Minerals ORE Rocks – bESTology Week 8

Minerals ORE Rocks – bESTology Week 8

Image: mgb.gov.ph

Pure metals are rarely found in nature.  Virtually all metals are associated chemically with other elements to form compounds known as ores. An ore is a mineral or useful mineral conglomerate for obtaining metals and a deposit is the place where ores are found.

Minerals are combined in ores with elements like sulphur, chlorine or oxygen to form sulphides, silicates, chlorides or oxides.  For example, the chemical formula for chalcopyrite is CuFeS_2.  Therefore, chalcopyrite is a copper, iron, sulfide mineral and is often found in sedimentary rock deposits.  Prior to mining a deposit such as chalcopyrite, a feasibility study must be generated to calculate the associated cost to mine and extract the mineral and to determine the value of the final product.

Chemists and chemical engineers play a key role in mining ores, extraction of metals and determining the feasibility of such a project.  Let’s extract this week’s bESTology.

Resources:

• Periodic Table – printable
• Interactive Periodic Table
• Ore – Wikipedia
• Feasibility Study – Wikipedia
• Three Folds 12 Tips – creating a brochure
• Bauxite Hills Pre-feasibility study
• Copper Mining Feasibility Study
  
• Spodumene Mining Feasibility Study
• Extraction of Metals
• 40 common minerals and their uses
• Generate your name using the Periodic Table (fun activity, not 100% concise)

Data Mining:  We are surrounded by symbols in our daily lives, i.e., road signs, alphabet, braille, binary code.  The periodic table is a chart of chemical symbols each representing an abbreviation or short representation of a chemical element.  Examine your surroundings and locate five (5) types of metals, then predict the chemical symbol for each.  Using the Interactive Periodic Table listed above, compare your prediction to the actual chemical symbol.  Once familiar with the interactive chart, compare and contrast the differences between the six families of metals and define a metalloid.  Analyze the properties of a metalloid and explain their importance in computers and cell phones.

Writing:  Read each of the above feasibility studies and select one of the three that you would support as an investor.  Write a letter to a potential business partner persuading them to invest in this business opportunity.  Summarize the following in the letter:

• The cost to mine the specific metal(s)
• The chemistry of how to extract the metal once mined
• The budget to extract the metal
• The additional by-products generated during the extraction process
• The value of the final product and by-products
• The Return on Investment

The conclusion should convince the other potential investor why their investment would be a sound business decision.

BEST Connection:  Preparing for Pay Dirt 2015, use Microsoft Word to create a tri-fold marketing brochure for your team.  Choose one of the metals in the referenced feasibility studies as the commodity your BEST Company mines.  Include how engineering, science and technology are used to mine and extract your company’s product.  Save your brochure so it can easily be modified and used during the upcoming BEST competition.

Community Connection: Invite a chemist or chemical engineer to visit your class.  Generate a list of questions involving ores, metals, compounds and elements.  Ask your guest to share his or her career and the associated educational requirements to obtain the job. 

Bloom’s Taxonomy:  analyze, ask, choose, compare, contrast, convince, create, examine, familiarize, generate, invite, locate, modify, persuade, predict, prepare, read, save, select, summarize, use, write

Workforce Skills:  reading comprehension, active listening, critical thinking, speaking, active learning, writing, learning strategies, systems analysis, mathematics, negotiation, operation analysis, science, judgment and decision making

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