A mineral is typically an inorganic substance that has a specific chemical compositionand crystal structure. The minerals are valuable in their pure form, but in the earth they aremixed with other, unwanted rocks and minerals. This mix of rock and minerals is usuallycarried away from the mine together, then later processed and refined to isolate the desiredmineral.
Mining is an industrial activity that removes rock from the Earth's crust and processes it tovaluable minerals for us to use. Some examples of substances that are mined include coa.gold, or iron ore. We need mineral resources to make many of the things we use in our dailylives, from toothpaste to buildings, computers to cars.
The two major categories of modern mining include surface mining and underground mininaIn surface mining, the ground is blasted so that ores near Earth’s surface can be removedand carried to refineries to extract the minerals. In underground mining, ores are removedfrom deep within the earth, Miners blast tunnels into the rock to reach the ore deposits
