Metallic minerals • Gold and silver are native elements. They are found in nature in a pure state as minerals and they are composed of a single element. Other metals are obtained from specific minerals. For example, iron is extracted from hematite and magnetite, and zinc is obtained from sphalerite. • Spain’s most important mining basin for the extraction of metallic minerals is Riotinto in the province of Huelva. These mines have been in use for 5 000 years. • Gold and silver are used in jewellery and medicines. Marble • Marble is a crystalline, metamorphic rock that can be different colours. • The most well-known marble quarries in Spain are in Macael in the province of Almería. The high-quality white marble extracted there makes up more than 90 % of Spain’s total production. • The marble from these quarries was used to construct buildings like the Alhambra and the Generalife in Granada, and the Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba. Spain is a countr y with a long histor y of mining. Some of its mines, like Riotinto, have been used to extract rocks and minerals for thousands of years. Today, the mining of ornamental rocks, like marble and granite, is ver y important. Spain is the world’s third largest producer of these types of rocks. It is also a producer of red clays, which are used in the manufacturing of bricks, tiles, etc. The extraction of minerals in Spain is also important, specially f luorite, gypsum, feldspar and sepiolite. Most of Spain’s production of rocks and minerals is focused on obtaining materials for construction . Rocks and minerals in Spain gold silver magnetite sphalerite Cinnabar • Cinnabar is a bright red mineral. We can extract mercury from it. • The mines of Almadén in the province of Ciudad Real contained the largest deposit of mercury in the world. The mines closed in 2002 and have been turned into a mining park. • Mercury is used in some thermometers, thermostats and lamps. Gypsum • Gypsum is a sedimentary, evaporite rock. It forms when water with mineral salts evaporates. • Spain is Europe’s leading exporter of gypsum. This rock is mined in 12 autonomous communities. Europe’s largest gypsum quarry is in Sorbas in the province of Almería. • Most of the gypsum that is mined is used to manufacture cement, plaster for construction, etc. 206
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