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Essay on Minearls Found around the World

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Minerals are found in many areas of the world and some are more easily available than others. The Earth provides natural resources as necessary minerals that can be used for construction, decoration, gemstones, and many other important physical uses that improve the quality of life. There are minerals that can be found and mined in natural solid form in small or large quantities and some that are found in a mixed environment and must be refined. Much time and research has shown that some minerals may be hazardous and many minerals are crucial to a greater life on earth. Chalcopyrite, copper, and malachite are the three main minerals used to make copper. Copper is one of the most important natural resources and an important …show more content…

Copper, Cu, is the natural solid form of copper with an Isometric crystal system. It is found as copper red on a fresh surface, dull brown or green on a tarnished surface with metallic luster and metallic copper red streak. The natural copper is soft and malleable at 2.3-3 on moh’s mineral scale. Copper nuggets in pure state have been found in Arizona, abundant in Keweenaw Peninsula in northern Michigan, and also found in Canada, Australia, China, Namibia, Bolivia, and Russia. Copper is mined or extracted as copper sulfide in an open pit mine. Taken in large equipment to be cleaned in steam and melted dried and cooled in molds to solidify and then sent off to be used as copper products. (Understanding Minerals and Mining through Education). Malachite, (Cu2(CO3)(OH)2, is a carbonate (minor ore of copper) with a monoclinic crystal system that can be found in Democratic Republic of Congo, Australia, France, Russia, and Arizona. It is found in different shades of green color with green streak and vitreous to adamantine in luster. Larger specimens are found to be dull and earthy and smaller specimens are silky. The hardness mineral moh’s level is 3.5 to 4. Malachite is mined by digging for veins in either open pit or underground mining. Malachite is a minor ore of copper and can be reduced and refined for the use of copper but malachite is a beautiful gem that is used as a decorative stone. The stone is cut and polished and used as a semi-precious gem

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