Geography · Ch 5 — Secondary Activities
(b) Mineral based Industries
(b) Mineral based Industries
Mineral-based industries are those that use minerals as their primary raw material. The type of mineral used determines the nature of the industry.
Some industries use ferrous metallic minerals — minerals that contain iron. The most important example is the iron and steel industry, which relies entirely on iron ore.
Other industries use non-ferrous metallic minerals — metallic minerals that do not contain iron. These include the aluminium industry (using bauxite), the copper industry (using copper ore), and the jewellery industry (using gold, silver, and platinum).
A third group uses non-metallic minerals. The cement industry uses limestone and clay, while the pottery industry uses clay and feldspar.
The key distinction is not just whether the raw material is a mineral, but whether that mineral contains iron (ferrous) or not (non-ferrous), or is non-metallic altogether.
To summarise the classification: …