Rocks and minerals

Rocks are used to build houses, buildings, temples, roads and dams, and even to make table tops. Some rocks have special uses: slate is used for roofing, and laterite can be used as a building material, like bricks. Important rocks include granite, sandstone and marble.

People have used rocks for a very long time. For thousands of years, humans have shaped stone into tools such as hand axes and arrowheads.

Rocks are made of minerals. Granite, for example, is made of three minerals: quartz, feldspar and mica. Important metals such as aluminium, gold, copper and iron are extracted (taken out) from minerals.

Minerals are used to make aeroplanes, cars, jewellery, cosmetics, and electrical and electronic things. Even a basic mobile phone contains about a dozen (12) minerals, such as gold, silver, copper and cobalt.

Rocks take thousands to millions of years to form. So we must look after them and use them responsibly.