MinePhone: 6 Minerals and Metals that Make Smartphones Possible

I was a bit of a simpleton when it came to phones. As long as I could call and text message my family and friends, I didn’t really need a lot of fancy features and apps. Then I got an iPhone. It’s amazing! I can do so much more with it than I could with my old phone! I can call and text message, but I can also take high-quality photos, navigate with turn-by-turn directions, post to Facebook and twitter, and access the internet on the go. Once you have the ability to do all of this, it’s impossible to go back. I’m not alone. Millions of people own a smartphone and use it constantly. Smartphones are so prevalent it’s somewhat unusual to find someone who doesn’t have one. It would not be a stretch to say modern society is largely driven and shaped by what we can do with those little devices, devices that wouldn’t be possible without mining. With that in mind, here are 6 mined materials that make smartphones possible:

1. Gold: Gold is a great combination of high conductivity and high corrosion resistance. When it comes to the chips and circuitry in smartphones, companies need a material that will efficiently conduct electric charges while not wearing out. Gold fits the bill perfectly.

2. Rare Earth Elements: Okay, this is a bit of a cheat since there’s more than one rare earth element in your smartphone, but your phone needs each of them! Neodymium magnets are some of the strongest known to man and are vital to a smartphone’s vibrator and speakers. Europium lends beautiful colors to smartphone screens, and cerium helps keep smartphone glass polished. Speaking of glass …

3. Glass: Glass is the most common material used for smartphone screens. Older versions of the iPhone like the iPhone 4 and 4s also have a glass back. Silica, sand, gypsum, limestone, and other mined aggregates are melted at high temperatures to form this glass.

4. Aluminum: Newer smartphones are increasingly turning to aluminum as a key material for their physical build. Aluminum provides a strong, sturdy material which not only ensures the phone can survive a fall, but also gives it a more high-end feel (for an example compare the aluminum iPhone 5s to the plastic Samsung Galaxy S5).

5. Stainless Steel: Another material that is used in the build frame of phones to make them sturdier and more resistant to damage, stainless steel is an alloy of iron ore, chromium, and metals like molybdenum that add to or enhance the alloy’s existing properties.

6. Lithium: Lithium-ion batteries are one of the best batteries around. They can provide a good charge at a small size, an important combination for smartphones! Using two electrodes, one made of lithium, the other of graphite, a lithium-ion battery provides the charge needed to use your smartphone all day!

We live in a digital age with near-constant access to people, information, and entertainment. Smartphones are a significant reason for this age of hyper-connectivity. After all, smartphones are what allow us to access the internet and its near-infinite amount of information where and whenever we want to, they allow us to tweet, message, or call our friends when and wherever we want to, and they allow us to be constantly entertained. Smartphones keep us constantly connected 24/7/365. Yet, it’s clear without mining smartphones would not be possible, and the digital age we live in might still be nothing but science fiction.

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