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1/10 Mining Lab

Last updated 7 months ago
11 questions
The purpose of this activity is to simulate a mining operation. In order to make the simulation economically valid, many of the costs associated with real mining operations will be considered. Several of the economic consideration in this simulation follow.
  • A land area will be purchased from the bank. (Cookie)
  • The land area will be surveyed and quantified. (Graph paper)
  • Mining equipment will be purchased from the bank. (Toothpick or paperclip)
  • A mining operation will be undertaken, with the cost for each minute of the mining operation included in the total operating costs.
  • At the conclusion of mining operations, the reclamation of the land area is required, with a fine assessed for any part of the land area that is not successfully reclaimed.
The definition of “ore” is a naturally occurring material from which minerals of economic value can be extracted at a profit. In this exercise, the chocolate chip is the ore. The worthless rock that is associated with the ore and must be separated from the ore is the “gangue.” (The rest of the cookie is the gangue)

While the goal of this simulation is entirely economic, that is, to make as much money as possible, there are many goals other than economic goals that must be considered in a real mining operation. Although it is not possible to include all of the social and environmental implications of mining in this simple simulation, they must not be forgotten.

Materials

  • 1 Chocolate chip cookie
  • Mining tools
  • Timer
  • Graph Paper
1

Upload your map

1

Upload your calculations

1

Were you able to restore the land to its previous, un-mined, condition? Explain why or why not?

1

Explain how the time required for mining is affected by the advance knowledge that the land must be restored.

1

Explain why legislation that requires land to be restored after mining makes mining more expensive.

1

What groups are most likely to support the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act?

1

What groups are most likely to oppose the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act?

1

If the cost of restoration was built into the resource (full cost pricing), explain how that would that affect the demand for non-renewable vs renewable resources?

1

Identify the changes in your mining technique would have resulted in more profit?

1

The average copper ore mined in 1900 was 5% copper by weight. Today, the average is 0.5%. Describe the factors that could account for this difference.

1

The mining of coal can (Pick 4 correct answers)