Minerals
Minerals - rocks and minerals that are used or can be used in the national economy. They are divided in different ways. In one case, their physical condition is emphasized, and the following types are distinguished:
solid (various ores, coal, marble, granite, salts);
liquid (oil, mineral water);
gas (combustible gases, helium, methane).
In another case, their use is taken as a basis, as a result of which fossils are distinguished:
combustible (coal, peat, oil, natural gas, oil shale);
ore (rock ores, including metallic useful components and non-metallic (graphite, asbestos);
non-metallic (non-metallic and non-combustible minerals: sand, gravel, clay, chalk, limestone, various salts. Precious and ornamental stones are a separate group).
Types of useful Minerals
By origin, all minerals are divided into igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. In their distribution on the territory of the Earth, certain regularities are traced. In folded areas, usually, igneous minerals occur This is due to the fact that ores were formed mainly from magma and hot aqueous solutions released from it. Magma rises from the bowels of the faults and solidifies in the thickness of rocks at various depths. Igneous minerals can also be formed from spilled magma - lava, which quickly cools down. Magma is usually introduced during active tectonic movements, therefore ore minerals are associated with folded regions. On the platform plains, they are confined to the foundation - the lower tier of the platform. On platforms, ore deposits can be confined to shields (shield - exit of the platform foundation to the surface) or to those parts of the platform where the thickness of the sedimentary cover is small and the foundation approaches close to the surface. This is the location of the iron ore of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (KMA) in Russia. Ores are mined on the shields in the Kryvyi Rih basin (Ukraine) and others. Sedimentary minerals are most typical for platforms since there is a platform cover.
Mostly these are non-metallic minerals and fuels, the leading role among which is played by gas, oil, coal, oil shale. They were formed from the accumulated in the coastal parts of shallow seas and in lake-bog land conditions of the remains of plants and animals. These abundant organic residues could accumulate only insufficiently humid and warm conditions favorable for the lush development of vegetation. In hot, arid conditions in shallow seas and coastal lagoons, there was an accumulation of salts used as raw materials in the chemical industry.
Mining There is several ways to extract minerals.
Firstly, it is an open-pit method in which rocks are mined in quarries. It is economically more profitable, as it contributes to a cheaper product. However, an abandoned quarry can cause the formation of a wide network of ravines. Coal mine mining is expensive, therefore it is more expensive. The cheapest method of oil production is a fountain, when oil rises through the well under the pressure of oil gases. The pumping method of extraction is also widespread. There are special ways of mining. They are called geotechnological. With their help, the ore is mined from the bowels of the earth. This is done by pumping hot water, solutions into formations containing the necessary minerals. Other wells pump out the resulting solution and separate the valuable component. The demand for minerals is constantly growing, the extraction of mineral raw materials is increasing, but minerals are exhaustible natural resources, therefore it is necessary to spend them more economically and fully.
There are several ways for this:
reduction of mineral losses during their extraction;
more complete extraction of all useful components from the rock;
integrated use of minerals;
Search for new, more promising deposits.
Thus, the main direction of the use of minerals in the coming years should not be an increase in the volume of their extraction, but more rational use.
In the modern search for minerals, it is necessary to use not only the latest technology and sensitive instruments but also a scientific forecast for the search for deposits, which helps to purposefully and scientifically conduct mineral exploration. Thanks to such methods, diamond deposits were first scientifically predicted and then discovered in Yakutia. The scientific forecast is based on knowledge of the relationships of the geological structure and the conditions for the formation of minerals.