About Minerals Matter
Minerals Matter is the place to learn all about careers in the minerals industry.
Find out about career routes and discover what it’s like to work in quarrying, mining, mineral products and mineral processing.
Brought to you by minerals industry organisations and employers, Minerals Matter is a resource for young people and adults thinking about their career options.
It’s also helpful for parents, guardians, carers, school teachers, careers advisors and educators, wanting minerals industry information to guide people with their career choices.
The minerals industry at a glance
400m metric tonnes produced annually
£5.8bn added to the economy
81K people directly employed
2K active sites & plants
28% total market is recycled aggregates
5K hectares of restored sites for public use
4m+ ppl worldwide in quarrying
Partnering with us
Minerals Matter is working with some key strategic partners who are helping to raise the profile of the sector, ensure employers’ voices are heard and opening doors to some fantastic opportunities that can benefit employers and the sector.
The organisations listed here are committed to making a difference in the industry through their networks and expertise. By aligning with Minerals Matter and collaborating on projects, the impact we can achieve will be far greater.
If you would like to join us, please contact info@minerals-matter.co.uk.
These are the main mineral products and essential materials extracted and processed by the minerals industry:
Construction and Industrial Materials:
- Aggregates – these are rocks broken down into smaller pieces, such as sand, gravel and crushed rock.
- Asphalt – a mixture of aggregates with hot bitumen to create a hard-wearing surface, such as for roads, footpaths, playgrounds, car parks or runways.
- Cement – the key ingredient in concrete, used widely in construction. It’s made by heating limestone with shale, then ground into cement powder.
- Clay – used for pottery, crockery, fire bricks and chemical ware
- Concrete – a mixture of cement, aggregates and water, it’s the most common man-made building material.
- Dimension stone – used predominantly in the heritage sector, for stone carving and to maintain local character to stone buildings.
- Lime – both agricultural and industrial. Agricultural lime is produced from calcium carbonate and is used for improving soil so that healthy crops can grow. Industrial lime is used for making steel, glass, foods, chemicals and medicines.
- Mortar – this is what’s used to ‘glue’ bricks and blocks together for most buildings.
- Silica sand – used in glass, paint and plastic making.
- Salts – Table salts, grit and de-icing salts. Salt mines are a great place to store antiques and historical artifacts and documents.
- Polyhalite – Used to increase crop yields and crop quality so we can produce more crops from existing farmland.
Critical and Industrial Minerals:
- Bauxite – the rock that aluminium comes from. Aluminium is used in planes, cars, cans, and building materials.
- Barite – a heavy mineral used in drilling for oil and gas, and also in paints, plastics, and rubber.
- Cobalt – an important mineral for rechargeable batteries, super-strong metals, and chemical catalysts.
- Graphite – the material in pencils, but also used in batteries, lubricants, and heat-resistant products.
- Lithium – a key mineral for batteries in electric cars, phones, and energy storage systems.
- Magnesite – used in making fireproof bricks, chemicals, and even in some farming products.
- Manganese – used in steelmaking and special alloys, as well as in batteries.
- Phosphate rock – the main ingredient in fertilizers, helping crops grow.
- Potash – another essential fertilizer ingredient to improve soil and crop quality.
- Rare Earth Elements (REEs) – a group of minerals used in electronics, strong magnets, wind turbines, and other high-tech devices.
- Silica – used in glass, paints, plastics, and in some electronics manufacturing.
- Talc – used in cosmetics, ceramics, paper, and paints.
- Titanium minerals (Ilmenite and Rutile) – used to make strong, lightweight metals, pigments, and medical implants.
- Zinc – mainly used to protect steel from rust, make alloys, batteries, and some chemicals.