As the first notes of Mariah Carey's classic “All I want for Christmas is you” begins to echo through every store, the Christmas spirit begins.
Once the Christmas tree is decorated, it's time to deck the halls with lights and ornaments – all of which rely on minerals from the earth.
From a Christmas tree to lights, decorations and glitter on greeting cards and wrapping paper – Mining.com.au explores the science behind Christmas through the various minerals that make our holidays sparkle.
Christmas trees are considered holiday icons in some ways, usually pine or spruce (or a fun artificial tree for some).
To grow, these Christmas icons – much like Santa's workshop needs its elves – rely on fertilizers made from mined ores.
A tree-pampering holiday
Phosphate, potash and ammonia are the three essential minerals needed in all fertilizers and are vital to growing our festival fir trees.
The International Fertilizer Association estimates global fertilizer consumption at 100 million tons of ammonia, 17 million tons of phosphate and 31 million tons of potash. According to the association, Australia's total nutrient consumption is just over 1% of global consumption.
The fertilizer industry, closely linked to the mining sector, converts millions of tons of air, natural gas and mined ores into plant nutrition products based on the three essential minerals mentioned above, as reported by Fertilizers Europe.
Another way the mining sector fits into Christmas is through land use.
It takes between four and 15 years for a Christmas tree to grow, and the foliage requires a lot of pruning and shaping to give it the proper conical shape.
According to Virginia Tech, making Christmas trees can be challenging Excellent use of reclaimed mining land.
At the Powell River Project in Virginia, Virginia Tech's scientific expertise and other partners transformed a reclaimed mine site into a site used for Christmas tree production.
Due to its moderate slope, which allows water to drain away but does not impede equipment operation, as well as its uncompacted soils and favorable soil characteristics, the site has been found to have produced several species of Christmas trees since the mid-1990s.
The project is a public-private research and outreach partnership between Virginia Tech and other educational institutions and environmental organizations serving the southwest coalfield region.
Research funded by the Powell River Project focused on developing practical, cost-effective solutions to natural resource problems in the coal mining regions of the central Appalachians.
Founded in 1980, the Powell River Project Research and Education Center is one of the world's leading facilities for mining-related research and education programs.
Copper, LEDs and semiconductors
The days when a Christmas tree was decorated with candles are over.
Now tiny energy-efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) create a mesmerizing glow on trees, garlands and wreaths. But what is in these modern fairy lights?
Primarily, copper – a metal mined in countries such as Australia, Canada, Chile and the USA – is used to make the insulated wiring of LED lights. Copper is vital because it conducts electricity.
LED lights also contain nickel, indium and gallium. These are the three key elements used to make the semiconductor chips that make the lights shine. The shift to LEDs has been driven in part by environmental concerns because they last much longer and use less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs, the United States Geological Survey reports.
The lifespan of a single LED is approximately 30,000 hours, which equates to approximately six hours of light per day over a period of 12 years.
Mined materials also play an important role in the creation of the different colors of LED lights. Minerals and metals such as arsenic, boron, indium and nickel are some of the elements used for various semiconductor materials that produce the different colors in LEDs.
The Minerals Education Coalition adds that phosphorus-based LEDs are the most popular because of the high-intensity white LEDs. These types of lamps are made of a phosphate mixture that contains manganese and rare earths in addition to barium and aluminum oxide.
Sparkling ornaments
After you've attached the lights to a tree, it's time to hang the ornaments. Some of the most eye-catching Christmas decorations – glass balls, tinsel and garlands – are made from various minerals.
One of the most important minerals for jewelry is quartz sand. Silicon is melted down and can be formed into a light bulb, which is then fitted around the filament, which is usually made of tungsten.
Silica is a sand made up of two main elements: silica and oxygen. It is most commonly used in industrial and commercial sectors and is widely used worldwide.
The reason silicon dioxide is used in Christmas lights is because of its resistance to high temperatures and its ability to hold the argon around the filament.
Even the festive sparkle of glitter, which can serve as a sparkly addition to wrapping paper, greeting cards, and other holiday crafts, has a mineral base. These minerals are typically aluminum or mica, both of which are mined worldwide.
The Minerals Education Coalition says tree ornaments are made from natural resources similar to light bulbs – iron, copper, lead and so on. Ornament hangers and tree stands are also made of various metal alloys, which often contain iron or aluminum.
As Christmas approaches next week, it's easy to forget that behind the twinkling lights, lush Christmas trees and sparkling ornaments lies an entire industry dedicated to providing the minerals needed to make the magic happen.
From fertilizers that help trees grow to copper and semiconductors in LEDs, mining plays a crucial role in ensuring the holiday season is bright and festive.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan and Mining.com.au
Images: AgriBotix, Virginia Tech, Alma Metals & Unsplash