They are the
non-metallic minerals, and while most of them are not mined in
mines, they are still quarried and many of them do have their uses in
minerals include most oxides,
phosphates, borates, and more than anything, the largest group of
minerals on the Earth - silicates.
Examples of rock-forming minerals
include quartz, corundum, calcite, aragonite, fluorite, apatite,
olivine, zircon, muscovite, biotite, hornblende, orthoclase,
plagioclase, kaolinite, illite, halite, gypsum, anhydrite, colemanite,
beryl, topaz, garnet, sodalite, tremolite, glaucophane, epidote, talk,
magnesite, brucite, andalusite, graphite, wollastonite, diopside,
sillimanite, kyanite and many more.
ore minerals, a
type of precious
are the minerals we put a fair bit
of effort into to mine, because they are worth a fair bit of money.