Minerals have many important industrial and artistic uses. They form through various geological processes such as evaporating water, cooling magma or lava, changes caused by heat and pressure, and production by living organisms. Minerals are an important resource and are mined through surface mining methods like panning, strip mining, and open-pit mining or through deep underground mining which is dangerous work.

1. Minerals Are Valuable Resources CH 2.3, pages 60-66

2. Minerals have many uses in industry Metals for cars and airplanes Quartz and feldspar for glass Fluorite and calcite for toothpaste Silver compounds for photographic film Mica and talc for paint

3. Minerals have many uses in the arts Birthstones are beautiful gemstones; this tradition is hundreds of years old. Gemstones are cut, polished and ground to increase beauty and sparkle. Metals such as gold and silver are used in jewelry making. They are usually combined with copper to increase hardness.

4. Minerals form when…. Water evaporates- When salt water evaporates the atoms that form halite join to form crystals. Gypsum also forms when water evaporates.

5. Minerals form when…. Hot water cools- As hot water within the crust moves through rocks, it can dissolve minerals. When it cools, the minerals separate from water and become solid again. Gold and lead are formed from this process.

6. Minerals form when…. Molten rock cools- Many minerals grow from magma . Magma contains all the types of atoms that are found in minerals. As magma cools, minerals form. Minerals also form when lava cools. Quartz is a mineral that forms from molten rock cooling.

7. Minerals form when…. Heat and pressure cause changes- Heat and pressure within Earth cause new minerals to form as bonds between atoms break and join again. Carbon forms graphite, which is used in pencils, in this way.

8. Minerals form when…. Organisms produce minerals- A few minerals are formed from living things. Oysters and clams produce calcite. Your body produces one of the main minerals in your bones and teeth—apatite.

9. Many minerals are mined. Before minerals can be used to make products, they must be removed from the ground. Some are near the surface, others are deep within. Some are found at a wide range of depths. Minerals are only mined if the rock contains enough ore .

10. Surface Mining Minerals at or near the surface are collected by surface mining.

11. Surface Mining Gold is very dense. It can build up in riverbeds and be carried by water. In a process called panning , miners use a pan to wash away unwanted minerals that are less dense.

12. Surface Mining Strip mining is another method of surface mining in which miners strip away plants, soil and unwanted rocks from the Earth’s surface with special machinery.

13. Surface Mining Open-pit mining is similar to strip mining. They go one step further, though, and use explosives to remove underlying rock. Copper and iron ores are mined in this way.

14. Deep Mining When ores lie deep beneath the Earth’s surface, deep mining is utilized. Here miners dig a deep passage and then blast, drill or cut the ore. Deep mining is a very dangerous endeavor.

15. Deep Mining