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Every person uses products made from minerals every day. The salt that we add to our food is the mineral halite. Antacid tablets are made from the mineral calcite. Rubies and sapphires are colored varieties of a mineral named corundum. It takes many minerals to make something as simple as a wooden pencil. The “lead” is made from graphite and clay minerals, the brass…

To meet the definition of “mineral” used by most geologists, a substance must meet five requirements:  naturally occurring inorganic solid definite chemical composition ordered internal structure “Naturally occurring” means that people did not make it. Steel is not a mineral because it is an alloy produced by people. “Inorganic” means that the substance is not made by an organism.…