The Dark Side of Mineral Mining
Karen Helgers, Ulster County Community College
Students choose one of four short articles to read about mineral mining, including the impacts of mining on the Native American community in the region. Each article highlights a specific example where the ...

Concentrating on Copper: An Exploration of Mineral Commodities
Russell Kohrs, Massanutten Regional Governor's School
Introduction Understanding market price fluctuations is difficult for the average consumer as they are not often cognizant of what raw materials are used for various products. The goal of this lesson is to ...

Mineral Selfie
Stefany Sit, University of Illinois at Chicago
Students identify minerals used in their everyday lives by taking a 'selfie' with the product and then sharing their photo with their fellow students on a class blog.

A "Jigsaw" Activity for Teaching about Uranium Mining on the Navajo Nation
Erin Klauk, University of Wyoming
This activity takes an Earth system approach to teach about uranium mining on the Navajo Nation, and can be modified to teach a variety of case studies.

A "Role-play" Activity for Teaching about Uranium Mining on the Navajo Nation
Erin Klauk, University of Wyoming
This activity uses an Earth system approach and role playing to teach students about uranium mining on the Navajo Nation. Students first use a website to find information for their assigned roles, and then they ...

Unit 3.1: What's this rock I found? Is it valuable?
Beth Dushman, Howard Community College
In this unit, students will use hand samples or high-resolution images to observe, categorize, and identify some common minerals and rocks, with an emphasis on their role as economic resources. Hands-on activities ...

Mining - Least Cost lab
Ann Linsley, Bellaire High School
This is an exercise that simulates the basic cost of mining, transportation and manufacturing activities under the concept of Weber's least-cost theory.

Earth Resources in the Classroom
Maureen Muldoon, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
This is a brief, in-class exercise designed to get introductory students in a large-lecture class to appreciate that many of the things in their life are made from earth resources. I have the students break into small groups and then list five items in the classroom that contain earth resources and five things that do not contain earth resources.

Simulating Mineral Industry Drilling and Processing Lab
Joel Aquino, University of North Georgia / Hall County Schools
Students simulate two processes applied by the mineral industry - drilling and mineral processing. In the drilling activity, students create a 3D model of a hidden object inside a shoebox by using bamboo skewers as their drilling machines. The second activity on mineral processing challenges the students to design and implement a flowchart on how to separate the individual components of a water-oil laden mineral mixture.