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:
- 871 pounds of lead
- 502 pounds of zinc
- 950 pounds of copper
- 2,692 pounds of aluminum
- 21,645 pounds of iron ore
- 11,614 pounds of clays
- 30,091 pounds of salt
- 1,420,000 pounds of stone, sand, gravel, and cement
Learn more: Mineral Resources Education Products
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Globally sourced mineral commodities used in U.S. Navy SEAL gear—An illustration of U.S. net import reliance
A U.S. Navy SEAL (an acronym for sea, air, land) carries gear containing at least 23 nonfuel mineral commodities for which the United States is greater than 50 percent net import reliant. The graphics display the leading world producers of selected nonfuel mineral commodities used to manufacture U.S. Navy SEAL gear. SEALs are members of the U.S....
Brainard, Jamie ; Nassar, Nedal T.; Gambogi, Joseph; Baker, Michael S.; Jarvis, Michael T.
Use of raw materials in the United States from 1900 through 2014
The economic growth of an industrialized nation such as the United States requires raw materials for construction (buildings, bridges, highways, and so forth), defense, and processing and manufacture of goods and services. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the types and quantities of raw materials used have increased and changed...
Matos, Grecia R.
A world of minerals in your mobile device
Mobile phones and other high-technology communications devices could not exist without mineral commodities. More than one-half of all components in a mobile device—including its electronics, display, battery, speakers, and more—are made from mined and semiprocessed materials (mineral commodities). Some mineral commodities can be recovered as...
Jenness, Jane E.; Ober, Joyce A.; Wilkins, Aleeza M.; Gambogi, Joseph
Lead-soft and easy to cast
Kropschot, S.J.; Doebrich, Jeff L.
Zinc-The key to preventing corrosion
Centuries before it was identified as an element, zinc was used to make brass (an alloy of zinc and copper) and for medicinal purposes. Metallic zinc and zinc oxide were produced in India sometime between the 11th and 14th centuries and in China in the 17th century, although the discovery of pure metallic zinc is credited to the German chemist...
Kropschot, S.J.; Doebrich, Jeff L.
Copper: a metal for the ages
Copper was one of the first metals ever extracted and used by humans, and it has made vital contributions to sustaining and improving society since the dawn of civilization. Copper was first used in coins and ornaments starting about 8000 B.C., and at about 5500 B.C., copper tools helped civilization emerge from the Stone Age. The discovery that...
Doebrich, Jeff
Materials in Use in U.S. Interstate Highways
Summary: Natural aggregates (construction sand and gravel and crushed stone) make up the largest component of nonfuel mineral materials consumed in the United States. Most of these materials are used in construction activities, such as in buildings and roads. In highways, natural aggregates are incorporated into asphalt and concrete and are used...
Sullivan, Daniel E.
The life cycle of a mineral deposit: a teacher's guide for hands-on mineral education activities
This teacher's guide defines what a mineral deposit is and how a mineral deposit is identified and measured, how the mineral resources are extracted, and how the mining site is reclaimed; how minerals and mineral resources are processed; and how we use mineral resources in our every day lives. Included are 10 activitybased learning exercises that...
Frank, Dave; Galloway, John; Assmus, Ken
Mineral resources: out of the ground...into our daily lives
Minerals and mineral resources are a part of our everyday lives. This poster depicts a home and shows the different mineral(s) and mineral materials used to make the various products found in the average home.
Frank, Dave; Weathers, Judy; Galloway, John
Minerals in our environment
Minerals are found everywhere in our daily lives. This poster depicts numerous items found throughout a home, and the mineral(s) or mineral resources used in the ingredients of, or construction/manufacturing of those items. Designed for K-8 Teachers this poster can be scaled and is printable at 36" x 60" and legible at 11" x 17" in size.
Weathers, Judy; Galloway, John; Frank, Dave
Natural Aggregates - Foundation of America's Future
Tepordei, Valentin V.
Natural aggregate, building America's future
Langer, William H.; Glanzman, V.M.
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