As the key component in aluminum production, bauxite became one of the most important minerals of the last one hundred years. But its effects on people and economies varied broadly – for some it meant jobs, progress, or a political advantage over rival nations but for many others, it meant exploitation, pollution, or the destruction of a way of life. Aluminum Ore explores the often overlooked history of bauxite in the twentieth century, and in doing so examines the forces that shaped the time, from the mineral’s strategic development in the First World War and throughout the Cold War, to its role in the globalization of markets, as companies from the northern hemisphere vied for the resources of the south. In this wide-ranging collection, scholars from around the world consider multiple international perspectives on this history – from Guinea to Nazi Germany to Jamaica – all while examining the central place of one commodity in a time of change.

Minerals are part of virtually every product we use. Common examples include copper used in electrical wiring and titanium used to make airplane frames and paint pigments. The Information Age has ushered in a number of new mineral uses in a number of products including cell phones (e.g., tantalum) and liquid crystal displays (e.g., indium). For some minerals, such as the platinum group metals used to make cataytic converters in cars, there is no substitute. If the supply of any given mineral were to become restricted, consumers and sectors of the U.S. economy could be significantly affected. Risks to minerals supplies can include a sudden increase in demand or the possibility that natural ores can be exhausted or become too difficult to extract. Minerals are more vulnerable to supply restrictions if they come from a limited number of mines, mining companies, or nations. Baseline information on minerals is currently collected at the federal level, but no established methodology has existed to identify potentially critical minerals. This book develops such a methodology and suggests an enhanced federal initiative to collect and analyze the additional data needed to support this type of tool.

A comprehensive manual of the world's gemstones and includes more than 1,400 examples. Opposite each illustration, this text provides a description of the particular stone, including details of the properties and chemical composition which makes the stone unique. It also gives information on location of major deposits, and alternative names.