Education GeoSource

The Education GeoSource database has thousands of free resources, from lessons to outreach and teacher professional development, for use in classrooms, scout programs, or at home.

All About Coal

Introduce primary and elementary students to the formation of coal, the coal mining process, reclamation of lands, and the uses of coal. Hands-on, multi-disciplinary activities. Free download.  59 pages.  Find related curricula at www.need.org.

Reclaiming a Mine Site

Build a model reclaimed landscape in a plastic tub and observe and compare the growth of vegetation on one of eight model landscapes to learn that specific conditions are needed to re-vegetate reclaimed mine sites. This MEC page from the 2016 AGI Earth Science Week Calendar was created with permission from Caterpillar. To view the Caterpillar Ground Rules video and access the accompanying 75-activity guide go here.

Rio Tinto Kennecott Utah Copper Virtual Tour

Take a virtual tour behind-the-scenes of Rio Tinto’s Kennecott Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah. The mine is the largest excavation on Earth and over its history has produced more copper than any other mine. The Kennecott Bingham Canyon Mine also produces gold, silver and molybdenum. Visit the mine, concentrator, smelter, refinery and other facilities through captioned narration, 360° images, and videos.

Learn about environment and sustainability efforts that include the “cleanest smelter in the world,” reusing 80% of their water, and creating the 3000 acre shorebird preserve, LEED buildings and a sustainable community. Content is aimed at grades 6-12, though all ages will enjoy the Virtual Tour.

Note: The tour requires sign-in with name and email.  The virtual tour works best with the latest version of modern browsers Firefox, Explorer and Chrome.

From Ore To More Video

This fun 6-minute video from Rio Tinto’s Kennecott Utah Copper tells the story of copper from start to finish, through the mining, processing and end uses of copper, complete with great mathematical analogies for the scale of giant sizes and weights.

Content aimed at grades 4-8, though all ages will enjoy the video. [5:59]

Phosphate Activities

Accompanying Activities
These simple activities reinforce concepts learned in the phosphate mining video.
Paper Manipulative Activity
Multiple Choice Questions and Writing Prompt