Question

The modern United States uses substantial amounts of mined minerals every year. The largest category of mined products we use is coal, oil, and natural gas, which are used to supply us with energy. What is the second-largest category of mined minerals used in modern America?

Answer 1

The answer Is feldspar

it is a  rock-forming mineral  which has particular importance in the glass and ceramics industries since it works as a fluxing agent. This means that feldspar reduces the melting temperature of quartz, consequently helping to control the viscosity of glass. Moreover, this rock-forming mineral is  one of the most common minerals in existence, forming approximately 60% of earth’s terrestrial rocks. Finally, each year about 600,000 tons of feldspar is mined in the United States from quarries in South Dakota, Oklahoma, Virginia, California, North Carolina, and Idaho. Besides this, vast deposits of felspar exist throughout the world, but the greatest challenge remains extracting and transporting the minerals to the point of consumption.