6 Varieties of Minerals and Metals Discovered in Your Mobile Device
Our mobile phones are utilized on a daily basis, yet have you ever wondered about the various minerals and metals present within them?
In today's world, mobile phones are everywhere. Each person owns and constantly uses one. However, have you ever considered the components that make up a cell phone, particularly the valuable minerals, and metals involved? Mobile phones consist of numerous scarce materials, which are typically extracted from various countries globally. Thus, what exactly is inside your mobile phone? Here are the metals and minerals that accompany you daily.
Copper, one of the earliest metals extracted by humans, has been in use for over millennia. Exhibiting a reddish-brown hue and greater malleability than other metals, copper is employed in phone circuitry due to its excellent electrical conductivity. In fact, it is the most crucial component in a phone's electronics as it forms the connectors and wires. The majority of copper is sourced from porphyry copper deposits within the Earth's crust's massive molten rock sections. Chile holds the title of the leading global copper producer, accounting for 28 percent of the valuable metal's mining.
Lithium, a soft and lightweight metal, provides energy for mobile phones. It is a key component in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, contributing to their power, density, faster charging, and extended lifespan. Rather than being found in its elemental form, lithium is obtained from lithium-bearing rocks and lithium chloride salts. Chile, similar to its copper production, leads the world in lithium output, primarily sourcing it from the Atacama Salt Flat. Argentina follows as the second-largest global lithium producer.
Silica, an element present in quartz, is utilized in creating the chips and microprocessors found in mobile phones. Additionally, silica is a component of the Earth's crust. The specific silica variant employed in manufacturing mobile phone chips consists of extremely purified and intrinsically fragile silicon dioxide particles. Significant silica sand deposits can be discovered in locations such as Queensland, Australia, and the Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, including North Carolina and Virginia.
Germanium is employed in the creation of semiconductors for mobile phones. This fragile, silvery-white element is frequently utilized in numerous electronic gadgets. This uncommon mineral can be discovered in germanite and argyrodite rock formations, as well as in zinc deposits. Although the U.S. possesses germanite, the country still depends significantly on China, which generates over 70% of the mineral in areas such as Yunnan Province. Additionally, Inner Mongolia is recognized for its production of minerals.
Bauxite serves as the primary source of the mineral gallium, which is utilized in the creation of LED backlighting, enabling our phones to emit bright light during nighttime. The majority of the planet's bauxite can be found in tropical and subtropical areas, with the largest "blanket deposits" located in regions such as West Africa, South America, Australia, and India. Australia holds the title of the world's largest producer of this mineral. The extraction of this material from surface and underground deposits results in the production of the mineral gallium as a byproduct.
Potassium is derived from a component known as orthoclase, which is utilized in the production of touch screens for mobile phones. This element is obtained from a potassium salt, sylvite, which is primarily located in countries such as Canada, Russia, and Belarus. To enhance their toughness and withstand everyday wear and tear, cell phone screens undergo a final treatment with potassium salts.
A selection of the numerous valuable minerals and metals that go into manufacturing our daily-use cell phones is presented here. Regardless of the production location, manufacturers rely on resources from a minimum of twelve nations to ensure your device has a bright display, conducts electric current, retains power, captures audio, snaps photos, and performs countless other tasks we often overlook.
Girish Linganna
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Congress standing with CM Siddaramaiah, will support him, says party President Kharge
Bengaluru (PTI): Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said the party is standing with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and will support him as he faces a probe by Lokayukta police in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case.
Rejecting BJP's demand for Siddaramaiah's resignation, he noted that "neither a chargesheet is filed, nor he is convicted," and said, "let the law take its own course, and when a situation comes, the party will examine."
"When the Godhra incident happened, whether (Narendra) Modi ji had resigned (as the then Gujarat CM)? Several cases were also pending against him at that time, even against Mr Shah (Union Home Minister Amit Shah)," Kharge said in response to a question on BJP questioning CM's moral right to continue, with FIR slated to be registered against him.
Speaking to reporters here, he said: "Don't target a particular person to damage his image, through him the party will also be damaged. Your (BJP) interest is to damage the Congress party, not the individual. He may be here today or may not be, the party will continue. Just to destroy the Congress party and the Congress party's base votes, they want to destroy, that is why they are doing this."
Let the law take its own course, and when a situation comes, the party will examine it at that time, he further said. "Now nothing is there, (but) every day I'm seeing that MUDA, MUDA. Crores of rupees (have been) swallowed by industrialists, Rs 16 lakh crore of their debt have been written off, and now you are taking one small issue and fighting. That too neither chargesheet is filed, nor he is convicted. Every day this is news. I'm fed up seeing all these things."
Asked whether the Congress high command will stand with the Chief Minister, even after the registering of FIR, Kharge said: "that is a hypothetical question. We are standing with him, we will support him, because he represents the party, not (an) individual."
A Special Court here on Wednesday ordered a Lokayukta police probe against Siddaramaiah in the case, setting the stage for filing of an FIR against him.
The order of the Special Court Judge, Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, came a day after the High Court upheld the sanction granted by the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to conduct an investigation against Siddaramaiah on the allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife B M Parvathi by MUDA.
The Special Court exclusively to deal with criminal cases related to former and elected MPs/MLAs issued the order directing the Lokayukta police in Mysuru to initiate an investigation on the complaint filed by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna.
In the MUDA site allotment case, it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by MUDA.
The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where it developed a residential layout.
Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts.
It is alleged that Parvathi had no legal title over this 3.16 acres of land at survey number 464 of Kasare village, Kasaba hobli of Mysuru taluk.
