Asbestos
  • What is it and where is it formed?  Asbestos is a group of minerals that look like they have fibers sticking out of them.  It forms in metamorphic rock.
  • How and where is it mined?  It is mined using the surface open-pit kind of mining.  It is mined in Russia, Canada, China, and other countries.  We don’t mine it in the United States anymore because it causes health problems.
  • What is it used for?  Asbestos is used in:  insulation and fireproofing because it is heat resistant.  It can take a lot of heat before it melts.  For a long time, it was made into things that were used to hold hot things in kitchens [potholders] and in industry.  It used to be put around hot water pipes to keep the pipes from cooling down.  Now it has been proven that asbestos can cause health problems like cancer, so it is not used much anymore. 
  • Interesting!  Asbestos was used in buildings for shingles, floor tiles, and insulation.  Now it can only be used for things that won’t allow the fibers to float in the air.  Asbestos is only a health problem if the fibers get into the air.  It can be used in things like truck brakes and roofs where the fibers won’t be breathed in.
  • Interesting Information:
    • The U.S. uses 50% of all asbestos that is mined.

Asbestos + Serpentite
Asbestos + serpentite

Asbestos Fiber
Asbestos fibers
Mineral Characteristic What the
mineralogists say		 Kid's Guide:  What it REALLY means!
Chemical Symbol Mg3Si2O5(OH)4 It has magnesium, iron, aluminum, nickel, zinc, and manganese in it.
Color Yellow, green, brown, black, cream-white These are its usual colors.
Streak White If this mineral was crushed into a powder, the dust would be white.
Transparency Translucent to opaque. Rarely transparent. If you looked through this mineral, it might be blurry or not be able to be seen through at all.
Luster Silky, greasy, waxy If you shine a light on this mineral, the outside would look silky or greasy.
Cleavage None It forms fibers so it is hard to tell how it is breaking.
Fracture Conchoidal, splintery It is brittle and breaks easily into pieces that are smooth.
Magnetism Not magnetic It is not attracted to and will not attract a magnet.
Hardness 2 - 5 Different kinds of asbestos are harder than others.  Most of them are on the softer to middle range of the Moh’s Hardness scale.  Some are soft enough to be scratched by a penny!
Specific gravity 2.2 The weight of this mineral is average—not very light or very heavy.
Crystal Shape Monoclinic

Monoclinic