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MAIN: ROCKS AND MINING: MINERALS MATTER Minerals MatterMinerals are more than beautiful display pieces. They are the very building blocks of the universe. Minerals make up the Earth, the Moon, and the meteorites that voyage to Earth from other parts of the Solar System. Minerals hold the tangible evidence scientists need to learn about our world. Modern civilization relies heavily on mineral resources. You use minerals more than you may imagine. If something is not derived from a plant or animal, then most likely it came from a rock or mineral. In our homes, on the road, and in classrooms and offices, minerals matter to us all. Look for examples as you explore the website to discover some of the ways we use rocks and minerals. Aluminum or Gold? Aluminum. Abundant and versatile, aluminum is now cheap and widely available. But early in the 19th century, the French Emperor Napoleon III served food to his most distinguished guests on aluminum plates. Why was aluminum—the most abundant metal in Earth's crust—once so precious? For many years after its discovery in 1825, aluminum was extremely difficult to remove from rocks. In 1886, when an inexpensive method of extraction was developed, aluminum suddenly became cheap and widely available. Gold. Glittering and durable, gold has historically been a symbol of wealth and power. Yet today, gold is a workhorse metal for high technology. Why is gold so valuable? Gold is scarce. Throughout all of history, only about 116,000 metric tons have been found—enough to make a cube about 18 m (59 ft) on a side. Gold is beautiful. Ancient cultures equated its brilliance with the Sun's, and we still prize its glow in jewelry and ornaments. Gold has properties valuable to industry, such as excellent electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance. |
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