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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Filter Total Items: 140
Mineral resource of the month: Wollastonite
Wollastonite, a calcium metasilicate, has an ideal composition of 48.3 percent calcium oxide and 51.7 percent silicon dioxide, but it can also contain minor amounts of aluminum, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium or strontium substituting for calcium. Wollastonite occurs as prismatic crystals that break into tabular-to-acicular fragments. It is usually white but also may be gray, cream,
Authors
Robert L. Virta, Bradley S. Van Gosen
Mineral Resource of the Month: Talc
When people think of talc, they often think of talcum and baby powder. However, these uses of talc are minor compared to its use in industrial manufacturing. The leading use of talc in the United States is in the production of ceramics, where it is a source of magnesium oxide, serves as a flux to reduce firing temperatures, and improves thermal shock characteristics of the final product. Worldwide
Authors
Robert L. Virta, Bradley S. Van Gosen
Mineral resource of the month: Iron and steel
Iron is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, but it does not occur in nature in a useful metallic form. Although ancient people may have recovered some iron from meteorites, it wasn’t until smelting was invented that iron metal could be derived from iron oxides. After the beginning of the Iron Age in about 1200 B.C., knowledge of iron- and steelmaking spread from the ancient Middle East thr
Authors
Michael D. Fenton
Mineral resource of the month: Iron and steel
Iron is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, but it does not occur in nature in a useful metallic form. Although ancient people may have recovered some iron from meteorites, it wasn’t until smelting was invented that iron metal could be derived from iron oxides. After the beginning of the Iron Age in about 1200 B.C., knowledge of iron- and steelmaking spread from the ancient Middle East thr
Authors
Michael D. Fenton
Mineral resource of the month: Strontium
Strontium occurs commonly in nature, ranking as the 15th most abundant chemical element on Earth. Only two minerals contain sufficient strontium, however, to be used commercially to produce strontium compounds: Strontianite (strontium carbonate) has a higher strontium content, but celestite (strontium sulfate) is by far the most abundant strontium mineral.
Authors
Joyce A. Ober
Mineral resource of the month: Phosphate rock
As a mineral resource, “phosphate rock” is defined as unprocessed ore and processed concentrates that contain some form of apatite, a group of calcium phosphate minerals that is the primary source for phosphorus in phosphate fertilizers, which are vital to agriculture.
Authors
Stephen M. Jasinski
Below are partners associated with this project.
Related Content
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 140
Mineral resource of the month: Wollastonite
Wollastonite, a calcium metasilicate, has an ideal composition of 48.3 percent calcium oxide and 51.7 percent silicon dioxide, but it can also contain minor amounts of aluminum, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium or strontium substituting for calcium. Wollastonite occurs as prismatic crystals that break into tabular-to-acicular fragments. It is usually white but also may be gray, cream,
Authors
Robert L. Virta, Bradley S. Van Gosen
Mineral Resource of the Month: Talc
When people think of talc, they often think of talcum and baby powder. However, these uses of talc are minor compared to its use in industrial manufacturing. The leading use of talc in the United States is in the production of ceramics, where it is a source of magnesium oxide, serves as a flux to reduce firing temperatures, and improves thermal shock characteristics of the final product. Worldwide
Authors
Robert L. Virta, Bradley S. Van Gosen
Mineral resource of the month: Iron and steel
Iron is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, but it does not occur in nature in a useful metallic form. Although ancient people may have recovered some iron from meteorites, it wasn’t until smelting was invented that iron metal could be derived from iron oxides. After the beginning of the Iron Age in about 1200 B.C., knowledge of iron- and steelmaking spread from the ancient Middle East thr
Authors
Michael D. Fenton
Mineral resource of the month: Iron and steel
Iron is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, but it does not occur in nature in a useful metallic form. Although ancient people may have recovered some iron from meteorites, it wasn’t until smelting was invented that iron metal could be derived from iron oxides. After the beginning of the Iron Age in about 1200 B.C., knowledge of iron- and steelmaking spread from the ancient Middle East thr
Authors
Michael D. Fenton
Mineral resource of the month: Strontium
Strontium occurs commonly in nature, ranking as the 15th most abundant chemical element on Earth. Only two minerals contain sufficient strontium, however, to be used commercially to produce strontium compounds: Strontianite (strontium carbonate) has a higher strontium content, but celestite (strontium sulfate) is by far the most abundant strontium mineral.
Authors
Joyce A. Ober
Mineral resource of the month: Phosphate rock
As a mineral resource, “phosphate rock” is defined as unprocessed ore and processed concentrates that contain some form of apatite, a group of calcium phosphate minerals that is the primary source for phosphorus in phosphate fertilizers, which are vital to agriculture.
Authors
Stephen M. Jasinski
Below are partners associated with this project.