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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"),
deoxidizer 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 deoxidizer 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 superalloys 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 superalloys; 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.
Feldspar
A rock-forming mineral; industrially important in glass and ceramic
industries; patter and enamelware; soaps; bond for abrasive wheels;
cements and u; insulating compositions; fertilizer; tarred roofing
materials; and as a sizing, or filler, in textiles and paper.
Fluorite (fluorspar)
Used in production of hydrofluoric acid, which is used in the pottery,
ceramics, optical, electroplating and plastics industries; in the
metallurgical treatment of bauxite; as a flux in open hearth steel
furnaces and in metal smelting; in carbon electrodes; emery wheels;
electric arc welders; toothpaste; and paint pigment.
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 electroplating industry. Leading
producers are South Africa, United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada,
China and CIS.
For more information on gold, see our sections on the uses of gold, gold production
and gold investing.
A video entitled "People Working Together" that showcases real people that work at U.S. gold mines is also available. See the Publications page for more information on this video.
Gypsum
Processed and used as prefabricated wallboard or an industrial or
building plaster; used in cement manufacture; agriculture and other
uses.
Halite (sodium chloride--salt)
Used in human and animal diet, food seasoning and food preservations;
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; in scientific equipment for optical
parts. Single crystals used for spectroscopy, ultraviolet and infrared
transmission.
Iron Ore
Used to manufacture steels of various types. 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, paper dyeing. Black iron oxide:
as pigment; in polishing compounds; metallurgy; medicine; magnetic
inks. Most U.S. production from Minnesota and Michigan. Australia,
Brazil, China and CIS are major producers.
Lead
Used in lead batteries, gasoline additives (now being eliminated)
and tanks, and solders, seals or bearing; used in electrical and
electronic applications; TV tubes and glass, construction, communications
and protective coatings; in ballast or weights; ceramics or crystal
glass; X-ray and gamma radiation shielding; soundproofing material
in construction industry; and ammunition. United States is largest
producer (mainly from Missouri) and consumer of lead metal.
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 solder; batteries; medicine.
Manganese
Essential to iron and steel production. Major producers: South Africa
and CIS.
Mica
Micas commonly occur as flakes, scales or shreds. Sheet muscovite
(white) mica is used in electronic insulators; ground mica in paints,
as joint cement, as a dusting agent, in well-drilling muds; and
in plastics, roofing, rubber and welding rods.
Molybdenum
Used in alloy steels (47% of all uses) to make automotive parts,
construction equipment, gas transmission pipes; stainless steels
(21%); tool steels (9%); cast irons (7%); super alloys (7%); and
chemicals and lubricants (8%). As a pure metal, molybdenum is used
because of its high melting temperatures (4,730 F) as filament supports
in light bulbs, metalworking dies and furnace parts. Major producers
are Canada, Chile and the United States.
Nickel
Vital as an alloy to stainless steel; plays key role in the chemical
and aerospace industries. Leading producers are Australia, Canada,
Norway and CIS.
Perlite
Expanded perlite is used in roof insulation boards; as fillers,
filter aids and for horticulture.
Platinum Group Metals (PGM)
Includes platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, osmium and ruthenium.
Commonly occur together in nature and are among the scarcest of
the metallic elements. Platinum is used principally in catalysts
for the control of automobile and industrial plant emissions; in
jewelry; in catalysts to produce acids, organic chemicals and pharmaceutical.
PGMs 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 bridge. Nearly
all reserves are in CIS and South Africa. U.S. has one PGM mine.
Phosphate rock
Used to produce phosphoric acid for ammoniated phosphate fertilizers,
feed additives for livestock, elemental phosphorus, and a variety
of phosphate chemicals for industrial and home consumers. U.S. production
from Florida, North Carolina, Idaho and Utah.
Potash
A carbonate of potassium; used as a fertilizer, in medicine, in
the chemical industry and to produce decorative color effects on
brass, bronze and nickel.
Pyrite
Used in the manufacture of sulfur, sulfuric acid and sulfur dioxide;
pellets of pressed pyrite dust are used to recover iron, gold, copper,
cobalt, nickel; used to make inexpensive jewelry.
Quartz (silica)
As a crystal, quartz is used as a semiprecious gem stone. Crystalline
varieties include amethyst, citrine, rose quartz, smoky quartz,
etc. Cryptocrystalline forms include agate, jasper, onyx, etc. Because
of its piezoelectric properties quartz is used for pressure gauges,
oscillators, resonators and wave stabilizes; 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. also used in manufacturing glass, paints, abrasives, refractories
and precision instruments.
Rare Earth Elements (lanthanum, cerium,
praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium,
terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium ytterbium and lutetium)
Used mainly in petroleum fluid cracking catalysts, metallurgical
additives, ceramics and polishing compounds, permanent magnets and
phosphors.
Silica
Used in manufacture of computer chips, glass and refractory materials;
ceramics; abrasives; water filtration; component of hydraulic cements;
filler in cosmetics, pharmaceutical, paper, insecticides; anti-caking
agent in foods; flatting agent in paints; thermal insulator.
Silver
Used in photography, chemistry, jewelry; in electronics because
of its very high conductivity; as currency, usually as an alloy;
in lining vats and other equipment for chemical reaction vessels,
water distillation, etc.; catalyst in manufacture of ethylene; mirrors;
silver plating; table cutlery; dental, medical and scientific equipment;
bearing metal; magnet windings; brazing alloys, solder. Mined in
56 countries, silver's largest reserves are in the United States
Canada, Mexico, Peru and CIS.
For more information on silver, see our section on gold and silver statistics.
Sodium Carbonate (soda ash or trona)
Used in glass container manufacture; in fiberglass and specialty
glass; also used in production of flat glass; in liquid detergents;
in medicine; as a food additive; photography; cleaning and boiler
compounds; pH control of water. Most U.S. production from Wyoming.
Stibnite
See "antimony."
Sulfur
Used in the manufacture of sulfuric acid, fertilizers, chemicals,
explosives, dyestuff, petroleum refining; vulcanization of rubber;
fungicides.
Tantalum
A refractory metal with unique electrical, chemical and physical
properties used to produce electronic components, tantalum capacitor;
for high-purity tantalum metals in products ranging from weapon
systems to superconductors; high-speed tools; catalyst; sutures
and body implants; electronic circuitry; thin-film components. Used
in optical glass and electroplating devices. Leading producers are
Australia, Brazil, Canada and Thailand.
Titanium
A metal used mostly in jet engines, airframes and space and missile
applications. Produced in western and central U.S., the UK, China,
Japan and CIS.
Tungsten
Used in metalworking; construction and electrical machinery and
equipment; in transportation equipment; as filament in light bulbs;
as a carbide in drilling equipment; in heat and radiation shielding;
textile dyes, enamels, paints and for coloring glass.
Uranium
More than 20 percent of our electricity is produced using uranium
in nuclear generation. It is also used for nuclear medicine, atomic
dating, powering nuclear submarines and other uses in the U.S. defense
system.
Vanadium
Used in metal alloys (titanium alloys important for aerospace);
as a catalyst for production of maleic anhydride and sulfuric acid;
in dyes and mordants; as target material for X-rays. CIS and South
Africa are largest producers; large reserves also found in the United
States and China.
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; nutrition; chemicals; roof gutter; engravers' plates;
cable wrappings; organ pipes and pennies. zinc oxide used in medicine,
paints, in vulcanizing rubber, sun block. Zinc dust used for primers,
paints, precipitation of noble metals; removal of impurities from
solution in zinc electrowinning. U.S. production mostly from Tennessee,
Missouri, New York and Alaska.
Source: Facts About Minerals (National Mining Association); Mineral
Information Institute
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