Minerals and Energy Resources

Earth is constituted of different minerals which are naturally formed and found on the planet’s surface. You will get to know about the different types of metals and minerals and how they are formed and classified. Furthermore, you will learn about energy resources and their significance in the contemporary world which is struggling with finding the equilibrium for optimum utilisation of resources. 

Minerals are substances that are formed naturally in the Earth. There are around 4000 minerals on the earth’s surface. Minerals are usually solid and inorganic with a crystal structure and form naturally by geological processes. The study of minerals is called mineralogy. A mineral can be made of a single chemical element or more usually a compound of different constituents. Minerals and energy resources are quite different from each other in terms of how they are formed and what they are used for. Some of the main characteristics of minerals are as follows:

• An element or compound found in the earth that is solid, formed naturally in the earth.
• Minerals are formed through natural processes and have the same chemical structure as their atomic design. 
• They have a definite structure which is due to closely packaged atoms thus creating an orderly crystalline structure.