##### 

##### U.S. Geological Survey General Information Product 17

# The Life Cycle of a Mineral Deposit—A Teacher’s Guide for Hands-On Mineral Education Activities

#### *By* Dave Frank, John Galloway, and Ken Assmus

#### 2005

#### Summary

| This teacher's guide defines what a mineral deposit is and how a mineral depositis identified and measured, how the mineral resources are extracted, and how themining site is reclaimed; how minerals and mineral resources are processed; andhow we use mineral resources in our every day lives. Included are 10 activitybasedlearning exercises that educate students on basic geologic concepts; theprocesses of finding, identifying, and extracting the resources from a mineraldeposit; and the uses of minerals. The guide is intended for K through 12 Earthscience teachers and students and is designed to meet the National ScienceContent Standards as defined by the National Research Council (1996). To assistin the understanding of some of the geology and mineral terms, see the Glossary(appendix 1) and Minerals and Their Uses (appendix 2).

The process of finding or exploring for a mineral deposit,extracting or mining the resource, recovering the resource,also known as beneficiation, and reclaiming the land minedcan be described as the “life cycle” of a mineral deposit. Thecomplete process is time consuming and expensive, requiringthe use of modern technology and equipment, and may takemany years to complete. Sometimes one entity or companycompletes the entire process from discovery to reclamation,but often it requires multiple groups with specialized experienceworking together.

Mineral deposits are the source of many important commodities,such as copper and gold, used by our society, but itis important to realize that mineral deposits are a nonrenewableresource. Once mined, they are exhausted, and anothersource must be found. New mineral deposits are being continuouslycreated by the Earth but may take millions of years toform. Mineral deposits differ from renewable resources, suchas agricultural and timber products, which may be replenishedwithin a few months to several years. |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

#### Read online, download, or print

Get the Teacher’s Guide now. (40 pages; 4.2 MB PDF file)

For questions about the content of this report, contact Dave Frank

#### To view PDF file, you will need Adobe Reader.