Industrial Materials
Industrial Materials are important resources that are found in thousands of products, and in many cases, there is simply no substitute for their valuable properties.
Although industrial minerals are prevalent in nearly all aspects of our lives in every country in the world, very little is normally known about the important roles they play to keep our society running. They are nearly invisible components within products from the simplest table plate to the most complicated medication.
The properties of industrial minerals are what make them so valuable. They are either used as a source of important elements, such as the Silica (Si) extracted from industrial sand, or they are used for their physical properties, such as the ability of bentonite to absorb water.
Industrial minerals are used in abrasives, absorbents, agricultural additives, ceramics, chemicals, drilling mud, electronics, filtration media, flame retardants, glass, paint, paper, metal castings, pigments and synthetic fibers, to name just a few.
Explore our website and learn more about the importance of industrial minerals and the products in which industrial minerals are found.
TECHNICAL RESOURCES
Governmental Agencies
- CA Geological Survey - Mineral Classification Maps & Reports
- CA Geological Survey - Mineral Production
- CA Geological Survey - Critical Minerals
- GO-Biz – https://business.ca.gov/about/
publications/ - USGS - Mineral Production Reports
- USGS - Mineral Commodity Report 2024
- BLM California - Minerals
Education
Mineral Education Coalition (MEC)
Sustainable Mineral Development - information
National Association
Essential Minerals Association