Minerals in Our Lives

By Jessica

The Minerals in Our LivesWe use things made from minerals every day. The average person will use approximately: ➔ 363 kg of lead➔ 340 kg of zinc➔ 680 kg of copper➔ 1,630 kg of aluminum➔ 14,832 kg of iron➔ 12,043 kg of clays➔ 12,797 kg of salt➔ 561,593 kg of stone, sand, gravel and cement

in their lifetime.

MICAThe Secrets

Behind Sheet Mica

What is mica?Mica is a name used to describe a group of minerals that are physically and chemically similar. All mica are silicate minerals. They are known as sheet silicates because they form in layers. Micas are fairly light, relatively soft and sheets and flakes of it can be flexible. Mica is also heat-resistant. There are 37 different mica minerals. The most common are: purple lepidolite, black biotite, brown phlogopite and clear muscovite. Scrap or flake mica is mica that either occurs naturally or is ground into very small pieces. Sheet mica is large pieces of mica that can be cut for use in electronics.

Where is mica found?The world’s main source of mica is located in India at Bihar and in the Nellore district of Madras. This is where sheet mica is mined. Sheet mica is not mined in the U.S. anymore because of the high cost of mining, the small market, and the high capital risk. Instead only flake mica is collected in the U.S. Flake mica in the U.S. is found mostly in North Carolina.

What is sheet mica used for?● Alloys (lithium from Lepidolite)● Aluminum production● Artificial snow● Asphalt roofing felts and shingles (protective coating and weather proofing)● Batteries (lithium from lepidolite)● Beauty products Casting (mica strainer used in producing bronze, brass and aluminum castings)● Ceiling tiles● Christmas ornaments (as a flocking materials and to provide glittering effects)● Commutators● Concrete block fillers, refractory bricks, gypsum board (reinforcing structures, fire resistance, sound absorption, corrosion

protection)● Condenser Plates (mica is covered with silver to make capacitors.● Used to produce the energy to make the camera flash work)● Explosives (as an absorbent)● Foundry works, enamels, mastics and adhesives (improves physical properties, anti-sag, reduces cracking)● Glass (lithium from lepidolite)● Guided missiles● Heating elements (electrical insulation. The wire is wrapped around the mica in toasters, irons, kettles and hairdryers)● Insulators (wires, toasters, irons, etc.)● Lasers (lithium from lepidolite)● Liquid level indicators (mica is unaffected by high temperature and pressure. It is used for checking boiler for liquid level

and pressure of steam)● Lubricants Medication - psychiatric disorders (lithium from lepidolite)● Microwave windows

What is sheet mica used for?● Oil well drilling (drilling mud additive to overcome loss of circulation)● Ornamental stone● Paint, textured (improves physical properties and durability, adhesion and waterproofing)● Pearlescent pigments (provides lustre in paints, lipstick and other materials)● Plaster (improves acoustical properties)● Plastics (improves thermal and dielectric properties, impact strength and heat resistance)● Rocket propellants (lithium from lepidolite)● Roofing shingles● Rubber (prevents adhesion of rubber compound to the mould during vulcanisation)● Soldering irons● Spark plugs● Telephones● Television tubes (mica spacers to hold tube elements in position and insulated from one another and lithium from

lepidolite)● Transistors (heat and electric insulator)● Wall-paper● Welding electrodes, cables and wires (protective coatings, and improves dielectric properties, electrical and mechanical

strength)● Welding rods (lithium from lepidolite)● Well-drilling muds● Windows (kerosene lamps, and furnaces)

Who is mining sheet mica?Unfortunately the mica industry in India isn’t much better than a black market, dependent on a huge unskilled workforce, forced into working for unlivable wages. Most of the profits are made through child labour. The conditions are extremely dangerous for the kids working there. As many of the mines often cave in killing 10 to 20 kids every month.

THE KIDS WHO

MINE MICA

How is mica mined?Sheet mica is mined by either sinking a shaft along the strike and dip of a pegmatite or by open-pit surface mining of semi-hard pegmatite ore. No matter which way you choose to do it, it is always a very economically risky mining procedure. Because you never know the quality or quantity of the mica that might be there until the vein is located and worked. The flake mica produced in the U.S. is mined by conventional open-pit methods. Dozers, shovels, scrapers and front-end loaders are used.

COALCoal Mining in

India

What is coal?Coal is a fossil fuel. The energy we currently get from coal comes from the energy that plants absorbed from the sun millions of years ago. There are four main types of coal:★ Anthracite★ Bituminous★ Subbituminous★ Lignite

Where is coal found?Coal reserves can be found in almost every country. There are recoverable reserves in around 70 countries. The biggest reserves are in the USA, Russia, China, Australia and India. There are an estimated 1.1 trillion tonnes of coal reserves worldwide. There is enough coal to last around 150 years at our current rates of production.

What is coal used for?● Generating Electricity● Production of Steel● Industries● Gasification and Liquefaction● Domestic Use

Who is mining coal in India?There is poor enforcement against illegal mines in India, where undocumented workers risk injury or death. Environmental concerns have led to India imposing bans on the mining of coal, mica, sand and other minerals. Despite this workers still put themselves at risk to continue illegal mining because it’s their only option for a source of income. Many children are also forced to work in these dangerous mines.

How is coal mined in India?India is one of the most dangerous countries to be a coal miner. According to government data one miner dies every six days on average. That number is likely to be even larger, as deaths in illegal mines are common but often unreported. These dangerous mines are called “rat-hole” mines, where workers crawl into narrow shafts on bamboo ladders to extract low-quality coal.

Resourceshttps://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-large-a-lifetime-supply-minerals-average-person?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_productshttps://mineralseducationcoalition.org/minerals-database/mica/http://scienceviews.com/geology/mica.htmlhttps://uwaterloo.ca/earth-sciences-museum/resources/detailed-rocks-and-minerals-articles/micashttps://www.smh.com.au/national/indias-mica-mines-the-shameful-truth-behind-mineral-makeups-shimmer-20140118-311wk.htmlhttps://byjus.com/chemistry/uses-of-coal/https://www.worldcoal.org/coal/what-coalhttps://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/coal/https://www.worldcoal.org/coal/where-coal-foundhttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-slavery-mining/india-disaster-exposes-lack-of-enforcement-against-deadly-illegal-mines-idUSKCN1OY0L3