minerals

Cultural  

1. In the diet, certain substances necessary for the maintenance of life and good health. Some are essential components of bodily substances, such as the calcium in bones and the iron in hemoglobin, whereas others help regulate the activities of metabolism. (See under “Earth Sciences.”)

---

Example Sentences

Setting up a rare earths mine is risky even before taking into account the minerals’ highly volatile prices.

From Barron's • Oct. 22, 2025

Chinese officials have defended their rare-earth restrictions as legitimate moves aimed at preventing the minerals’ misuse.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025

Though this water is chemically bound to the minerals’ structure and doesn’t flow around like an actual ocean, it does likely play an important role in how the mantle melts.

From Scientific American • Sep. 26, 2022

Further up the supply chain, companies must procure essential metals such as tantalum, sometimes known as 'conflict minerals' due to their sale by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and South Sudan.

From Reuters • Feb. 13, 2014

On the Mohs scale, which measures minerals’ hardness from 1 to 10, corundum ranks at 9.

From BusinessWeek • May 31, 2011