Transport of heavy metals in the Clark Fork River part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Teaching the Methods of Geoscience:Activities
Kathleen Harper, The University of Montana-Missoula
This is an activity about transport of sediment contaminated by copper, arsenic, and other heavy metals that was deposited into the Clark Fork River channel as the result of historical mining activity. The Clark Fork River between Butte and Milltown, Montana has been the focus of several large superfund projects designed to address the impacts of this legacy of mining in the watershed. This activity is used in an introductory physical geology lab (primarily non-majors) with students who may have limited experience working with quantitative analysis and analyzing graphs.

Benefits and consequences of using minerals as natural resources part of Mineralogy:Activities
Geoffrey Cook, University of California-San Diego
In a short research assignment, students learn about mineral resources that are used in common, present-day electronic devices (a cell-phone is used as a prime example). They investigate the environmental and ...

Research Experiences in a Mineralogy Class part of Undergraduate Research:Case Studies
Dave Mogk, Montana State University Summary One of the goals of my Mineralogy class is to demonstrate how the principles and content covered in class can be applied to questions of geologic interest or that have ...

Mineral Selfie part of Introductory Courses:Activities
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.

Gold: Its impact on South Africa part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Alan Buss, University of Wyoming

Coal: China, Energy and Kyoto - I. Evaluating Coal Leases for Possible Mining part of Complex Systems:Teaching Activities
James Myers, University of Wyoming
Students evaluate coal leases to determine their potential for coal mining. Each company, student group, creates subsurface geologic models for each lease. Using these models, they recommend to the company board of ...

Copper Extraction Demonstration Tutorial part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Interactive Lecture Demonstrations:Examples
Summary This demonstration uses sulfuric acid and crushed copper ore (malachite) to produce a solution of copper sulfate and carbonic acid in a beaker. When a freshly sanded nail is dropped into the copper sulfate ...

Back-of-the-Envelope Calculations: Percentage of Copper in Ore part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Barb Tewksbury, Hamilton College
Question Suppose that you are building a new house. It will take about 90 kg (198 pounds) of copper to do the electrical wiring. In order to get the copper in the first place, someone needs to mine solid rock that ...

A "Jigsaw" Activity for Teaching about Uranium Mining on the Navajo Nation part of Public Policy:Activities
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 part of Public Policy:Activities
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 ...