Mineral Exploration and Mining Quiz

What is the method used to mine ore deposits that are 50 m or more beneath Earth's surface?

• Dredging

• Room-and-pillar mining

• Longwall mining

• Open-pit mining

Which mining method is used to extract salt and coal by cutting a network of entries into a seam and leaving pillars of coal for support?

• Room-and-pillar mining

• Quarrying

• Open-pit mining

• Longwall mining

What is the more efficient method of removing coal from a subsurface seam using a machine called a shearer?

• Longwall mining

• Quarrying

• Placer mining

• Smelting

Which mining method is used when ore deposits are located close to Earth's surface and involves removing soil and rocks to reach the minerals?

• Placer mining

• Undersea mining

• Smelting

• Surface mining

What is the principal commodity produced by quarrying?

• Aggregates

• Diamonds

• Talc

• Gold

What is the process of placing seawater into enormous shallow ponds and evaporating it to harvest salt?

• Placer mining

• Solar evaporation

• Undersea mining

• Smelting

Which type of deposits contain valuable minerals that have been concentrated by mechanical action?

• Undersea deposits

• Surface coal deposits

• Stream placers

• Quarrying

What is the process of melting or fusing ore in order to separate impurities from pure metal?

• Quarrying

• Smelting

• Surface mining

• Placer mining

What is the reason undersea mining has been largely unsuccessful to date?

• Competition with land-based companies

• High evaporation rates

• Abundance of minerals

• Low water depths

Tags

NGSS.HS-ETS1-3

What mineral resources can be found on the ocean floor?

• Sand and gravel

• Clay and gypsum

• Coal and gold

• Diamonds and precious metals