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Page 3

CRYSTALS AND CABS

Volume 2 Issue 3

Information Gold Mine
10 Common Minerals and their Uses

Aluminum
Most abundant metal element in Earth's crust. Bauxite ore is the main source of aluminum and must be imported from Guinea, Australia, Jamaica, etc. Used in packaging (31%), transportation (22%) and building (19%).
Antimony
A native element; antimony metal is extracted from stibnite and other minerals. 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. Used in fireworks. Antimony salts 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 used 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. Fibers are dangerous when breathed, so uses must protect against fibers becoming airborne.
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"), de-oxidizer for copper, sparkplug alloys and in making an expensive white pigment.
Bauxite
Rock composed of hydrated aluminum oxides. See "aluminum."
Beryllium
Used in the nuclear industry and in light, very strong alloys used in the aircraft industry. Beryllium salts are used in fluorescent lamps, in X-ray tubes and as a de-oxidizer in bronze metallurgy. Beryl is the gem stones emerald and aquamarine.
Chromite
Found in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Used mainly in chemical and metallurgical industries (chrome fixtures, etc.)
Cobalt
Used in super-alloys for jet engines, chemicals (paint dryers, catalysts, magnetic coatings), permanent magnets, and cemented carbides for cutting tools. Comes principally from Zaire, Zambia, Canada, Cuba and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). United States uses one-third of world production.
Columbite-tantalite group
The principal ore of niobium and tantalum, used mostly as an additive in steel making and in super-alloys; used in metallurgy for heat-resistant alloys, rust-proofing (stainless steel) and electromagnetic superconductors. Brazil and Canada are leading producers.
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. Leading producers are Chile, United States, CIS, Canada, Zambia and Zaire.