Topic 3: Metals and Metal ExtractionKey Idea 1: Minerals are natural resources that are important to Australia’s economy

• Define the term mineral

• State how minerals are mined from the ground in the form of an ore

• Discuss the economic considerations of mining an ore deposit

Properties which are used to identify minerals include:

Colour

Lustre

Streak

Cleavage and fracture

Hardness

Density

Any special properties

Mining in Australia

Key Idea 3: The Activity/Reactivity Series of Metals is a list of some of the most common metals in order from most to least reactive.Predict whether a metal is likely to occur in nature either as an element or a compound, given its relative position in the Reactivity Series.

Topic 3: Metals and Metal Extraction

Key Idea 4: The method of metal extraction from its mineral is determined by the metal’s reactivity

Basic Oxygen Steelmaking (BOS) Process

Bayer Process

Alumina: Al2O3(s) + 2OH-(aq) → 2AlO2

-(aq) + H2O(l)

Silica: SiO2(s) + 2OH-(aq) → SiO3

2-(aq) + H2O(l)

2AlO2-(aq) + 4H2O(l) →

Al2O3.3H2O(s) +2OH-(aq)

Al2O3.3H2O(s) → Al2O3(s) + 3H2O(l)