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Common
Minerals and Their Uses
|State Mineral Production Summaries| -- |Individual Mineral Photographs| (or click on images below) |More Mineral Photos|  Aluminum: is the most
abundant metal element in the Earth’s crust. Bauxite is the main source of
aluminum. Aluminum is used in the United States in packaging,
transportation, and building. Guinea
and Australia
have about one-half of the world’s reserves. Other countries with major
reserves include Brazil,
Jamaica,
and India.
--More information --
Bauxite: a general term for a rock composed of hydrated
aluminum oxides; it is the main ore of alumina to make aluminum; also used in
the production of synthetic corundum and aluminous refractories.
 Antimony:
A native element; antimony metal is extracted from stibnite and other
minerals. Antimony is used as a hardening alloy for lead, especially storage
batteries and cable sheaths; also used in bearing metal; type metal; solder;
collapsible tubes and foil; sheet and pipes; and, semiconductor technology. -- More information--Stibnite
(the main ore of Antimony): The sample in the photo contains 71.8
percent antimony and 28.2 percent sulfur. It is the most important ore for
antimony. Stibnite is used for metal antifriction alloys, metal type, shot,
batteries; in the manufacture of fireworks. Antimony salts are used in the
rubber and textile industries, in medicine; and glassmaking. Asbestos:
Because this group of silicate minerals can be readily separated into thin,
strong fibers that are flexible, heat resistant, and chemically inert,
asbestos minerals are suitable for use in fireproof fabrics, yarn, cloth,
paper, paint filler, gaskets, roofing composition, reinforcing agent in
rubber and plastics, brake linings, tiles, electrical and heat insulation,
cement, and chemical filters. --
More Information --  Barium:
Used as a heavy additive in oil-well-drilling mud; in the paper and rubber
industries; as a filler or extender in cloth, ink, and plastics products; in
radiography ("barium milkshake"); as getter (scavenger) alloys in
vacuum tubes; deoxidizer for copper; lubricant for anode rotors in X-ray
tubes; spark-plug alloys. Also used to make an expensive white pigment. -- More Information -- Beryllium:
Beryllium alloys are used mostly in applications in aerospace, automobiles,
computers, oil and gas drilling equipment, and telecommunications. Beryllium
salts are used in fluorescent lamps, in X-ray tubes and as a deoxidizer in
bronze metallurgy. Beryl is the source of the gem stones emerald and
aquamarine. Sample in photo contains 14 percent beryllium oxide. -- More Information --
 Coal:
One of the world’s major sources of energy. In the United States, coal provides
approximately 23% of all the energy consumed. Coal is used to produce more
than half of all the electrical energy that is generated and used in the United States.
-- More Information --
Coal is a very complex and diverse energy resource that can vary greatly, even within the same deposit. In general, there are four basic varieties of coal, which are the result of geologic forces having altered plant material in different ways. These varieties descended from the first stage in the formation of coal: the creation of peat or partially decomposed plant material. Lignite: Increased pressures and heat from overlying strata causes buried peat to dry and harden into lignite. Lignite is a brownish-black coal with generally high moisture and ash content and lower heating value. However, it is an important form of energy for generating electricity. Significant lignite mining operations are located in Texas, North Dakota, Louisiana, and Montana. Subbituminous Coal: Under still more pressure, some lignite was changed into the next rank of coal subbituminous. This is a dull black coal with a higher heating value than lignite that is used primarily for generating electricity and for space heating. Most subbituminous reserves are located in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Washington and Alaska. Bituminous Coal: Even greater pressure results in the creation of bituminous, or “soft” coal. This is the type most commonly used for electric power generation in the U.S. It has a higher heating value than either lignite or subbituminous, but less than that of anthracite. Bituminous coal is mined chiefly in Appalachia and the Midwest. Also used to make coke. Anthracite: Sometimes also called “hard coal,” anthracite forms from bituminous coal when great pressures developed in folded rock strata during the creation of mountain ranges. This occurs only in limited geographic areas - primarily the Appalachian region of Pennsylvania. Anthracite has the highest energy content of all coals and is used for space heating and generating electricity.  Chromite (chromium): Some 99 percent of the world's chromite is
found in southern Africa and Zimbabwe.
Chemical and metallurgical industries use about 85% of the chromite consumed
in the United States.
-- More Information -- Cobalt:
Used in superalloys for jet engines; chemicals (paint driers, catalysts,
magnetic coatings, pigments, rechargeable batteries); magnets; and cemented
carbides for cutting tools. Principal cobalt producing countries include Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Zambia,
Canada,
Cuba,
Australia,
and Russia.
The United States
uses about one-third of total world consumption. Cobalt resources in the United States
are low grade and production from these deposits is usually not economically
feasible. -- More
Information -- Columbite-tantalite group (columbium is another name
for niobium): Columbite is a
natural oxide of niobium, tantalum, ferrous iron, and manganese. Some tin and
tungsten may be present in the mineral. Columbium, in the form of
ferrocolumbium, is used mostly as an additive in steel making and in
superalloys for such applications as heat-resisting and combustion equipment,
jet engine components, and rocket subassemblies; in cemented carbides; and in
superconductors. Brazil
and Canada
are the world’s leading producers. -- More Information -- Copper:
Used in electric cables and wires, switches, plumbing, heating; roofing and
building construction; chemical and pharmaceutical machinery; alloys (brass,
bronze, and a new alloy with 3% beryllium that is particularly vibration
resistant); alloy castings; electroplated protective coatings and undercoats
for nickel, chromium, zinc, etc., and cooking utensils. The leading producer
is Chile,
followed by the U.S.,
and Indonesia.
-- More Information -- Feldspar:
a rock-forming mineral; industrially important in glass and ceramic
industries; pottery and enamelware; soaps; abrasives; bond for abrasive
wheels; cements and concretes; insulating compositions; fertilizer; poultry
grit; tarred roofing materials; and as a sizing (or filler) in textiles and
paper. Albite is a feldspar mineral and is a sodium aluminum silicate. This
form of feldspar is used as a glaze in ceramics. -- More Information -- Fluorite (fluorspar): used in production of hydrofluoric acid, which is
used in the electroplating, stainless steel, refrigerant, and plastics
industries; in production of aluminum fluoride, which is used in aluminum
smelting; as a flux in ceramics and glass, and in steel furnaces; and in
emery wheels, optics, and welding rods. -- More Information -- 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; as
an electrolyte in the electro-plating industry. South Africa has about half of
the world’s resources. Significant quantities are also present in the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, and Russia. -- More Information -- Gypsum: Processed and used as prefabricated
wallboard or as industrial or building plaster; used in cement manufacture;
agriculture and other uses. . -- More Information -- Halite (Sodium
chloride--Salt): Used in human
and animal diet, food seasoning and food preservation; used 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 de-icing; photography;
herbicide; fire extinguishing; nuclear reactors; mouthwash; medicine (heat
exhaustion); in scientific equipment for optical parts. Single crystals used
for spectroscopy, ultraviolet and infrared transmission. -- More Information -- Iron Ore: About 98% of iron ore is used to make steel— one
of the greatest inventions and most useful materials ever created. While the
other uses for iron ore and iron are only a very small amount of the
consumption, they provide excellent examples of the ingenuity and the
multitude of uses that man can create from our natural resources.Powdered iron: used in metallurgy products; magnets; high-frequency cores; auto parts; catalyst. Radioactive iron (iron 59): in medicine; tracer element in biochemical and metallurgical research. Iron blue: in paints, printing inks; plastics; cosmetics (eye shadow); artist colors; laundry blue; paper dyeing; fertilizer ingredient; baked enamel finishes for autos and appliances; industrial finishes. Black iron oxide: as pigment; in polishing compounds; metallurgy; medicine; magnetic inks; in ferrites for electronics industry. Major producers of iron ore include Australia, Brazil, China, Russia, and India. . -- More Information --  Kaolin: Also known as "china clay' is a white,
aluminosilicate widely used in paints, refractories, plastics, sanitary
wares, fiberglass, adhesives, ceramics, and rubber products. -- More Information -- Lead: Used in lead batteries, gasoline tanks, and
solders, seals or bearings; used in electrical and electronic applications;
TV tubes, TV glass, construction, communications, and protective coatings; in
ballast or weights; ceramics or crystal glass; tubes or containers, type
metal, foil or wire; X-ray and gamma radiation shielding; soundproofing
material in construction industry; and ammunition. The U.S. is the world's
largest producer and consumer of refined lead metal. Major mine producers
other than the U.S. include Australia, Canada, China, Peru, and Kazakhstan. -- More Information --
Galena: a
lead sulfide, the commonest ore of lead. Sample in photo contains 86.6
percent lead.
 Limestone:
A sedimentary rock composed mostly of the mineral calcite and comprising
about 15% of the earth's sedimentary crust. Uses are numerous. Limestone is a
basic building block of the construction industry (dimension stone) and the
chief materials from which aggregate, cement, lime, and building stone are
made. 71% of all crushed stone produced in the U.S. is either limestone or
dolomite. As a source for lime, it is used to make paper, plastics, glass,
paint, steel, cement, carpets, used in water treatment and purification
plants, in the processing of various foods and household items (including
medicines).. -- More
Information -- Lithium: Lithium compounds are used in ceramics and glass;
in primary aluminum production; in the manufacture of lubricants and greases;
rocket propellants; vitamin A synthesis; silver solders; underwater buoyancy
devices; batteries. --
More Information -- Manganese: Essential to iron and steel production. The U.S.,
Japan, and Western Europe are all nearly deficient in economically mineable
managanese. South Africa and the Ukraine have over 80% of the world's
reserves. -- More
Information -- Mica: Micas commonly occur as flakes, books, or sheets.
Sheet muscovite (white) mica is used in electronic insulators (mainly in
vacuum tubes); ground mica in paint, as joint cement, as a dusting agent, in
well-drilling muds; and in plastics, roofing, rubber, and welding rods. -- More Information -- Molybdenum: The two largest uses of molybdenum are as an alloy
in stainless steels and in alloy steels—these two uses consume about 60% of
the molybdenum needs in eh United States. Stainless steels include the
strength and corrosion-resistant requirements for water distribution systems,
food handling equipment, chemical processing equipment, home, hospital, and
laboratory requirements. Alloy steels include the stronger and tougher steels
needed to make automotive parts, construction equipment, gas transmission
pipes. Other major uses as an alloy include: Tool steels, for things like
bearings, dies, machining components; cast irons, for steel mill rolls, auto
parts, crusher parts; super alloys for use in furnace parts, gas turbine
parts, chemical processing equipment.Molybdenum also is an important material for the chemicals and lubricant industries. Moly has uses as catalysts, paint pigments, corrosion inhibitors, smoke and flame retardants, dry lubricant (molybdenum disulfide) on space vehicles and resistant to high loads and temperatures. As a pure metal, molybdenum is used because of its high melting temperatures (4,730 F.) as filament supports in light bulbs, metal-working dies and furnace parts. Major producing countries are China, Chile, and the U.S. . -- More Information --  Nickel: vital as an alloying constituent of stainless
steel; plays key role in the chemical and aerospace industries. Leading
producers include Australia, Canada, Norway and Russia. Large reserves are
found in Australia, Cuba, New Caledonia, Canada, Indonesia, the Philippines,
and Russia. -- More
Information -- Platinum Group Metals
(includes platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, osmium, and ruthenium): They commonly occur together in nature and are
among the most scarce of the metallic elements. Platinum is used principally
as catalysts for the control of automobile and industrial plant emissions; as
catalysts to produce acids, organic chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. PGMs are
used in bushings for making glass fibers used in fiber-reinforced plastic and
other advanced materials, in electrical contacts, in capacitors, in
conductive and resistive films used in electronic circuits; in dental alloys
used for making crowns and bridges; in jewelry. Russia and South Africa have
nearly all the world’s reserves. The sample in the photo is Sperrylite, is of
very rare occurrence but of interest as the only native compound of platinum -- More Information -- Potash: Usually chloride of potassium. Used as a
fertilizer; in medicine; in the chemical industry; and is used to produce
decorative color effects on brass, bronze, and nickel. Can also be potassium
sulfate, potassium-magnesium sulfate, and potassium nitrate. Is an essential
mineral for vegetable and animal life. -- More Information -- Pyrite: Used in the manufacture of sulfuric acid and
sulfur dioxide; pellets of pressed pyrite dust have been used to recover
iron, gold, copper, cobalt, nickel, etc.; used to make inexpensive jewelry. -- More Information -- Quartz (Silica): As a crystal, quartz is used as a semiprecious gem
stone. Cryptocrystalline forms may also be gem stones: agate, jasper, onyx,
carnelian, chalcedony, etc. Crystalline gem 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; because of its ability to rotate the plane of polarization
of light and its transparency in ultraviolet rays it is used in heat-ray
lamps, prism, and spectrographic lenses. Used in the manufacture of glass,
paints, abrasives, refractories, and precision instruments. -- More Information --Rare Earth Elements: industrial consumption of rare earth ores is
primarily in petroleum fluid cracking catalysts, metallurgical additives,
ceramics and polishing compounds, permanent magnets, and phosphors. Rare
earth elements are lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium,
samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium,
thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium. -- More Information -- Silicon or Silica
(commonly called quartz): used
in manufacture of special steels and cast iron, aluminum alloys, glass and
refractory materials; ceramics; abrasives; water filtration; component of
hydraulic cements; filler in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, paper, insecticides;
rubber reinforcing agent, especially for high adhesion to textiles;
anti-caking agent in foods; flatting agent in paints; thermal insulator.
Fused silica is used as an ablative material in rocket engines, spacecraft;
silica fibers used in reinforced plastics. -- More Information -- Silver: used in photography; jewelry; in electronics
because of its very high conductivity; as currency, generally in some form of
an alloy; in lining vats and other equipment for chemical reaction vessels,
water distillation, etc.; catalyst in manufacture of ethylene; mirrors;
electric conductors; batteries; silver plating; table cutlery; dental,
medical, and scientific equipment; electrical contacts; bearing metal; magnet
windings; brazing alloys, solder. Silver is mined in approximately 56
countries. Nevada produces over one-third of the U.S. silver. Largest silver
reserves are found in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Peru, and China. -- More Information -- Sodium Carbonate (Soda Ash
or Trona): Used in glass
container manufacture; in fiber-glass and specialty glass; also used in
production of flat glass; in powdered detergents; in medicine; as a food
additive; photography; cleaning and boiler compounds; pH control of water. -- More Information -- Sulfur: Used in the manufacture of sulfuric acid,
fertilizers, chemicals, explosives, dyestuffs, petroleum refining;
vulcanization of rubber; fungicides. -- More Information -- Tantalum: A refractory metal with unique electrical,
chemical, and physical properties that is used mostly as tantalum metal
powder in the production of electronic components, mainly tantalum
capacitors. Alloyed with other metals, tantalum is also used in making
cemented carbide tools for metal working equipment, and in the production of
superalloys for jet engine components. Australia, Brazil, Canada, Congo (Kinshasa),
Ethiopia, and Rwanda are leading tantalum ore producers. There is no tantalum
mine production in the United States. The sample photograph is tantalite, a
source for tantalum. --
More Information --  Titanium: Titanium is a strong lightweight metal often used
in airplanes. When titanium combines with oxygen, it forms titanium dioxide
(TiO2), a brilliant white pigment used in paint, paper, and plastics. Major
deposits of titanium minerals are found in Australia, Canada, India, Norway,
South Africa, Ukraine, and the United States. The sample in the photo is a
mineral collector’s specimen of titanite (or sphene). However, it is not typical
of the black sands often used to produce titanium metal or TiO2
pigment. -- More
Information --  Rutile: Titanium dioxide. Used in alloys; for electrodes
in arc lights; to give a yellow color to porcelain and false teeth. -- More Information -- Tungsten:
Used in metalworking; construction and electrical machinery and equipment; in
transportation equipment; as filament in lightbulbs; as a carbide in drilling
equipment; in heat and radiation shielding; textile dyes, enamels, paints,
and for coloring glass. Major producers are China, Korea, and the Russia.
Large reserves are also found in the U.S., Bolivia, Canada, and Germany. -- More Information -- Vanadium: Used in metal alloys; important in the production
of aerospace titanium alloys; as a catalyst for production of maleic
anhydride and sulfuric acid; in dyes and mordants; as target material for
X-rays. Russia and South Africa are the world’s largest producers of
vanadium. Large reserves are also found in the U.S., Canada, and China. The
sample photo is vanadinite, an ore of vanadium and lead. -- More Information -- 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: 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 paints; used as sheet zinc and for galvanizing iron;
electroplating; metal spraying; automotive parts; electrical fuses; anodes;
dry cell batteries; fungicides; nutrition (essential growth element);
chemicals; roof gutters; engravers' plates; cable wrappings; organ pipes; in
pennies; as sacrificial anodes used to protect ship hulls from galvanic
action; in catalysts; in fluxes; in phosphors; and in additives to
lubricating oils and greases. Zinc oxide: in medicine, in paints, as an
activator and accelerator in vulcanizing rubber; as an electrostatic and
photoconductive agent in photocopying. Zinc dust: for primers, paints,
sherardizing, precipitation of noble metals; removal of impurities from
solution in zinc electrowinning. Zinc is mined in about 40 countries with
China the leading producer, followed by Australia, Peru, Canada, and the
United States. In the U.S. mine production mostly comes from Alaska
Tennessee, and Missouri. The sample photo shows sphalerite, a zinc sulfide. -- More Information -- |
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