Uses Of Minerals

A mineral is an inorganic substance formed naturally and obtained in crude forms. Mining is the process of acquiring minerals from the Earth, such as quartz, calcite, and feldspar. Minerals are essential for a country’s economic and infrastructural growth. Some significant minerals are iron, silver, zinc, gold, copper, uranium, platinum, etc. Most of the minerals you know have specific uses. The below discussion concerns the definition, classification and significant uses of minerals. 

Definition of a Mineral

According to mineralogy and geology, a mineral is a solid chemical substance with well-defined chemical properties. They have a particular crystalline structure and can be extracted in a mixed form. Examples are iron, mica, manganese, diamond, gold, etc. 

Characteristics of Minerals

A mineral’s description usually includes its common physical properties, in addition to its chemical composition and crystal structure. These physical parameters are fluorescence, reaction to acids, lustre, fracture, hardness, specific gravity, radioactivity, magnetism, etc. Let’s discuss a few of them in detail. 

Lustre: 

It is the capability of a mineral’s surface to reflect light. Therefore, the mineral’s non-metallic and metallic nature is a simple way to classify lustre. Minerals with a metallic shine are opaque and lustrous. Example: Pyrite. On the contrary, quartz has a non-metallic shine.

Hardness

The resistance of a mineral’s surface to being scratched or punctured is measured in hardness. The Mohs scale determines mineral hardness while working with specimens without specialist instruments. The Mohs scale is based on ten reference minerals, with talc being the softest mineral (Mohs hardness of 1) and diamond being the toughest (Mohs hardness of 10). 

Minerals are utilised in several ways due to their hardness variations. For example, calcite’s softness makes it a desirable material for sculpting, whereas diamond’s hardness makes it an abrasive for polishing rock.

Cleavage

It is a mineral property that spontaneously fractures into entirely flat surfaces. However, it does not exist in all minerals. Cleavage in the crystalline structure denotes a path of weakness. For example, halite forms cubes with flat surfaces when it fractures between layers of chlorine and sodium.

Types of Minerals

Minerals are classified as silicate or non-silicate based on their chemical composition. 

Minerals containing silicates

The silicate group is the most frequent mineral group found in the Earth’s crust. The fundamental units of most silicate minerals are silicon and oxygen. The majority of silicate minerals are created when molten rocks cool and solidify. As these molten rocks near the surface of the Earth’s crust, they begin to cool rapidly and combine with silicon, the most prevalent element in the crust. Roughly 90% of the Earth’s crust comprises silicate minerals. Silicate minerals include mica, amazonites, biotites, quartz, olivine, to name a few.

Non-silicate minerals

Non-silicate minerals come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Some of them are generated as the magma cools down and solidifies, while others are formed as water in the magma evaporates or due to mineral disintegration. The non-silicate mineral can be further segregated into the following types.

Oxides: They are minerals that include a single or more element coupled with oxygen. Metallic elements make up the majority of oxide minerals. Examples are magnetite, Corundum, Pyrolusite (manganese ore), and Hematite. The most prevalent minerals found in volcanoes, particularly after an eruption, are silicates and oxides.

Native Elements: This group includes several pure elements with a characteristic crystalline structure and naturally occur in a pure state. Uncombined carbon, for example, is frequently found in its purest condition as graphite or, less frequently, as diamond. Other elements discovered in their pure form are gold, silver, and sulphur.

Carbonates: When a solitary carbonate ion and a metal ion of complementary polarity combine, a carbonate ion (CO32-) is generated. Siderite (FeCO₃), calcite (CaCO3), and smithsonite (ZnCO₃) are a few examples. Cement and other binding materials contain carbonate minerals.

Sulphates: They are mineral classes that contain the sulphate ion (SO42-) inside their chemical structure. Sulphate minerals include Gypsum (CaSO4. 2H2O) and Barite (BaSO₄) for example. 

Sulphides: Sulphide (S2-) is the fundamental unit of this group of minerals. These inorganic compounds can sometimes be as valuable as other ores in terms of the economy. Molybdenite (MoS2 ), Pyrite (FeS2 ), Nickeline (NiAs) are among examples.

Uses of Minerals

What are minerals used for? 

Well, there are multiple ways in which minerals are utilised. 

• Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are the primary sources of energy.
• Minerals are used in the creation of military equipment.
• Used in the communication industry, such as telephones, wires, cables, and electronic gadgets.
• They are used to construct buildings, bridges, and housing communities.
• Technological and industrial advancements.
• The creation of alloys for a variety of applications.
• Used in creating ornamentation such as gold, diamond, and silver jewellery.
• Used in the production of fertilisers, fungicides, and other chemicals.

Conclusion

Mineral resources are naturally occurring valuable materials for producing useful commodities; they play a vital part in our economy; most countries worldwide rely entirely on mineral resources for economic development. There are different minerals present in nature that can be classified into silicate and non-silicate groups. These minerals are useful in numerous ways. The above article discusses the types, properties, and mineral uses in complete detail.