Which crystal structure do the majority of minerals have? Why do you think that is? Does it make them more useful?

N this module, we will consider a mineral resource to be a mineral or rock mined from the earth and used in the products we use daily. Brines (salty waters) are also mined for the elements they contain. These are not minerals but do form via rock-forming processes. Coal, oil, and natural gas are also mined, but these energy resources will be considered separately. Minerals

Minerals are any substances that meet all of the following criteria:

Figure 1. Crystalline structure of halite solidinorganic (or identical to an inorganic mineral). Some minerals, like our teeth, would not be here without our organic processes, but because the apatite (the mineral that makes up our teeth) in our teeth is identical to inorganic apatite, we still consider the apatite of our teeth to be a mineral. natural (or made in a way that mimics nature). Some minerals are made in labs, by people, but because they are made using the same processes that nature uses, we can still consider them minerals. A "synthetic diamond" that is chemically and structurally the same as a natural diamond is still a mineral. However, cubic zirconia, which is made only by people and not by nature, is not a mineral.