QuarryEd Home - An Education and Careers Resource for teachers and students

QuarryEd Home - An Education and Careers Resource for teachers and students

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What's yours is mined! - Find out how much the extractive industry underpins each of our daily lives

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's yours is mined!

Did you know that raw materials mined and quarried from the Earth underpin everything we do and everything we need to survive and enjoy life?


Hover over the everyday items below to find out just how much each of us rely on the extractive industry to get through our daily lives.

 

Remember - if it cannot be grown, it has to be mined!

 

Playstations use Coltan (a generic name for niobium and tantalum oxides) for the production of small and highly efficient capacitors Beer and wine are purified and clarified by filtering through minerals (either perlite or diatomite) Air bag systems in cars have gold-coated electrical contacts (Gold is the best metal to use to ensure the system works flawlessly as it does not corrode, crumble, or tarnish; and it is unaffected by moisture, oxygen or ordinary acids, and is virtually indestructable!) A desktop computer requires over 20kg of mineral based components (mixture of plastics, metals and ceramics), and approximately 130 million desktop computers are sold annually, which equals 3 million tonnes of mineral based products! Fireworks use mineral elements to provide the colour, bright flashes and loud bangs (barium - bright greens; strontium - deep reds; copper - blues; sodium - yellow; strontium and sodium - brilliant orange; titanium, zirconium, and magnesium alloys make silvery white; copper and strontium - lavender; iron filings and small pieces of charcoal - gold sparks; aluminium powder - bright flashes and loud bangs)
Bread and other bakery items contain gypsum as an ingredient and cake icing has a high content of gypsum Paints are mainly composed of industrial minerals (titanium dioxide, kaolin clays, calcium carbonate, mica, talc, silica, wollastonite) Lightbulbs are made from glass (silica sand and limestone, both of which have to be mined) Almost every sheet of paper that we use today was made with industrial minerals, such as talc and kaolin Mobile phone handsets require up to 40 different mineral elements; 40% by weight comprises metal and ceramic components! The mobile phone industry annually consumes some 20,000 tonnes of mineral based components!
Laptop computers use Coltan for the production of its small and highly efficient capacitors Fruit juice is purified and clarified by filtering through minerals (either perlite or diatomite) Jewellery is made from silver and gold, and all precious and semi-precious stones (opal, amethyst, aquamarine, topaz, garnets, diamonds) are industrial minerals Cat litter is made from attapulgite, montmorillonite, zeolites, diatomite, pumice, or volcanic ash 25 minerals are used to make the materials required to build a house. Exterior - brick (sand and clay), or stone; Steel structural members - steel production process requires flurospar for fluxing, bentonite for pelletising, and perhaps chromite for hardening; Insulation - glass wool (silica, feldspar and trona); Foundation - limestone, clay, shale, gypsum and aggregate; sewer pipes - clay or iron; nails and screws - metal; electrical wiring - copper or aluminium; plumbing fixtures - brass (copper and zinc)
Sports and recreational equipment, such as golf clubs, fishing rods, skies and tennis rackets, are commonly made from graphite, or from fibreglass Pencils are made from graphite and clay All of the food we eat everyday is grown and produced with industrial minerals! (Fertilisers - potash, phosphates, nitrogen, sulphur and other minor minerals; Tractors, ploughs and other equipment are made from metal) Plates and cups are composed of glass, ceramics or china The fibreglass used to make surfboards use the industrial mineral kaolin for its manufacture
Salt (sodium chloride) is one of the most basic table ingredients Plastics are manufactured from calcium carbonate, wollastonite, mica, talc, clays, and silica Roads and pavements are composed from industrial minerals, concrete is composed of cement and aggregates. Aggregates themselves are composed from industrial minerals - sand and gravel or crushed stone, such as limestone, dolomite, granite, or lava. Cement is manufactured from limestone, gypsum, iron oxide, clays, and possibly pozzolan. Ashphalt contains industrial minerals such as aggregates. Carpets are manufactured using calcium carbonate and limestone Sugar is produced using limestone and lime!
35 different minerals are used to make a television! The glasses we drink from are made from silica sand and limestone Glossy paper used for magazines have a high content of kaolin clay or calcium carbonate Household cleaning products are made using silica, pumice, diatomite, feldspar and limestone Ink is made using calcium carbonate
Medicines are often made using industrial minerals! (calcium carbonate, magnesium, dolomite, kaolin, barium, iodine sulphur, and lithium is used to treat mental disorders Tyres contain clay and calcium carbonate Drinking water is purified and clarified by filtering through minerals (limestone, lime and salt) Lipstick is made from calcium carbonate and talc Cars are almost entirely composed of industrial minerals! From the tyres, bumpers and windows to the main body, dashboard, radiator cap and floor mats! At least 20 mineral based materials are used in a typical family car, more in luxury models. Mostly steel but increasing amounts of aluminium, magnesium and titantium alloys
Newspapers use kaolin clay and limestone as fillers; sodium sulfate, lime and soda ash are used in the processing Pots and pans are made from aluminium or iron Door knobs, locks and hinges are made from brass or steel - copper, zinc and iron ore Toilets and sinks are commonly porcelain made from clay Video cameras use Coltan for the production of its small and highly efficient capacitors
Toothpaste is made using calcium carbonate, limestone, sodium carbonate and fluorine Vegetable oil is processed by filtering through clay, perlite, or diatomite Linoleum floors are composed of calcium carbonate, clay, and wollastonite In order to be x-rayed, a barium 'cocktail' (barite) is consumed whilst sheet lead shields the harmful rays Renewable energy wind turbines are made from metal!

 

Imagine your day without minerals!
Where are they now? - Learn more about the lives of people who work in the extractive industry todayDig this! - Read about cutting edge mining and quarrying projects in the UK and throughout the worldFieldstudies - Discover how both active and dormant extractive sites offer fascinating fieldstudy opportunitiesWhat's yours is mined! - Find out how much the extractive industry underpins each of our daily lives