Sulfur

Mineral: Sulfur

I chose sulfur due to my own personal connotations to it. I feel as if it is rather dangerous, which I don’t doubt any mineral could not be potentially dangerous, but with how I connote sulfur, it seems like it would not be safe to be in its presence. However, I am aware that sulfur is used in items I use, such as my clay mask, so obviously, it can be safe to some extent. In terms of more technical terms, sulfur is a non-metallic element found underground often in salt domes or sulfur deposits when mined. It is also produced as a result of oil refining, thus making it a by-product. When mined, there are three different ways to do so. This includes mining underground, in open-pits, and Frasch mining, which is melting sulfur underground in sulfur deposits through forcing hot water into the deposit, then cooling off and solidifying.

I mentioned already one use of sulfur that I’ve encountered, which is in my cosmetic products. Sulfur, however, is largely used in the US to make sulfuric acid, present in chemicals in products such as fertilizers, petroleum products, and mining metals. For another use in a more day-to-day context, sulfur is also found in car tires.