How We Use Minerals
We use minerals every day. Minerals are used to build houses. Think of all the
metal used in nails and screws. Bricks are made from clay, and cement and
plasterboard are also made of minerals. Bricks and tiles are made from clay
minerals. When wet, the clay can be shaped, and then fired to make floor, wall,
and roof tiles, as well as house bricks. What would a house be without windows?
Dark! The glass in windows lets natural light into your house and allows you to
see outside. Glass is made from quartz. It is melted down, and mixed with
other ingredients to produce glass of many different sizes, shapes and colors.
Think about the properties of quartz: Hard, rigid, impermeable, transparent.
There are minerals in your kitchen. What do you find in your kitchen cupboards
and drawers? Plates, glasses, and mugs; knives, forks and spoons. They are all
made from minerals. Knives, forks and spoons are usually made from stainless
steel. Stainless steel is made by mixing molten iron with another metal called
chromium which stops the steel from rusting. Iron and chromium both come from
minerals. Think about the properties of stainless steel: Strong, rigid, hard, does
not rust. The mineral you can eat – salt! Halite is the mineral name for common
salt - the kind you would put on your fish and chips. It is an essential part of our
diet. Properties of salt: Soft, breaks up easily, and dissolves in water.
There are more minerals around your home. Light bulbs, where we would be
without light bulbs? In the dark!. Light bulbs can get very hot, so tungsten is a
good metal to use to make the filaments in light bulbs. Wolframite and
scheelite are the main ores of tungsten. Pens and paper, without minerals you
could not put pen to paper.
The writing tips of pens are made with a strong
metal called tungsten which comes from wolframite and scheelite ores.
We
all have clean clothes, brush our teeth, and try to look good. Minerals are very
important in keeping us neat and tidy! There are lots of places you can find
minerals in your bathroom and on your dressing table.
The fluoride in
toothpastes is a chemical made from the mineral fluorite. It is thought that
fluoride reduces tooth decay.
There are more things where you can find minerals. Minerals are needed to
make a car. Iron is used to make steel. It makes up the bulk of the car, and
comes from minerals like magnetite and hematite. Bumpers, badges, and door
handles are often coated in chromium to prevent them rusting - this comes from
the mineral chromite. Gold is used in electronics. It conducts electricity very well
and is very flexible, twisting easily into fine wires. It is used to make electronic
circuit boards and other components.
The strap and casing of some watches
are made of metal, and small quartz crystals help to regulate their timing. Gold
and silver are used to make all types of jewelry. Diamonds, rubies, opals,
sapphires and emeralds are some of the most expensive minerals on earth, and
are admired for their color and sparkle.