As the world's fifth leading producer of gold, Canada's mining industry has always taken its role in romance very seriously. This role may soon be expanded. In years past, Canadians who strived for hockey medals did so on blades of steel. Now, on skates made of complex alloys, players pass and shoot with sticks of graphite. Young baseball players swing for the fences with aluminum bats while skateboarders soar for the skies on wheels with aluminum bearings.
Golfers shave strokes with graphite drivers.
At local clubs and neighbourhood courts, tennis players call on the services of graphite-fibre and aluminum racquets to drive the ball beyond the reach of opponents. Entertainment Your television requires 35 minerals and metals to make it work. Without barite, there would be no tube. Lead is needed to manufacture the glass for the screen, while rare earths give the colours their richness. Mining strikes a vital note in the music industry as well.