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.
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Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 140
Mineral resource of the month: tellurium Mineral resource of the month: tellurium
Global demand for tellurium has grown significantly in recent years owing to increased use in solar cells in the United States and Europe, thermoelectronics (especially in China) and steelmaking worldwide. Estimated global production, however, has remained relatively unchanged over the same period, while accumulated inventories have been exhausted, leading to a supply shortfall.
Authors
Micheal W. George
Mineral resource of the month: beryllium Mineral resource of the month: beryllium
Beryllium metal is lighter than aluminum and stiffer than steel. These and other properties, including its strength, dimensional stability, thermal properties and reflectivity, make it useful for aerospace and defense applications, such as satellite and space-vehicle structural components. Beryllium’s nuclear properties, combined with its low density, make it useful as a neutron...
Authors
Kim B. Shedd
Mineral of the month: cement Mineral of the month: cement
Hydraulic cement is a virtually ubiquitous construction material that, when mixed with water, serves as the binder in concrete and most mortars. Only about 13 percent of concrete by weight is cement (the rest being water and aggregates), but the cement contributes all of the concrete’s compressional strength. The term “hydraulic” refers to the cement’s ability to set and harden...
Authors
Hendrik G. van Oss
Mineral of the month: dimension stone Mineral of the month: dimension stone
No abstract available
Authors
Thomas Dolley
Mineral of the month: aggregates Mineral of the month: aggregates
Natural aggregates, consisting of crushed stone, and sand and gravel, are a major contributor to economic health, and have an amazing variety of uses. Aggregates are among the most abundant mineral resources and are major basic raw materials used by construction, agriculture and other industries that employ complex chemical and metallurgical processes.
Authors
Valentin V. Tepordei
Mineral of the month: aluminum Mineral of the month: aluminum
Aluminum is the second most abundant metallic element in Earth’s crust after silicon. Even so, it is a comparatively new industrial metal that has been produced in commercial quantities for little more than 100 years. Aluminum is lightweight, ductile, malleable and corrosion resistant, and is a good conductor of heat and electricity. Weighing about one-third as much as steel or copper...
Authors
Patricia A. Plunkert
Mineral of the month: cadmium Mineral of the month: cadmium
Cadmium, which was once used almost exclusively for pigments, now has many diverse applications. Cadmium’s low melting point, excellent electrical conductivity and resistance to corrosion make it valuable for many products including batteries, electroplated coatings, stabilizers for plastics, solar cells and nonferrous alloys. Today’s cadmium is primarily used in rechargeable batteries...
Authors
Edward Klimasauskas
Mineral of the month: garnet Mineral of the month: garnet
Garnet is the general name given to a group of complex silicate minerals, all with isometric crystal structure, similar properties and chemical compositions. Garnet occurs in every color of the spectrum except blue, but it is most commonly red, purple, brown and green. Garnet necklaces dating from the Bronze Age have been found in graves and also among the ornaments adorning the oldest...
Authors
Donald Olson
Mineral of the month: magnesium Mineral of the month: magnesium
Magnesium, often confused with last month’s mineral of the month manganese, is valued primarily because of its light weight and high strength-to-weight ratio. Magnesium is the eighth most abundant element and constitutes about 2 percent of the Earth’s crust. It is the third most plentiful element dissolved in seawater, with a concentration averaging 0.13 percent. Magnesium is found in...
Authors
Deborah A. Kramer
Mineral of the month: manganese Mineral of the month: manganese
Manganese is one of the most important ferrous metals and one of the few for which the United States is totally dependent on imports. It is a black, brittle element predominantly used in metallurgical applications as an alloying addition, particularly in steel and cast iron production, which together provide the largest market for manganese (about 83 percent). It is also used as an alloy...
Authors
Lisa A. Corathers
Mineral of the month: potash Mineral of the month: potash
In 1807, Sir Humphrey Davy discovered a metal during the electrolysis of potassium hydroxide; he named the metal potassium because it came from potash recovered from wood ashes. The four types of potash are the water-soluble compounds potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, potassium-magnesium sulfate and potassium nitrate. The early uses of potash were in glass and soap manufacturing, as...
Authors
James P. Searls
Mineral of the month: rhenium Mineral of the month: rhenium
Rhenium, an exotic, heat-resistant metal, has grown in importance since its discovery nearly 80 years ago. First isolated by a team of German chemists studying a platinum ore, the mineral was named for the Rhine River. From then until the 1960s, only 2 metric tons of rhenium were produced worldwide. In 2004, worldwide production was 40 metric tons.
Authors
Michael J. Magyar
Below are partners associated with this project.
Related
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 140
Mineral resource of the month: tellurium Mineral resource of the month: tellurium
Global demand for tellurium has grown significantly in recent years owing to increased use in solar cells in the United States and Europe, thermoelectronics (especially in China) and steelmaking worldwide. Estimated global production, however, has remained relatively unchanged over the same period, while accumulated inventories have been exhausted, leading to a supply shortfall.
Authors
Micheal W. George
Mineral resource of the month: beryllium Mineral resource of the month: beryllium
Beryllium metal is lighter than aluminum and stiffer than steel. These and other properties, including its strength, dimensional stability, thermal properties and reflectivity, make it useful for aerospace and defense applications, such as satellite and space-vehicle structural components. Beryllium’s nuclear properties, combined with its low density, make it useful as a neutron...
Authors
Kim B. Shedd
Mineral of the month: cement Mineral of the month: cement
Hydraulic cement is a virtually ubiquitous construction material that, when mixed with water, serves as the binder in concrete and most mortars. Only about 13 percent of concrete by weight is cement (the rest being water and aggregates), but the cement contributes all of the concrete’s compressional strength. The term “hydraulic” refers to the cement’s ability to set and harden...
Authors
Hendrik G. van Oss
Mineral of the month: dimension stone Mineral of the month: dimension stone
No abstract available
Authors
Thomas Dolley
Mineral of the month: aggregates Mineral of the month: aggregates
Natural aggregates, consisting of crushed stone, and sand and gravel, are a major contributor to economic health, and have an amazing variety of uses. Aggregates are among the most abundant mineral resources and are major basic raw materials used by construction, agriculture and other industries that employ complex chemical and metallurgical processes.
Authors
Valentin V. Tepordei
Mineral of the month: aluminum Mineral of the month: aluminum
Aluminum is the second most abundant metallic element in Earth’s crust after silicon. Even so, it is a comparatively new industrial metal that has been produced in commercial quantities for little more than 100 years. Aluminum is lightweight, ductile, malleable and corrosion resistant, and is a good conductor of heat and electricity. Weighing about one-third as much as steel or copper...
Authors
Patricia A. Plunkert
Mineral of the month: cadmium Mineral of the month: cadmium
Cadmium, which was once used almost exclusively for pigments, now has many diverse applications. Cadmium’s low melting point, excellent electrical conductivity and resistance to corrosion make it valuable for many products including batteries, electroplated coatings, stabilizers for plastics, solar cells and nonferrous alloys. Today’s cadmium is primarily used in rechargeable batteries...
Authors
Edward Klimasauskas
Mineral of the month: garnet Mineral of the month: garnet
Garnet is the general name given to a group of complex silicate minerals, all with isometric crystal structure, similar properties and chemical compositions. Garnet occurs in every color of the spectrum except blue, but it is most commonly red, purple, brown and green. Garnet necklaces dating from the Bronze Age have been found in graves and also among the ornaments adorning the oldest...
Authors
Donald Olson
Mineral of the month: magnesium Mineral of the month: magnesium
Magnesium, often confused with last month’s mineral of the month manganese, is valued primarily because of its light weight and high strength-to-weight ratio. Magnesium is the eighth most abundant element and constitutes about 2 percent of the Earth’s crust. It is the third most plentiful element dissolved in seawater, with a concentration averaging 0.13 percent. Magnesium is found in...
Authors
Deborah A. Kramer
Mineral of the month: manganese Mineral of the month: manganese
Manganese is one of the most important ferrous metals and one of the few for which the United States is totally dependent on imports. It is a black, brittle element predominantly used in metallurgical applications as an alloying addition, particularly in steel and cast iron production, which together provide the largest market for manganese (about 83 percent). It is also used as an alloy...
Authors
Lisa A. Corathers
Mineral of the month: potash Mineral of the month: potash
In 1807, Sir Humphrey Davy discovered a metal during the electrolysis of potassium hydroxide; he named the metal potassium because it came from potash recovered from wood ashes. The four types of potash are the water-soluble compounds potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, potassium-magnesium sulfate and potassium nitrate. The early uses of potash were in glass and soap manufacturing, as...
Authors
James P. Searls
Mineral of the month: rhenium Mineral of the month: rhenium
Rhenium, an exotic, heat-resistant metal, has grown in importance since its discovery nearly 80 years ago. First isolated by a team of German chemists studying a platinum ore, the mineral was named for the Rhine River. From then until the 1960s, only 2 metric tons of rhenium were produced worldwide. In 2004, worldwide production was 40 metric tons.
Authors
Michael J. Magyar
Below are partners associated with this project.