The mineralogy is the branch of geology that studies the shape, structure, composition, properties and mineral deposits. The earth is formed mainly by rocks; from minerals and rocks on the earth's surface, a large part of the resources necessary for the life of living beings on the planet are obtained. The primitive man used flint, obsidian and other minerals or rocks for the manufacture of weapons, in addition he decorated the caves with paintings made with pigments obtained from pulverized minerals until today.
What is mineralogy
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In addition to the aforementioned, mineralogy is the science that is responsible for studying or investigating minerals with respect to their behavior and relationship with other natural components. The definition of mineralogy is of utmost importance not only for the study and extraction of minerals, it also studies the different kinds of terrain and the risks that can be run on some surfaces of the earth.
Mineralogy plays a very important role in mineral sciences such as: petrology and metallogenesis.
Minerals are inorganic solids of natural origin that have an ordered internal lattice structure and a defined chemical composition. According to this, artificially obtained products are not included among the minerals, as is the case of crystallizations made in laboratories, nor are natural substances that are in liquid state, such as water, native mercury, etc.. They are also excluded from partly inorganic minerals such as bone or nacre produced by humans.
When making an analysis of everything that surrounds the human being and of most of the objects that he uses in his daily life, it can be observed that they are all made of materials that directly or indirectly come from minerals.
The origin of mineralogy
From a practical point of view, mineralogy began in prehistory, during the Paleolithic era, man began to look for certain minerals to make weapons and utensils as well as to make colors with which they painted the walls of the caves and their own bodies. The preferred materials for the manufacture of these weapons and tools was flint or flint, in addition they used quartz, granite, fibrous actinolite, some schists and hard limestone and obsidian.
Later he began to use metals not only to make weapons, but also to make jewelry and objects of adornment and worship of the Gods. He soon discovered that their beauty increased with the use of precious stones. Among the minerals used to give shine and color to its ornaments are: turquoise, agate, red carnelian, hematite and agate, among others.
When the flint that was on the surface was exhausted, the man through surveys began to search the subsoil. By the end of the Paleolithic and the beginning of the Neolithic, perforations of a certain depth and gallery were made to reach the levels of flint located between the Eocene limestone..In various places in Europe these types of mines have been found in Germany, Belgium, France and England, as well as in the Nile Valley in Egypt.
The discovery of metals in the native state marked an important milestone in human history. The use of gold, silver and copper, due to their properties, became widespread for the manufacture of ornamental objects and some household utensils. However, they could not be used in the manufacture of weapons and tools. Therefore, one of the most important milestones was the discovery of the metals contained in the minerals, although there is no clear evidence of how this discovery was made, everything indicates that, at some point, rocks with a high content were used in oxides, carbonates or sulphides for the construction of houses.
It is estimated that approximately 5000 years ago, the Egyptians and Mesopotamians practiced underground mining in order to extract minerals that would be used in the preparation of bronze. They knew that the best quality bronze was the one that consisted of a portion of 9 parts of copper to each of tin, although they worked with other portions and with other metals that modified some properties.
In the West, the written history of mineralogy begins with the philosophers Aristotle (384-322 BC) and Theophrastus of Ephesus (378-287 BC), Aristotle in his "Treatise on the stones" presented the classification in which they already distinguished themselves metallic and non-metallic minerals, as well as the difference between stones and earth.
In the 4th century BC. Aristotle began to systematize materials by dividing them into fossils or non-metals and into metals. All the knowledge of the ancient time is collected in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder, 1st century BC. This knowledge passed to the alchemists during the Middle Ages and many were lost.
Areas of mineralogy
Mineralogy has been listed as one of the oldest sciences. Minerals have been a source of metals, energy and materials since ancient times. Mineralogy is a fundamental science in the study of mineral substances whose origin is natural. Specialist engineers have to know the substantial characteristics of natural stone aggregates, as well as artificial mineral compounds.
General mineralogy
When the question arises what does general mineralogy study ?, it can be said that this area of mineralogy studies crystallographic aspects. It is also known as Crystallography, which is the science that is responsible for the study of crystals in their internal structure, their external shape and the laws that govern the growth of crystals. Since its development and initiation, it is closely linked to Mineralogy, but due to its preparation in the order of matter, which includes the organic, it specializes and emerges as an independent science that is divided into four parts that are:
- Geometric Crystallography: It is responsible for the study of the external shape of crystals.
- Structural Crystallography: This deals with the determination and description of the geometry of the internal structure of crystals.
- Chemical crystallography: Describe and study the structural distribution of ions or atoms, as well as the unions between them.
- Physical Crystallography: This is responsible for explaining and describing the properties of crystals.
The crystals are grouped into six symmetry systems that are: isometric or cubic, tetragonal, hexagonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic and triclinic.
The study of minerals provides an important aid in understanding the formation of rocks. This is due to the fact that all inorganic materials used in commerce are minerals or their derivatives, that is, mineralogy has a direct economic application.
Determinative mineralogy
Determinative mineralogy is the science and art of identifying minerals through the study of their properties:
1. Physical properties: These are studied in detail in mineralogy courses, especially crystallography, hardness, brightness, exfoliation, color, stripe and density, in some cases even taste and texture. The purpose of this type of study is to be able to classify certain species in a definitive way, and to be able to locate them within limited groups of a similar nature. Despite this, it sometimes happens that only his physical study leaves doubts about his identity, so it is necessary to resort to chemical tests.
2. Chemical Properties: The chemical tests used in this type of mineralogy are the same as those used in the qualitative and quantitative analysis of minerals, but at the time of their execution it is necessary to use a minimum of equipment and several reagents that in Most of them are simple and provide precise information on the presence of cations and anions, that is, the presence or absence of specific elements or combinations of these. Chemical studies allow:
- Confirm the identity of the specimen or mineral.
- Make the discrimination between alternate minerals.
- Know some elements of the components of the sample, which guides to the solution of the problem.
Mineralogenesis
Mineralogenesis is responsible for analyzing the situation of the production of a mineral, the way it manifests itself on Earth and the methods for its extraction. Geological processes form minerals and these are divided according to energy sources into two groups that are:
1. Endogenous: They are of internal origin, they are linked with the inner energy of the earth and formed in the processes of the internal thermal energy of the terrestrial globe. Furthermore, this process is linked to the metasomatic transformations or the magnetic activity of the rocks. The temperature of the magnetic rocks oscillates between 1200 and 700 ° C this depending on the composition of the masses.
2. The exogenous: They are of external origin closely linked with the action of the hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere on the lithosphere and under the influence of solar energy. This process occurs on the earth's surface or very close to it, also on the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. This type of process manifests itself in the chemical and physical destruction of rocks, minerals and ores, and in turn in the formation of minerals under stable conditions on the earth's surface. This group also includes the biogenic processes of mineralogenesis that are associated with the activity of organisms. Exogenous processes also include weathering and sedimentation processes.
Economic mineralogy
The concept of economic mineralogy encompasses everything concerning mineralogy with respect to the study of the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources. It includes research and development of biominerals, synthetic analogues and industrial materials resulting from the transformation, either to a lesser or greater degree of minerals. It studies and protects human health through the protection and conservation of the environment, this through activities derived from the obtaining, alteration and transformation of mineral resources, in addition to the problems represented by the storage and management of waste.
In addition to the above, economic mineralogy develops the applications of mineral matter, its application in industrial economics, gemology, etc.
Therefore, a mineral, for example carbon, can be crystallized in different structures, such as crystallography, through the cubic system; in this case it is called diamond if it crystallizes in the hexagonal system and forms graphite. Their appearance is sufficient to recognize that they are two different minerals, although further study is necessary to understand that they have the same chemical composition.
The most accepted classification for the economic performance of minerals is based on the presence of a chemically metallic element or combination and that are studied separately from deposits or minerals that have one or more non-metallic elements.
Topographic mineralogy
Topographic mineralogy is responsible for the study of mineral deposits in a specific country or region, through it it is possible to describe the minerals that are present in those areas, as well as the historical and cultural events related to them and their exploitation.
It is currently considered as a minor specialty in comparison with physicochemical mineralogy or with that applied to the exploitation of deposits. However, it is the closest thing to what is conventionally considered "culture", due to its relationship with local feelings and knowledge of the nature of the country itself.
In the 18th century, some topographical mineralogies of more or less extensive areas were published, but it was in the second half of the 19th century, with the development. of mineralogy as a science (and probably also with the development of the modern concept of states, in which physical knowledge played a binding role) when extensive and meticulously crafted treatises covering entire states were published.
Mineralogy in Mexico
At the end of the last century, research for the development of mineralogy in Mexico began in Mexico, since for specialists in the field it was a priority to achieve in the immediate future a level more in line with the development of Advanced Mineralogy in other countries.
Mexico is a country endowed with enormous mineral and non-mineral resources, for this reason, it has a great field of mineralogy study. The prestigious Mexican scientists and geologists Ortega Gutierrez, Enciso de la Vega and Victoria Morales, recognized, at the end of the second millennium, that mineralogy was a discipline almost completely abandoned by Mexican universities, due to the small number of specialists and researchers dedicated to develop it.
For this reason, at the beginning of the year 2000, the problem of limited development and the need to activate it in the areas of Mexican Sciences arose. Through the CONACYT Level II Heritage Chairs of Excellence program and the support of the University of Michoacán, various mineralogical investigations began to be carried out in order to reach a level of Advanced Mineralogy consistent with that of other countries.
Mexico has mineral wealth determined by its geological history, the most important mining centers are located in the mountainous areas of the north of the country. The importance of this productive activity has decreased, but despite this, Mexico still occupies the first place in the production of silver and is one of the largest producers of graphite, bismuth, antimony, barite, arsenic and sulfur, it is also a important producer of zinc, gold, iron and copper. In addition to the above, Mexico is the sixth largest oil producer in the world, this being the export sector of this country.
Mining and its evolution have been influenced by the situation of other sectors that demand its products as inputs, in addition to the persistent weakness of international markets. The extraction of iron ore and its profits increased thanks to the growth of its demand for the smelting of this metal in the manufacturing industry.
Some of the most important minerals in this country are: turquoise, amethyst, eastern sunflower, chrysoberyl, diamond, ruby, emerald, heliotrope, agate, diamond spar, sapphire, cat's eye, tiger's eye, serpentine, aquamarine, obsidian, between many more.
Most of the Mexican territory (except the Yucatan peninsula) is characterized by great tectonic and volcanic activity that has taken place for several tens of millions of years to the present. This activity has invariably left its mark throughout the country in the form of volcanic systems and hydrothermal systems, both fossil and active.
Volcanic tectonic activity, although it has catastrophic results in many of the phenomena it generates, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, has also been a source of great wealth such as mineral and geothermal resources.
Currently, more than 60 new minerals have been discovered in the Mexican territory, which means that it speaks of great potential in the mineralogy area of this country.
The Mineralogy Museum located in the La Garza university cultural center, is a heritage of Mexico, it is also the oldest museum in the entity and one of the longest in the country in its specialty. There a large collection of minerals extracted from the subsoil from all over the world are exhibited, as well as a mummy found in Hidalgo more than 130 years ago.
The samples found in this museum exceed the thousands of specimens classified among minerals, igneous, sedimentary, metaphoric and fossil rocks from that area and the rest of the world.
