Fossil Fuel- Most important uses: fuels, especially liquid fuels for vehicles. Petrochemicals and plastics. Important properties: high energy content, carbon forms very complex molecules.
Coal
Crude Oil
Metal- Most important uses: stainless steel. Important properties: forms alloys- makes steel harder and corrosion-resistant.
Aluminium
Chromium
Copper
Metal- Most important uses: construction- buildings, ships, road vehicles, appliance cases e.g. cookers. Important properties: Malleable, can be moulded or rolled. Strong but high density. Rusts. Forms alloys e.g. stainless steel.
Iron
Non-Metal Mineral- Most important uses: blocks for building road kerbs, kitchen worktops, floor tiles, crushed for road surface chippings. Important uses: hard and resistant to wear.
Granite
Gravel
China Clay
Fossil fuel- Most important uses: fuel, especially for electricity generation. Coke for iron smelting. Important properties: high energy content.
Natural Gas
Non-Metal Mineral- Most important uses: bricks, roof tiles, pottery. Important properties: waterproof when baked, easily moulded.
Slate
Clay
Non-Metal Mineral- Most important uses: filler in paper, pottery, plastic items, paints, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals. Important properties: very fine-grained, inert, non-toxic.
Non-Metal Mineral- Most important uses: concrete. Important properties: coarse-grained filler.
Limestone
Metal- Most important uses: packaging, vehicles, constriction- window frames etc. Important properties: malleable, strong with low density, good conductor of heat and electricity, corrosion resistant.
Non-Metal Mineral- Most important uses: builders' mortar, glass. Important properties: fine-grained inert filler, transparent in thin sheets.
Sand
Metal- Most important uses: electric cables, water pipes. Important properties: malleable, very good electrical conductor, corrosion-resistant.
Non-Metal Minerals- Most important uses: roof slates. Important properties: waterproof, splits to form thin, flat sheets.
Fossil Fuel- Most important uses: fuel, especially for heating and electricity generation. Important properties: high energy content.
Non-Metal Mineral- Most important uses: building blocks, crushed for aggregate for road surface chippings and railway track ballast, cement. Important properties: hard, easily cut and crushed, quite resistant to wear. Baked lime (with clay and gypsum) hardens when mixed with water.