Mineral resources refer to economically valuable mineral resources found underground or on the Earth's surface that can be exploited and utilized. By nature and application, mineral resources are classified into the following categories:

　　 I. Metallic Minerals

　　Useful mineral resources from which metal raw materials can be extracted can, according to their industrial applications, be further categorized as follows:

　　1、 Black metal Minerals: such as iron, manganese, chromium, vanadium, titanium, nickel, cobalt, tungsten, molybdenum, and others. ;

　　2、 Nonferrous metals Minerals: such as copper, lead, zinc, tin, bismuth, antimony, mercury, aluminum, and magnesium, etc. ;

　　3、 Precious metals Minerals: such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium, osmium, iridium, ruthenium, and rhodium, etc. ;

　　4、 Rare metals Minerals: such as niobium, tantalum, beryllium, lithium, zirconium, cesium, rubidium, strontium, and others. ;

　　5、 Rare-earth metals Mineral (SREE) : Including atomic number 57-71 and 39( Yttrium ) of the 16 The elements, based on their geochemical properties and symbiotic relationships, are divided into the following two categories:

　　 (1) Light rare-earth metal minerals ( Cerium group elements ΣCe) such as lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, and promethium ( Artificial element ) samarium, europium, and others ;

　　 (2) Heavy rare-earth metal minerals ( Yttrium group elements ΣY) such as yttrium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium, among others ;

　　6、 Dispersed elements Minerals: such as germanium, gallium, indium, thallium, cadmium, hafnium, rhenium, scandium, selenium, and tellurium;

    7、 Radioactive element Minerals: uranium, thorium, and others.

　 　II. Non-metallic Minerals

　　From these sources, one can obtain nonmetallic elements or minerals—or mineral assemblages—that can be directly utilized. In industry, with the exception of a few nonmetallic minerals used to extract nonmetallic elements such as sulfur and phosphorus, most nonmetallic minerals are exploited based on certain physical, chemical properties, and process characteristics of the minerals or mineral assemblages themselves. For example, diamonds are mostly utilized for their hardness and luster. ; Mica is utilized for its transparency and insulating properties. ; Crystals exploit their optical and piezoelectric properties, among others. According to their industrial applications, they can be categorized as follows:

　　1、 Metallurgical auxiliary materials such as fluorite, magnesite, fireclay, dolomite, and limestone, among others. ;

　　2、 Chemical industry raw materials such as apatite, phosphate rock, pyrite, potash, rock salt, alunite, and limestone, among others. ;

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

　　4、 Piezoelectric and optical raw materials such as piezoelectric quartz, optical quartz, Iceland spar, and fluorite, among others. ;

　　5、 Raw Materials for the Ceramics and Glass Industries such as feldspar, quartz sand, kaolin, and clay ;

　　6、 Building materials and cement materials Such as sandstone, gravel, pumice, chalk, gypsum, granite, perlite, asphaltite, marble, and others.

　　III. Gemstone Materials

　　Such as diamond, ruby, sapphire, jadeite, quartz, serpentine, talc, turquoise, and agate.

　 　IV. Combustible Organic Rock Minerals

　　These are underground resources capable of providing organic energy for both industrial and civil applications. They serve as the primary fuels as well as important chemical feedstocks. From a chemical composition standpoint, they consist mainly of hydrocarbons and thus should be classified as non-metallic minerals. However, their formation conditions and uses differ significantly from those of the aforementioned non-metallic minerals; therefore, they can be categorized separately into a distinct group. Based on their physical states, they can further be divided into three categories:

　　1、 Solid combustible organic rock minerals such as coal, peat, lignite, oil shale, ground wax, and natural asphalt, etc. ;

　　2、 Gas-combustible organic rock minerals Such as natural gas, etc. ;

　　3、 Liquid flammable organic rock minerals Such as petroleum.