We learn more about the features of Earth - Part 26 Minerals - Information for kids
We have previously learned about the 3 different types of rocks we find on Earth and that these rocks contain certain minerals.
Lets first refresh our memories and then we will learn some general facts on rocks and minerals.
If you look at different rocks, you will see they are made up of different 'things' with different shapes. Some are round or triangles or long structures and different colours. These are the minerals that you see inside of the rock. So what is a mineral?
Minerals are naturally occurring substances formed by geological processes. They are usually solid and feature a crystal structure as well as specific physical properties and chemical composition.
If you just look at the physical properties of minerals, in other words what it looks like, you will look at thing like hardness, how much light it reflects and what the colour is.
A mineral can consist of only one element or it is made up of more than one element and that we call a 'compound'. An example of this is a diamond is a mineral that is made up only of carbon, but fluoride is a mineral that are made of calcium and fluorine.
On Earth there are about 4000 different types of minerals, but we will only find about 13 of them very easily in the earth's crust.
Minerals can be very useful to us and it can be used to make jewelry and some are used in technology like computers and some are even found in food. Have a look here for a list of minerals and their uses.
Examples of minerals include calcite, gypsum, feldspar, pyrite, gold, quartz and diamond.
Rocks are made up of minerals. The rocks are mined and then the minerals are removed from it.
Minerals like diamonds form over millions of years when the pressure and heat from the earth turn the coal into a diamond.
Lets have look at how mining of gold takes place and how it is processed to be used in different ways.
- What is 'panning' and how does it work?
- Why do big companies not use panning?
- How do engineers determine where gold will be found?
- In which countries are the most gold found?
- Explain how 'open pit mining' is done.
- How is gold extracted from the rocks?
- Why is the 'sludge' dangerous for the environment?
Through history gold were found in different countries and this caused the 'gold rush' where people started streaming to that area trying to also find their piece of richness in gold. This had huge impacts on the town.
Watch the video on the California gold rush and try and re-tell the facts once you are done.
