IMPORTANCE OF MINERAL RESOURCES AND THEIR USE IN SOCIETY

Department
National Mining University
Dnipropetrovsk
UKRAINE

the economic development of civilization.

Mineral resources are all the physical

mate-rials that we extract from the earth for our use. Modern society is dependent on a huge amount and variety of mineral resources.

Mineral resources are classified as metallic or non-metallic. As measured by total consumption, the most important metallic resources are: iron, aluminum, copper, zinc and lead. The most important non-metallic resources are: crushed stone, sand, gravel, cement, clay, salt and phosphate.

solid chemical substance that is formed through geological processes and

that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and does not have a specific chemical composition.

MINERALS AROUND US

Every segment of society uses minerals and mineral resources every day. The roads we drive, and the buildings we live, learn and work in, all contain minerals.

lots of minerals around your home. Look around your home.

Minerals are used in lots of everyday objects in your house. Here are just a few household items made from minerals.

bulbs? In the dark!

Tungsten

has the highest melting point of all metals. Light bulbs can be 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.

Think about the properties
of tungsten:
– strong; – very high melting point; – rigid; – impermeable.

– вольфрамовая нить; bulb (glass bulb) – колба (стеклянная колба); glass mount

– стеклянная опора; screw thread contact – винтовой соединитель- ный контакт; insulation – изоляция; electrical foot contact – подножный электри- ческий контакт.

The points of most ballpoint pens are made out of

brass, which is an alloy of copper and zinc. This material is used because of its strength, resistance to corrosion and ability to be easily formed. Precious metals such as gold, silver, or platinum are plated onto more expensive pens.

PEN AND PAPER

Also the writing tips of pens are made with strong metal called tungsten. Paper is usually made of wood pulp mixed with minerals like clay, mica, talc and baryte.

separates ink from pressurized nitrogen gas – скользящий поплавок отделяет чернила от

находящегося под давлением азотистого газа; gas plug – газовая пробка;

thixotropic ink in a hermetically sealed and pressurized reservoir writes three times longer – тиксотропные чернила в герметичном резервуаре под давлением пишут в три раза дольше; stainless steel, precision-machined socket prevents leaks and oozing, yet delivers instant uniform ink flow – обработанный на станке с высокой точностью разъем из нержавеющей стали, предотвра-щающий утечки и просачивания, еще обеспечивает мгновен-ный равномерный поток чернил.

black marks that can be easily erased.
PENCIL AND PAINT
Think

about the properties of graphite:
– soft;
– powdered;
– opaque.

Rutile and ilmenite are the main sources of titanium metal, which is used to make a white pigment in paints.

to have a film in them. Photo-graphic films are coated

with different mineral salts. Silver, argentite and other silver minerals are often used in photography.
Cameras also need batteries to work. Nickel is used in rechargeable batteries.

gasket – прокладка;
PTC – полимерный герметик;
vent – отвод;
cathode tab – отрицательный контакт;
anode – анод;
separator – разделитель;
cathode – катод;
anode tab – положительный контакт;
bottom insulator – нижняя изоляция;
steel can (negative terminal) – покрытый сталью (отрицательный вывод);
top insulator – верхняя изоляция;
top cap (positive terminal) – верхняя крышка (положительный вывод).

Let’s look at the picture of cylindrical lithium-ion battery structure

of materials, some of them hazardous. Computer monitors contain raw

and treated materials like metal semiconductors, phosphor, lead and mercury. Semiconductors are typically made of some kind of silicone crystal.

Here is what a laptop is made of
(also refers to a desktop computer):

polyvinyl chloride – поливинилхлорид; lead – свинец; antimony – сурьма; chromium, cadmium and lithium –
хром, кадмий, литий; beryllium – бериллий; phosphor – фосфор; liquid crystal display – жидкокристаллический
дисплей.

flower pots. When clay is dried and fired in a

kiln, from it is got hardwearing pots.
Think about the properties of clay:
– easy to shape when wet;
– strong and rigid when fired;
– impermeable when fired;
– thermal insulator.

FLOWER POTS

We can use another mineral to pot your favourite plant.

Vermiculite is a mineral which expands when it is heated.
It is used as an ingredient in potting mixes to improve drainage.

all the metal used in nails and screws. Bricks are

made from clay, cement and plasterboard are also made of minerals.
BRICKS AND TILE
Bricks and tile are made from clay minerals. When wet, the clay can be shaped, and then fired to make floor, wall, and roof tile, as well as house bricks.

CEMENT
Clay minerals also make up much of the material used to connect them together – portland cement – a cement that hardens under water and is made by heating a slurry of clay and crushed chalk or limestone in a kiln.

easy to shape and sticky when wet;
– quick to hard;
–

strong and rigid when set;
– impermeable when set.

PLASTERBOARD
When powdered gypsum is heated and then mixed with water, it can transform into a solid mass. This makes it a very useful building material, producing the plaster and plasterboard that form the walls around you.
WINDOWS
Glass is made from quartz. It is melted down, and mixed with other ingredients to produce glass of many different sizes, shapes and colours.

ARE USED TO BUILD HOUSES
PLUMBING AND WIRING
In

the past, the pipes carrying water to your taps would have been made from lead. Lead comes from a mineral called galena, but lead is poisonous, so copper and plastic pipes are used instead.
Copper is also used in electrical wiring, as it is an excellent conductor of electricity.

Think about the properties of copper:
– flexible;
– stretchy;
– a good electrical conductor.

substance, characterized by its distinctive composition, atomic structure and physical

and chemical properties. In economic context, a mineral is any solid or fluid subs-tance that can be extracted from the Earth interior for profit.
Generally, all minerals can be divided into four classes: Metals – copper in electrical wiring, aluminum in cans beverage, iron in cars. Energy minerals – used in the production of electricity, as fuel for transportation, for heating homes and offices (coal, oil and natural gas). Industrial minerals – salt, china clay and limestone that are used for a range of specific industrial applications such as the manufac-ture of chemicals, glass, fertilizers and paper. Construction minerals – sand, gravel, brick clay and crushed stone. It’s are used for making concrete, bricks and surfacing roads.

know?

3. Give a definition of mineral.

4. What is a rock?

5. What precious metals

do you know?

6. What are the properties of tungsten, graphite, clay and quartz do you know.

7. Please, tell us what minerals are metallic and non-metallic.