METALLIC MINERALS

BY EMERALD HOUSE

WHAT ARE MINERALS ?

A mineral is a naturally occurring substance that is solid and inorganic representable by a chemical formula, usually abiogenic, and has an ordered atomic structure. It is different from a rock, which can

be an aggregate of minerals or non-minerals and does not have a specific chemical composition.

WHAT ARE METALLIC MINERALS

Metallic minerals occur in rare, naturally FORMED concentrations known as mineral deposits. These deposits can consist of a variety of metallic minerals containing valuable metals such as nickel (pentlandite), copper (chalcopyrite), zinc (sphalerite), lead (galena) and gold (occurs as a native element or as a minor constituent within other minerals) that are used in all aspects of our daily lives.Metallic minerals must be broken apart and chemically processed to extract the useful metal from the mineral.Ontario is a leading producer of metals such as platinum, nickel, cobalt, gold, copper, silver and zinc. To date, the total value of all metal production in Ontario is estimated at $450 billion dollars. During 2007, mineral exploration COMPANIES spent $502 million dollars exploring for mineral deposits in Ontario.

EXAMPLES OF METALLIC MINERALS

*GOLD *IRON *BAUXITE*COPPER

ETC.

GOLDGOLD IS A CHEMICAL ELEMENT WITH

SYMBOL AU (FROM LATIN: AURUM) AND ATOMIC NUMBER 79.

IN ITS PUREST FORM, IT IS A BRIGHT, SLIGHTLY REDDISH YELLOW,

DENSE, SOFT, MALLEABLE AND DUCTILE METAL. CHEMICALLY,

GOLD IS A TRANSITION METAL AND A GROUP 11 ELEMENT. IT IS

ONE OF THE LEAST REACTIVE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS, AND IS SOLID

UNDER STANDARD CONDITIONS. THE METAL THEREFORE OCCURS

OFTEN IN FREE ELEMENTAL (NATIVE) FORM, AS NUGGETS OR GRAINS,

IN ROCKS, IN VEINS AND IN ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS. IT OCCURS IN A SOLID

SOLUTION SERIES WITH THE NATIVE ELEMENT SILVER (AS ELECTRUM)AND ALSO NATURALLY ALLOYED

WITH COPPER AND PALLADIUM. LESSCOMMONLY, IT OCCURS IN MINERALS AS GOLD

COMPOUNDS, OFTENWITH TELLURIUM (GOLD TELLURIDES).

IRON

Iron is a chemical element with symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is by mass the most common element on Earth, forming much of

Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust. Its abundance in rocky

planets like EarTH is due to its abundant production by fusion in high-mass stars, where the production of nickel-

56 (which decays to the most common isotope of iron) is the last nuclear fusion reaction that

is exothermic. Consequently, radioactive nickel is the last element to be produced before the violent collapse of a supernova scatters precursor radionuclide of iron

into space.Like other group 8 elements, iron exists in a wide range of oxidation states, −2 to +6, although +2 and +3 are the

most common.

BAUXITE

Bauxite, an aluminium ore, is the world's main source of aluminium. It consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al(OH)3, boehmite γ-AlO(OH) and diaspore α-AlO(OH), mixed with the two iron oxides goethite and haematite, the clay mineral kaolinite and small amounts of anatase TiO2.

COPPER

Copper is a chemical element with symbol Cu from Latin and atomic number 29. It is 

a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; a 

freshly exposed surface has a reddish-orange color. It is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, a building material, and a constituent of various 

metal alloys.