Name: Loren Mae Detalo March 3, 2024

Course/Year: BSEM IV MINE DESIGN

Define and elaborate the following non-metallic resources: Part of the

description should include the ff.:

NON-METALLIC RESOURCES

A. INDUSTRIAL MINERALS AND MANUFACTURING MATERIALS

1. Asbestos - Asbestos is the name given to a group of naturally occurring fibrous

minerals that are resistant to heat and corrosion.
Main Source of the Mineral: It is found most frequently as a fire retardant in thermal
insulation products, asbestos insulating board and ceiling tiles.
Major producer of the mineral ore: Russia
Uses of the Mineral: used in a wide range of manufactured goods, mostly in building
materials (roofing shingles, ceiling and floor tiles, paper products, and asbestos cement
products), friction products (automobile clutch, brake, and transmission parts), heat-
resistant fabrics, packaging, gaskets, and coatings.

2. Barite - Baryte, barite or barytes is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate. Baryte is

generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium.
Main Source of the Mineral: commonly occurs in lead-zinc veins in limestones, in hot
spring deposits, and with hematite ore.
Major producer of the mineral ore: China
Uses of the Mineral: used in the production of paints, rubber, and as a filler or to
improve brilliance and clarity.

3. Bentonite - a very soft plastic clay consisting predominantly of montmorillonite, a

fine particle-sized hydrous aluminum silicate and member of the smectite group.
Main Source of the Mineral: volcanic ash
Major producer of the mineral ore: United States
Uses of the Mineral: The main uses of bentonite are in drilling mud and as a binder,
purifier, absorbent, and carrier for fertilizers or pesticides.
4. Clay - an earthy material that is plastic when moist but hard when fired, that is
composed mainly of fine particles of hydrous aluminum silicates and other minerals, and
that is used for brick, tile, and pottery.
Main Source of the Mineral: Most clay minerals form where rocks are in contact with
water, air, or steam.
Major producer of the mineral ore: Brazil, United Kingdom, and the United States
Uses of the Mineral: used for making pottery, both utilitarian and decorative, and
construction products, such as bricks, walls, and floor tiles.

5. Diatomite - a sedimentary rock composed of the fossilized skeletal remains of

single-cell aquatic algaes known as 'diatoms'.
Main Source of the Mineral: forms by the accumulation of the amorphous silica (opal,
SiO. nH 2O) remains of dead diatoms (microscopic single-celled algae) in lake sediment
or marine sediments.
Major producer of the mineral ore: United States
Uses of the Mineral: The physical properties of diatomite have led to its use in many
commercial applications, the most common being for the filtration of liquids or as a filler,
for example, in paints.

6. Dolomite - a mineral CaMg(CO3)2 consisting of a calcium magnesium carbonate

found in crystals and in extensive beds as a compact limestone.
Main Source of the Mineral: altered sedimentary marine rocks called dolostones or in
marbles formed from the metamorphism of dolostone.
Major producer of the mineral ore: China
Uses of the Mineral: used as a source of magnesium metal and of magnesia (MgO),
which is a constituent of refractory bricks.

7. Feldspar - a group of naturally occurring alumino-silicate minerals containing varying

amounts of potassium, sodium, calcium, and/or lithium.
Main Source of the Mineral: Magma
Major producer of the mineral ore: India, Italy, Turkey, and China
Uses of the Mineral: used in glassmaking, ceramics, and to some extent as filler and
an extender in paint, plastics, and rubber.

8. Gypsum - a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the
chemical formula CaSO 4·2H2O.
Main Source of the Mineral: formed mainly by the evaporation of sea water.
Major producer of the mineral ore: China
Uses of the Mineral: used as a fluxing agent, fertilizer, filler in paper and textiles, and
retarder in portland cement.

9. Limestone - a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the
material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are
different crystal forms of CaCO₃.
Main Source of the Mineral: mainly through the lithification of loose carbonate
sediments.
Major producer of the mineral ore: China
Uses of the Mineral: used in steel manufacturing, mining, paper production, water
treatment and purification, and plastic production.

10. Magnesite - a mineral with the chemical formula MgCO ₃. Iron, manganese, cobalt,
and nickel may occur as admixtures, but only in small amounts.
Main Source of the Mineral: usually forms during the alteration of magnesium-rich
rocks or carbonate rocks by metamorphism or chemical weathering.
Major producer of the mineral ore: China
Uses of the Mineral: used as a refractory material, a catalyst and filler in the
production of synthetic rubber, and a material in the preparation of magnesium
chemicals and fertilizers.

11. Perlite - an amorphous volcanic glass that has a relatively high water content,
typically formed by the hydration of obsidian.
Main Source of the Mineral: viscous lava
Major producer of the mineral ore: United States, Greece, and Turkey
Uses of the Mineral: help retain some water, perlite is primarily used to aerate
compost. It excellent for creating a free-draining potting compost for plants that need
good drainage, such as cacti and succulents. It can also help create an airy compost for
seedlings.

12. Silica - Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical
formula SiO 2, commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is
the major constituent of sand.
Main Source of the Mineral: quartz sand
Major producer of the mineral ore: China
Uses of the Mineral: use as a food additive, i.e., anti-caking agent, as a means to clarify
beverages, control viscosity, as an anti-foaming agent, dough modifier, and as an
excipient in drugs and vitamins.

13. Talc - a clay mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate, with the chemical
formula Mg 3Si 4O 10(OH) 2. Talc in powdered form, often combined with corn starch, is
used as baby powder.
Main Source of the Mineral: Hydrated magnesium silicate mineral deposits.
Major producer of the mineral ore: China
Uses of the Mineral: used in products to absorb moisture, prevent caking, improve
consistency, or to make a product opaque.

14. Cement materials - Cement is manufactured through a closely controlled chemical

combination of calcium, silicon, aluminum, iron and other ingredients.
Main Source of the Mineral: limestone, clay, and marl.
Major producer of the mineral ore: China
Uses of the Mineral: used to manufacture cement include limestone, shells, and chalk
or marl combined with shale, clay, slate, blast furnace slag, silica sand, and iron ore.

15. Refractory Raw materials - The oxides of aluminium (alumina), silicon (silica) and
magnesium (magnesia) are the most important materials used in the manufacturing of
refractories. Another oxide usually found in refractories is the oxide of calcium (lime).
Fire clays are also widely used in the manufacture of refractories.
Main Source of the Mineral: Plant/tree-based – materials like vegetables, fruits,
flowers, wood, resin, latex are obtained from plants and trees. Animal-based– materials
like leather, meat, bones, milk, wool, silk are all obtained from animals. Mining-based–
materials like minerals, metals, crude oil, coal, etc. are obtained by mining the earth.
Major producer of the mineral ore: China, India, and the United States
Uses of the Mineral: Used in the production of refractory bricks and linings for high-
temperature furnaces in industries such as steelmaking, glassmaking, and cement
production.

B. STRUCTURAL AND BUILDING MATERIAL

1. Marble - a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly

calcite (CaCO3) or dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2)) that have recrystallized under the influence
of heat and pressure.
Main Source of the Mineral: a rock resulting from metamorphism of sedimentary
carbonate rocks, most commonly limestone or dolomite.
Major producer of the mineral ore: Turkey
Uses of the Mineral: used principally for buildings and monuments, interior decoration,
statuary, table tops, and novelties.

2. Pumice - a type of extrusive volcanic rock, produced when lava with a very high
content of water and gases is discharged from a volcano.
Main Source of the Mineral: Formed from volcanic eruptions.
Major producer of the mineral ore: Europe
Uses of the Mineral: used as an abrasive in cleaning, polishing, and scouring
compounds.

3. Rock Aggregates - a rock composed of mineral crystals of one or more kinds or of

mineral rock fragments : an aggregate rock.
Main Source of the Mineral: Aggregates are rock grains or fragments that have broken
off a larger parent rock like dolomite, limestone, granite, or many others. Some form
naturally via erosion, but most aggregates are man-made through mining and crushing.
Major producer of the mineral ore: Texas, California, Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Uses of the Mineral: They are mixed with cement, sand, and water to create concrete
that is used for foundations, buildings, bridges, and other structures. In asphalt
production, crushed rock aggregates are mixed with bitumen to form asphalt concrete,
which is used for road surfacing.

4. Rock Asphalt - a rock formation, usually of limestone or sandstone, containing large

amounts of bitumens.
Main Source of the Mineral: It is obtained either as a residue from the distillation of
petroleum or from natural deposits.
Major producer of the mineral ore: United States, China
Uses of the Mineral: used as an additive in asphalt and road paving, oil and gas
drilling fluids, inks and paint manufacturing and also in the foundry sector.

5. Sand and Gravel - Any unconsolidated mixture of fine or coarse aggregate, or both,
found in and processed from a natural deposit.
Main Source of the Mineral: accumulates along shorelines and on continental shelf
regions where waves and currents winnow away finer clay fractions allowing coarser
sediments to accumulate.
Major producer of the mineral ore: United States
Uses of the Mineral: used for road construction, for mixing with asphalt, as construction
fill, and in the production of construction materials like concrete blocks, bricks, and pipes.