Year 9 Science · Unit 2 · Lesson 04
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Learning Goals
Real-world scenario
Real-world context
Australia's Pilbara region in Western Australia exports approximately 900 million tonnes of iron ore per year, making it the world's largest iron ore exporter. In May 2020, Rio Tinto accidentally destroyed the Juukan Gorge rock shelters, a site with 46,000 years of continuous human occupation, during a mining expansion approved under an outdated heritage agreement. The event sparked national debate about how mining decisions are made and who bears the long-term costs.
(a) Using lesson vocabulary (finite resource, ore, extraction), explain why iron ore extraction creates long-term resource sustainability concerns.
(b) Using the waste hierarchy, describe the most preferred option for dealing with steel at the end of a product's life. What would need to happen at each stage to keep iron ore in use as long as possible?
Compare two
Complete the table to compare primary extraction (mining ore) with secondary production (recycling). Fill in as many cells as you can using your lesson knowledge.
| Feature | Primary extraction (mining ore) | Secondary production (recycling) |
|---|---|---|
| Energy required | ||
| Impact on finite resources | ||
| Carbon emissions | ||
| Product quality | ||
| Cost per tonne (relative) |
1. Australia is a major exporter of lithium. Using ideas from this lesson, explain why increasing lithium mining today could create a resource problem for future generations.
2. The NSW Return and Earn scheme pays 10 cents per container returned for recycling. Explain how this scheme applies the waste hierarchy and why a financial incentive is needed to encourage recycling behaviour.
Wrap Up
In one sentence, what was the main idea of this lesson?