Geological and Environmental Sustainability

Geology and Mineral Resources

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Mineral Resources can be defined as the concentration of material of economic interest in or on the earth’s crust and those are potentially valuable, and for which reasonable prospects exist for eventual economic extraction. These are the natural resources which cannot be renewed. They are present in the organisms as an organic and inorganic molecule and ions. Mineralogy focuses on describing minerals within their geologic context. It presents the important traditional content of mineralogy including crystallography, chemical bonding, controls on mineral structure, mineral stability, and crystal growth to provide a foundation that enables students to understand the nature and occurrence of minerals. Crystal chemistry is a part of mineralogy that deals with how the chemical composition of a mineral relates to its crystal structure.

Like other natural resources, mineral deposits are unevenly distributed around on the Earth. Finding and exploiting mineral resources requires the application of the principles of geology. Some minerals are used as they are found in the ground, i.e. they require no further processing or very little processing. For example gemstones, sand, gravel, and salt (halite). Most minerals must be processed before they are used.