Minerals - Important parts in our daily lives!
The quality of life we enjoy today is very much dependent on the availability of natural non-renewable resources, formed by geological processes throughout the millions of years of our Earth's history.
Minerals are ingredients in almost all of the products we use, from computers to plastics, from toothpaste to knives and plates. Based on the current consumption, it is estimated that a person in a modern society uses more than one million pounds of rocks and minerals in a lifetime. To be truly sustainable, non-renewable resources must be replenished at the rate of consumption through recycling.
Al - Aluminum
Source: Bauxite
Formation: A weathering product of low iron and silica bedrock in tropical climatic conditions
Size: (WM/D- 53) 8x8 cm
Al - Products
Usage: Transportation (cars, aircrafts, railway cars, bicycles), electronics and CDs, packaging such as cans for fizzy drinks and aluminum foils
Clay Minerals
Formation: Forms over long periods of time by the gradual chemical weathering of rocks
Size: 8 cm
Clay - Products
Uses: Building material (bricks and cement production), ceramics, paper making, smooth coatings on medicine, coatings on magazines
Cu - Copper
Source: Chalcopyrite, Bornite
Formation: Mainly in Cu-sulfides in porphyry copper ore deposits associated with granitic intrusive rocks
Size: 13 cm
Cu - Refined copper metal
Properties: Good electrical and thermal conductor, ductile and malleable, impermeable
Cu - Products
Uses: Brass and bronze alloys, plumbing, electrical wiring, electromagnets, cookware, coins
F - Fluorine
Source: Flourite
Formation: Occur dominantly as a vein deposit of hydrothermal origin and in granites and other igneous rocks
Size: 15 cm
F - Products
Uses: Toothpaste to prevent dental cavities, carbon fluorine compound used for non-sticky Teflon® coating in pots and for water-proofed Gore-tex® fabrics
Au - Gold
Source: Native Gold
Formation: Occurs as grains in hydrothermal quartz veins or as nuggets in alluvial deposits
Size: 2mm nuggets
Au - Products
Properties: Conducts electricity, dense, malleable and ductile, rare
Uses: Circuit boards, dentistry, jewelry
C - Graphite
Formation: Graphite is produced through the metamorphism of organic material in rocks
C - Products
Properties: Soft, opaque, electrical conductor
Uses: Pencils, lubricants, carbon fiber, batteries
Hydrocarbons
Source: Crude Oil
Formation: Forms from accumulated and buried remains of plants and animals, transformed by heat and pressure into crude oil over millions of years
Hydrocarbon - Products
Hydrocarbon - Products Kerosene, gasoline, fuel oil
Properties: High energy density, flammable, easy transportable
Usage: Major energy supply we use to light, heat and run our world; all types of plastics and polystyrene containers
Fe - Iron
Source: Hematite, Magnetite
Formation: In sedimentary rocks precipitating from water (Banded Iron Formations, hydrothermal deposits) as well as in igneous and metamorphic rocks
Refined iron metal as stainless steel
Properties: High strength, rigid, hard, does not rust, relative low cost
Fe - Products
Uses: Stainless steel is used for building materials, machinery, automobiles, ships, nails, screws, bolts and cutlery
Hg - Mercury
Source: Cinnabar, Native Metal
Formation: As a vein-filling mineral associated with recent volcanic activity and alkaline hot springs
Size: 6 cm
Hg - Products
Properties: Liquid at room temperature
Uses: Thermometer, in amalgam material for dental fillings
Si - Silicon
Source: Variations of Quartz, Quartz sand, Quartz sandstone
Refined silicon metal
Properties: Transparent, hard, rigid, impermeable, piezoelectric
Si - Products
Uses: Any type of glass (e.g. drinking glasses, window glass), in electronics, silicon chips in computers, quartz watches
Ag - Silver
Source: Argentite, Native metal
Formation: Occurs as grains or argentite ore in low-temperature hyrdrothermal quartz veins or as nuggets in alluvial deposits
Ag - Products
Uses: Jewelry, high-end audio cables and mirrors, photography (AgCl)
S - Sulphur
Source: Native Sulfur, Sulfides & Sulfates
Formation: In association with hot springs and evaporates Size: (Left) 7 cm / (Right) 12 cm
S - Products
Uses: Fertilizer, Insecticides, vulcanization of natural rubber (durable rubber soles of sneakers), gunpowder, matches, production of sulfuric acid
Talc - Products
Formation: Through metamorphism of Mg-bearing minerals
Size: 11 cm
Talc - Products
Uses: Talcum powder and cosmetics, lubricant in lotions, filler in paper production, baby powder, ceramics
Sn - Tin
Source: Cassiterite Ore
Formation: In association with granitic intrusive rocks or in seconday placer deposits
Refined tin metal
Properties: Compressible, malleable, ductile, does not rust, impermeable
Sn - Products
Uses: Bronze and pewter alloys, solders, tin coating on steel to prevent corrosion, tin-plated steel containers for food preservation (tin cans)
W - Tungsten
Source: Wolframite ore
Formation: In quartz veins and pegmatites associated with granitic intrusive rocks
Properties: High melting point, strong, rigid
W- Products
Uses: Electronics, filament in light bulbs, tip of ball pens, tungsten carbide abrasives