Hobbies And Interests
Ore Extraction
The most common use of metallic rocks is to extract the metal ores inside them. All rocks are a combination of some number of minerals. Rarely is any metal found in a pure state in nature. Over centuries, man has discovered what types of rocks have the different types of metals used in everyday life and how to extract those metals. Almost all the metals you see in structures or appliances were once just a part of a metallic rock.
Construction
While much construction uses pure metal or metal alloys derived from metallic rocks, the rocks, themselves, can be used to lend beauty to a structure. Different metals often cause particular colors in the rocks in which the metals are found. The rocks can be used whole to take advantage of their unique attributes and look, or crushed to lend a particular look to a building material. Many types of bricks get their color from the iron oxides used in formulating them.
Hobbies
Because of their variety and distinctive looks, metallic rocks are often the prize items in a rock collection. Besides adding vivid color to some rocks, the metal content can create rich, natural patterns that are striking when the rock is polished. Some metallic rocks have crystals formed inside them or extending from them. Hobbyists collect them and display them. Even hobbyists who are not directly interested in rocks use them to add color or order to gardens and aquariums.
Experiments
Metallic rocks are used in classroom experiments and in scientific research. Some of the experiments are simply fun, such as finding out which rocks a magnet will attract, which have fluorescent qualities and which are useful in pyrotechnics. Children first learn about how the earth is put together and how man has developed methods of using these resources from such experiments. But researchers and scientists also work with metallic rocks to discover better methods of ore extraction and new uses for the mineral combinations in the rocks.