goldrush - activity guide summary

Gold Rush! is a Specialized Science 12 course centered around Geology and Chemistry in the context of mineral exploration and refining.

The Big Ideas:

Minerals, rocks and earth materials form in response to conditions within and on the Earth’s surface and are the foundation of many resource-based industries.
Weathering and erosion processes continually reshape landscapes through the interaction of the geosphere with the hydrosphere and atmosphere.
Atoms and molecules are building blocks of matter.
Matter and energy are conserved in chemical reactions.

Day 1 (half day) – Travel to the claim and demonstrate atomic scale:

Travel to claim and set up camp.
Discuss structure of atom, calculate and demonstrate the scale of a hydrogen atom with a nucleus diameter of 17mm.

Day 2 – At the Claim:

Discuss big ideas, minerals and rocks – students collect samples from gravel bar and use ID techniques and tools to identify rocks and minerals.
Observe the sluffing bank, consider the sedimentary materials in terms of the rock cycle.
Climb to the bedrock cliffs, collect and identify rock samples, observe and describe the effects of weathering.
Play around with gold pans along the gravel bar and see what we can find.

Day 3 – At the Claim:

Discuss chemical weathering, hydrothermal formations and metamorphism, look for remnants of quartz vein in river rock.
Plan a test to recover gold from the gravel bar and determine grade (g/t) of gold in the material.
Dig, sort, and process gravel through sluice. Measure and record the mass of material in the test plot. Recover and store concentrates.
Travel back to the lab.

Day 4 – Back at the lab:

Process concentrates and separate gold. Finalize test and determine gold grade.
Introduce the kiln, examine the combustion reaction and determine the chemical equation.
Consider the raw placer gold and limitations of the melting process. Examine flux mixture and prepare the smelting reaction.
Smelt gold!
Movie Night - Watch “Ionic Bonds”, “Covalent bonds” and “metal solids” in Khan Academy.

Day 5 – Lab:

Document elements and compounds encountered so far and populate a table with their attributes.

Analyze mining test results and determine mining feasibility and propose innovations.

Determine gold purity with acid test and document the chemical reaction of gold with aqua regia.
Separate black sands (Magnetite, Fe3O4) from concentrate
Balance chemical equation for thermite, prepare appropriate amounts of reactants, predict products.

Day 6 – Lab:

Prepare for thermite reaction, consider risks. Using standard enthalpy of formation predict the energy consumed or produced.
Thermite reaction! Each student initiates her own reaction and pours molten iron into sand mold.
Clean up and measure products, calculate and record reaction yield.
Consider electroplating reaction and document equipment required.
Electroplate iron nuggets in nickel acetate solution.
Write executive summary. Make case for, or against, a small-scale commercial mine operation. Propose some innovation that could make our mining or refining operation better.