The principal components of your home's foundation are all minerals, including limestone, sand and gravel. Clays are used to manufacture bricks and tiles. Copper pipes carry water throughout the home. Gypsum is used in drywall. Barium, manganese, titanium pigments and talc are found in paint.
Linoleum contains calcium carbonate while lime is found in carpets.
Windows contain silica. The resource industries, and mining in particular, lead all other industrial sectors in productivity, the most important factor in determining the national standard of living. Recycling Canada has a well-established, effective metal recycling industry. What mining removes from the earth, we often use to protect it. We rely on lime to treat industrial waste water and control air pollution.