A Mineral is a naturally occurring substance found under the earth's crust, which has been formed as a result of various Geological processes occurring over substantial periods of time. It would not be wrong to mention that almost each & every utility or commercial substance in the contemporary world has been produced from a particular Mineral or a combination of various Minerals. Nothing can be conceived without Minerals. They constitute the backbone of any nation, since the Economic, Infrastructural & Industrial growth, besides the all-important National Security, of a country depends on its reserves of Minerals & the technology to extract & utilize them.

Minerals and Some of their Uses

Minerals have distinct & characteristic Physical & Chemical properties, & are the primary sources of all the naturally occurring Metals on earth. Minerals can be either Metallic or Non-Metallic, depending upon their compositions. A Mineral may consist of either only one Metal or a number of different Metals. The Study of Minerals is called 'Mineralogy'. The important 'General Characteristics' of any Mineral are as follows:

• Natural Occurrence, i.e., not produced 'Artificially' or 'Man-made'
• Constituent of Rocks
• Inorganic Composition & Usually Abiogenic Origin, i.e., not produced from any living organism like plants & animals
• Physical State - Solid; Stable at normal temperature ranges of the earth's surface
• Fixed (or narrowly variable) Chemical Composition; Either a Pure Element, or a Chemical Compound, or a mixture of Chemical   Compounds
• Orderly Crystalline Structure

There are over 4000 Minerals known to mineralogists, who have identified & characterized them based on their Physical & Chemical properties. Some common examples of Minerals are Limestone, Quartzite, Feldspars, Micas, Haematite, Gypsum, Gold, Asbestos, various kinds of gems etc.

Technical Information on Minerals & Ores

• Difference between Minerals & Ores
• Mineral Prospecting & Exploration
• Mineral/Ore Processing or Dressing or Ore Beneficiation
• Images of Some Common Minerals

• Difference between Rocks & Minerals
• Classification of Minerals
• Rock-Forming Minerals
• Properties of Minerals

Batra Lab realizes the importance of the aspect of Quality of Minerals, since these are used as 'Raw Materials' in almost all manufacturing industries like Cement, Ceramics, Steel, Paints, Fertilizers, Automobiles, and Semiconductors etc. Batra Lab has been assisting these industries in selecting the appropriate & suitable Minerals which fulfill the standard specifications set by various National & International agencies.

Some of the Ores & Minerals Tested by Batra Lab

Common Testing Parameters of Minerals

Major Equipments used by Batra Lab for Testing of Minerals & Ores

• XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence) Spectrometer
• XRD (X-Ray Diffraction) Spectrometer RIGAKU
• ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer)
• AAS (Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer)
• UV-Visible Spectrophotometer
• Turbidity