Industrial minerals and geology

Geology constitutes the basic science for the research and exploitation of the resources from which knowledge and industry know, strongly conditioned by the reliability of the supply of raw materials. The current market trend, thanks also to the new technologies available for extraction and processing, could make small-sized deposits of precious minerals interesting, also from an environmental sustainability point of view, whose extraction has not been economically convenient so far.

The Order of Geologists of Sardinia will present the webinar “Industrial minerals and strategic elements“, in which it aims to provide an overview of industrial minerals and geomaterials such as metals and rare earths, also with particular attention to the prospects of strategic materials in Sardinia, which has always been considered a national reference for feldspar materials.

Feldspars

Feldspars are among the most widespread minerals present in the earth’s crust, representing about 60% of the rock mass as the main components of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks.

Together with quartz, feldspars are one of the most used raw materials in ceramic: they are used as fluxes and favor the sintering of the ceramic piece.

The sources of feldspathic fluxes are many and the geologist’s task is precisely to help optimize their cultivation, studying the most suitable exploration and extraction possibilities for the site in question.

The role of the geologist

The activity of the geologist plays a fundamental role in the correct definition of the reservoir, with a specific and detailed description of the rocks and classification of reserves based on industrial usability.

The input of the geologist, even in the planning phase of the extraction and in the cultivation phase, is important to make the selection of the mineral optimal for a possible reuse of waste. It is precisely the residues of the extraction that can be converted into marketable by-products through adequate processing, thus obtaining a complete enhancement of the mineral deposits.

Minerali Industriali will attend the webinar providing provides its contribution with the speaker Dr. Alberto Cazzaniga, Raw Materials Reasearch Manager of the Minerali Group who will present a brief study on the quarrying activity of quartz entitled “Sondalo’s quartz: example of sustainable exploitation of the resource and minimization of cultivation waste “.

Read the poster or visit the website https: www.geologi.sardegna.it/notizie/ Articolo/i-minerali-industriali-ed-elementi-strategici-prospettive-generali