What Marbles Are Mined In Colorado

Colorado is rich in mining due to the vass amount of mountains and naturally occurring rocks and minerals that can be found in this state. Molybdenum and Yule Marble are both mined in this state each for their own particular reason. This paper will further look into why they are mined and the method in which the mining operation takes place. It also will dive into the characteristics of each rock and mineral from its general appearance, to the other additional properties that it holds. It is particularly important to understand what they are used for exactly, and the economic impact that it has by mining them. Minerals and rocks play an important part in our world in the development and their uses for our various needs. Colorado is the lead

In particular the Colorado Yule Marble Quarry produces what is known to be the finest white marbles in the world which operated from 1905 to 1941 and was reopened in 1990 (Colorado Geological Survey, 2017). It can only be found in the Yule Creek Valley in Colorado. The massive deposit that was found and the quality of the marble itself made it a desirable rock to mine due to its clean and white appearances and its ability to be economically mined on a large scale. Marble is a non- foliated metamorphic rock that forms when limestone is subjected to heat and pressure. Yule marble in particular was created from the heat of the Treasure Mountain laccolith. It is mostly made up of the mineral calcite but can contain other minerals such as quartz, pyrite, and graphite. It has a fine grained texture that is compared to the feel of sugar and has a Mohs hardness of three. Being a crystalline carbonate rock it can be polished to form what we call marble. Yule marble is white in color that shows lines of black or grey in color from the additional minerals that can be found in it. Unlike other marble, Yule marble is quarried inside the mountain where the marble must be separated from surrounding dirt. Due to the high elevation of the Yule Marble quarry makes it particularly dangerous when extracting the marble. Marble has many uses such as architecture and sculptures as well as it can be used for its chemical properties in pharmaceuticals and agriculture. Yule marble is special and most known for the fact that it was used for the Lincoln memorial and the Tomb of the Unknowns that is in Washington, D.C. It is because of its unique beauty and quality that this particular marble was used over other types. When Yule marble was first discovered there was little interest and was difficult to gain any sort of economic revenue to continue to quarry. Often dependent on the economy itself, there would