Modern society relies heavily on mineral resources.
KEY CONCEPT 26.1
Mineral resources provide a wide variety of materials that are essential to the production of construction materials, electronics, and machinery of all kinds.
Chances are, wherever you’re reading this right now, you are surrounded by a variety of different minerals. In addition to indium, rare earth minerals are finding their way into more and more modern products. Neodymium, for example, is used to tint your sunglasses and to power the laptop sitting on your desk. Gemstones and precious metals like gold and silver are not only in the jewelry you’re wearing but also in most of the electronics you use. In fact, metals are an essential component of virtually all electronic devices, thanks largely to their malleability and their ability to conduct electricity.
mineral
A naturally occurring chemical compound that exists as a solid with a predictable, three-dimensional, repeating structure.
rare earth minerals
A group of chemically similar elements used in a variety of modern products; they are not necessarily rare but do not occur in concentrated deposits.
metal
A malleable substance that can conduct electricity; usually found in nature as part of a mineral compound.
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And those are just the metal minerals. The sandstone, limestone, and gravel that form the buildings, roads, and sidewalks you travel daily? Those are made of minerals, too, often containing common nonmetallic minerals like quartz and feldspar, the most abundant minerals on Earth. In fact, minerals are almost everywhere, in almost everything. “They are a deeply ingrained part of everything we know and love,” says California Institute of Technology geologist George Rossman. “Human society as we know it would not exist without them.” INFOGRAPHIC 26.1
MINERAL RESOURCES ARE A PART OF OUR EVERYDAY LIVES
We depend on many mineral resources to make the products we use every day. Rare metals that you’ve probably never heard of—like indium—and rare earth minerals are increasingly important mineral resources for components of all kinds of modern machines, from cell phones to the motor of a wind turbine. Many minerals you are familiar with also find their way into our homes and the products of our modern age.
Which of the items highlighted in this diagram contain rare earth minerals? What do these items have in common?
Computers, televisions, cell phones, and vehicles contain rare earth minerals. What they all have in common is electronic components and/or battery systems that depend on rare earth elements to function.
But plucking them from Earth has brought a horrible array of consequences—not just environmental (air and water pollution) but also societal (health hazards and human rights violations). What’s more, demand for all types of minerals—from rare earths to precious gems to familiar staples like nickel and copper—is rising, slowly but steadily, as population soars, standards of living increase across the globe, and unprecedented technological advances create a litany of new uses for metals. Hersam’s work is just one effort to meet this growing demand. But it may indeed be one of the most promising.
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