Minerals Are Vital to Our Daily Lives

Ontario's minerals help improve the air we breathe and the food we eat. Farmers and gardeners enrich their soil with lime, peat and fertilizers. We season our food with salt and use manganese and carbon to purify water and reduce air pollution. Catalytic converters rely on platinum and palladium to reduce vehicle emissions.

Minerals help save lives and improve our health. Radioactive cobalt and iridium are used in life-saving cancer treatments. Silver is used in X-rays and photographs. Zinc, iodine, magnesium, calcium carbonate, talc and iron are found in toothpaste, talcum powder, sun-screens, cough lozenges and first aid creams. Minerals added to vitamin pills are among the 60 our bodies require for vitality and organ function.

From nickel batteries to copper wiring, silica in light bulbs to uranium for nuclear power, minerals bring us energy and light. More than 30 minerals and metals are used to produce computers, televisions, stereo systems and kitchen appliances. Minerals also open our word to travel. Airplanes, cars, trucks, boats and trains are built with cobalt, steel, iron, copper, zinc and aluminum.

Braking systems rely on barium and graphite. Our homes, offices, schools and roads are built with gypsum, silica, stone, sand and gravel from Ontario mines and quarries. Decorative stone such as granite, marble and sandstone adds beauty to our buildings and monuments. When we give gifts of gold, silver, platinum and gemstones, Ontario minerals become part of the most special days of our lives.