Larger particles give soil structure, support, and aeration while smaller particles bind together into clumps and hold water and minerals. The clay particle surface is negatively charged. Winds blew away topsoil that ended up in NYC and the Atlantic Ocean. Irrigation reestablished farming in the area. In non-agricultural soil, minerals are recycled by decomposition of plant and animal material in the soil.
Agriculture removes plant material from the soil with the minerals.
Fertilizer must be added to replace lost minerals. A blast of heated air melts iron from ore. Molten iron is removed while impurities remain as slag. Smelting produces environmentally harmful air pollutants. Minerals are obtained from the earth, refined, manufactured, used, and discarded.