Civilization based on metals

Abstract

Metals are one category of a trio of geological materials on which is based our present industrial civilization. The other two categories are mineral fuels like coal, petroleum and natural gas, and nonmetallics (industrial minerals) like stone, sand and gravel, salt or clays. Fuels and nonmetallics (with some exceptions where metallic ore is also a nuclear fuel such as uranium, and where metallic ore has alternative applications as an industrial mineral from which the metal component is not extracted) are not treated in this book as there is voluminous literature that provides this information.