Explore geological resources

Geological resources are a type of natural resource. This means they have been produced by the environment.

Resources found below ground are called geological resources. These include:

• Minerals like china clay, also known as kaolin
• Metals like tin and gold
• Fossil fuels like gas and oil

• Minerals are naturally occurring substances, with a crystal structure, such as limestone, clay, iron ore and gold.
• Aggregates are materials in many small pieces, which are often used in the building industry, such as sand, gravel or crushed stone.
• Sand is the natural material that humans extract the most, after water. The demand for more buildings means that we need more and more of this material each year.

• Quarrying is the surface (ground level) extraction of minerals.
• The UK continues to quarry industrial and construction minerals such as sand and clay.

• Mining is the extraction of minerals below ground from valuable deposits (such as metal ores, coal and gemstones).
• The UK has a history of mining stretching back to the Bronze age. However, the industry has declined in recent years.
• The North Sea has been a rich area for mining fossil fuels such as oil and gas.
• The British government approves any new drilling licenses. However, there is an argument to focus on green, cleaner forms of energy, such as wind power instead.
• Coal mining was one of Britain’s biggest industries until the late 1960s. Coal was a main source of energy.
• Today, people know that fossil fuels are contributing to global warming and that coal pollutes the atmosphere, so scientists are trying to develop renewable energy technologies.

• Gold mining takes place on every continent but Antarctica.
• Mponeng Gold Mine in South Africa is the deepest underground mine. Its deepest level is almost 4 km below the surface. At this depth, the rock is so hot the mine uses 6,000 tonnes of ice a day to keep it cool.

• The UK mostly produces construction minerals including sand, gravel and crushed rock aggregates, as well as limestone, clay, slate and other minerals.
• The UK is also one of the world’s largest producers of kaolin. It is extracted from two sites in Devon and Cornwall, and mostly used in the paper and ceramics industries.

• Paper is not made entirely from wood. It contains kaolin, which makes it white.
• Renewable energy technology uses a variety of chemical elements sourced from minerals.

Walk around your local area and look for evidence of different minerals that are used in buildings, such as sand, bricks, stones, gravel, or concrete.

Take photographs and add descriptions and labels to a map.

Remember to make sure you're with an adult when doing your fieldwork.