Download Minerals-Earth`s Jewels

Minerals
Identify the difference between a
mineral and a rock.
Minerals-Earth’s Jewels
• Minerals are
inorganic, solid
materials found in
nature.
– Inorganic means
not formed by
plants or animals.
They have no
carbon.
Minerals-Earth’s Jewels
• Rocks are made
of two or more
minerals.
– Each mineral has
unique
characteristics that
will identify it.
– More than 4000
minerals have been
identified.
Minerals-Earth’s Jewels
•
How do
minerals form?
1. From melted
rock material
inside the Earth
called magma.
Magma at the
Earth’s
surface is
called lava.
Minerals-Earth’s Jewels
2. Evaporation
can form
minerals.
– Example of
salt crystals
appearing
when seawater
evaporates.
Minerals-Earth’s Jewels
3. Precipitation
can also form
minerals.
• Water can only
hold so much
dissolved
material.
– Any extra
separates and
falls out as a
solid.
Common Minerals
• Remember there are
over 4000 minerals.
• Rocks that make
up huge mountain
ranges are made
up of minerals.
– These are called rock
forming minerals
Common Minerals
• Most of the rockforming minerals
are silicates.
– Silicates contain
silicon and oxygen.
• SiO2
Minerals-Earth’s Jewels
• Gems are
minerals that are
rare and when
cut and polished
gives them a beautiful
appearance.
Minerals-Earth’s Jewels
• Diamonds: Are formed under special
conditions.
– A form of carbon.
–Created under high pressure deep
in Earth’s mantle.
–Volcanic eruption can bring the
diamonds close to Earth’s surface.
Minerals-Earth’s Jewels
•Ores: A mineral that contains enough
useful substance that it can be sold for a
profit.
– Ores are extracted by mining.
Minerals-Earth’s Jewels
•
•
•
•
•
•
Aluminum, copper,
Tungsten, iron, lead,
Manganese, Nickel,
Zinc, Chromium,
Antimony, molybdenum,
Silver
Minerals-Earth’s Jewels
• Ore
Processing: After
an ore is mined, it
must be processed to
extract the desired
mineral.
Minerals-Earth’s Jewels
• Ore Processing:
1. Smelting: Melts the ore and
removes most of the unwanted
materials.
2. Refining: Further purifies the
desired mineral even more.
Minerals-Earth’s Jewels
• North Carolina
ranks first in the
east in the mining of
gemstones.
– Tourists search for
emeralds, rubies,
sapphires, garnets,
and other gemstones.
– The largest
emerald found in
North America
came from NC.
Minerals-Earth’s Jewels
• NC leads the nation in the production of many minerals.
• NC was once a major gold producing state.
Minerals-Earth’s Jewels
• Section Review:
1. What is a mineral?
• Naturally occurring, inorganic solid
with a definite composition and
orderly atomic arrangement.
Section Review
• What is a rock?
– Usually composed of two or more
minerals.
Section Review
• Name five common rock
forming minerals.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Quartz
Feldspar
Calcite
Gypsum
Halite
Section Review
•
Name five properties that are
commonly used to identify minerals.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Color
Luster
Streak
Hardness
Cleavage
Magnetism
Section Review
• What event must occur for a
diamond to reach Earth’s
surface?
–Volcanic eruption
Section Review
• Where are diamonds formed?
–Deep within the Earth’s mantle
under high pressure.
Section Review
• How do you extract ores from
the Earth?
• Mining
Section Review
• When is a mineral considered
an ore?
• When the mineral can undergo
expensive mining and refinement
and still yield a profit.