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. Vibrating magnets lend quality to the sound produced by your speakers. Imagine the size of your world without the cobalt used to make turbine blades in jet engines and gas turbines, or without the steel, iron, copper, zinc and aluminum used in the construction of your car. In total, more than 15 metals and minerals are found in your car alone.
Mining adds comfort to summer and makes vacations more memorable.
Zinc, of which Canada is the world's largest producer, is an essential ingredient in manufacturing sunscreen and in galvanizing outdoor furniture such as beach chairs. Silver, another of Canada's important products, finds use in developing and printing photographs. Throughout history, mining has been a creative, civilizing activity, constantly searching for new sites, new resources and new methods of encouraging the earth to yield up its wealth. As for mining's future, the economic forces that drive the industry have always made predictions difficult, as any survey of mining's past years will prove.