Industrial minerals

Few people realise the importance of industrial minerals in our everyday lives. Perhaps a trip through a normal working day will underscore our reliance upon these non-metallic minerals. The products that contain industrial minerals or utilise industrial minerals in the manufacturing process hare highlighted in bold face.

As we step out of bed in the morning we place our feet on the carpet (calcium carbonate/limestone is used in the carpet backing). We find our way to the kitchen and switch on the electric light and the coffee pot, which is made of either glass or ceramics (both glass and ceramics are made entirely from industrial minerals – silica sand, limestone, talc, lithium, borates, soda ash, and feldspar). As we enter the kitchen we find we are now on linoleum (calcium carbonate, clay and wollastonite) or on ceramic tile.

While the coffee is being prepared, we sit down to read the newspaper and at the same time we realise we have to take a trip today so we consult our official airline guide and then have to refer to the yellow pages of the open book for the number of the airline. (All of these papers are filled with kaolin clay and use limestone, sodium sulphate, lime and soda ash in the processing.

The coffee is prepared and we have fixed a piece of toast and we sneak a piece of cake from last night’s party (bakery items such as bread contain gypsum as an ingredient and cakes have high content of gypsum in the icing). The plate we are eating from is composed of glass or ceramics or china, the last being a special form of ceramics. We might also feel inclined to have and even contemplate what we’ll have for lunch and what has to be prepared for the evening meal. Regardless, all of the food that we eat everyday relies completely on industrial minerals for its growth and production. (All fertilisers are composed of some combination of potash, phosphates, nitrogen, sulphur, and other minor minerals. The acidity of soils must be regulated with gypsum, limestone, or sulphur. In fact, without industrial minerals there could not be any modern-day agriculture as we know it).

Let’s now start getting ready to go to work. We brush our teeth with toothpaste (calcium carbonate/limestone/sodium carbonate) and ladies put on lipstick (calcium carbonate and talc) and powder (talcum) and men might prepare their hair with hair cream (calcium carbonate). Other forms of make-up would have various minerals as a constituent. The lavatory counter top in the bathroom where we are standing is a nice synthetic marble or synthetic onyx (titanium dioxide, calcium carbonate and alumina hydrate). And, the sinks, lavatories, toilets and similar fixtures throughout the house are kept shiny with cleansers (silica, pumice, diatomite, feldspar and limestone). Kitchen and bathroom tiles are installed and kept in place and maintain their waterproof condition with putty and caulking compounds (limestone and gypsum).

Just before we leave, we want to brighten up our wardrobe with some form of jewellery (all precious and semi-precious stones – opal, amethyst, aquamarine, topaz, garnets, diamonds etc are industrial minerals). There is a less attractive task to do at the last minute, changing the kitty litter (attapulgite montmorillonite, zeolites, diatomite, pumice, or volcanic ash).

As we walk outside, we make a mental note that we have to have the composite roof fixed. (Fibreglass is composed of almost the same ingredients as regular glass – silica, borates, limestone, soda ash and feldspar. Fibreglass and asphalt, along with lesser quantities of either talc, silica sand or limestone, comprise composition roofing). And we are pleased to see that the fibreglass siding on our home that we have just installed looks so nice. As we get in the car we think that we will have to do planting and gardening this evening. In addition to fertilisers we will have to buy some soil amendments and planting mixes today. (Vermiculite, perlite, gypsum, zeolites or peat make for better growth).

Once we leave for work we are really employing industrial minerals. Our automobile is literally composed of industrial minerals. Starting from the ground up, tyres contain clays and calcium carbonate and the mag wheels are made from dolomite and magnesium. All of the glass in the car is made entirely from minerals as is the fibreglass body now becoming popular on many models. Many of the components in a car are now being made of composites, which are usually combinations of fibreglass and plastics. Plastics require calcium carbonate, wollastonite, mica, talc, clays, and silica for their manufacture. So, as we drive to work, we are enjoying the value of numerous industrial minerals from the bumpers to the dashboard to the radiator cap and the floor mats.

The paint that makes our car so attractive is composed in large part from industrial minerals – titanium dioxide, kaolin clays, calcium carbonate, micas talc, silica, wollastonite and others. In fact, every speck of all paints that we will encounter today, from that on our house, to the stripe down the middle of the road, to the interior of our offices elsewhere, will be composed mainly of industrial minerals.

Modern transportation is almost entirely reliant upon industrial minerals and this does not stop with just the car. Gasoline and lubricants depend on industrial minerals since the drill bit that originally discovered the crude oil was faced with diamonds. Drilling fluids used for ease of well drilling are almost entirely made from barytes, bentonite, attapulgite, mica, perlite and others. It is necessary to employ clays and zeolites in catalytic cracking process for crude petroleum to arrive at gasoline and lubricants.

On our way to work we don’t think about it but we are literally riding on industrial minerals. Concrete pavement is composed of cement and aggregates. Aggregates are themselves industrial minerals – sand and gravel or crushed stone such as limestone, dolomite, granite, lava etc. Cement is manufactured from limestone, gypsum, iron oxide, clays and possibly pozzolan.

Even asphaltic pavement or blacktop has industrial minerals as aggregates.

The building we are about to enter is made from or of industrial minerals. If it is a concrete or stone or brick building it is entirely made from industrial minerals. If there are steel structural members the steel production process required fluorspar for fluxing, bentonite for pelletising and, perhaps, chromite for hardening. The making of steel requires the use of high grade refractory bricks and shapes made from bauxite, chromium, zircon, silica, graphite, kyanite, andalusite, sillimanite, and clays. Fibreglass batts may be used for insulation in our office buildings as they in our homes.

Upon entering we are often enclosed by wallboard or sheetrock (gypsum with fire retardant additives such as clays, perlite, vermiculite, alumina hydrate, and borate) joined together with joint cement (gypsum ,mica, clays, and calcium carbonates). Certainly the plate glass windows are made entirely from industrial minerals. The floors or decks between floors will probably be made from concrete using lightweight aggregate (perlite, vermiculite, zeolites, or expanded shales).

To begin our work we may pick up a pencil (graphite and clays) and make a list of things to do. One of the first items is to send out a few invoices that are backed with self-carbonated carbon paper (bentonite or other clays or zeolites). There are some articles to be ordered so we pick up a catalogue or magazine and unconsciously like the glossy feel of the fine paper, caused by a high content of kaoline clay or calcium carbonate along with titanium dioxide for extreme whiteness. Almost every sheet of paper that we use today will have used industrial minerals, such as talc, in its manufacturing process or will contain minerals as fillers and coaters. Even some inks will contain calcium carbonate or other fillers.

The morning has worn on and it is time for a break. In addition to the coffee in the coffee cup (remember it is made of industrial minerals), we decide to heat up a roll and we place it in or on a microwavable container (plastics filled and reinforced with talc, calcium carbonate, titanium dioxide, or clays).

While on break, we commence to ponder what we will do for the weekend and know that there are a lot of recreational devices we would love to employ.These include golf clubs, tennis rackets, fishing rods, and skis. All of these are now commonly made from graphite or , a slightly “older” material, fibreglass. Even if we are planning a back-packing trip our pack frame and pans will be made of aluminium (all aluminium, for whatever usage originates from bauxite, one of the most widely utilised industrial mineral). If we use a camp light on our trip the mantle will be made from an industrial mineral, thorium.

Communications equipment employs numerous industrial minerals. The standard of the industry for many years has been the silicon chip, made from quarts or silica as the name implies.

Optical fibres, made from glass, are replacing some copper wiring. The television screen or computer monitor is made of glass but critical tubes also contain phosphorus made from the rare earths or lanthanides, a family of industrial minerals. Even the superconducting materials that are presently getting so much attention utilise industrial minerals (yttrium, lantanides, titanium, zirconium, and barytes) in their manufacture.

After a hard day at the office we drop in for refreshments with our friends. A fruit juice would be refreshing or for the less temperate a glass of wine or beer, but all of these liquids use clarifying processes. If we should add sugar to any of our drinks we are enjoying the benefits of minerals since limestone and lime are basics to the production of sweeteners. And of course, our refreshments will be served in ceramic mugs or glasses composed entirely of our friends the industrial minerals.

Filtering and purification are major duties of the industrial minerals. Our drinking water uses minerals for purifying and clarification (limestone, lime and salt) as do the waste water treatment plants (zeolites, soda ash, lime and salt). The vegetable oils we use are filtered using clays, perlite or diatomite. And, equally important to recreation is the utilisation of all of the minerals mentioned in this paragraph for the filter and purifying of water in swimming pools.

When we arrive back home, we are not yet through with our exposure to our mineral friends. If we have to talk medicine or pharmaceuticals we may chew antacid pills essentially made from calcium carbonate. For upset stomachs there are Milk of Magnesia (magnesia/dolomite) or Kaopectate (kaolin) and others made from clays such as attapulgite. And, who can forget the lovely barium “cocktail” brytes, which it is necessary to drink before getting x-rayed for gastrointestinal occurrences. Not to mention tincture of iodine (iodine) for all those cuts and bruises. And, the lithium that is used to treat mental disorders started out as an industrial mineral.

Rounding out the picture are such diverse uses as abrasives for sandblasting ships or for making sandpaper for home or workshop use, as well as emery boards for our fingernails or polishing compounds for our silverware and other items. Abrasives are made from pumice, diatomite, silica, garnet, corundum and emery. Or porcelain figurines (silica, limestone, borates, soda ash) for our whatnot shelf and plaster of paris statuettes (gypsum) for our lawn.

Almost finally, it must be mentioned that one of the most basic table ingredients is an industrial mineral, namely salt. In fact it’s so basic that it was historically used as a medium of trade or payment as implied in our word “salary”. And truly finally, an ode to our lives will be inscribed on monumental stone (marble or granite) in the form of a eulogy.

The foregoing is meant to provide a broad insight into the importance of industrial minerals in our everyday life and to emphasise how much our lives would be altered without ready and economic access to these fundamental constituents.

Visit www.rockchemicalfillers.co.zw to learn more about how where others see rocks, RCF is seeing solutions.

Article Written by

P. Nhachi

CEO, Rock Chemical Fillers (PVT) LTD

Email: [email protected]