Some desirable (in some cases unusual) physical properties exhibited by minerals and rocks include:
1. hardness/softness (abrasives in cutting and polishing)
2. durability (chemical inertness, abrasion resistance)
3. thermal stability (insulation, fire resistance, low/high expansion)
4. electrical resistance (insulators)
5. density (light, or heavy)
6. optical (transparency/opacity, reflectivity)
7. aesthetic qualities (gemstone, facing stone, tile)
8. workability (flexibility/brittleness/ductility)
9. strength (strong, weak)
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An alphabetical list of some important "industrial" minerals:
asbestos
beryllium minerals
boron minerals
clay (specialty; kaolin-rich, ceramics; smectite-rich, drill mud)
clay (ordinary; filler)
diatomite (filter beer)
feldspar (mostly K-spar)
fluorspar (fluorite)
gypsum, anhydrite (plaster, gypsum board)
limestone
lithium minerals
magnesite (MgCO3)
marble
mica (muscovite)
nepheline syenite
perlite (light aggregate)
phosphate minerals
potash (K) minerals
pumice (pumicite) (abrasive)
pyrophyllite
salt (halite)
sand and gravel (a trillion $ industry!)
sand (specialty sands)
shale (expandible)
shale (road metal)
sodium carbonate
stone (aggregate-crushed)
stone (dimension)
sulfur
talc and soapstone
vermiculite