page_title: Non-renewable resource
section_title: Earth minerals and metal ores
hierarchical_section_title: Non-renewable resource / Earth minerals and metal ores
context_page_description: A non-renewable resource is a natural resource that cannot be readily replaced by natural means at a quick enough pace to keep up with consumption. An example is carbon-based fossil fuel. The original organic matter, with the aid of heat and pressure, becomes a fuel such as oil or gas. Earth minerals and metal ores, fossil fuels and groundwater in certain aquifers are all considered non-renewable resources, though individual elements are always conserved.
  Conversely, resources such as timber and wind are considered renewable resources, largely because their localized replenishment can occur within time frames meaningful to humans as well.
context_section_description: Earth minerals and metal ores are examples of non-renewable resources. The metals themselves are present in vast amounts in Earth's crust, and their extraction by humans only occurs where they are concentrated by natural geological processes (such as heat, pressure, organic activity, weathering and other processes) enough to become economically viable to extract. These processes generally take from tens of thousands to millions of years, through plate tectonics, tectonic subsidence and crustal recycling.
  The localized deposits of metal ores near the surface which can be extracted economically by humans are non-renewable in human time-frames. There are certain rare earth minerals and elements that are more scarce and exhaustible than others. These are in high demand in manufacturing, particularly for the electronics industry.
caption: Raw gold ore that is eventually smelted down into gold metal.
exif: {}