MINERALS

MINERALS 5 Characteristics: Occurs naturally Inorganic (does not come from materials that were once part of a living thing.) Solid Crystal structure Definite Chemical Composition

Properties of Minerals Video Identifying Minerals Properties of identifying minerals: Hardness (we use the Mohs hardness scale—1-10). Color (not enough to identify a mineral by itself) Streak (the color of its powder) Luster (how the mineral reflects light) Density (mass/volume {g/cm3} ) Crystal Systems (cubic, hexagonal, tetragonal, monoclinic, triclinic) Cleavage (how easily the mineral splits along flat surfaces) Fracture (how a mineral looks when it breaks apart in an irregular way) Special Properties (fluorescence, magnetic, radioactive, electrical) Properties of Minerals Video

Crystallization video How do Minerals Form? 3 ways: Magma Hot Water Solutions Evaporation Crystallization video

Minerals are a source of: Uses of Minerals Minerals are a source of: Metals Gemstones Other materials (ie fluorite—aluminum & steel, quartz—makes glass & used in electronic equipment, gypsum—used to make wallboard, cement, & stucco.)

Find your birthstone below!! Gemstones… hard, colorful minerals that has a brilliant or glassy luster. Find your birthstone below!!

Ore A rock that contains a metal or economically useful mineral. Prospecting A prospector is anyone who searches, or prospects, for an ore deposit.

Types of Mines Strip mines —earthmoving equipment scrapes away soil to expose ore. Open pit mines —giant earthmoving equipment digs a tremendous pit. Shaft mines —tunnels extend deep into the ground for miners to dig ore deposits from veins.

**see overhead picture Smelting The process by which ore is melted to separate the useful metal from other elements. **see overhead picture