Introduction to Minerals

Minerals are all around us. They help to make or are a part of almost everything we wear or use. In this unit, you will learn to identify some mineral products and how they are used in everyday life. There are many different kinds of minerals, but all of them come from the earth. When you are outdoors, the easiest way to find minerals is to look at rocks. Rocks are minerals grouped together in special ways.

Minerals are made up of one or more elements. Elements are the simple materials the earth is made up of. They are the building blocks that group together to form different minerals.

Minerals are nonliving things and are used by living things in small amounts. Plants take what they need from the soil, and humans get minerals from the plants and animals we eat.

Minerals can sometimes be found in large amounts. These are called deposits. Ore is the name for rock that contains a deposit of one or more important minerals. It is usually named for the most important mineral in the rock, such as iron ore or gold ore. The process of taking ore from the ground is called mining.

Minerals are divided into two groups, metallic and nonmetallic. Metallic minerals are all single elements. Nonmetallic minerals can be single elements, but most are compounds (combinations) of two or more elements. Many metallic minerals can be melted to make metals. Two or more metals combined together are called an alloy. Some of the metals you know about are gold and iron. Brass and steel are examples of metal alloys. There are three important things to know about metals. First, they conduct heat and electricity well. This means heat and electricity go through them better than through most other minerals. Second, they are malleable. This means the metal can be hammered, pressed, formed or bent into many shapes. Third, they are ductile. This means the metal can be hammered or stretched into a very thin wire.

The group of minerals called nonmetallic is very large and includes a wide variety of material. Most nonmetals do not contain any metal at all. Some have metallic elements but are called nonmetallic because they contain other things besides just metal. Precious gems such as diamonds and emeralds are nonmetallic minerals that are considered valuable because of their beauty and rarity.

There are many ways that metallic and nonmetallic minerals help us in our daily lives. Even those that are not pretty to look at are important to our bodies, our homes and our industries.