(calming music) This is a geode.

Geodes are hollow rocks that are lined with crystallized minerals on the inside.

(calming music continues) In order to see the mineral, you have to open them up.

Let's get cracking.

(hammer thuds) (calming music continues) It looks like we have quartz.

We're exploring minerals and mining, today on "Spotlight Earth".

(calming music continues) So, what is a mineral?

Joining me to help answer this question is my "Spotlight Earth" co-host, Jarrell.

Hey, Michael.

Hey.

Minerals are naturally-occurring solid substances found in the Earth's crust.

They are the building blocks of rocks.

They play a vital role in shaping our planet's geology, as well as a vital role in supporting life on our planet.

The word "solid" is the key as to whether something is a mineral.

For example, when water is frozen, we call it ice, and ice is the mineral form of water.

Minerals are formed through various geological processes, such as cooling and solidification of molten rock; think magma and lava.

Or when mineral rich water leaves behind deposits like the calcium flakes in your teapot, or stalactites in the cave.

And, of course, freezing, like water into ice.

One of the essential characteristics of minerals is their definite chemical composition and orderly atomic arrangement, which gives them unique physical and chemical properties.

Using ice as an example, think of the crystalline structure of a snowflake.

That's the orderly atomic arrangement, or crystal structure, of water in its mineral form.

Minerals are incredibly diverse and come in various shapes, sizes, and colors, and every mineral has its own unique crystal structure.

Some familiar examples of mineral include quartz, which is commonly used in making glass and electronics.

Gold, silver and copper have been highly sought after throughout history for their use in currency, jewelry, and various industries.

Halite is known as rock salt.

It's used in construction and clearing roads after snowfall.

This is halite.

(calming music continues) When rocks or sediment contain a high enough level of valuable mineral for extraction, we call that an ore.

Though minerals are inorganic, they are essential for sustaining life on the earth, like in our nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur cycles.

Plants, animals, and people need minerals to grow and stay healthy.

Many minerals, like calcium and iron, are crucial for our health, contributing to strong bones and proper oxygen transport in the bloodstreams of animals.

These minerals also encourage productivity in plants.

Geologists study minerals to gain insights into the Earth's history, uncover valuable resources, and assess the potential for natural disasters, like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The study of minerals is called mineralogy.

Every one of the thousands of minerals on Earth has its own unique set of physical properties.

In order to correctly identify a mineral, geologists must observe and test six different physical properties.

You don't have to have a fancy degree or special equipment to do that.

You can conduct these tests with samples and items you have around your home, or in our case, around the studio.

Color is the easiest physical property to identify, but it is the least reliable in identifying minerals.

Minerals come in a variety of colors.

That is why color is only one factor of many that help identify minerals.

Sulfur is one of the easiest minerals to identify by color, since it's bright yellow, (upbeat chilled music) Luster is the second of the six physical properties that are used to identify minerals.

Luster refers to how a mineral reflects light.

Minerals are considered metallic when they look like they reflect light the way metal does.

Metallic minerals are often shiny; non-metallic minerals less so.

We also use the words "pearly," "dull," and "waxy," among others to describe how minerals reflect light or opalescence.

Copper is metallic, so it has a metallic luster, while fluoride has a non-metallic luster.

A third of the six physical properties used to identify minerals is tenacity, or how the mineral breaks.

Different types of atomic bonds break in different patterns.

The way a mineral breaks into pieces is a result of how the atoms in that mineral are arranged.

There are two different categories of breakage.

Cleavage is when a mineral breaks along a smooth plane or in a particular pattern.

Some minerals cleave into sheets, cubes, or a variety of patterns.

Some minerals fracture or break into pieces with no particular pattern at all.

You could describe breaking with fracture as breaking with rough or jagged edges.

In this example, copper exhibits fracture.

This is easily identified by jagged edges of copper.

Muscovite mica exhibits cleavage.

Mica can actually be peeled into thin sheets.

Here in Virginia, we also have a lot of slate that cleaves into thin slabs.

We use it as roof shingles.

Streak is the color of a mineral in its powdered form.

It's a fourth of the six physical properties used to identify a mineral.

Since minerals can have a variety of different colors, it is best to rub the mineral against an unglazed piece of porcelain to test the color of the streak.

The color of a streak will not vary.

In some cases, minerals will be harder than the streak plate.

These minerals will not leave any streak.

It is also helpful to have a black and white streak plate, depending on the color of the streak left by the mineral you're testing.

When I test with a black streak plate, talc will leave a white streak, (upbeat chilled music continues) since it is one of the softest minerals and easily leaves behind a streak.

Copper is tested using a white streak plate.

Copper will leave a greenish-bronze colored streak.

(upbeat chilled music continues) A fifth way geologists identify minerals is by examining the way they crystallize.

Crystallization is the process by which a mineral grows.

A crystalline structure is built when atoms arrange themselves in a repeating pattern.

Remember our snowflake example?

Time is a factor in determining the size of the mineral crystal.

If a long amount of time takes place for the formation of the crystal, a large crystal will form.

If the crystal is only given a short amount of time to form, a small crystal is the result.

Whether the mineral crystallizes quickly or slowly, minerals of the same type have the same atomic structure and the same crystal pattern.

Every mineral has a crystal shape based on one of the six crystal systems.

The six crystal systems are orthorhombic, triclinic, hexagonal, tetragonal, cubic, and monoclinic.

Hardness is the sixth physical quality geologists use to identify minerals.

You probably imagine that most minerals are fairly hard, but did you know that you can scratch some minerals with your fingernail?

Using a scratch test is one way to determine a mineral's hardness.

Hardness is a mineral's resistance to scratching.

You can identify the hardness of a mineral by attempting to scratch it with common objects, like a nail or a penny; and by using Mohs Hardness Scale.

The Mohs scale is named after German mineralogist, Friedrich Mohs, who devised the scale after determining that softer minerals could be scratched by harder minerals.

He based the scale from 1 through 10.

A mineral ranking 1 is very soft and can be scratched by all other minerals.

No other mineral can scratch a mineral ranking 10.

Diamonds are the hardest mineral on this scale.

Talc is the softest mineral and is easily scratched.

See, I can do it with my finger.

(upbeat chilled music continues) That's how we identify minerals once we have them.

But how do we get them?

In order to access most minerals, we have to mine them from the Earth.

Mining has been around for a long time and has played a big role shaping human history.

Mining can be tough and dangerous work, but it's essential because we rely on these valuable resources for so many things in our daily lives.

It's also important to mine responsibly and to take care of the environment.

One company, the Kyanite Mining Corporation, is doing just that.

They are paving the way for innovative resource management practices and cutting-edge pollution control technology.

Our "Spotlight Earth" co-host, Ellen, is on site to learn more.

Hey, Michael.

I'm in Buckingham County, Virginia.

This area was known for gold mining in the mid 19th century.

Mining remains an important part of Buckingham County's economy.

(serene music) And here at Kyanite Mining Corporation, environmental stewardship is a huge part of the company story.

(serene music continues) So, kyanite is an aluminum silicon mineral, which means it's primarily made up of aluminum atoms and silica atoms, and some oxygens are thrown in there.

(serene music continues) (car cruising) (serene music continues) (door closes) When they're combined in the right proportions, they form a kyanite crystal.

It's useful because it has a very high melting temperature.

When it's heated, it expands irreversibly, which means it grows, and it never kind of returns to its former size.

There's several uses for kyanite, but they all kind of revolve around the making and the casting and the shaping of molten metals.

Basically lines big, huge industrial furnaces.

It protects the metal shell of those furnaces from the situation going on inside the furnace that creates this molten metal.

(serene music continues) Mining is a messy business; there's no way around that.

You're digging big holes in the ground.

What matters is how you clean up that mess.

(serene music continues) We spend an awful lot of time, effort, manpower, and other resources trying to, as quickly as possible, clean up our own mess.

(serene music continues) It's a big part of what our company does, and it's a big source of pride that we do it right.

We do it because it's the right thing to do.

We do it because we live here, and we care about this place.

(serene music continues) When we're done with a spot, it is returned to nature.

It is in a state that will support wildlife while not negatively impacting the surrounding environment.

(serene gentle music) As the largest private employer in Buckingham, we want to minimize our impact on the environment and maximize our impact on the community.

And so, we take our stewardship of the land, our stewardship of the water, and our stewardship of the air, very seriously.

(serene gentle music continues) Our goal is to ensure that none of our sediment leaves the site, and we accomplish that through sediment control ditches and sediment ponds.

We are standing on the material that has come out of both of our quarries, the Willis Mountain and the East Ridge.

For the better part of 30 years, we brought the material that our customers don't want, or the little bit of kyanite that we can't capture here.

We graded them so that they would shed storm water, preventing erosion.

We surrounded the entire site with grass-line berms, and dams, and sediment traps, so that none of that sediment left our site.

And then, once we completed the fill, we spread topsoil; in some places, a foot or two; in some places, 6, 7, 8 feet of topsoil, so that we would shed storm water and provide a host environment for the fescue and the clover and the lespedezas that we see growing here.

I grew up maybe, well, you see that mountain there?

This is Willis Mountain.

That's Spears Mountain, and I grew up maybe three miles this side of Spears Mountain; my parents still live there.

This is home, for sure.

In 2009, we employed a first-in-its-class in the state of Virginia limestone bed to treat water, as it was leaving the former quarry at Baker Mountain.

We won the Virginia Energy Best Quarry, and overall winner award, for that project.

And then, most recently, where we're standing, in 2022, we won the state of Virginia's best quarry and overall winner award for this reclamation site.

The goal is to ensure that we're not negatively impacting Buckingham County.

(serene gentle music continues) So, that's the really cool story here in Buckingham County.

Let's check back in the studio with Michael for more on mining.

Not all companies prioritize environmental stewardship as Kyanite Mining Corporation does.

Mining can have both positive and negative impacts on the environment.

While it provides us with valuable resources we need for many things, it can also cause some serious environmental problems.

And joining me once again to explore some of the main environmental issues with mining is my co-host, Jarrell.

That's right, Michael.

Mining often involves clearing large areas of land to access the minerals or resources beneath the surface.

This can lead to the destruction of natural habitats for plants and animals.

(chilled bright music) During mining, chemicals and harmful substances can seep into water sources like rivers and lakes.

This pollution can harm aquatic life and make the water unsafe for both animals and people to drink or use.

Some mining activities release dust and harmful gases into the air.

These pollutants can cause respiratory problems for humans and harm plants and animals in the area.

The removal of vegetation and top soil during mining can lead to soil erosion.

This means that the fertile layer of soil that plants need to grow can be washed away by rain or blown away by the wind.

When certain minerals in the rocks react with air and water, they can create acid mine drainage.

This acidic water can harm aquatic life and contaminate water sources.

Some of the minerals that we mine are radioactive, meaning the ore contains radioactive rocks and sediments; things like uranium, thorium, and potassium.

Something that is radioactive emits ionizing radiation or particles that can harm or destroy living tissue.

In some cases, forests may be cleared to make way for mining operations, leading to loss of biodiversity and contributing to climate change.

To tackle these environmental issues, it's essential for mining companies to follow strict regulations and use responsible mining practices.

That's right, Jarrell.

This includes reclamation efforts to restore the land to its natural state after mining is complete, like Ellen described at Kyanite; and by finding ways to minimize the use of harmful chemicals.

While the mining companies are responsible for many of these sustainable efforts, you can help too.

Many minerals can be recycled.

In addition, you can reduce the demand for certain minerals by using electronics and other mineral-rich products until they can't be repaired.

If we all do our part, we can help to ensure the damage done by mining remains minimal.

(chilled bright music continues) Thanks for watching.

See you next time on "Spotlight Earth".

(chilled bright music continues)