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Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness

List of elements:

Common uses:

1  Talc
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Crushed into a white powder (called "talcum powder") which can absorb moisture, lubricant, cosmetics, first-aid powders. 
2  Gypsum
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Building plasters, gypsum panels, soil additive, surgical and orthopedic casts, color additive for drugs and cosmetics, toothpaste ingredient, dietary source of calcium (calcium sulfate).
3  Calcite
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Used in production of glass and statues, whitening agent, toothpaste, chewing gum, medicine, plaster, cement, mortar, marble and soil stabilization.
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4 Fluorite
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Ornamental uses, lapidary, opalescent glass, enamels, flux in steel production, cooking utensils, aluminium smelting.
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5  Apatite
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Manufacture of fertilizer, green and blue pigments, host material for storage of nuclear waste, protective coatings on metals to prevent rust, occasionally used as a gemstone.
6  Orthoclase Feldspar
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Raw material for the manufacture of some glasses, some ceramics (porcelain), constituent of scouring powder, gemstone (moonstone - an intergrowth of orthoclase and albite). Feldspar - 1st most abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust.
7  Quartz
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Glass / window panes, eyeglasses, stained glass windows, cell phones (keeps the phone's clock and calendar accurate), provides base frequency for phone calls, gemstone (amethyst and citrine).
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8  Topaz
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Jewelry (fragile gemstone).
9  Corundum
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Bonding agent in jewelry making, manufacture of sandpaper, as an abrasive, grinding wheels, ornamental uses, scratch-resistant optics, instrument windows for satellites and spacecraft.
10  Diamond
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Jewelry / gemstones, cutting and drilling applications, membranes used in lasers, x-ray machines and vacuum chambers (diamonds are resistant to heat).
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