Mineral Deposits
These mineral deposits are often mined to produce metals or other commodities such as coal or uranium. Most people can identify commonly used metals such as gold, silver, copper, zinc, aluminum and tin. These metals have a distinctive luster, conduct heat and electricity, and are malleable under heat and pressure.
An alloy is a metallic material consisting of two or more elements, homogenous in outward appearance, and combined in such a way that they cannot be readily separated by physical means. Alloys are used more often that pure metals because they frequently have properties different than those of the metal from which they are made. For example combining copper and tin creates an alloy that is harder and tougher than either of the two metals in their pure form. The alloy is bronze, and its discovery marked the period of civilization known as the Bronze Age. Today, alloys are used in the advanced technologies of aerospace, electronics and energy. Metals are often categorized into groups that reflect some common uses or similar properties. Precious or noble metals include gold, silver and platinum, while base metals are those of lower value, mainly copper, lead and zinc.
Ferrous metals are those with a strong chemical affinity to iron, which are often used in steel-making. Chromium, cobalt, manganese and molybdenum are commonly included in this group, sometimes called ferroalloy metals, because their major use is to improve the properties of steel.
Non-ferrous metals include aluminum, copper, lead, magnesium, nickel, tin and zinc, since their largest uses don’t include steel-making (there is some overlap here with the base metals).
Light metals such as berrylium, magnesium, aluminum and titanium are valued for their combination of lightness and strength. Refractory metals such as niobium, tungsten, and ruthenium have high melting points and can withstand high temperatures. Reactive metals such as lithium, strontium and cesium are less stable because they easily react with oxygen. Nuclear or radioactive metals include radium, throrium uranium and plutonium. They are often used to generate power.
Semi-metals or metalloids such as silicon, arsenic and selenium possess a mix of metallic and non-metallic attributes. Another group is rare-earth metals and includes scandium, yttrium, zirconium and fifteen elements collectively termed the lanthanides. These metals are so categorized not because they are rare in the earth’s crust, but because their extraction is difficult.
Metals are minerals are a natural part of our environment. Finding economic concentrations of them in the earth’s crust is a task that has preoccupied mankind since the dawn of civilization.
Making Sense of Mining Numbers Genthite and Talc Composition, Crystallization & Structure Acid and Basic Sulphates or Sulfates- Brochantite Composition What is SAG Semi-AutoGenous Grinding and How it works Mining Equipment Europe REFERENCES. Closed-Circuit Calculations Bornite Flotation Lab Test Gold Mines World Mineralogy Manual Identifying Antimony Minerals Wireline Drilling Method Stages of Rock Size Reduction in Crushers Investing in Mining Methods of Mining
