Minerals are obtained from the rocks of the earth’s crust and they have utility to mankind. They are used to produce a variety of goods and it will be not wrong to say that they form the foundations of the modern civilization. Occurrence or distribution of minerals in various parts of the world is function of the geological history. A brief outline of the distribution of some important mineral and power recourses is provided here.

Aluminum: A light weight durable material, aluminum is obtained from bauxite which is principle ore. Chief producers of bauxite are Australia, Jamaica, Guinea, Brazil, USA and Russia. Production of aluminum from bauxite is highly energy consuming. Hence only the countries rich in energy resources are major producer of this metal.  The chief producers of aluminum are China, Russia, Canada, USA, Australia and Brazil.

Asbestos: It fibrous mineral produced largely in Canada, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Coal: it is important mineral; Anthracite, Bituminous, Lignite and Peat are main types of coal. Anthracite has the highest carbon content (about 95 per cent) and peat has the lowest (about 35 per cent). Bituminous coal having 40 per cent to 80 per cent carbon content and most widely occurring type of coal. Leading producers of coal in world are China, USA, Australia, India and Russian Federation. Australia, USA and Canada are the leading exporters of coal. The leading producers of lignite are Germany, Russian Federation and USA and chief exporters are Czech Republic and Russian Federation. Japan is the chief importer of Coal in the world.

Copper: Though it is found in pure state also, but most of the copper is obtained from copper oxide and sulphides which are the chief ores of the metal. It finds wide application in the host areas, electrical equipments and transmission lines are most important. Chile, USA, Peru, China, Canada and Armenia are the leading producers of copper. China has recently increased the production copper and joined the club of word’s top ten copper producing countries.

Chromium: It is the metal used for making high quality steel alloy. South Africa and Russia is leading producer of Chromium.

Diamonds: It is the non-metallic precious stone and it also hardest known substance. The leading producers of Diamond in the world are South Africa, Republic of Congo and Australia.

Gold: Gold occurs either in alluvial or placer deposits or as reefs or lobes underground. Due to its non reactive nature it considered as Nobel metal. South Africa, USA, Australia, China and Canada are leading producers of gold. Witwatersrand is most important gold mining region of South Africa.

Iron Ore: Iron is most widely metallic substance and it forms the foundation of modern industrial civilization. It also of the most widely occurring mineral. Commercial ore of iron are magnetite, hematite, limonite and siderite. The leading producer of iron ore are China, Brazil, Australia, India and Russia. Iron ore is the basic raw material for iron and steel industries and it is also amongst the most traded minerals across the globe.

Lead: Lead sulphide or galena is the chief ore of the lead. This metal occurs in association with Zinc. Chief producers of lead are Australia, China, Peru, USA and Canada.

Manganese: Manganese is used for making steel. Its main ores are pyrolusite and psilomelane. Leading producers of manganese are China, South Africa, Australia, Ukraine, Brazil and India.

Mica: It is non-metallic mineral. It is a bad conductor of electricity and heat and finds wide application in electrical applications and other industries. India and USA are the leading producers.

Mercury: It is only metal which occurs at liquid state at normal condition. Chief producers of mercury are Spain, China and Italy.

Mineral Oil: Commonly called as petroleum or crude oil, it is the mixture of combustible hydra- carbons. There are three principle grades of petroleum: paraffin base oil having higher percentage of lighter hydrocarbons such as methane, asphalt base oil consisting of heavier hydrocarbons and mixed base oil which contains properties of both types. A chief producer of petroleum includes Saudi Arabia, Russia, USA and Iran. The chief exporters of petroleum are the worlds are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Norway, Russia, and Venezuela. The leading importers of petroleum are USA, Japan, Germany and Korean Republic.

Natural Gas: It is also source of energy like mineral oil. Like mineral oil is also like mixture of carbon and other combustible gases that are called hydro-carbons. Chief producers of Natural Gas are Russian Federation, USA, Canada, Netherlands and Indonesia. The Russian Federation, Canada and Algeria are leading Exporters and USA and Germany are the leading importers of the natural gas.

Nickel: The chief ore of nickel are pentlaudite. Nickel finds application in host of areas including electroplating. The leading producers of nickel are Canada, Australia and USA.

Petroleum Products: This group includes verity of products that made from refining crude oil. The leading producers of petroleum products are Japan and USA.

Phosphate:  Rock Phosphate is a important raw material in the fertilizer industry. Besides rocks phosphate, another source of phosphate is guano, the droppings of fish eating birds. Chief producer of rock phosphate are USA and Russia. Peru is the major producer of guano.

Platinum: Like Gold, platinum is also Nobel metal. It is the one of the rarest metal also. Canada, South Africa, Russia, and Columbia are the chief producers.

Silver: It is another precious metal. The most important ore of silver is argentite. It occurs mostly in association with lead and Zinc. Chief producers of Silver are Mexico, Peru, Australia, Chile and Poland.

Sulphur: it is the non-metallic mineral used in chemical industry. Mexico, USA and Poland are leading producers.

Salt: Halite or sodium chloride is the common salt obtained from rocks. USA, China, Russian Federation and Germany are chief producers.

Tin: Tin is found mostly in the form of alluvial or placer deposits. Cassiterite  or tinstone is its chief ore. China, Indonesia, Peru, Brazil, Malaysia and Bolivia are the chief producers.

Tungsten: It is very heavy metal and has high melting point. It used in making alloy steel.  China, Democratic Republic of Korea, Russia and Bolivia are the leading producers.

Uranium: Being a radio-active mineral, uranium is the basic raw material for atomic energy. Its chief ores are uranite and pitchblende. Chief producers of uranium are Canada, Australia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Niger and Namibia.

Zinc: It is another metallic mineral finding application in verity of areas. One of the chief uses if for galvanizing. Zinkblende and calamine are the main ore of zinc and it occurs in association with lead. The chief producers of Zinc are China, Australia, Peru, Canada and India.