
Minerals are those limited resources extracted from the earth or the sea to serve civilization. Some minerals are discussed elsewhere, including resource metals, precious metals, and fossil fuels. There are several other categories of minerals, examined here. Note that these categories have a lot of overlap, but this is a general sorting.

Many limited resources are chemical elements. For a roadmap of the elements, see the Periodic Table.

Agricultural minerals
Biological and medical minerals
Construction minerals
Gemstones
Composites and advanced materials

Agricultural minerals
by Jonathan Buhalis
These are the minerals used to nourish plants.








Biological and medical minerals
by Jonathan Buhalis
These minerals are used in medicine, historically or now, or play an important role in biology










by Jonathan Buhalis
Minerals for construction are usually cheap and abundant, used in bulk.




Gemstones
by Jonathan Buhalis
Gemstones are the beautiful stones used primarily for decoration.





Composites and Advanced Materials
by Jonathan Buhalis
Composites and advanced materials are often created from two or more input substances.








