ECONOMIC MINERAL - I

ET- 3202
Nurcahyo I. Basuki

Mineral / Material Metal

Metallic Minerals / Materials

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Ore minerals many are used only for extraction of metals
But few ores which have multiple uses
For extraction of their metal contents and they can also be used
straightaway for making industrial products
these are called metallic minerals
examples: bauxite, hematite, chromite

There is another dimension of the usage of metals and minerals

substitution
Some metals can be replaced by some other material in a use.
This can happen when:
- the cost advantages of using a metal vis -vis its performance are lost
- a cheaper and/or better material becomes available
Substitution can be by metal e.g., copper by aluminium in electrical
transmission wire; or by a nonmetallic substance e.g., aluminium by
plastics in construction material

KLASIFIKASI MINERAL

A. Berdasarkan Jenis Logam / Bijih

1. LOGAM BERHARGA (Precious Metals)

Logam-logam bernilai ekonomi tinggi
Au, Ag, Pt, ..
2. LOGAM BESI dan ALIASI-BESI (Iron and Ferro-
Alloy Metals)
Fe, Mn, Ni, Cr, Mo, W, V, Co

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KLASIFIKASI MINERAL

A. Berdasarkan Jenis Logam / Bijih

3. LOGAM NON-BESI (Non-Ferrous Metals)

Cu, Pb, Zn, Sn, Al, .. (logam dasar / base
metals)
4. SEMI-LOGAM & ASOSIASI NON-LOGAM (Minor
Metals & Related Non-Metals)
Sb, As, Be, Bi, Cd, Mg, Hg, Ra, U, Se, Te, Ta,
Ti, Zr,

Klasifikasi Mineral Berdasarkan Jenis Anion

01. MINERAL ASAL

02. SULFIDA
03. GARAM SULFAT
04. OKSIDA
05. HIDROKSIDA Mineral Groups
06. HALIDA
formed with Anionic
07. KARBONAT
08. BORAT dan NITRAT Complexes
09. SULFAT, KROMAT, TUNGSTAT, MOLIBDAT
10. FOSFAT, ARSENAT, VANADAT
11. SILIKAT

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 Discussion on some
Metallic Minerals / Materials

NATIVE ELEMENTS

Antimony
A native element
Antimony metal is extracted from stibnite ore and other
minerals.
Usage: hardening alloy for lead, especially storage batteries and
cable sheaths; also used in bearing metal, type metal, solder,
collapsible tubes and foil, sheet and pipes and semiconductor
technology. Antimony is used as a flame retardant, in fireworks,
and in antimony salts are used in the rubber, chemical and textile
industries, as well as medicine and glassmaking.

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NATIVE ELEMENTS
Gold
Gold is the leader in the group of three metals commonly referred to as noble
metals (the other two are silver and platinum).

Nobility of these metals from their beauty of color and luster lasting intact
over thousands of years, and their indestructibility, scarcity and high value.

The average incidence of gold in the earths crust is no more than a few parts
per billion. Gold commonly occurs as native gold in a matrix of quartz. It also
occurs associated with sulphide of copper. Varying amounts of silver usually
occurs in association with gold. It occurs both as primary and placer deposits.

Gold is used in dentistry and medicine, jewelry and arts, medallions and
coins, and in ingots.

It is also used for scientific and electronic instruments, computer circuitry, as

an electrolyte in the electroplating industry, and in many applications for the
aerospace industry.

NATIVE ELEMENTS
Gold

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NATIVE ELEMENTS
Gold
CRITERIA OF USE

(1) Beauty: Beauty is difficult to quantify or standardize. Gold has a typical

golden yellow and it exhibits a bright glitter when polished. This combination
of colour and lustre has been valued and treasured by mankind traditionally
as beautiful.

(2) Rarity of occurrence: The rarity of gold deposits has resulted in

consistent short supply of the metal vis--vis demand and has rendered it
valuable throughout the past.

(3) Superstition and tradition : Gold was originally sought and treasured by
ancient man out of fear which gave way to superstition and finally to tradition.

NATIVE ELEMENTS
Gold
CRITERIA OF USE

(4) Indestructibility: Gold cannot be destructively consumed. It is resistant

to fire and ordinary chemicals. It can retain its physical, chemical and
aesthetic attributes perpetually. This, coupled with scarcity, has been one of
the main reasons for an almost all-pervasive tendency to grab and stock
gold. This in its turn further widens the demand-supply gap.

(5) Malleability and ductility : Gold is the most ductile and malleable of all
metals. This property enhances its workability. It can be pounded to a thin
leaf of 1/200000 inch thickness. One gram of gold can be flattened to cover
an area 50 cm 50 cm.

(6) Electrical conductivity: Gold has a high conductivity of electricity 70%

of that of copper.

(7) Reflectivity: Gold has high reflectivity at the red end of the spectrum of
light.

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 NATIVE ELEMENTS
Gold
CRITERIA OF USE

(8) Alloyability: Because of its softness, gold is generally alloyed with

certain other metals like silver, copper, nickel, palladium etc.

(9) Specific gravity: Metallic gold has high specific gravity of 19.33 due to
which even a substantial quantity of gold occupies very little space.

(10) Streak: Pure gold has a typical golden yellow streak which is seen when
rubbed on the smooth surface of black fine grained jasper. This stone is used
by goldsmiths in some areas (e.g. India) for quick testing of the purity gold by
comparing the colour of streak of any gold with that of pure gold. This method
is popularly called touch stone.

NATIVE ELEMENTS
Platinum Group Elements (PGE)
Platinum Group Metals or Minerals (PGM)

Platinum group elements: Os, Ir, Ru, Rh, Pt and Pd are referred
collectively as PGEs.
The VIIIA transition elements with strong siderophiles and
chalcophile character

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 Platinum Group Elements (PGE)
Platinum Group Metals or Minerals (PGM)

(British Geological Survey, 2009)

NATIVE ELEMENTS
PGE Minerals

Commonly occur together in nature and are among the scarcest of

the metallic elements.

Platinum is used principally in catalysts for the control of automobile

and industrial plant emissions; in jewelry; in catalysts to produce
acids, organic chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

PGMs used in bushings for making glass fibers used in fiber-

reinforced plastic and other advanced materials, in electrical
contacts, in capacitors, in conductive and resistive films used in
electronic circuits; in dental alloys used for making crowns and
bridge.

South Africa, Russia, the U.S. and Canada are major producers.

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 (British Geological Survey, 2009)

NATIVE ELEMENTS
Sulfur

Occurs in two polymorphs; orthorombic form

is the most common in nature
It is light yellow material with resinous luster
The most important deposits are associated
with evaporites and volcanic (fumarolic)
(subordinate)
Used primarily in the manufacture of sulfuric
acid (H2SO4), which is used for fertilizers,
petroleum refining; and metal mining
Nowadays, native sulfur is being replaced by
sulfur obtained as byproduct of oil industry

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SULPHIDES
Nickel
Most of the nickel comes from two types of deposits:
1) Nickel laterites the principal minerals are garnierite (hydrous
nickel silicate) and nickeliferous limonite (hydrated iron oxide)
2) Magmatic Ni-sulfide deposits the principal mineral is
pentlandite (iron nickel sulfide)

SULPHIDES
Nickel
History:
In 1751, Axel Fredrik Cronstedt of Sweden attempted
to extract copper from mineral named niccolite (or
nickeline). To his surprise he got a silvery-white
metal, instead of the copper, and he named the new
metal nickel after the mineral name of niccolite. This
was the first discovery of nickel in the western world

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SULPHIDES
Nickel
History:
In China, an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc
("white copper cupronickel) known as
paitung or paktong - was already used as far
back as 235 BC for utensils and other metal
ware

Note: Nickeline is rarely used as a source of nickel due to the presence

of arsenic, which is deleterious to most smelting and milling techniques.
Often the presence of arsenic renders the ore uneconomic when
concentrations of As reach several hundred parts per million.

SULPHIDES
Nickel
Nickel has slow rate of oxidation at room temperature
it is considered corrosion-resistant.
Historically, this has led to its use for plating metals such as iron and
brass, coating chemistry equipment, and manufacturing certain
alloys that retain a high silvery polish, such as German silver.
About 6% of world nickel production is still used for corrosion-
resistant pure-nickel plating.
Nickel has been widely used in coins, though its rising price has led
to some replacement with cheaper metals in recent years.

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SULPHIDES
Mercury
Mercury is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature.
It occurs either as a native metal, or in cinnabar (HgS), corderoite,
livingstonite, and other minerals

SULPHIDES
Mercury
Native mercury" natural mercury found associated with
cinnabar.
Term Mercury named after the planet Mercury (the Roman god
of travel).

Mercury is also known by the popular name of quicksilver, derived

from the Greek words, hydros meaning water, and argyros meaning
silver.
The symbol for mercury, Hg, was derived from the name,
hydrargyrum
Mercury vapor has been found to be extremely toxic (neurotoxin)
it affects the nervous system

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SULPHIDES
Mercury
Mercury is used to manufacture chlorine and caustic soda
Mercury conducts electricity useful in electronics and electrical
applications
Mercury was an important ingredient in batteries, but newer types
of batteries use other metals
Mercury is being used less in batteries as new types of batteries are
developed, such as zinc-air, lithium and nickel-cadmium (also called
Ni-Cad) batteries
Ceramics have lately been used in dental work instead of the
mercury amalgams. Electronic digital instruments are used more
frequently in place of mercury thermometers and barometers

OXIDES

Aluminum
The most abundant metal element in Earth's crust.
Aluminum originates as an oxide called alumina. Bauxite ore
is the main source of aluminum
Producer countries: Jamaica, Guinea, Brazil, Guyana, etc.
Usage: Used in transportation (automobiles), packaging,
building/construction, electrical, machinery and other uses.

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Beryllium
Beryllium (Be) found in nature primarily as bertrandite, which is
mined in Utah, or as beryl. Beryl is the gem stones emerald and
aquamarine
It has a very high melting point at 1287 C. The combination of its
light weight and high melting point makes it valuable for making
metal alloys which are used in electronic and electrical components,
aerospace, missiles, automobiles, computers, oil and gas drilling
equipment, and telecommunications.
Color: silver-white and very light metal

Aquamarine beryl Emerald beryl

Beryllium
The most common mineral containing
beryllium is beryl which is found in granites
and special igneous rocks, derived from
granites, known as pegmatite.
Beryl
Bertrandite is found in certain volcanic rocks
Bertrandite
derived from granite, or in beryllium rich
pegmatite.
Small amounts of beryllium become available
from recycling of beryllium-containing scrap

Beryllium is extremely
toxic in powdered form,
but relatively harmless
as long as it's fully intact

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Cadmium

Cadmium (Cd) heavy (SG: 3.9-4.2 ), soft (Mohs: 3.5-4), silvery-white

metallic element that can be cut with a knife
Cadmium rarely appears in nature; it has many chemical similarities to
zinc and is often recovered from the primary zinc ore sphalerite during
the refining process.
The single most important use of cadmium is in the production of
nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cad) batteries. Also used in some paint pigment.
Mineral Classification: sulfide ; (Zn,Fe)S (sphalerite)
Color: brown, yellow, red, green, black ; adamantine, greasy, resinous
Producer: Cadmium is produced in countries where zinc is refined, not
necessarily in the countries where zinc ore is mined. China, Japan, and
Korea are the worlds largest producers, followed by Mexico, the United
States, the Netherlands, India, the United Kingdom, Peru and Germany.
Fifteen other countries produce smaller amounts

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