1.1.3 Industrial Minerals

Mineral or organic substances with chemical or physical properties that have an industrial use.

Asbestos, talc, silica, salt, graphite, potash, mica, ilmenite and wollastonite are all industrial minerals.

		Sample of wollastonite from the Lac-St-Jean region. An industrial mineral, wollastonite is resistant to heat and chemical corrosion. It is non-toxic and breaks into splinters. It is used in many products, ranging from bridge decks to dental prostheses.
	Source

Peat, which is not a mineral but decomposing organic matter, is regarded as an industrial mineral.

Sulphur, which is not a mineral but a chemical element, is also defined as an industrial mineral.

In Québec, industrial minerals rank second in importance after metallic minerals. In Canada, they rank third.