The Topic: Mining Easier - Mining is the work or business of taking minerals from the earth. A hole or tunnel is dug in the ground to take out metals, coal, salt, or other minerals.   Harder - Most substances obtained from the earth are gotten by mining. Mining provides iron for steel making, salt for food, coal for fuel, and gold, silver, and diamonds for jewelry. Mined materials also include stone for building, phosphate for fertilizer, and gravel for highways.   There are many methods of mining, dependent on where and how a coal or mineral deposit is found. Some substances are mined relatively cheap because they can be found at or near the earth's surface. Some minerals are found as a compact mass, while others are widely scattered. Other mined materials are found far beneath the surface and removed by tunneling deep underground. Some mined substances are located beneath oceans, lakes, and rivers. Other minerals are concentrated in large bodies of water and are obtained by pumping.   Mine Safety and Health Administration's Kid's Page http://www.msha.gov/KIDS/KIDSHP.HTM Explore this site and learn more about mining.   Mining and the Environment at About.com http://environment.about.com/msubmine.htm This site connects you to government, industry and environment groups dealing with mining and environment issues in the United States and around the world. Related Websites: 2) Environmental Considerations of Active and Abandoned Mines, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2220 (Download pdf) http://greenwood.cr.usgs.gov/pub/bulletins/b2220/b2220.html 3) How Coal Mining Produces Pollution in the Upper Conemaugh River Basin http://ctcnet.net/scrip/mining.htm 4) Mining Waste at the National Mining Association http://www.nma.org/waste.html 5) Mining and Its Environmental Effects http://soilslab.cfr.washington.edu/esc110/2000Spring/projects/Group26/ 6) Tearing Down the Mountains from U.S. News Online http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/coalhigh.htm   Mining History Network http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RBurt/MinHistNet/welcome.html This website contains and links to information on mining history around the world. Related Websites: 2) Mining History Association http://www.lib.mtu.edu/mha/mha.htm   Mining USA http://www.miningusa.com/ This comprehensive site focuses on the latest news related to mining and mining issues. Other Comprehensive Mining Information Sites: 2) InfoMine http://www.infomine.com/ 3) Mining Journal Limited http://www.mininginformation.com/ Related Links-Site: 4) National Mining Association http://www.nma.org/ 5) Links and Connections from the Office of Surface Mining, Department of the Interior http://www.osmre.gov/links.htm   Before you complete one or more of the following activities, make sure that you explore several of the mining websites.   Create A Mining Map. Begin with a map of your state, the United States, North America, or another continent. Then find out what types of mining is being done within the region. Identify the different types of mining that are taking place and find the production rates. Display your finished 'Mining Map.'   Make A Mine Safety Poster. Before starting to create your poster, visit several of the sites for mine and mining safety - - Stay Out - Stay Alive: Mine Hazard Awareness Campaign and Safety and Health Information at MSHA.   Pick a Mineral. Select a mineral and learn about how it is mined. Compare the mining practices and processes of your mineral with other minerals. Invent a new "high tech" tool that could be used in mining this mineral.   Rush for Riches. Explore the history of a mining community. What is the relationship between the mining operation and the community? Create a visual map showing the mine and its effect on the individual and small town.   Get Organized. Mines were the locations of some of the first organized labor groups. Why did the miners feel it was important to organize their concerns and interests? Trace the history of the labor movement in the mining industry.   Construct A Model of A Mine. Visit some of the mining websites to learn about the different types of mines. Then, construct a model of a mine.   Mine Your Own Region. What type of mining or extraction takes place in your region? Don't forget the mining of rock and aggregates such as limestone, gravel, rock quarries, etc. Are there abandoned mines? Find out about the history of mining in your area. Interview someone who has worked in the industry. Gather photographs, maps, and information related to local mining. Put together your research findings into a presentation. Place your completed project in the library or online.   Complete A Mining WebQuest. Follow or adapt the procedures found at the webQuest sites: 1) Beverley Mine WebQuest http://www.dicksonc.act.edu.au/Library/WebQuests/bevwq.html 2) Mining and the Community WebQuest by A. Barnett http://www.web-and-flow.com/members/abarnett/minenviro/webquest.htm 3) Mining and the Environment by A. Lee (Grades 10-12) http://www.curricstudies.educ.ubc.ca/wcourses/csed424/Lee/Mining%20WebQuest.html   Websites By Kids For Kids Coal Mining and Related Information for Golden, Colorado by P. Murray and E. Wallin http://138.67.1.32/fs_home/tboyd/Coal/ This web site is a brief collection of information available on coal mining activity in Golden, Colorado.   Mining in Nevada County http://www.ncgold.com/goldrushtown/mining.html Learn about types of mining and accompany a class on a visit to a historic mine.   Rush For Riches: a Portrait of Mining in America (2000 ThinkQuest Junior Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/J003298F/ Take a cyber-journey into American mining and its effects on the individual, society, culture and history.   Science of the Comstock (1999 ThinkQuest for Tomorrow's Teachers) http://library.thinkquest.org/50041/ This site provides content, activities, and lesson plans related to the fields of study of science of Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science, and Environmental Science applied to the historically and industrially important mining on the Comstock.   More Mining Websites Bisbee Deportation of 1917 http://digital.library.arizona.edu/bisbee/ Learn about the Arizona event that influenced the labor movement throughout the United States. What started as a labor dispute between copper mining companies and their workers turned into vigilante action against the allegedly nefarious activities of the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.).   Coal Information Network http://www.coalinfo.com/ This comprehensive site provides information and resources on coal and coal mining. Other Coal Mining Sites: 2) American Coal Foundation http://www.acf-coal.org/ 3) Black Diamond Net http://home.earthlink.net/~bela1/index.html 4) Coalcracker http://www.tnonline.com/coalcracker/home.html 5) Coal Facts (Illinois) http://www.commerce.state.il.us/resource_efficiency/Coal/facts.htm 6) Coal Mine at Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago http://msichicago.org/exhibit/coal_mine/coalhome.html 7) Coalming in Castlecomer (Ireland) http://www.sip.ie/sip019B/index1.htm 8) Coal Mining, Mine Fires, & The Molly Maguires http://www.columbiapa.org/county/historical/molly_maguires.html 9) Coal Mining in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era http://www.cohums.ohio- state.edu/history/projects/Lessons_US/Gilded_Age/Coal_Mining/default.htm 10) Early Days of Coal Mining in Northern Illinois by R. Joyce http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/earlydays.html 11) Everything You Need to Know About Coal http://is2.dal.ca/~mmturnbu/coal.html 12) Facts About Coal from National Mining Association http://www.nma.org/coalfacts.html 13) Haig Colliery Mining Museum (United Kingdom) http://www.haig1.freeserve.co.uk 14) History of Coal Mining in Nova Scotia http://eagle.uccb.ns.ca/mining/ 15) In Search of King Coal at BHP http://www.BHP.com/default.asp?page=738 16) Kentucky Coal Education History Page http://www.coaleducation.org/ 17) Office of Surface Mining (A Bureau of the U.S. Department of the Interior) http://www.osmre.gov/ 18) Strip Mining Coal http://geogweb.berkeley.edu/GeoImages/Starrs/DRAGLINE.html 19) Unofficial History of Coal Mining in Illawarra (New South Wales, Australia) http://www.illawarracoal.com/ 20) Virtual Museum of Coal Mining in Western Pennsylvania http://theoldminer.virtualave.net/index.html 21) West Virginia Coal Mining Facts http://www.state.wv.us/mhst/wvcoalfacts.htm 22) What Coal Miners Do from United Mine Workers of America http://www.umwa.org/mining/colminrs.shtml 23) World Coal Institute http://www.wci-coal.com/pages/framemaster.htm   El Dorado Gold Mine of Fairbanks, Alaska http://www.eldoradogoldmine.com/ Make an online visit to the El Dorado, an historic mine in the district where the rush started back in 1902. Other Related Websites: 2) California Gold Country http://www.malakoff.com/goldcountry/maintcgc.htm 3) Gold Mining in North Carolina http://members.home.net/teylu/jenkins/gold_nc.html 4) Lebanon Silver Mine (Colorado) http://www.gtownloop.com/mine.html 5) Old Hundred Gold Mine Tour (Colorado) http://www.minetour.com/ 6) Reed Gold Mine (North Carolina) http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/hs/reed/reed.htm   Ghostly Salt City Beneath Detroit by P. Zacharias, The Detroit News http://www.detnews.com/history/salt/salt.htm Learn about the gigantic salt mine, operated until 1983, that lies 1,200 feet beneath the industrial heart of Detroit. The mine, formerly operated by the International Salt Mine Company, spreads out over more than 1,400 acres and has 50 miles of roads. Another Salt Mine Site: 2) Hallstatt Salt Mine http://www.salzbergwerke.com/traces.htm   Gold Mine in Montana is a Lode of Controversy from the Philadelphia Enquirer http://www.fi.edu/inquirer/gold.html Read about a modern mining controversy centered on a community near Yellowstone National Park - - what could become a 2000s version of the Gold Rush. Crown Butte Mines, Inc. says that the old prospectors just missed striking a lode that holds an estimated $600 million in gold, silver and other metals.   'Golden Dreams and Silver Linings:' A History of Mining in Idaho from the Idaho Mining Association http://www.idahomining.org/history.html In the Fall of 1860, a party of ten prospectors led by Captain E.D. Pierce entered the Nez Perce Reservation in search of mineral wealth.   Mining (Copper) from Asarco http://www.mineraldiscovery.com/frames/amdc_frame0.htm This brief site provides information about open-pit copper mining in Arizona.   Mining Collection Collection at University of Utah http://www.lib.utah.edu/spc/photo/p189/p189.html This collection of mining photographs depict various types of mining machinery and camps from the nineteenth century to modern times.   Mining Industry in the Susquehanna River Basin http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/projects/foun099/LandUse/mining.html This site focuses on mining and its effects on the environment. Other Sites About Mining: 2) Mining: Search, Exporation, and Development at Saskatchewan Interactive http://interactive.usask.ca/skinteractive/modules/mining/search/ 3) Mining Methods at Frontier Trails of the Old West http://www.frontiertrails.com/oldwest/mining.html   Mining Technology http://www.mining-technology.com/ This site for the mining industry connects to information and sources for equipment, products, and services for mining.   Women in Mining http://www.womeninmining.org/ WIM was founded in 1972 in Denver, Colorado, by several women whose intent was to facilitate education about the mining industry.   Stay Out - Stay Alive: Mine Hazard Awareness Campaign (Mine Safety & Health Administration) http://www.msha.gov/PLACES/PLACESHP.HTM This is the site of a national public awareness campaign aimed at warning children and adults about the dangers of exploring and playing on active and abandoned mine sites. Related Safety Websites: 2) Health Hazard Information from MSHA http://www.msha.gov/hhicm.htm 3) Keepout: Old Mines Can Be Dangerous http://www.osmre.gov/keepout.htm 4) Mining Accident and Injury Information at MSHA http://www.msha.gov/statinfo.htm 5) Mining Industry Accident, Injuries, Employment, and Production Statistics http://www.msha.gov/ACCINJ/accinj.htm 6) Safety and Health Information at MSHA http://www.msha.gov/safeinfo.htm   Websites For Teachers Classroom Activities at Women in Mining http://www.womeninmining.org/activity.htm This site has a collection of activities designed to teach about mining and minerals. Related Website: 2) Games at Women in Mining http://www.womeninmining.org/games.htm   Coal and Coal Mining http://www.pitt.edu/~press/goldentrianglebooks/coal.html In the book, Rebels in the Shadows, the Flannerys like everyone around them, are bound intextricably to the mines. Here is a plan to integrate this story into a unit about mining.   Coal Mining http://www.uwf.edu/coehelp/developingwbi/cgracey/coal.htm Captain Catherine guides learners through the coal mining process. During your students adventure, they will learn the different types of mining used in the United States and the factors that determine the type of mining used.   Mathematics: Problems on Coal and Energy by J. Bryant (Grade 7-8) at Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute http://www.cis.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1986/6/86.06.03.x.html The purpose of this unit is to provide an historical aspect to the developments which lead to the discovery of coal and coal mining through the origins and kinds of coal; types and methods of coal mining, hazards of mining, measures of safety and chemical byproducts of coal.   Pit Pony in the Classroom http://www.pitpony.com/movie/classroom/socialstudies/default.html The lesson plans in this unit focus on two themes: the human element and mapping. Each lesson can be used independently or in combination with one or more of the other lessons.   Thematic Unit on Gold by R.R. Avila and L. Jones http://www.targetmarketing.org/transformations/lessons/vhltug.htm This unit is organized to provide the student with information, history, hands-on experience and the process of mining and extracting minerals from mother nature's soils.   mine underground room & pillar mining longwall mining surface mining open pit mining copper coal drilling tunneling hard rock mining quarry rocks and minerals anthracite bituminous auger tailings smelter ore Gold Rush cave-in Matewan double-jacker amalgam vein inclines methane bear-hole ultraviolet borehole prospecting gold silver salt underground geology diamond precious metal ferrous nonferrous extractive industry placer mining dredging strip mining quarrying panning sluicing hydraulicking dragline shaft adit or slope smelting refining drifts gangue geologist metallurgist equipment mine inspector reclamation        Created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, 7/01.