PowerPoint minerals are important to human wealth and welfare

When humans began making tools out of iron great progress was made in advancing the world through industries Below is a timeline showing how the value and uses of minerals have changed o

Minerals are important to human wealth and welfare:

Minerals play an important role in forming rocks and shaping 

Earth’s surface. When humans began making tools out of iron 

great progress was made in advancing the world through 

industries  Below is a timeline showing how the value and uses of  minerals have changed over time 

SOME MINERALS AND THEIR USES:

Talc is used in powders and make-up Gypsum is used in drywall or sheetrock Fluorite is used in toothpaste

Quartz (found in sand) is used in making glass

Corundum is a gemstone 

(rubies and sapphires)

Diamonds are used in cutting 

tools and drills

jewelry and coins

Halite is used to deice roads, and 

to season/preserve food

Calcite is used in tums to help acid 

indigestion and in cement

ORES AND WHAT THEY ARE MINED FOR:

An ore is a mineral that is mined and the useful substances in it 

are removed and then sold for a profit

Protective shielding against X rays and used in batteries

Galena: an ore of lead

Graphite:  an ore of pencil “lead” and  is also a dry lubricant

known as “fool’s gold”

Magnetite:  iron ore

Hematite:  an ore of iron 

and the red pigment used 

for color

Most automobiles, machine tools, the hulls of large ships, building parts and machine parts are made out of iron

Steel is made by combining IRON with other metals Stainless

steel is used in building parts, cooking pots and pans, cutlery and surgical equipment It is also used in aircraft and automobiles

Sulfur is also an ore:  match heads, fireworks, medicine, 

gunpowder and fertilizer

Sulfur is used to vulcanize rubber

Vulcanization makes rubber tougher It ensures that

rubber maintains its shape

Car tires, shoe soles, water/ air hoses and ice hockey

pucks are all made from vulcanized rubber

MINERALS AND THEIR SPECIAL PROPERTIES:

Calcite:  has double refraction and fizzes with HCl Halite:  tastes salty

Sulfur:  has a rotten egg odor

Magnetite & hematite:  are magnetic Calcite & Fluorite:  fluorescence

Talc & Graphite:  feels greasy

Metallic minerals like gold, silver & copper:  are easily shaped

VIRGINA’S MINERAL

Virginia mines a lot of gravel for roads and construction

The oldest and largest

Kyanite mines are located

in VA

Kyanite is a silicate that is  blue and is used in the 

production of ceramics,  

cookware and jewerly