Describe five different ways in which minerals are used?
Aluminum - (Bauxite) - The most abundant metal element in the
Earth's crust. Bauxite ore is the main source of aluminum and is
imported from Guinea, Australia, Jamaica, etc. Used in automotive
and airplanes (36%), bottling and canning industries (25%); kitchen
cookware and foil; building and electrical (14%); personal
products, like deodorants.
Antimony - A native element; antimony metal is extracted from
stibnite and other minerals. Used as a lead hardener for storage
batteries and cable sheaths; used as an alloy and in
flame-retardant formulations.
Arsenic - A by-product of mining. Cotton production; wood
preservatives.
Asbestos - Can be readily separated into thin, strong fibers
that are flexible, heat resistant and chemically inert, asbestos
minerals are used in fireproof fabrics, yarn, cloth and paper and
paint filler. Friction products, asbestos cement pipes and sheets,
coatings and compounds, packing and gaskets, roofing and flooring
products, paints and caulking and chemical filters. Fibers are
dangerous when breathed, so uses must protect against fibers
becoming airborne.
Basalt - Basalt is an extrusive igneous rock. Extrusive means
that it solidified after flowing onto the surface of the earth.
Basalt is used in many of the same ways as granite. It is suitable
for railroad ballast, for asphalt and road aggregate in highway
construction.
Barium - (Barite) - Used as a heavy additive in oil well
drilling mud, paints, rubber, plastic and paper; production of
barium chemicals and glass manufacturing.
Beryllium - Industrial and nuclear defense applications, used in
light, very strong alloys for aircraft industry. Beryllium salts
are used in X-ray tubes and as a deoxidizer in bronze metallurgy.
The gemstones of beryl are emerald and aquamarine.
Bismuth - Is a by-product of ore processing, used in chemicals,
pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
Boron - Used primarily in the manufacture of different types of
glass (Pyrex).
Bromine - Used in leaded gasoline; fire extinguishers and
retardants; well completion fluids and sanitary preparations.
Cadmium - Plating and alloying; pigments, plastics and
batteries.
Cement - Building materials, stucco and mortar.
Cesium - Electronic, medical and chemical applications.
Chromium - Stainless and heat-resistant steel, full-alloy steel,
super alloys and other alloys.
Clays - Kaolin, paper, refractories, rubber, ball clay,
dinnerware and pottery, floor and wall tile, sanitary wear, fire
clay, firebricks, foundry sands, bentonite, drilling mud, iron ore
pelletizing, fuller's earth, absorbent and filtering, insecticide
dispersing, common clay, construction, cosmetics.
Coal - Technically, coal is not really a mineral. It should be
considered a black or brownish-black rock of organic origin. It is
a "fossil-fuel", just like petroleum and natural gas. There are
four principal types of coal. Listed in order of lowest to highest
heating value, they are Lignite, Subbituminous, Bituminous and
Anthracite. Coals are used for fuel, space heating and electricity
generation.
Cobalt - Used in superalloys for jet engine parts, cutting tools
and electrical devices, permanent magnets, catalysts; pigments and
dryers for paints and allied products.
Columbium - (Niobium) - Used mostly as an additive in structural
steels and in superalloys; used in metallurgy for heat resistant
alloys, rust-proofing (stainless steel) and electromagnetic
superconductors.
Copper - (Chrysocolla) - Used in electric cables and wires and
building construction, switches, plumbing, heating and electrical
and electronic components, industrial machinery and equipment,
transportation, consumer and general products, coins, and jewelry.
Leading producers are Chile and the U.S.
Corundum and Emery - Grinding and polishing abrasive.
Diamond (Industrial) - (Kimberlite) - Machinery, mineral
services, stone and ceramic products, abrasives, construction,
drilling, transportation equipment.
Diatomite - Is a siliceous product organically produced by
diatoms. A diatom is a single-celled organism found in fresh and
salt water that under ideal conditions could divide every 8 hours.
The external skeletons of these creatures are made of silica.
Primarily used for filtration, but new applications are
continuously being found in the fields of biotechnology,
pharmaceutical applications and environmental cleanup
technologies.
Dolomite - (Lime) - Is the near-twin sister rock to limestone.
Like limestone, it forms in a marine environment. Dolomite is used
in agriculture, chemical and industrial applications; cement
construction, refractories, and environmental industries.
Feldspar - A rock forming mineral; industrially important in
glass and ceramic industries; pottery, porcelain and enamelware;
soaps; bond for abrasive wheels; cement and glues; insulating
compositions; fertilizer; tarred roofing materials; and as a
sizing, or filler, in textiles and paper applications.
Fluorite - (Fluorspar) - Used in production of hydrofluoric
acid, which is used in pottery, ceramics, optical, electroplating
and plastics industries. In the metallurgical treatment of bauxite;
as a flux in open-hearth steel furnaces and in metal smelting; in
carbon electrodes; emery wheels; electric arc welders; toothpaste
as a source of fluorine and in water fluoridation.
Gallium - Used in the electronics industry.
Garnet - Used in water filtration, finishing wood furniture,
electronic components, ceramics, glass, jewelry and abrasives in
transport manufacturing.
Germanium - A by-product of refining base metal ores. Fiber
optics and infrared lenses.
Gold - Used in dentistry and medicine; in jewelry and arts; in
medallions and coins; in ingots as a store of value; for scientific
and electronic instruments; computer circuitry; as an electrolyte
in the electroplating industry; in many applications for space
travel.
Granite - Granite is an intrusive igneous rock. Intrusive means
that it solidified while still buried deep within the earth.
Granite can be cut into large blocks and used as a building stone.
When polished it is used for monuments, headstones, statues and
facing on buildings. It is also suitable for railroad ballast, for
asphalt and road aggregate in highway construction.
Graphite - Dry lubricant; steel hardener; pencils.
Gypsum - Processed and used as a prefabricated wallboard or an
industrial or building plaster; used in cement manufacture;
agriculture and other uses.
Halite - (sodium chloride - salt) - Used in human and animal
diet, food seasoning and food preservation. To prepare sodium
hydroxide, soda ash, caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, chlorine,
metallic sodium; used in ceramic glazes; metallurgy, curing of
hides; mineral waters; soap manufacture; home water softeners;
highway deicing; photography; in scientific equipment for optical
parts.
Indium - By-product of zinc refining. Used in alloys and
instruments.
Iodine - A by-product of seaweed soda ash, Goiter treatment,
antiseptic and photographic applications.
Iron Ore - Used to manufacture steels of various types. Used in
metallurgy products; magnets; high-frequency cores; auto parts;
catalyst and many other applications. Most U.S. production is from
Minnesota and Michigan.
Kyanite - Used in smelting and processing ferrous (iron) metals,
nonferrous metals, glass and ceramics.
Lead - (Galena) - Transportation, batteries, gasoline additives,
construction, ammunition, TV tubes, nuclear shielding, ceramics;
ballast or weight; tubes or containers. U.S. is largest producer
(mainly from Missouri), consumer and recycler of lead metal.
Limestone - Limestone is a sedimentary rock and composed of
calcium carbonate. Limestone, along with dolomite, is one of the
basic building blocks of the construction industry. Limestone is
used as aggregate, building stone, cement, lime, as fluxes, glass
raw material, refractories, fillers, abrasives, soil conditioners,
and ingredients in a host of chemical processes.
Lithium - Compounds are used in ceramics and glass; in primary
aluminum potlines and production; in the manufacture of lubricants
and greases; rocket propellants; silver solder; batteries; and
medicine.
Manganese - Essential to iron and steel production.
Magnesium - Used in cement, rubber, paper, insulation, chemicals
and fertilizers, animal feed and pharmaceuticals.
Mercury - (Cinnabar) - Electrical, electrolytic production of
chlorine and caustic soda, paint, industrial and control
instruments (thermometers and thermostats).
Mica - Mica commonly occurs as flakes, scales or shreds. Sheet
muscovite (white) mica is used in electronic insulators; ground
mica in paints, as joint cement, as a dusting agent, in
well-drilling mud and lubricants; and in plastics, roofing, rubber
and welding rods.
Molybdenum - Used in alloy steels (475 of all uses) to make
automotive parts, construction equipment, gas transmission pipes;
stainless steels (21%); tool steels (9%); cast irons (7%); and
chemical lubricants (8%). As a pure metal, molybdenum is used
because of its high melting temperatures (4,730 F) as filament
supports in light bulbs, metalworking dies and furnace parts.
Nickel - Vital as an alloy to stainless steel; plays a key roll
in the chemical and aerospace industries. Leading producers are
Canada, Norway and Russia.
Oil Shale - Source of oil for fuel; used in plastics, ,
synthetic fabrics, lubricants, etc.
Perlite - Expanded perlite is used in roof insulation boards; as
fillers, filter aids and for horticulture.
Phosphate rock - Used to produce phosphoric acid ammoniated
phosphate fertilizers, feed additives for livestock, elemental
phosphorus, and a variety of phosphate chemicals for industrial and
home consumers. U.S. production is from Florida, North Carolina,
Idaho and Utah.
Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) - Includes platinum, palladium,
rhodium, iridium, osmium and ruthenium. Commonly occur together in
nature and are among the scarcest of the metallic elements.
Platinum is used principally in catalysts for the control of
automobile and industrial plant emissions; in jewelry; and in
catalysts to produce acids, organic chemicals and pharmaceuticals;
an in dental alloys used for making crowns and bridges.
Potash - Carbonate of potassium; used as a fertilizer, in
medicine, in the chemical industry and to produce decorative color
effects on brass, bronze and nickel.
Pyrite - Used in the manufacture of sulfur, sulfuric acid and
sulfur dioxide; pellets of pressed pyrite dust are used to recover
iron, gold, copper, cobalt, and nickel.
Quartz - (silica) - As crystal, quartz is used as a semiprecious
gemstone. Crystalline varieties include amethyst, citrine, rose
quartz, smoky quartz, etc. Because of its piezoelectric properties,
quartz is used for pressure gauges, oscillators, resonators and
wave stabilizers. Also used in manufacturing of glass, paints,
abrasives, refractories and precision instruments.
Quartzite - Quartzite is the metamorphic offspring of sandstone.
Quartzite is typically very hard rock, which makes it useful for
building stone material, and the construction industry.
Rhenium - Used in producing lead-free gasoline.
Rubidium - Used in electronics, chemicals and electrical power
generators.
Sandstone - Concrete for highways, bridges, dams, waterworks and
airports; road bases and coverings, construction fill, asphaltic
concrete, aggregates and other bituminous mixtures; railroad
ballast, snow and ice control.
Selenium - Used in photocopiers, glass, antidandruff shampoos,
steels and animal feeds.
Silica - Used in manufacture of computer chips, glass and
refractory materials; ceramics; abrasives; water filtration;
component of hydraulic cements; filler in cosmetics,
pharmaceutical, paper, insecticides; anti-caking agent in foods;
flatting agent in paint; thermal insulator.
Silicon - Used in iron, steel, and aluminum; chemical and
electronic industries.
Silver - (Tetrahedrite) - Used in photography, chemistry; in
electrical and electronic products because of its very high
conductivity; sterling silverware, electroplated ware, jewelry and
coins, brazing alloys and solders.
Strontium - Used in color TV tubes; pyrotechnic materials;
magnets.
Sulfur - Widely used in manufacturing processes; drugs,
fertilizers.
Talc - (Soapstone) -The primary use for talc is in the
production of paper. Ground talc is used as filler in ceramics,
paint, paper, roofing, plastics, cosmetics, and in agriculture. You
will find talc in many household products such as baby (talcum)
powder, deodorant, and makeup. Very pure talc is used in fine arts,
and is called soapstone. It is often used to carve figurines.
Tantalum - Used in electronic components, transportation,
chemical equipment and metal working machinery.
Tellurium - Used as an alloy with steel and copper.
Thallium - Used in electronics and as an alloy.
Tin - Cans and containers, solder, electrical, chemicals.
Titanium - A metal used mostly in jet engines, airframes and
space and missile applications. In powdered form I is used as a
white pigment for paints, paper, plastics, rubber and other
materials.
Trona - (sodium carbonate or soda ash) - Used in glass container
manufacture; in fiberglass and specialty glass; also used in
production of flat glass; in liquid detergents; in medicine; as a
food additive; photography; cleaning and boiler compounds; pH
control of water. Trona is mined mainly in Wyoming.
Tungsten - Used in steel production and in metalworking; cutting
applications; construction and electrical machinery and equipment;
in transportation equipment; as filament in light bulbs; as a
carbide in drilling equipment; in heat and radiation shielding;
textile dyes, enamels, paints and for coloring glass.
Uranium - Radioactive ores used in nuclear defense system and
used for nuclear generation of electricity, nuclear medicine and
x-rays, atomic dating and electronic instruments.
Vanadium - Used in metal alloys (titanium alloys important for
aerospace); as a catalyst for production of malefic anhydride and
sulfuric acid; as target material for x-rays.
Vermiculite - Insulation; soil conditioner and fertilizer
carrier.
Zeolites - Used in aquaculture (fish hatcheries for removing
ammonia from the water); water softener; in catalysts; cat litter;
odor control; and for removing radioactive ions from nuclear plant
effluent.
Zinc - (Sphalerite) - Used as protective coating on steel, as
die casting, as an alloying metal with copper to make brass, and as
chemical compounds in rubber and paint. Used as sheet zinc and for
galvanizing iron; electroplating; metal spraying; automotive parts;
electrical fuses; anodes; dry cell batteries; nutrition; chemicals;
roof gutters; cable wrapping; organ pipes and pennies. Zinc oxide
is used in medicine, paints, vulcanizing rubber and sunblock
lotions.
Zirconium - Used in foundry sands
Source: Mineral Information Institute; U.S. Geological
Survey
