3.4 Mining and Using Minerals
When you buy a roll of aluminum foil or some baby powder, do you think about how the
products were made? Probably not. We take many everyday items that are made from
minerals for granted. But, before the products can be put on store shelves, minerals have to
be removed from the ground and made into the materials we need. A mineral deposit that
contains enough minerals to be mined for profit is called anore.Ores are rocks that contain
concentrations of valuable minerals. The bauxite shown in theFigure3.26is a rock that
contains minerals that are used to make aluminum.
Lesson Objectives
- Explain how minerals are mined.
- Describe how metals are made from mineral ores.
- Summarize the ways in which gemstones are used.
- Identify some useful minerals.
Figure 3.26: Aluminum is made from the minerals in rocks known as bauxite. ( 7 )Finding and Mining Minerals
Geologists need to find the ore deposits that are hidden underground. Different geologic
processes concentrate mineral resources. They study geologic formations searching for areas
that are likely to have ore deposits. They test the physical and chemical properties of soil