Mining & Fuel Sciences for Society

Mining & Fuel Sciences for Societies:

Mining for society:

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth from an ore-body, lode, vein, seam, reef or placer deposits which forms the mineralized package of economic interest to the miner(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining).

Mining is the only source for the minerals and metals that are required to maintain the high quality of life we now enjoy in this modern, high-tech world in which we live. For example, you would not be using the computer without mining, since over 40 different minerals are required in the manufacturing of computers and electricity is being produced predominantly using coal.

The following list of minerals and mined materials is only a very small fraction of the materials that originate in a mine, which we use in our everyday lives and business (http://mine-engineer.com/mining/mine2.htm).

Mineral	Uses in Everyday Lives and Businesses
COPPER	Copper is used for electrical conductors, motors, appliances, piping and in metal alloys.
GOLD	Gold has many high tech applications including computers and many scientific instruments for example, used in electrical conductors, the face shields of fire fighters to reflect the heat of a fire, building windows for reflecting the heat from the sun, medical and dental equipment, and jewelry.
ZINC	ZnO is used to prevent Sunburn; zinc is used for protective coatings for steel, casting alloys and extensively in medicines.
NICKEL	Nickel is primarily used to manufacture stainless steel.
SILVER	Silver is used in electrical conductors, photography, chemical manufacturing, dental and medical uses.
ALUMINUM	Aluminum is used in electrical conductors, ships, airplanes, doors, windows, roofing, insulation, packaging, food processing, domestic utensils.
IRON	Iron is used in steel manufacturing, magnets, medicines, biomedical research, paints, printing inks, plastics, cosmetics, dyes. Iron is used in volume, about 20 times more than any other metal in our society.
BORAX	Borax is used to make fiberglass, high temperature glass, cleaning agents, ceramics, wood preservitives, corrosion inhibitors and fertilizers.
TITANIUM	Titanium is used in paint manufacture as pigments, and in plastic manufacture, as well as many high strength, low weight metal alloys.
TALC	Talc is used in paper manufacture, in paint manufacture and in plastics and the cosmetic industry.
CLAY	Used to make cement and concrete, which is used to build roads, buildings, housing foundations and even driveways.
COAL	Used in steel making and to provide the LOWEST cost electricity in the world (except for hydro generated). Coalcosts 1/2 of oil fired power plants (pound of fuel per million BTU produced) Slag (the residue left when coal is burned) from coal power plants is used for paving additives, for abrasives in sandblasting and to manufacture roofing materials.
PHOSPHATE	Phosphate is used to produce phosphoric acid for fertilizers, feed additives for livestock, chemicals, and used in consumer home products
POTASH	Carbonate of potassium, is used in fertilizers, medicines and the chemical industry.
RARE EARTH ELEMENTS	Planthanum, Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium, Europium, etc., are used in petroleum refining, computers, televisions, magnetic industry, metallurgical applications, ceramics and lighting.

Fuel Sciences:

A fuel is any material that can be made to react so that it releases chemical or nuclear energy as heat or to be used for work.