'Industrial minerals' are geological materials which are mined for their commercial value, which are not fuel (fuel minerals or
mineral fuels) and are not sources of metals (
metallic minerals).
They are used in their natural state or after
beneficiation either as raw materials or as additives in a wide range of applications.
Examples and applications
Typical examples of industrial rocks and minerals are
limestone,
clays,
sand,
gravel,
diatomite,
kaolin,
bentonite,
silica,
barite,
gypsum, and
talc.
Some examples of applications for industrial minerals are
construction,
ceramics,
paints,
electronics,
filtration,
plastics,
glass,
detergents and
paper.
In some cases, even organic materials (
peat) and industrial products or by-products (
cement,
slag,
silica fume) are categorized under industrial minerals, as well as metallic compounds mainly utilized in nonmetallic form (as an example most of the titanium is utilized as an oxide TiO
2 rather than Ti metal).
List of industrial minerals
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Aggregates
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Alunite
★
Asbestos
★
Asphalt, Natural
★
Barite
★
Bentonite
★
Borates
★
Brines
★
Carbonatites
★
Clays
★
Ball clays
★
Kaolin
★
Coal
★
Corundum
★
Diamond
★
Dimension stone
★
Diatomite
★
Feldspar and
Nepheline -
Syenite
★
Fluorspar
★
Fuller's earth
★
Garnet
★
Gem minerals
★
Granite
★
Graphite
★
Gypsum
★
Kaolin
★
Kyanite /
Sillimanite /
Andalusite
★
Limestone /
Dolomite
★
Marble
★
Mica
★
Olivine
★
Perlite
★
Phosphate
★
Potash –
Potassium minerals
★
Pumice
★
Quartz
★
Salt
★
Slate
★
Silica sand /
Tripoli
★
Soda ash
★
Sodium bicarbonate
★
Sodium sulfate
★
Staurolite
★
Sulfur
★
Talc
★
Vermiculite
★
Wollastonite
★
Zeolites
See also
★
Minerals
★
List of minerals
★
List of minerals (complete)