Considering The BIG Question:

You have traced the minerals extracted at Wyoming mining sites to items you use in daily life. You have explored how people can come to agree and disagree about the most important goods and services provided by mineral development. You are ready to consider your team's answer to this Minequest's big question.

Wyoming minerals are developed into conveniences and services that make our modern life more enjoyable. Are some of these goods and services more essential than others?

Your Minequest Team Plan

Task #6: Refer to the list of goods and services you made in Task #1. Using all the information you've gathered so far, as a team discuss how your lives and your community would be different without each of the goods and services on your list. Agree on one mineral and predict how your daily life would be different if the mineral were not available to process into other goods and services. Your list can include both positive and negative impacts of not having the mineral developed. Write your team predictions for life without the mineral you have selected as a list to share with the class according to the directions of your teacher.

Imagine this situation. Due to various unexpected events, less money is available to continue mining and processing all of the minerals in Wyoming at their current level. Cutbacks will cause some goods and services that you depend on to be either less available or no longer available at all. State government has some funds that it can use to support some but not all of the minesites in Wyoming. At a town meeting, you can propose plans for how to divide up the money among the four mineral industries to keep the goods and services that you think are the most important. Do you think coal should get the most support even if it means losing some of the products we get from trona? Is it more important to support continued development of uranium at the expense of support for mining bentonite and the goods or services that it provides?

For the next task, click this link to print a copy of the Minequest problem-solving matrix or your teacher will provide a copy for you.

Task #7: Use the problem-solving matrix to record four different ways to divide resources to continue the flow of goods and services dependent on minerals. Each of your solutions must show what percent of government assistance funds will go to each of the four minerals. (Example: 100% to coal and no help to the other three mineral minesites.) Decide on four criteria you will use to evaluate your solutions. Tally and record the scores for each solution on the matrix.

Task #8: From your completed matrix, select any two separate scores. Identify the scores you choose by the cell they are in such as Solution 3, Criterion 5. In a written explanation, make a case to support these two ratings.

Task #9: As a team or an individual, write an explanation of how the solution that scored the highest on your matrix was or was not an example of compromise. Did this "winning solution" require more than one interest group or individual to make sacrifices? Who lost and who gained? If you determine that the solution did not require compromise, how would you revise it so that it did?

Last but not least ...

Task #10: Think about the results of your problem solving matrix. Did the solution you liked the best score the highest? Could you sell your solution to someone else? Are you satisfied with the criteria you chose? What goods and services would you personally most hate to lose if current mineral production could not be maintained? What would be the hardest on your family or your community? Register your thoughts at the Minequest Lobby.

MOVING ON ...

Check to see that you have turned in any work that your teacher requires for evaluation or to earn a class grade.

EXPLORATION

MINING

PROCESSING

PRODUCT

MINEQUEST HOmeMinequest Student Gateway