ME551/GEO551 Geology of
Industrial Minerals
Spring 2014
Commodities, Part 1
Mineral Identification, Aggregates,
Barite, Borates, Bromine
Commodities outline
Introduction (definition)
Uses (properties)
Production
Geologic descriptions and distribution
Processing, marketing
Sources of information
 SME Industrial Minerals Handbook
 SME abstracts, preprints, publications
 USGS Mineral Commodities Summaries
 USGS Fact Sheets
 USGS publications
 Company reports
 Industrial Minerals Forum
 WEB
http://minerals.
usgs.gov/miner
als/pubs/mcs/2
012/mcs2014.p
df
Mineral Identification
Properties of minerals
• Habit (Crystal forms and
shapes)
• Hardness
• Cleavage
• Streak
• Color
• Luster
• Transparency
• Twinning
• Fracture
• Specific Gravity
• Associated Minerals
• Fluorescence
• Magnetism
• Odor
• Feel
• Taste
• Solubility
• Reaction to acids
• Radioactive
minerals
• Meteoritic
minerals
 ease or difficulty with
which the mineral can be
scratched
 controlled by the strength
of bonds between atoms
Hardness
 Way the mineral breaks or
fractures
 one direction of
weakness, or in other
minerals, 2, 3, 4, or as
many as 6 may be present
 determine the angular
relation between the
resulting cleavage
surfaces
– perpendicular
– acute
– obtuse
Cleavage
Streak
 color of a mineral
 Black - Graphite
when it is powdered
 crushing and
powdering a mineral
eliminates some of
the effects of
impurities and
structural flaws
 Black - Pyrite
 Black - Magnetite
 Black - Chalcopyrite
 Gray - Galena
 Limonite - Yellow-
brown
 Hematite - Redbrown
 way a mineral’s
surface reflects light
Luster
 metallic
 earthy
 waxy
 greasy
 vitreous (glassy)
 adamantine (or
brilliant, as in a
faceted diamond)
From:geology.csupomona.edu/alert/mineral/minerals.htm
Color
From:geology.csupomona.edu/alert/mineral/minerals.htm
SOURCES FOR MINERAL
IDENTIFICATION
 http://un2sg4.unige.ch/athena/mineral/searc
h.html
 http://www.webmineral.com/
Aggregates
Introduction
AGGREGATE
Hard materials
Mixing with
cementing
Form concrete,
mortar, asphalt
Railroad ballast,
Road base,
Landscaping rock
SAND
GRAVEL
Granular material
due to
Rock disintegration
Unconsolidated,
rounded rock
fragments
Diameter range:
2 mm – 1/16 mm
Boulders
Cobbles
Pebbles
Granules
Aggregates are an integral part of our roads,
sidewalks, sewers, subway tunnels and airports,
as well as our homes, offices, hospitals, schools
and shopping centers.
Aggregates are critical ingredients in a number of
manufactured products such as glass, coated
paper, paint and pharmaceuticals.
Aggregates are also used in several manufacturing
processes, including the making of steel,
aluminium and plastic.
Found in fertilizer, floor coverings, toothpaste
Aggregates include
 Crushed stone
 Aggregates
 Sand and gravel
Most important indicator of
construction activities and health of
society
Crushed Stone—introduction
 70% limestone and
dolomite
 16%, granite
 7%, traprock
 7% other
– sandstone and
quartzite
– miscellaneous stone
– marble
– calcareous marl
– slate
– shell
– volcanic cinder and
scoria
2. USES
2. USES
ROAD BUILDING
 Concrete
Bridges
Tunnels
 Asphalt Pavement
Mortar
Plaster
BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION
 Concrete
Cast-in-place
Precast Structure
Cladding Elements
 Others
 All commercial
activities including
agriculture
 Waste treatment
facilities
(waste water filtration)
 Hydroelectric power
systems
Fill
Treated and untreated
road base materials
Septic Fields
Structural and
nonstructural fill
Construction
related uses
 Coal-fired electric
power plants
Sand and gravel for construction
Sand and gravel for industrial
USGS Mineral Commodities
Summaries 2014
Crushed stone
Dimension stone
Sand and
gravel
(industrial)
Geology
Stream
Deposits
Dredge
Tailings
Older
Geologic
Formations
Alluvial
Fans
Origin
Beach
Deposits
4. MINING & PROCESSING
Dry-pit Operation
Shovels
Loaders
Draglines
Wet-pit Operation
Dragline
Floating
Dredge
Trucks
4. MINING & PROCESSING
a) Conventional earth-moving
equipment
b) Groundwater is removed from wet
gravel pits
c) Wet mining techniques (dredging)
4. MINING & PROCESSING
http://www.geology.enr.state.nc.us/NAE%20aggregates%20Internet%20N
RC%20with%20USGS%20sheet/load%20haul%20trucks.htm
http://www.geology.enr.state.nc.us/NAE%20aggregates%20Internet%20N
RC%20with%20USGS%20sheet/miningbench.htm
http://www.geology.enr.state.nc.us/NAE%20aggregates%20Internet%20NRC%20
with%20USGS%20sheet/drilling.htm
Houses made of adobe bricks
are still popular in urban areas.
Substitutes
 Crushed Stone
 Lightweight Aggregate manufactured by
sintering
 Pumice
 Expanded Perlite
 Expanded Vermiculate
 Iron blast Furnace Slag
Environmental Issues
 Diesel fumes
 Fugitive dust
 Increased traffic
 Increased air pollution
 Increased use of ground water
 Subsidence
Where is the nearest sand and
gravel pit to NM Tech?
Barite
Barite—Introduction
 Greek word "barus" (heavy)
 BaSO4
 barytes
Barite—Properties
 Color—variable, commonly colorless or
white, also blue, green, yellow and red
shades
 Luster is vitreous
 bladed crystals
 Specific Gravity 4.5 (heavy)
 Hardness 3 - 3.5
 Streak white
 Cleavage good basal, prismatic
Barite in
Britian
Palm Park, NM
Barite—Uses
 heavy cement
 weighting agent in petroleum well drilling mud
 filler or extender
 additive to cement, rubber, and urethane foam
 automobile paint primer
 friction products (brake and clutch pads)
 cement vessels that contain radioactive materials
 white pigment
 gastrointestinal x-ray “milkshakes”
 faceplate and funnelglass of cathode-ray tubes used
for television sets and computer monitors to protect
against radiation
Barite—Production
 Nevada
 Georgia
 Tennessee
 Great Britian
 India
 Canada
 Mexico
 China
USGS Mineral Commodities
Summaries 2014
USGS Mineral Commodities
Summaries 2014
Barite—Substitutes
 Celestite
 ilmenite
 iron ore
 synthetic hematite
Barite—Geology
 Sedimentary exhalative (Sedex)
deposits
 Rio Grande Rift (RGR) deposits
 Mississippi Valley type (MVT) deposits
 Sedimentary stratiform deposits
 volcanic massive sulfide deposits
 gangue in epithermal and mesothermal
veins
Barite—Processing
 washing
 jigging
 heavy media separation
 tabling
 flotation
 magnetic separation
Borates
Borates—Introduction
 Boron found in more than 80 different
minerals
 Tincal - Na2O·B4O7·10H2O (Egyptians
used it to mummify their dead)
 Kernite - Na2O·B4O7·4H2O
 Ulexite - NaCaB5O9·8H2O
 Colemanite - Ca2B6O11·5H2O
Kernite
http://www.borax.com
 Borax fuses at a low temperature and easily
dissolves in different important elements like
copper, chromium, cobalt, iron, nickel, and
uranium giving different characteristic colors.
 flux in the manufacture of artificial gems.
Cubic boron nitride, commercially called
'Borazon' equals the diamond in hardness and
has a greater resistance to oxidation under
heat. Borazon can stand the temperature which
is more than twice the temperature limit of a
diamond i.e. about 900°C.
 Borax mining in US started from Borax lake
in Tehama County, CA in 1864
 cotton ball ulexite in the playa of Teel's
Marsh by Frances Marion (Borax) Smith in
1872
 production then moved to Death Valley in
1880 by William Tell Coleman, 20 mule
team wagons.
Borates—Uses
 glass products, 75%
 soaps and detergents, 7%
 agriculture, 4%
 fire retardants, 4%
 hydrogen fuel systems
USES
 Glass--makes it resistant to heat or chemical
attack and lowers the melting temperature
of glasses
 Chemical industry--balance acidity and
alkalinity
 On metal surfaces--reduces susceptibility to
corrosion (anticorrosive coatings,
lubricants, industrial water systems, and
automotive coolants)
USES
 Fire retardants for polymers and cellulosic
materials, such as cotton batting, wood, and
cellulose insulation
 fluxes used to remove oxide impurities from
metals
 improve the performance of cleaning
products by buffering and conditioning
wash water
 Nuclear Shielding--unique among the light
elements in its ability to capture neutrons
Borates—Substitutions
 sodium and potassium salts of fatty
acids
 chlorine bleach or enzymes
 phosphates
 cellulose, foams, and mineral wools
Borates—Production
in U.S.--U.S. Borax, now Rio Tinto Borax owned by Rio
Tinto
Borates—
Production/Reserves
Bromine
Bromine (bromides)—
Introduction
 Discovered 1826
 liquid at normal temperatures and pressures
 heavy, mobile, reddish-brown liquid that
volatilizes
 bromine salts common in nature
 seawater, salt lakes, inland seas, and brine
wells
 Seawater contains about 65 ppm bromide
salts, Dead Sea 5000 ppm
Bromine—Properties
 unique chemical interaction with the
combustion process allows for flame
retardation
 manufacture flame retardants,
pharmaceuticals, paper, dyes, insect
repellents, drilling fluids, perfumes,
photographic chemicals, water-treatment
chemicals, and sanitizers
 Crude salt is basic material in the chemical
industry
Bromine—Uses
 Romans used a chemical produced
naturally by marine mussels was extracted
to produce purple dye (royal purple)
 fire retardants (40%)
 drilling fluids (24%)
 brominated pesticides (12%)
 water-treatment chemicals (7%)
 photographic chemicals and rubber
additives (17%)
Bromine—Uses
 Ethylene dibromine, gives anti-knock
gasoline compounds
Bromine—Production
 Three bromine companies accounted
for 64% of world production.
 Two are in the U.S. (Arkansas and
Michigan) 38%
 Israel 2nd largest producer
Bromine—Production (USGS)
Bromine—Production (USGS)
Bromine—Substitutions
 Chlorine
 iodine
 recycling of plastics to recover bromine
Bromine—Geology
 Submarine brines (Arkansas, Michigan)
 extracted from seawater
 by-product of potash
Bromine—Processing
 boiling the treated brine solution
 Herbert Dow developed the electrolysis
process in 1894 and the Dow Chemical
Company in 1897
By passing the bromineladen air through a body
of iron turnings," Dow
said in his patent, "the
bromine and iron will
chemically unite,
forming a bromide of
iron known as ferric
bromide.”
http://www.rockbridgegroup.com...
Bromine—Health risks
 Red vapor is irritating to eyes
 Blisters on skin
 odor from Greek bromos meaning stench
Next week
 Clays, Diatomite, Feldspar, Fluorite,
Garnet, Graphite