What are common minerals that are used by humans?

Practical Uses of
Mineral Resources
LEARNING OUTCOMES :
❑ Identify the minerals important to society
(S11/12ES-Ic-7).
❑ Discuss the practical uses of minerals.
❑ Describe how ore minerals are found, mined, and
processed for human use (S11/12ES-Ic-d-8).
❑ Classify mineral deposits into their respective
types.
❑ Differentiate the two types of mining.
❑ Explain the factors that influence the
availability of minerals
Minerals and Human Development
• The first production of mineral-
based fire strikers dated back 500
000 years during the time of the
Homo erectus.

• Early humans used copper, silver,

lead, and zinc in forming alloys.
Home and Personal Uses of Minerals
• The source of rock salt
which is the mineral
halite.

• Other examples include

tungsten in light bulbs,
clay minerals in ceramic
pots, and fluorite in
toothpaste.
 Materials Mineral Description
composition

Light bulb Tungsten Among the metals, tungsten has the highest melting point. This is
the reason why tungsten is used in making the filaments of a light
bulb since the bulb can be very hot.

Ceramic flower pots, Clay minerals Clay is easy to form when wet and when dried and heated in a
plates, bowls, cups, kiln, creates a durable ceramic product.
saucers and mugs

Utensils Stainless steel Chromium prevents the steel from rusting.

(made from the
mixture of molten
iron and
chromium)
 Minerals in Electronics,
Infrastructure, and Manufacturing
• Minerals in electronics,
infrastructure, and
manufacturing include
gold in electronic circuit
boards, quartz and
silicon in computers, and
copper in electrical
wiring to name a few.
 Minerals in Electronics, Infrastructure, and
Manufacturing
Materials Mineral composition Description

Electronic circuit Gold Gold is a good conductor of electricity and can be easily
boards formed into fine wires.

Electrical capacitors Muscovite mica The mineral mica is a poor conductor of electricity and
and high has a high melting point.
temperature
insulators

Computers Quartz, Silicon chips are important in computers. Quartz is

silicon composed of silicon. The screen of the computer is also
made from quartz.
Minerals in Health and Medicine
• Minerals used in the
medical include
barium is a helpful
additive to medicine
in X-rays of the
digestive system and
iron which is used to
treat anemia. Iron supplement
 Minerals in Health and Medicine
Materials Mineral Description
composition

Plaster casts Gypsum Bandage soaked in wet plaster can make a cast. The
mineral gypsum is suited for making a cast since it is
strong, rigid and quick to set or harden.
Thermometer Mercury which Since mercury is liquid at room temperature and
comes from expands when exposed to high temperature, it is a
cinnabar ore suitable material for making thermometers.
Medicines Kaolinite Medicines are also composed of some minerals. An
example is kaolinite which is sometimes included in
oral and topical medications.
Minerals for Aesthetics
• Some minerals are used
as gemstones, being
valued for their rarity and
beauty.

• Minerals such as diamond,

rubies, sapphires, Gemstones in jewelries
emeralds, and opals are
the components of most
jewelries.
1. These people,
known as
miners, have
the goal of
extracting
valuable
minerals from
the mines that
they work in.
There are many
other ways of
extracting minerals
from their different
sources.

What are the

methods of
finding and
mining minerals?
Four Groups of Mineral Deposits
• Mineral deposits
are aggregates of
minerals present in
high concentration.

• Regardless of
whether it has high
economic value or
none, an
accumulation of
minerals are still
considered mineral
deposits Mineral deposit
• Mineral deposits can be
categorized into four groups:

• Energy resources
can be further
divided into
fossil fuels and
nuclear fuels.
Coal deposit
• Mineral deposits can be categorized
into four groups:

• Metal resources
include
structural
metals such as
iron, copper, and
aluminum as
well as economic
metals. Iron deposit
• Mineral deposits can be
categorized into four groups:

• Industrial
mineral
resources
include
commodities
such as salt,
potash, and
Salt
sand.
• Mineral deposits can be categorized
into four groups:

• Essential
minerals are
minerals that
pertain to those
needed by living
organisms.
Zinc mineral
Mineral Exploration
• Searching for valuable
ore is called mineral
exploration.

• Most ore deposits are

found in mixtures with
minerals called gangue
minerals or minerals
that have no
commercial value.

Different minerals
Mineral Exploration
• Various exploration techniques
were used to assess ore deposits:

• Remote sensing
• Geophysical
methods
• Geochemical
methods.
Mining
• Mining is the
extraction of valuable
minerals from
mineral deposits.

• There are two

methods of mining:
surface mining and
underground mining.
Types of Mining
• Surface mining is
being used to extract
ore minerals near the
surface of Earth.

• Underground mining
extract rocks, minerals,
and other precious
stones that can be Quarrying on a mountain
found deep the Earth’s
surface.
 Factors Affecting Mineral
Availability
• Geologic factors that affect abundance of mineral
deposits are geological origin of the area.

• Economic factors include the costs in getting the

supply such as engineering, mineral extraction.

• Environmental factors affect mineral resources.

Identify to which group each mineral
deposit belongs.
1. coal
2. potash
3. copper
4. aluminum
5. tar sand
A PICTURE IS WORTH A
THOUSAND WORDS