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USGS · 70045830

Mineral of the month: magnesium

Deborah A. Kramer
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Abstract

Magnesium, often confused with last month’s mineral of the month manganese, is valued primarily because of its light weight and high strength-to-weight ratio. Magnesium is the eighth most abundant element and constitutes about 2 percent of the Earth’s crust. It is the third most plentiful element dissolved in seawater, with a concentration averaging 0.13 percent. Magnesium is found in over 60 minerals, and also is recovered from seawater, wells, and lake brines and bitterns.

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Deborah A. Kramer. 2005. Mineral of the month: magnesium. https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70045830

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