Publications

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 impurity in

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, manganese is pred

Crushed stone and construction sand and gravel, the two major types of natural aggregates, are among the most abundant and accessible natural resources on the planet. The earliest civilizations used aggregates for various purposes, mainly construction. Today aggregates provide the basic raw materials for the foundation of modern society.

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).

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 percent of t

In 2010, the market appeared to bottom out with production continuing its downward trend and average unit values down for the first time since 1998.

The article offers information on the mineral, boron. Boron compounds, particularly borates, have more commercial applications than its elemental relative which is a metalloid. Making up the 90% of the borates that are used worldwide are colemanite, kernite, tincal, and ulexite. The main borate deposits are located in the Mojave Desert of the U.S., the Tethyan belt in southern Asia, and the Andean

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 shot. Moreov

The article offers information on mercury, a mineral commodity used in industrial and small-scale gold mining applications. Mercury has been reported to be used for amalgamation with gold since the Roman times. Mercury from cinnabar from Almadén, Spain has been used by Romans and has been continued to be used through the Middle Ages and the Colonial era.

Domestic production, consumption, exports and prices of perlite in the United States were all estimated to have decreased in 2011 compared with 2010, but not significantly. The weak economic conditions that prevailed in the United States for most of the 2011 probably accounted for these decreases. The only statistic that increased was imports, which were estimated to have risen by about 6 percent

The article offers information on dimension stone (DS) that are quarried as natural rock for a specific size and dimension chosen for its color, strength, durability. Varieties of metamorphic, igneous or sedimentary rocks are used but DS rocks are mainly marble, granite and slate that can be found from Maine to Alabama in the U.S., in the Carrara District of Italy as well as in Greece, China and B

Garnet has been used as a gemstone since the Bronze Age. However, garnet's angular fractures, relatively high hardness and specific gravity, chemical inertness, and nontoxicity make it ideal for many industrial applications. It is also free of crystalline silica and can be recycled.