We use different things in our daily life made from metal. Can you list a number of items used in your house made of metals. Where do these metals come from?
You have studied that the earth’s crust is made up of different minerals embedded in the rocks. Various metals are extracted from these minerals after proper refinement.
Minerals are an indispensable part of our lives. Almost everything we use, from a tiny pin to a towering building or a big ship, all are made from minerals. The railway lines and the tarmac (paving) of the roads, our implements and machinery too are made from minerals. Cars, buses, trains, aeroplanes are manufactured from minerals and run on power resources derived from the earth. Even the food that we eat contains minerals. In all stages of development, human beings have used minerals for their livelihood, decoration, festivities, religious and ceremonial rites.
You have already learnt about rocks. Rocks are combinations of homogenous substances called minerals. Some rocks, for instance limestone, consist of a single mineral only, but majority of the rock consist of several minerals in varying proportions. Although, over 2000 minerals have been identified, only a few are abundantly found in most of the rocks.
A particular mineral that will be formed from a certain combination of elements depends upon the physical and chemical conditions under which the material forms. This, in turn, results in a wide range of colours, hardness, crystal forms, lustre and density that a particular mineral possesses. Geologists use these properties to classify the minerals.
What is a mineral?
Geologists define mineral as a “homogenous, natura lly occurring substance with a definable internal structure.” Minerals are found in varied forms in nature, ranging from the hardest diamond to the softest talc. Why are they so varied?
sufficient concentration to make its extraction commercially viable. The type of formation or structure in which they are found determines the relative ease with which mineral ores may be mined. This also determines the cost of extraction. It is, therefore, important for us to understand the main types of formations in which minerals occur.
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