Table of Contents

Sr. No.	Contents
1	Uses of Minerals
2	Magnetite
3	Galena
4	Graphite
5	Gypsum
6	Calcite
7	Garnet
8	Quartz
9	Olivine
10	Feldspar
11	Talc
12	Barite
13	Muscovite
14	Reference

 USES OF MINERALS

• Magnetite:

1. Magnetite is used to remove arsenic from a water supply, reduction of steel, as a thermite, as well as in making of fertilizers. 
2. Magnetite is used as right from serving as magnetic decor to keeping trains from moving off track.
3. Magnetite because of its magnetic properties is also widely used in compasses and other navigation devices.
4. Magnetite is used to increase the density of the aggregate portion of concrete to twice that of standard concrete.
5. Another important use of magnetite is its use in the heavy media process in coal mining. Magnetite can be added to water in the form of a very fine powder to create heavy media slurry that has a higher specific gravity than only water.

• Galena:

1. Galena is used in materials that are made of lead such as bullets, gasoline, batteries, paint, and welding solder.
2. Galena is a semiconductor which found use in early wireless communication systems. 
3. It was used as the crystal in crystal radio sets, in which it was used as a point-contact diode to detect the radio signals.

• Graphite:

1. It is used in the Steel Industry for mixing with the iron to raise carbon content. Its foil is used in laptops to keep it cool.                                                          
2. Graphite is the source of carbon in carbon-fiber reinforced Plastics (used in a lot of sporting equipment). It is also the source of carbon for the making of Buckminsterfullerene.
3. Graphite is also used as a dry lubricant.
4. It is used in the production of refractory bricks and in the production of “MAG-Carbon” refractory bricks (Mg-C.) 
5. Graphite is also used to manufacture crucibles, ladles and moulds for containing molten metals.

• Gypsum:

1. Gypsum is used in the manufacture of wallboard, cement, plaster of Paris, soil conditioning, and a hardening retarder in Portland cement. 
2. Drywall, the finish for walls and ceilings, is made of gypsum (called Gypsum Board). 
3. Gypsum is also used as one ingredient in plaster.
4. It can also be used to make honey wine (also called mead). 

• Calcite:

1. It is used as a construction material, abrasive, agricultural soil treatment, construction aggregate, pigment, pharmaceutical and more.
2. Modern construction uses calcite in the form of limestone and marble to produce cement and concrete.
3. Calcite has many uses but its primary use is in the construction industry. 
4. In World War II, it was used for gun sight.

• Garnet:

1. Garnets were used in the former Czechoslovakia as far back as the Bronze Age and in Egypt more than five thousand years ago.
2. Garnets are used as beautiful gemstones in jewellery. 
3. Garnet is ground to a variety of sizes to be used as an abrasive. Garnet sandpaper, sanding belts, discs and strips are some ways garnet abrasive is used.

• Quartz:

1. Quartz has many uses. Quartz is used in making glass and jewellery and used in electronics.
2. It is very durable and also used as heat resistant and has electrical properties. 
3. Quartz is a mineral that is used to make stones for jewellery. Quartz can also be used for carvings and perfume bottles. Quartz is also used to make prisms that hang from windows.
4. Quartz is used in the making of sandpaper, optics, glass, liquid filters, circuit boards, computer components, cement, mortar, and jewellery.
5. Time can be measured from the vibrations of the quartz crystals so quartz crystals are often used in clocks.

• Olivine:

1. Olivine is used as a slag conditioner and a refractory in the steel industry.
2. Olivine is used in Gemstone Refractory Sand Bricks 
3. Olivine is used for mineral collections, gemstones, and in industry for products that needs a lot of heat. Transparent ones are used for jewellery.
4. Some very good olivine samples can be used as a gemstone (they are called peridot, then after the French word for olivine).

• Feldspar:

1. Feldspar is used for making glass for drinking, glass for protection, fiber-glass for insulation, the floor tiles and shower basins in our bathrooms, and the tableware from which we eat. 
2. It is s used to make dinnerware, bathroom and building tiles.
3. Feldspar is used for dinnerware and building tiles.
4. Feldspar is usually used as flux in ceramics and glass production.

• Talc:

1. Talc is used in many industries such as paper making, plastic, paint and coatings, rubber, food, electric cable, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, ceramics, etc. 
2. It is often used for surfaces of lab counter tops and electrical switchboards because of its resistance to heat, electricity and acids. 
3. Talc finds use as a cosmetic (talcum powder), as a lubricant, and as filler in paper manufacture. Talc is used in baby powder, an astringent powder used for preventing rashes on the area covered by a diaper. 
4. It is also often used in basketball to keep a player's hands dry.
5. Talc is widely used in the ceramics industry in both bodies and glazes.

• Barite:

1. Most barite produced is used as a weighting agent in drilling muds. 
2. Barite is also used as a pigment in paints and as weighted filler for paper, cloth and rubber.
3. Barite is used to make high-density concrete to block x-ray emissions in hospitals, power plants, and laboratories. 
4. Barite compounds are also used in diagnostic medical tests.

• Muscovite:

1. It is used in many products, from mineral make-ups and household paints to electrical insulation. 
2. It is used as viewing windows for many furnaces and microwave ovens.
3. Muscovite is also used as sound insulation.
4. Muscovite can be used as cosmetic colorants.

REFERENCES

[1] http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00461/magnetite.html

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galena

[3] http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2012/04/graphite-investing.html

[4] http://geology.com/minerals/gypsum.shtml

[5] http://www.gemstones-guide.com/Calcite.html

[6] http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3149/

[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartz

[8] http://www.pitt.edu/~cejones/GeoImages/1Minerals/1IgneousMineralz/Olivine.html

[9] http://www.galleries.com/Feldspar_Group

[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talc

[11] http://webmineral.com/specimens/picshow.php?id=3057

[12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscovite