Terms : Hide Images
| 9531319730 | Mineral | An inorganic solid that has an orderly crystalline structure and a specific chemical composition | 0 | |
| 9531319731 | Precipitation | The return of water from the atmosphere to Earth's surface in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail, 81; the process of separating a solid substance (precipitate) from a solution | 1 | |
| 9531319732 | Polymorph | A mineral that crystallizes in different forms because of differences in temperature or other conditions | 2 | |
| 9531319733 | Rock | A solid mass of minerals or mineral-like materials that occurs naturally | 3 | |
| 9531319734 | Rock cycle | A very slow process in which rocks are heated, melted, cooled, weathered, and eroded as they change type—igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic—in response to changes in environmental conditions | 4 | |
| 9531319735 | Ore | A mineral or grouping of minerals that is mined to extract one or more valuable metals | 5 | |
| 9531319736 | Strip mining | A type of mining in which layers of surface soil and rock are removed from large areas to expose the resource | 6 | |
| 9531382361 | Subsurface mining | A type of mining in which vertical shafts are dug deep into the ground and networks of horizontal tunnels are dug or blasted out to follow deposits of a resource | 7 | |
| 9531382362 | Open pit mining | A type of mining in which a large hole (versus a shaft or tunnel) is dug to extract ore and the rock around it | 8 | |
| 9531382363 | Mountaintop removal | A type of mining in which plants and soil are removed from the top of a mountain and then explosives are used to reach seams of coal | 9 | |
| 9531382364 | Placer mining | A type of mining that involves sifting through sand and gravel in a riverbed or streambed to extract metals, minerals, or precious stones | 10 | |
| 9531382365 | Tailings | The waste produced in processing ore | 11 | |
| 9531382366 | Smelting | The process of extracting metal from ore by heating the ore beyond its melting point | 12 | |
| 9531382367 | Acid drainage (A) | The acid and the metals it causes to leach from rock that seep into groundwater or enter streams and lakes as runoff | 13 | |
| 9531442845 | Acid drainage (B) | The sulfuric acid produced when sulfide minerals in exposed rock surfaces react with oxygen and rainwater to produce sulfuric acid | 14 | |
| 9579273087 | General Mining Law of 1872 | Allows mining companies to take minerals from public land without paying royalties | 15 | |
| 9579273088 | Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 | Governs leasing of public lands for fossil fuel, phosphate, sodium, and sulfur mining | 16 | |
| 9579273089 | Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 | Requires coal strip mines to reclaim (restore the land to the way it was found) the land | 17 | |
| 9579273090 | Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 | Regulates modern day mining safety | 18 | |
| 9579273091 | Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2009 | End patenting process and requires miners to pay 4% of their profits to the government for existing mines and 8% for new mines | 19 |
