Mineral Resource of the Month
The column "Mineral Resource of the Month", featuring the work of USGS mineral commodity specialists, now appears in the American Geological Institute's (AGI) magazine Earth (formerly Geotimes) with selected articles online at the Earth Magazine's Mineral Resource of the Month Archive. For more information about these and other mineral commodities, visit the USGS Commodity Statistics and Information site.
Related
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 140
Mineral resource of the month: barite Mineral resource of the month: barite
No abstract available.
Authors
M. Miller
Mineral resource of the month: diatomite Mineral resource of the month: diatomite
The article discusses the properties and applications of the mineral diatomite. According to the author, diatomite is a soft, friable and very fine-grained siliceous sedimentary rock made of the remains of fossilized diatoms. The author adds that its properties make diatomite very useful as a filtration medium and as a component in cement.
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral resource of the month: tellurium Mineral resource of the month: tellurium
The article offers information on tellerium, a rare and expensive metal. Tellerium is considered the 71st most abundant element in Earth's crust, along with platinum and palladium. The element belongs to the chalcogen chemical family, and is recovered as a byproduct of nonferrous metal mining. The global demand for tellerium has significantly increased due to the growth in solar cell...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral resource of the month: beryllium Mineral resource of the month: beryllium
The article discusses information about Beryllium. It notes that Beryllium is a light metal that has a gray color. The metal is used in the production of parts and devices including bearings, computer-chip heat sinks, and output windows of X-ray tubes. The article mentions Beryllium's discovery in 1798 by French chemist, Louis-Nicolas Vanquelin. It cites that bertrandite and beryl are...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral resource of the month: vanadium Mineral resource of the month: vanadium
No abstract available.
Authors
Desiree Polyak
Mineral resource of the month: cadmium Mineral resource of the month: cadmium
The element cadmium was discovered in 1817 by Friedrich Stromeyer, a professor of chemistry at the University of Göttingen in Germany. Stromeyer noticed that a yellowish glow would occur when heat was applied to certain samples of calamine, a zinc-carbonate. This was unusual as the reaction was expected to be colorless. After further testing, Stromeyer deduced that an unknown metallic...
Authors
Amy C. Tolcin
Mineral resource of the month: hydraulic cement Mineral resource of the month: hydraulic cement
Hydraulic cements are the binders in concrete and most mortars and stuccos. Concrete, particularly the reinforced variety, is the most versatile of all construction materials, and most of the hydraulic cement produced worldwide is portland cement or similar cements that have portland cement as a basis, such as blended cements and masonry cements. Cement typically makes up less than 15...
Authors
Hendrik van Oss
Mineral resource of the month: aluminum Mineral resource of the month: aluminum
The article offers information on aluminum, a mineral resource which is described as the third-most abundant element in Earth's crust. According to the article, aluminum is the second-most used metal. Hans Christian Oersted, a Danish chemist, was the first to isolate aluminum in the laboratory. Aluminum is described as lightweight, corrosion-resistant and an excellent conductor of...
Authors
E. Bray
Mineral resource of the month: rhenium Mineral resource of the month: rhenium
Rhenium, a silvery-white, heat resistant metal, has increased significantly in importance since its discovery in 1925. First isolated by a team of German chemists studying platinum ore, the mineral was named for the Rhine River. From 1925 until the 1960s, only two metric tons of rhenium were produced worldwide. Since then, its uses have steadily increased, including everything from...
Authors
Desiree Polyak
Mineral resource of the month: manganese Mineral resource of the month: manganese
Manganese is a silver-colored metal resembling iron and often found in conjunction with iron. The earliest-known human use of manganese compounds was in the Stone Age, when early humans used manganese dioxide as pigments in cave paintings. In ancient Rome and Egypt, people started using it to color or remove the color from glass - a practice that continued to modern times. Today...
Authors
Lisa Corathers
Mineral resource of the month: magnesium Mineral resource of the month: magnesium
Magnesium is the eighthmost abundant element in Earth’s crust, and the second-most abundant metal ion in seawater. Although magnesium is found in more than 60 minerals, only brucite, dolomite, magnesite and carnallite are commercially important for their magnesium content. Magnesium and its compounds also are recovered from seawater, brines found in lakes and wells, and bitterns (salts).
Authors
Deborah Kramer
Mineral resource of the month: tungsten Mineral resource of the month: tungsten
The article offers information on tungsten. It says that tungsten is a metal found in chemical compounds such as in the scheelite and ore minerals wolframite. It states that tungsten has the highest melting point and it forms a compound as hard as diamond when combined with carbon. It states that tungsten can be used as a substitute for lead in fishing weights, ammunition, and hunting...
Authors
Kim Shedd
Below are partners associated with this project.
Related
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 140
Mineral resource of the month: barite Mineral resource of the month: barite
No abstract available.
Authors
M. Miller
Mineral resource of the month: diatomite Mineral resource of the month: diatomite
The article discusses the properties and applications of the mineral diatomite. According to the author, diatomite is a soft, friable and very fine-grained siliceous sedimentary rock made of the remains of fossilized diatoms. The author adds that its properties make diatomite very useful as a filtration medium and as a component in cement.
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral resource of the month: tellurium Mineral resource of the month: tellurium
The article offers information on tellerium, a rare and expensive metal. Tellerium is considered the 71st most abundant element in Earth's crust, along with platinum and palladium. The element belongs to the chalcogen chemical family, and is recovered as a byproduct of nonferrous metal mining. The global demand for tellerium has significantly increased due to the growth in solar cell...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral resource of the month: beryllium Mineral resource of the month: beryllium
The article discusses information about Beryllium. It notes that Beryllium is a light metal that has a gray color. The metal is used in the production of parts and devices including bearings, computer-chip heat sinks, and output windows of X-ray tubes. The article mentions Beryllium's discovery in 1798 by French chemist, Louis-Nicolas Vanquelin. It cites that bertrandite and beryl are...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral resource of the month: vanadium Mineral resource of the month: vanadium
No abstract available.
Authors
Desiree Polyak
Mineral resource of the month: cadmium Mineral resource of the month: cadmium
The element cadmium was discovered in 1817 by Friedrich Stromeyer, a professor of chemistry at the University of Göttingen in Germany. Stromeyer noticed that a yellowish glow would occur when heat was applied to certain samples of calamine, a zinc-carbonate. This was unusual as the reaction was expected to be colorless. After further testing, Stromeyer deduced that an unknown metallic...
Authors
Amy C. Tolcin
Mineral resource of the month: hydraulic cement Mineral resource of the month: hydraulic cement
Hydraulic cements are the binders in concrete and most mortars and stuccos. Concrete, particularly the reinforced variety, is the most versatile of all construction materials, and most of the hydraulic cement produced worldwide is portland cement or similar cements that have portland cement as a basis, such as blended cements and masonry cements. Cement typically makes up less than 15...
Authors
Hendrik van Oss
Mineral resource of the month: aluminum Mineral resource of the month: aluminum
The article offers information on aluminum, a mineral resource which is described as the third-most abundant element in Earth's crust. According to the article, aluminum is the second-most used metal. Hans Christian Oersted, a Danish chemist, was the first to isolate aluminum in the laboratory. Aluminum is described as lightweight, corrosion-resistant and an excellent conductor of...
Authors
E. Bray
Mineral resource of the month: rhenium Mineral resource of the month: rhenium
Rhenium, a silvery-white, heat resistant metal, has increased significantly in importance since its discovery in 1925. First isolated by a team of German chemists studying platinum ore, the mineral was named for the Rhine River. From 1925 until the 1960s, only two metric tons of rhenium were produced worldwide. Since then, its uses have steadily increased, including everything from...
Authors
Desiree Polyak
Mineral resource of the month: manganese Mineral resource of the month: manganese
Manganese is a silver-colored metal resembling iron and often found in conjunction with iron. The earliest-known human use of manganese compounds was in the Stone Age, when early humans used manganese dioxide as pigments in cave paintings. In ancient Rome and Egypt, people started using it to color or remove the color from glass - a practice that continued to modern times. Today...
Authors
Lisa Corathers
Mineral resource of the month: magnesium Mineral resource of the month: magnesium
Magnesium is the eighthmost abundant element in Earth’s crust, and the second-most abundant metal ion in seawater. Although magnesium is found in more than 60 minerals, only brucite, dolomite, magnesite and carnallite are commercially important for their magnesium content. Magnesium and its compounds also are recovered from seawater, brines found in lakes and wells, and bitterns (salts).
Authors
Deborah Kramer
Mineral resource of the month: tungsten Mineral resource of the month: tungsten
The article offers information on tungsten. It says that tungsten is a metal found in chemical compounds such as in the scheelite and ore minerals wolframite. It states that tungsten has the highest melting point and it forms a compound as hard as diamond when combined with carbon. It states that tungsten can be used as a substitute for lead in fishing weights, ammunition, and hunting...
Authors
Kim Shedd
Below are partners associated with this project.