How large is a lifetime supply of minerals for the average person?
At today's level of consumption, the average newborn infant will need a lifetime supply of 800 pounds of lead, 750 pounds of zinc, 1,500 pounds of copper, 3,593 pounds of aluminum, 32,700 pounds of iron, 26,550 pounds of clays, 28,213 pounds of salt, and 1,238,101 pounds of stone, sand, gravel, and cement.
Related Content
Where can I find information about mineral commodities?
What is the difference between a rock and a mineral?
How much silver has been found in the world?
How much gold has been found in the world?
How much copper has been found in the world?
How many pounds of minerals are required by the average person in a year?
How do we extract minerals?
Interior Releases 2018’s Final List of 35 Minerals Deemed Critical to U.S. National Security and the Economy
The Department of the Interior today published a list of 35 mineral commodities considered critical to the economic and national security of the United States. This list will be the initial focus of a multi-agency strategy due in August this year to implement President Donald J. Trump's Executive Order to break America's dependence on foreign minerals
Critical Minerals of the United States
It would be no exaggeration to say that without minerals, no aspect of our daily lives would be possible.
Rich, Attractive, and Extremely Shallow
No, it’s not a title for a new reality-dating TV show, but it is real science! It also describes the ideal mineral deposit.
The Top 5 Mineral-Producing States
In 2016, these five states led the pack in mineral production, accounting for about one third of the total mineral production value for the entire country.
The Top 5 U.S. Minerals by Production Value
In 2016, the United States mined $74.6 billion worth of minerals, and the following five mineral commodities accounted for 68.5 percent of that value.
Ordinary Minerals Give Smartphones Extraordinary Capabilities
Earlier this year, Apple’s iPhone celebrated the 10th anniversary of its introduction to the world, an event that fueled a transformation within the technology and communications sector. This revolution would influence billions of smartphone users around the world forever altering many aspects of human life.
Tracking Critical Minerals to Ensure National Preparedness
On an ordinary Tuesday in 2014, David Pineault, an economist at the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), reviewed his specialized reports and came to a startling conclusion: the United States needed to increase its stockpile of a basic manufacturing material with military applications—yttrium oxide, a material used in laser rangefinders.
2017 Oct. Public Lecture — Global Trends in Mineral Commodity Supplies
- The U.S. is increasingly reliant on supply of mineral raw materials from other countries.
- Advanced technologies are increasingly making use of nearly the entire periodic table of the elements.
- Dynamic studies of critical and strategic mineral supply and demand can identify emerging potential supply risks.
- The USGS - National Minerals
Minerals in Mobile Devices — Infographic
This infographic displays the different minerals located in mobile devices. Included within this infographic are:
- Display: Silica Sand and Bauxite
Silica Sand: A mobile device's glass screen is very durable because glassmakers combine its main ingredient, silica (silicon dioxide or quartz) sand, with ceramic materials and then add potassium.
Bauxite:
Molybdenite
Mineral: Molybdenite
Mineral Origin: Henderson Mine, Empire, CO
Primary Mineral Commodity: Molybdenum
Mineral Commodity Uses: In the late 19th century, French metallurgists discovered that molybdenum, when alloyed (mixed) with steel in small quantities, creates a substance that is remarkably
Salt, Sodium, Chlorine
Mineral: Halite (NaCl)
Primary mineral Commodity: Salt
Commodity Uses: Highway deicing accounted for about 44% of total salt consumed in 2016. Salt is also used as feedstock for chlorine and caustic soda manufacture; these two inorganic chemicals are used to make many consumer-related end-use products, such as
Bauxite
Mineral: Bauxite
Mineral Origin: Les Baux, France (Sample donated by Gary Kingston)
Primary Commodity: Aluminum and Gallium
Primary Commodity Uses: Aluminum is one of the most used metals on the planet, finding roles in transportation, construction, packaging, electronics, and other consumer
Bauxite
Mineral: Bauxite
Mineral Origin: Les Baux, France (Sample donated by Gary Kingston)
Primary Commodity: Aluminum and Gallium
Primary Commodity Uses: Aluminum is one of the most used metals on the planet, finding roles in transportation, construction, packaging, electronics, and other consumer
Sphalerite
Sphalerite, zinc sulfide, is and has been the principal ore mineral in the world. Zinc uses range from metal products to rubber and medicines. Zinc alloys readily with other metals and is chemically active. On exposure to air, it develops a thin gray oxide film (patina), which inhibits deeper oxidation (corrosion) of the metal. The metal’s resistance to corrosion is an
...Copper
Zambia is the eighth largest copper producer in the world. USGS assessments estimated that the potential for undiscovered copper deposits in Zambia is larger than once thought. Photograph credit: USGS
PubTalk 3/2015 — The Environmental Legacy of California's Gold Rush
by Andrea Foster, USGS Research Geologist & Christopher Kim, Associate Professor, Chapman University
- Why are arsenic and mercury associated with California's gold mines?
- What types of arsenic and mercury contamination can be directly related to historic mining?
- How are geochemists studying the distribution and
Sand and gravel extraction pit near Wagner, South Dakota
Sand and gravel extraction pit near Wagner, South Dakot
PubTalk 5/2011 — The Future of Rare Earth Elements
--Will these high-tech industry elements continue in short supply?
by Keith Long, USGS Mineral Resource Analyst
- Rare earth elements provide critical material for flat-panel display screens, cell phones, electric cars, windmills, etc.
- Although relatively abundant in nature, deposits of rare earth elements that