Exploring Geology on the World-Wide Web - Economic Geology Brian John Exton Department of Geological Sciences University of Texas Austin, Texas 78712 [email protected]

Keywords: Earth science - teaching and curriculum; ENERGY LINKS education - computer assisted; economic geology - gen- eral and mining geology; economic geology - energy U.S. Department of Energy - EIA sources; economic geology - metals; economic geology - http://www.eia.doe.gov/ nonmetals. Home page for the Energy Information Admin- istration, with access to hundreds of technical publi- INTRODUCTION cations (mostly PDF or HTML files) relating to energy You might think that the state of knowledge in production. geology is governed solely by our curiosity about the U.S. Department of Energy - ESTEEM inner worhngs of the Earth. But the origin of geology http://www.sandia.gov/ESTEEM as a scientific study was also forged by the need for Educational site for the ESTEEM program (Educa- the raw materials necessarv for manufacturing" and tion in Science, Technology, Energy, Engineering, and energy production, as well as the desire for precious Math). Select the gas station on the clickable map to metals and gems. The history and development of learn more about fossil fuel-related technologies. every industrialized nation is intricately tied to its supply of natural resources. Economic geology, there- USGS Mineral Resources Program fore, is one of the oldest and most basic fields of geo- http://minerals.er.usgs.gov/ logic study. Current statistical information on the occurrence, The economic aspects of precious metals and gems, quality, quantity, and availability of mineral resources as well as water resources, were covered in previous in the United States. colunlns, and are treated only briefly here. Previous topics of this column and their corresponding hyper- Earth and Mineral Science Learning Resources text links are available from the web page listed be- http~/wnw.ems.psu.edu/Resources/Resources.html low. All of the URL addresses in the current article Free multimedia lecture modules on various Earth will be available on the ~ublicationdate of the next Science topics, including "Energy and Fuels." Each issue of the journal. Please visit: http://www.geo. subject contains numerous images, animations and utexas.edulbextonijge/jge.htm models. The original set of materials was created to enhance courses offered at Penn State University. Instructions for downloading and installing these items PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS are included. Society of Economic Geologists Center for Renewable Energy http://www.mines.utah.edu/-wmgg/SEG.html and Sustainable Technology Information on the activities and publications of http://solstice.crest.org/social/eerg this international organization, maintained by Erich Comprehensive list of organizations that provide Petersen at the University of Utah. free or low-cost energy-related educational materials for students and teachers. Compiled by the National American Association of Petroleum Geologists Energy Information Center. http://www.aapg.org National Energy Foundation Home page for one of the largest professional or- http://www.nefl.org/ ganizations concerned with petroleum, natural gas, A nonprofit educational organization providing a and mineral resources. wide variety of energy, environmental, and mineral resource education materials for lundergarten through The Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration grade 12. Although most are for sale (materials can http://www.smenet.org be purchased in single issues or in bulk), they pro- Information on accredited minerals-related degree vide a free packet of materials related to natural gas programs, as well as career information, publications, to current K-12 classroom teachers. and workshops. FOSSIL FUELS - COAL GSA Coal Geology Division http://www.mysite.com/coalgeology/ Kentucky Geological Survey - Coal Research Section The Geological Society of America's Coal Geology http://www.uky.ed~~GS/coal/webcoa~coalweb. Division web site, maintained by Thomas Demchuk. htm Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 46, 1998, p. 398 Exploring Geology on the World-Wide Web - Economic Geology General information on coal geology, with more Another long list of links for oil and gas-related specific references and details about the coal-bearing sites. Provided by Moody's World Energy Group, strata in Kentucky. This page is directed to students publishers of Global Energy Outlook. and teachers, as well as employees of the coal indus- try. Includes an online discussion forum called Coal MINING AND ORE DEPOSITS Education Webchat. National Mining Association - Mineral Education Kentucky Coal Association http://www.nma.org/education.html http://www.coaleducation.org/ Online educational resources, including well-written United Mine Workers of America summary articles such as "What Mining Means to http://www.access.digex.net/-miner/colminrs. Americans" and "Forty Common Minerals and Their html Uses." 'What Coal Miners DO" is an extensive set of pages MineNet presented by the United Mine Workers of America, a http~/www.microserve.net/-dougl labor union that represents coal miners and other MineNet is a self-proclaimed "gateway to the min- workers throughout the United States and Canada. ing industry," with a substantial list of links to govern- Information on the American Coal Industry ment agencies, universities, societies, and other mining http:llwww.history.ohio-state.eduiprojects/ information sources. Maintained by Doug Anderson. CoaVCoa1Contents.htm British Columbia & Yukon Chamber of Mines A very nice site with interesting information and http://www.bc-mining-house.com/ photographs of coal mining at the turn-of-the-century. Prospecting in Canada is serious business! An out- Includes personal stories. standing collection of electronic exhibits and resources for mining enthusiasts, including course notes for an Kennecott Energy online "Prospecting School". http://www.kenergy.com/coalinfo/coalinfo.html Commercial site with helpful articles on coal min- South Africa Chamber of Mines ing and processing. http://www.bullion.org.za/ A comprehensive resource of mining information Cool Science - Coal Country Interactive Game and production statistics, with particular emphasis http://www.fetc.doe.govieducation/coalcountry. on South Africa. Also includes exceptional educational html resources on gold, diamonds, platinum, and coal, as Simple but effective interactive tutorial for ele- well as some nice mining pictures. mentary and possibly middle school students, pro- duced by the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Mining History Network Mines. File size is 6 Mb, and may take thirty min- http://www.ex.ac.uM-RBurt/MinHistNet/ utes to download. Contains mining history bibliographies, and a com- prehensive list of links to mining research and histori- FOSSIL FUELS - OIL AND NATURAL GAS cal societies around the world. Site maintained by Roger Burt at the University of Exeter. sci.geo.petroleum Internet Resources http://www.slb.com/petr.dir Uranium Information Centre A most impressive list of links to petroleum re- http://www.uic.com.au~index.htm lated sites, grouped by various categories. Web site Everything you always wanted to know about ura- hosted by Schlumberger. nium, and more. Australian lnstitute for Petroleum WISE Uranium Project http://www.aip.com.au/ http://antenna.nll-wiseluraniuml The Education section of this site contains several This interesting site covers the health and environ- good resources for download, including fact sheets mental impacts of uranium mining and milling. Site covering various aspects and issues of the petroleum maintained by the World Information Service on En- industry for secondary students, and a nice publica- ergy, an international network of safe energy activists. tion called The Big Book of Oil and Gas designed for Nuclear Energy Institute use at the elementary level. http://www.nei.org/pressrm/facts/infob28.htm Shell Oil UK - Quest Game Press release on the processes involved in mining http://www.shell.co.uMquest/index.html uranium and turning it into nuclear fuel. Meet the Fossil Family! A fun, interactive game for younger children, with simple lessons about how Prospect or Suspect - fossils become fuel. Requires Shockwave Plug-in. Uranium Mining in Australia http://science.org.au/nova/002/002key.htm Oil and Gas Links Easy to read information on uranium mining from http://members.aol.com/moodygeo/oil/oillinks. the Australian Academy of Science web site. Also in- htm cludes several student activities.

Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 46, 1998, p. 399 Exploring Geology on the World-Wide Web - Economic Geology Arizona Mining Association in Canada's Klondike region. A complete transcript http://w~w.azcu.orglmainmenu.html of the program is also available. Check out the section "Copper: Mine to Market," which nicely illustrates the process of copper ore pro- Alberta Diamonds duction. htt~://www.albertadiamonds.com/s/Diamond Links.asp Virtual Copper Mine Tour This commercial site has a good list of links relat- http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/academic/phy~sci/ing to both geologic and economic aspects of the dia- Geology/copper/ mond industry. Photographs and descriptions of copper mining at the Bagdad open pit mine in western hzona, provided Diamonds in the Northwest Territories by John Hernlund at Mesa Community College. http://www.ssimicro.com/-graemeda/diamonds/ index.htm1 Treasure of the Sierra Madre Since the initial discovery of diamonds on the Lac http://www-glg.asu.edu/-sreynolds/sierra~cobre/de Gras property in the fall of 1991, over 100 kim- index. htm berlite pipes have been discovered. Sounds like a Here's a fun and innovative virtual online activity "diamond rush" to me! in which students integrate geology, chemistry, and economics to explore for mineral deposits, namely NONMETAL RESOURCES copper. Each team is given a budget; and can pui- chase maps, reports, well logs, etc. Background in- Natural Aggregate - A Primer formation and all necessary student handouts are htt~://webserver.cr.usgs-gov/frir~/nat-ag- provided. Teacher resources are obtained by contact- P~~~~~/~~~~~~.~~~~ ing the author, Stephen Reynolds at Arizona State Interesting information about a&Wegate (gravel University. and crushed stone), a lesser-known but economically important geologic resource. Easy to follow slide-show Skarns and Skarn Deposits fbrmat. http~/www.wsu.edu:8080/-meinertlskarnHP.htm1 Just what is a you'll find out here on Larry Kansas Geological Survey - Sand, Gravel, and Meinert's web site! Crushed Stone http://www.kgs.ukans.edu/Publications/pic6- - Geology Project Homepage - University of Nevada JP~~-~-~.html http://www.unr.edu/sb204/geology/geologyl. Public Information Circular on the production and html use of sand, gravel, and crushed stone in Kansas. Online K-12 resources covering the history of copper Very concise, with nice ~hotos,facts, and figures. mining, copper mining in ~evada,modern copper mining, and copper trade and industry. Also includes Online - ROckOlOgylo' copper extraction experiments to perform in the class- http://www.rogersgroupinc.com/rockology/ room. rockology.htm Commercial site with good information about the Iron Mining Association of Minnesota production of crushed stone, asphalt, and sand. http://www.taconite.org/ Interesting geologic and economic information Potash and Phosphate Institute about iron mining in the state of Minnesota. http:Nwww.agriculture.com/ppi/kfacts.htm http://www.agriculture.com/ppi/pfacts.htm PRECIOUS METALS AND GEMS Learn about these two important minerals, which are used in the production of fertilizers and soaps. Gold Institute http://www.goldinstitute.com/ About Salt - A slick commercial website with lots of useful in- http://www.geocities.com/-salt/ formation on gold. Interesting research by David Bloch into the history and importance of salt. Lots of fascinating trivia, too. The Discoverv of Gold in California http://www.sfinuseum.org/hist2/gold.htrnl COURSE INFORMATION Early writings and photographs about the Cali- fornia Gold Rush, from an exhibit at the Museum of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign the City of San Francisco. http://vci.cso.uiuc.eddcourses/GEOL105d An exceptional supporting site for the course Geology The American Experience - Gold Fever 105 - Geology of Natural Energy Resources taught by http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/amex/gold/ C. John Mann at the University of Illinois. Includes Teachers guide to the PBS television special "Gold lecture notes with graphics, review files, and a hot Fever," which tells the personal stories of prospectors list to several pertinent links. Exploring Geology on the World-Wide Web - Economic Geology University of Michigan our lives. The number of links related to economic http://www-personal.umich.edu/-skeslerlbook4. geology is immense, and it was difficult to weed out htm those with hidden political or philosophical agendas Chapter outlines and related links for the text- from those with useful educational content. You'll book Resources, Economics and the Environment by have to judge for yourself if I succeeded or not. Stephen Kesler at the University of Michigan. As you or your students research individual com- modities, keep in mind how they were developed and University of Minnesota used historzcally. Many of Earth's natural resources http:l/geolab.geo.umn.edu/courses/3005/ are available in limited supply, or in unique or iso- Lecture notes for the course Geo 3005 -Earth Re- lated locations. The effects of natural resource explo- sources taught by E. Calvin Alexander, Jr. and Feng ration and extraction on local and global scales often Sheng Hu at the University of Minnesota. stand in stark contrast to each other, and it would be a mistake for us to separate the technological and Portland State University geological aspects of the process with their effects on http:/lwww.geol.pdx.edu/Courses/G455/Index. society. htm Lecture notes for the course Minerals in World Affairs taught by Michael Cummings at Portland State University.

University of Wisconsin http:l/www.geology.wisc.edu~-pbrowd http://www.geology.wisc.edu/-macheyne/g410/ home.htm1 These two excellent sites are the collected efforts of Phllip Brown at the University of Wisconsin. The first contains a great Quicktime VR panoramic movie of the Flarnbeau/Ladysmith copper mlne.

MISCELLANEOUS Geothermal Education Office http://geothermal.marin.org/ Very useful information and educational resources related to geothermal energy. Web site supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy.

CNN Financial News - Commodities Prices http://cnnfn.com/markets/commodities.html Track the current prices of all your favorite com- modities!

SUMMARY I read once that every American born will use about 3.5 million pounds of minerals, metals, and fu- els in a lifetime! Most of us probably take this fact for granted. If you spend a little time browsing the sites above, however, you'll become intimately aware of the significance economic geology has played in