CHAPTER 6 INDUSTRIAL MINERALS

• Jurisdiction: United States

Mining Exploration Technology for Lawyers and Landmen
(Apr 1980)
CHAPTER 6
INDUSTRIAL MINERALS
Ted H. Eyde
Registered Professional Geologist GeoServices of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona

An industrial mineral is any rock, mineral, or other naturally occuring substance of economic value excluding metallic ores and mineral fuels. The term nonmetallic mineral is considered to be synonomous with industrial mineral when in fact it is not. Actually, many so-called nonmetallics are metallic compounds. Chromite, for example, a mineral composed of chromium and iron oxides is considered to be a nonmetallic or industrial mineral when used as a high temperature refractory lining for furnaces. Yet, it is also considered to be a metallic mineral when utilized as a source of chromium metal which is used chrome plating the trim on automobiles. Pyrolusite an oxide of manganese is used as a nonmetallic in the manufacture of dry cell batteries and also in alloys of steel. Consequently, the term industrial mineral seems to be a more definitive term than nonmetallic mineral.

The use of industrial minerals by man certainly predates his use of metals. We can imagine one of our Eolithic ancestors finding a sharp piece of chert or flint near the base of a cliff and discovering that he could use it for scraping, cutting, and even for protection. Therefore, in his hand the sharpened piece of rock was both a tool and a weapon. For either purpose a properly shaped and sharpened flint was a great improvement over the wooden sticks he had been using. As a result of experience, primitive man learned to use industrial minerals such as flint for spear points, arrow heads, axeheads, and knives. These crude stone tools and weapons enabled him to survive and procreate in spite of a hostile environment.

Salt, another industrial mineral was used by the Chinese as early as 3000 B.C. This commodity is the first industrial mineral recorded in history. The Book of Job written about 2250 B.C. reads "can nothing which is unsavory be eaten without salt." The Egyptians made extensive use of still another industrial mineral, now known as dimension stone, in the construction of the Great Pyramids during the Fourth Dynasty between 2613 and 2494 B.C. The Great Pyramids of Egypt remain today as monuments to the remarkable skills the Egyptians possessed in building with dimension stone.

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Industrial Mineral Commodities

Asbestos

Barium Minerals

Bauxitic Raw Materials

Bituminous Materials

Bromine

Boron and Borates

Chromite

Clays

Diamonds

Diatomite

Feldspar and Aplite

Fluorspar and Cryolite

Glauconite

Gypsum and Anhydrite

Iodine

Kyanite and Related Minerals

Lime

Limestone and Dolomite

Lithium Raw Materials

Magnesite and Related Minerals

Manganese

Meerschaum

Mica

Monazite and Related Minerals

Nepheline Syenite

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Nitrogen Compounds

Olvine

Perlite

Phosphate Rock

Potash

Pumice, Pumicite, and Volcanic Cinders

Salt

Sand and Gravel

Silica and Silicon

Sodium Carbonate

Sodium Sulfate

Staurolite

Strontium

Sulfur

Talc and Pyrophyllite

Titanium Minerals

Tripoli

Vermiculite

Wollastonite

Zeolites

Zirconium and Hafnium Minerals

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The Romans learned how to manufacture cement and use it in the construction of the buildings in Rome and also in structures such as Hadrian's Wall in northern England which was then one of the most remote areas in the Empire. The technology for manufacturing cement was then lost from sometime following the fall of the Roman Empire until about 1756 when John Smeaton succeeded in producing hydraulic cement. In 1824 Joseph Aspdin patented a cement which he named Portland cement because he believed it was similar in appearance to the limestone quarried on the Isle of Portland.

Today industrial minerals are used in the manufacture of many high technology products such as quartz watches which brought chronographic accuracy to wrist watches and fiber optics which revolutionized the transmission of voice and data over telephone lines.

Industrial minerals include a broad group of mineral commodities ranging from asbestos to zeolites. Even the Pet Rocks which a successful entrepreneur turned into a multimillion dollar business are industrial minerals. So is the aquarium gravel which comes in a variety of colors and also, believe it or not, the white powder coating on chewing gum which is a high purity calcite.

Few people are aware of the importance of industrial minerals in their every day lives. Yet, in 1978 the United States consumed 20,830 pounds of industrial minerals for each person living in the country. Even the compound that is spread on the floor before sweeping contains a clay known as Fuller's Earth which picks up oil, grease, and dust particles. The kitty litter purchased in the super market is composed of clays which absorb and ion exchange the waste products controlling odors. This product is a great improvement over the messy and smelly sand box.

We use industrial minerals from conception until death. Industrial minerals are used for fillers and carriers in many medicines taken during pregnancy and many a final resting place will be commemorated by an Indiana limestone or Vermont granite monument. Cosmetics, face powders, toothpaste, antiperspirants and cleansing cremes, contain pigments, cleaning and polishing compounds, lubricants, and adsorbents which all are industrial minerals products. Industrial minerals are the raw materials for both the glass and table ware and the washing detergents used to clean them. Even a girl's best friend, the diamond is an industrial mineral.

All construction depends on cement and mineral aggregates which are more commonly referred to as sand and gravel. Sulfur which is one of the basic raw materials for the chemical industry is an industrial mineral. Finally the elements phosphorous and potassium, both essential plant nutrients, come respectively from phosphate and potash which are two of the most important industrial minerals. It should be obvious that not only the necessities such as food, shelter, and clothing but the conveniences of modern day life depend on a plentiful supply of industrial minerals.

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A COMPARISON OF THE VALUE OF METALS AND NONMETALS PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES FROM 1968-1979 IN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS—

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