MOHS HARDNESS MINERAL NAME PICTURE
Talc is used in many industries,
1 Talc
2 Gypsum
3 Calcite
4 Fluorite
5 Apatite
USES OF
including paper making, plastic,
paint and coatings, rubber,
food, electric cable,
pharmaceuticals, cosmetics,
and ceramics. A coarse grayish-
green high-talc rock is
soapstone or steatite, used for
stoves, sinks, electrical
switchboards, crayons, soap,
etc.
Gypsum uses include:
manufacture of wallboard,
cement, plaster of Paris, soil
conditioning, a hardening
retarder in Portland cement.
Varieties of gypsum known as
"satin spar" and "alabaster" are
used for a variety of
ornamental purposes;
however, their low hardness
limits their durability.
Calcite is a rock-forming
mineral with a chemical
formula of CaCO3. It is
extremely common and found
throughout the world in
sedimentary, metamorphic,
and igneous rocks. Some
geologists consider it to be a
"ubiquitous mineral" - one that
is found everywhere. Calcite is
the principal constituent of
limestone and marble.
Fluorite. Fluorite is a colorful
mineral, both in visible and
ultraviolet light, and the stone
has ornamental and lapidary
uses. Industrially, fluorite is
used as a flux for smelting, and
in the production of certain
glasses and enamels.
The primary use of apatite is in
the manufacture of fertilizer –
it is a source of phosphorus. It
is occasionally used as a
gemstone. Green and blue
varieties, in finely divided form,
are pigments with excellent
covering power.
 Together with the other
potassium
feldspars, orthoclase is a
common raw material for the
manufacture of some glasses
and some ceramics such as
porcelain, and as a constituent
of scouring powder. Some
6 Orthoclase intergrowths of orthoclase and
albite have an attractive pale
luster and are called
moonstone when used in
jewelry.
Quartz is an important mineral
with numerous uses. Sand,
which is composed of tiny
Quartz pebbles, is the primary
ingredient for the manufacture
of glass. Transparent Rock
Crystal has many electronic
uses; it is used as oscillators in
7 Quartz radios, watches, and pressure
gauges, and in the study of
optics.

Topaz is a popular gemstone.

The most common use for
topaz is as a gemstone in
jewelry. Topaz is a hard
gemstone, but this hardness
also increases its tendency to
8 Topaz break. Because of this, topaz is
typically used for jewelry that
will not be knocked around or
come in contact with hard
surfaces.
In addition to its use as a
precious gem, corundum finds
some use as an abrasive, owing
to the extreme hardness of the
material (9 on the Mohs
hardness scale). It is used for
9 Corundum grinding optical glass and for
polishing metals and has also
been made into sandpapers
and grinding wheels

Industrial Uses for Diamonds.

Adding diamond dust to
a diamond polishing wheel. The
most common
uses for diamonds outside of
fine jewelry are for industrial
10 Diamond applications.
Because diamonds are so
strong (scoring a 10 on the
Mohs Hardness Scale), they are
extremely effective at
polishing, cutting, and drilling