Mineral resources refer to the mineral resources with economic value that can be developed and utilized underground or on the surface. The unit content of useful components (elements or minerals) in an ore is called ore grade. Ore grade is often used to measure the value of an ore. Stones containing certain valuable minerals are mined from the mines. After the ore is crushed and ground, it is used in metal mines, metallurgical industry, chemical industry, construction industry, iron (highway) road Construction units, cement industry and sand and gravel industry and other engineering fields. Mineral resources are divided into the following categories according to their nature and use:

1. Metal ores

The useful mineral resources from which metal raw materials can be extracted can be divided into:

Ferrous metal minerals: such as iron, manganese, chromium, vanadium, titanium, nickel, cobalt, tungsten, molybdenum, etc.;

Non-ferrous metal minerals: such as copper, lead, zinc, tin, bismuth, antimony, mercury, aluminum, magnesium, etc.;

Precious metal minerals: such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium, osmium, iridium, ruthenium, rhodium, etc.;

Rare metal minerals: such as niobium, tantalum, beryllium, lithium, zirconium, cesium, rubidium, strontium, etc.;

Rare earth metal minerals (ΣREE): including 16 elements with atomic numbers 57-71 and 39 (yttrium), according to their geochemical properties and symbiotic relationships, they are divided into the following two categories:

Light rare earth metal minerals (cerium group elements ΣCe): such as lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium (artificial elements), samarium, europium, etc.;

Heavy rare earth metal minerals (yttrium group element ΣY): such as yttrium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, etc.;

Dispersed element minerals: such as germanium, gallium, indium, thallium, cadmium, hafnium, rhenium, scandium, selenium, tellurium, etc.

2. Non-metallic ores

From it, non-metallic elements or directly utilized minerals or mineral aggregates can be obtained. Except for a few non-metallic minerals in industry, which are used to extract non-metallic elements, such as sulfur and phosphorus, most non-metallic minerals use certain physical, chemical properties and process characteristics of minerals or mineral aggregates. For example, diamond mostly uses its hardness and luster; mica uses its transparency and insulation; crystal uses its optical and piezoelectric properties and so on. According to its industrial use, it can be divided into:

Metallurgical auxiliary raw materials: such as fluorite, magnesite, refractory clay, dolomite and limestone, etc.;

Chemical industry raw materials: such as apatite, phosphorite, pyrite, potassium salt, rock salt, alumite, limestone, etc.;

Industrial manufacturing raw materials: such as graphite, diamond, mica, asbestos, barite, corundum, etc.;

Piezoelectric and optical raw materials: such as piezoelectric quartz, optical quartz, iceland stone and fluorite, etc.;

Ceramic and glass industry raw materials: such as feldspar, quartz sand, kaolin and clay, etc.;

Building materials and cement materials: such as sand, gravel, pumice, chalk, gypsum, granite, perlite, turpentine, marble, etc.

3. Gem materials

Such as diamond, ruby, sapphire, emerald, jadeite, crystal, serpentine, pyrophyllite, turquoise, agate, etc.

4. Combustible organic rock minerals

Refers to underground resources that can provide organic energy for industry and civil use. They are not only the most important fuels, but also important chemical raw materials. From the perspective of chemical composition, they are mainly composed of hydrocarbons and should belong to non-metallic minerals, but their formation conditions and uses are obviously different from those of the above-mentioned non-metallic minerals, so they can be classified as a separate category. According to their physical state, they can be divided into three categories:

Solid combustible organic rock minerals: such as coal, peat, stone coal, oil shale, ozokerite, asphalt, etc.;

Gas combustible organic rock minerals: such as natural gas;

Liquid combustible organic rock minerals: such as petroleum, etc.