A stream below an abandoned coal mine is orange, has a pH of 3, and supports few aquatic insects. What mining impact most likely caused these conditions?

After mountaintop removal, a valley fill covers the small streams that once began in the valley. What environmental impact has occurred?

A bare spoil pile is followed by heavy rain, and a nearby creek becomes cloudy as fine particles settle over gravel beds. What impact is being observed?

Pumps keep an open-pit mine dry, but several nearby household wells produce much less water than before mining began. What impact is most likely?

Blasting and hauling at a surface mine leave a gray coating on leaves near the site, and nearby residents report more coughing. What impact is occurring?

Land above an underground coal mine develops long cracks and sinks unevenly after supports fail in old mine workings. What impact is this?

Water leaking from a damaged tailings impoundment has elevated copper and lead concentrations downstream. What environmental impact is most directly indicated?

Ore is crushed and processed to concentrate a valuable mineral, leaving a fine-grained slurry stored behind an embankment. What mining by-product is this?

Before a surface coal mine reaches a coal seam, it removes the soil and rock lying above that seam. What is this removed material called?

A mine separates rock that contains too little valuable mineral to process economically and piles it beside the excavation. What by-product is the pile?

Water leaving a coal mine has a pH below 5 and carries dissolved iron and sulfate. Which mineral, exposed to air and water during mining, most often causes this?

During metal processing, impurities separate from molten material and cool into a glasslike solid. What mining-related by-product is this solid?

Surface water and groundwater flow out of an active or abandoned mine site. What is this mining-related discharge called before its quality is determined?

A closed mine has bare, regraded spoil that washes sediment into a creek during storms. Which reclamation step most directly reduces this erosion?

A reclaimed spoil pile has steep slopes with deep rain-cut channels. Which practice best addresses the source of this erosion?

Tests show that sulfide-bearing waste rock produces acid when exposed to oxygen and rainwater. Which reclamation practice most directly prevents that reaction?

An abandoned mine discharges acidic, metal-rich water into a stream. Which reclamation measure directly treats the contaminated discharge?

A surface mine closes with a dangerous vertical highwall and a deep excavation. Which reclamation practice most directly reduces this physical hazard?

Mining stripped away the biologically active upper soil layer, leaving compacted spoil where native plants fail to establish. Which reclamation action best addresses this problem?

Stormwater from a reclaimed mine is concentrated into one channel, creating gullies and carrying sediment toward a creek. Which practice best addresses this runoff problem?