
The mining life was very rough and dangerous. Falling rocks,
lots of dynamite, and dangerous tools (big drills).
One positive change was the lighting in the mines...
At first they only had candles in the dark underground
tunnels. The light was easy to blow out due to the moisture.
Soon, they came up with a way to get a chemical and water
to combined and create fire. Later on, they finally got battery
powered lights!
Wow!

What Tools Were Used The Most, Besides The

Pickaxe And Shovel?

Well they had:

Dynamite
Drills
Water
Paint
Wood

What Different Ores/Minerals Were Found At

Britannia?
Britannia is a copper mine. They once had 12 percent of the
worlds copper! Besides copper, Britannia found other things
such as gold, coal, iron, etc. Those were their backup ores
when they couldnt find much copper.

Survey

Do you know what hydraulic mining is?

Mackai Redway
Gold Sieving

Fo

How Has Gold

Sieving Changed
Over Time

How has gold sieving changed over time?

3. The long tom

2. Rocker or cradle
1. Panning
4. Sluice box
5. Dredging

Causation of Gold Sieving

Cause

Effect

- Its a very expensive process.

- Need to have large machinery.

- Not as popular.

Survey

Survey Question and Result

Yes: 28
No: 72

Survey Question and Result

Sara Croy
Open Pit Mining

Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine (Utah)

How Has Open Pit

Mining Changed
Over Time?

Group of miners at the

Copper Cliff Mine using
pickaxes and shovels in 1893.

In 1911, miners
invented a new
drilling machine.

Miners invented carts to

go on rail tracks 1914.

Survey

Do You Know What Open Pit Mining Is?

2.

How Good/Bad Do You Think Open Pit Mining Is

For The Environment?

What Does Open Pit Mining Cause?

Cause

Effect

Air Pollution

Animals and humans breathe in

polluted air and over time may get
sick.

Water Pollution

Animals that live in oceans, rivers

or lakes may be living in dirty,
polluted water and may get sick or
die.

Death Of
Animals

Animals may be forced to leave

their habitat and may not be able
to find enough food or water while
searching for a new home.

Field Trip to Britannia Mines

Questions I Had...

Are there any open-pit mines in BC?

Do you think open-pit mining is good or bad for the
environment?
Do you think mining in general is good for the environment?
What kind of minerals do you mine here?

What I learned...

- Britannia Mines is a copper mine

- in the pitch black mine, miners had to use candles which
didnt provide much light. After a while, they found out a
way to put water and chemicals together to create a fire
in a lamp. Later they used power pack batteries.
- most of the ore were taken to a building called the Mill
by an ore cart
- at the Mill, the rocks were ground up using big metal
spheres, and then the minerals were separated by
gravity and a chemical solution

Interview with
Mr. Mike

Skype Interview With Mr. Mike

We asked Mr. Mike questions such as How does your mining
company take care of the environment? and
What type of mining projects have you constructed?
and lastly What kind of tools do you use?. He replied saying
his mining company takes good care of the environment by
getting naturalists to check the land. They have constructed
mining projects mostly for uranium mining. Lastly the answer
to the last question: They use many tools like TNT, large
drills and water canons!

Skype Interview With Mr. Mike

We asked Mr. Mike questions such as How does your mining
company take care of the environment? and
What type of mining projects have you constructed?
and lastly What kind of tools do you use?. He replied saying
his mining company takes good care of the environment by
getting naturalists to check the land. They have constructed
mining projects mostly for uranium mining. Lastly the answer
to the last question: They use many tools like TNT, large
drills and water canons!

How you can take

action!

Taking Action - Responsibility

A Few Boring Sources...

Sources - Erem
PBS. PBS. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.
"10 Most Incredible Open-Pit Mines." 10 Most Today. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
"Google." Google. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
"How People Have Been Shaping the Earth." Student Science. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.
McMahon, Mary, and O. Wallace. WiseGeek. Conjecture. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
"Mining - History Of Mining, Surface Mining, Underground Mining." - Earth, Mined, Pit, and Mines. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.
"Mining Has Seen a Lot of Changes over 30 Years." Sudbury Star. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
"Mining the Mountains." Smithsonian. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
"The Modern Art of Lubricating Mining Equipment." The Modern Art of Lubricating Mining Equipment. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.
"Royal Equipment - Specializing in Remanufactured Heavy Equipment for Surface Mining." Royal Equipment - Specializing in Remanufactured Heavy Equipment for Surface Mining.
Web. 25 Jan. 2016.
"The Single Largest Land Vehicle On Earth." Gizmodo. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.
"Staying On Top - Global Surface Mining." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
"Strip Mining." Strip Mining. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
"Strip Mining." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
"The World's Deepest, Biggest and Deadliest Open Pit Mines." The World's Deepest, Biggest and Deadliest Open Pit Mines. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.

Sources - Amanda

PBS. PBS. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.

.
"Gold Mining News and Commentary | MINING.com." MINING co Gold Tag. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
"The Gold Rush Timeline." The Gold Rush Timeline. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.
"How Has Fracking Changed Our Future?" National Geographic. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.
"How Mining Has Changed over the past 25 Years." How Mining Has Changed over the past 25 Years. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.
"Hydraulic Mining in California." Google Books. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
"Hydraulic Mining in California." Google Books. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
"The Modern Art of Lubricating Mining Equipment." The Modern Art of Lubricating Mining Equipment. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.
"Rio Tinto's Sam Walsh on How Technology Has Changed the Life of Miners." Financial Review. 15 Nov. 2015. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.
"The Evolution of Mining." The Evolution of Mining. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.
"Hydraulic Mining." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.
"The California Gold Rush (1848 to 1859)." The California Gold Rush (1848 to 1859). Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

Sources - Mackai

"Stories." Mining Techniques of the Sierra Nevada and Gold Country. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.

Sources - Sara
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
"10 Most Incredible Open-Pit Mines." 10 Most Today. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
"Brilliant Earth." Brilliant Earth. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.
Dilthey, Max Roman. "Open Pit Mining Pros & Cons." EHow. Demand Media. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.
"Largest Mines in the World - Mineral Processing/Metallurgy Research/Testing." Mineral Processing Metallurgy Research Testing. 04 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
"Mine Engineer.Com Provides Mining, Gold, Copper, Coal, Mineral, Information." Mine Engineer.Com Provides Mining, Gold, Copper, Coal, Mineral, Information. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
"Rio Tinto To Invest $350 Million In Developing Their Diavik Diamond Mine." Dhillon Prestige Diamond Insights Rio Tinto To Invest 350 Million In Developing Their Diavik Diamond Mine
Comments. 29 Nov. 2014. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
"What Happens to Mine Sites after a Mine Is Closed." What Happens to Mine Sites after a Mine Is Closed. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
"Air Pollution - Google Search." Air Pollution - Google Search. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
"The Mining History of the Sudbury Area." Earth Sciences Museum. 28 Feb. 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
"Open Pit Mine Blasting." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
"Open Pit Mining Machines." Open Pit Mining Machines. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.
"Surface Mining." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.

Thankyou!
Any Questions?