What is the difference between minerals, traces and trace elements?

The infographic above can be found at Visual Capitalist. (Spoiler: sand is by far the most extracted).

I always find infographics very interesting, especially when it comes to minerals. While I was studying the infographic mentioned above, I realized that we use the term minerals in different ways, each with a different meaning. Confusing and that's why I thought I'd explain this in more detail.

When we talk about minerals, we actually mean the elements as listed in the periodic table. In an earlier article I discussed that extensively. But elements don't always occur in pure form in nature. Very often, its atoms are bound to other atoms of other elements (oxygen, for example, also known as oxides). These compounds that occur in the wild (in the Earth's crust) are officially called minerals.

With chemical techniques, you can purify those minerals into a single element.

But what are minerals that I find at mineral fairs? These are special pieces of rock or rock that are found in nature. If you cut such a stone in half, you will see a unique crystal structure after which it is named.

When we talk about mineral nutrients, in addition to the term minerals, we also use the terms traces and trace elements. The main difference lies in the amount in which it occurs in the body. Minerals are the most abundant, then the spores and finally trace elements that only occur in very small amounts.

summarily:

• Minerals occur freely in nature, usually in the form of stony material, crystals, or salts.
• Minerals, in turn, consist of different molecules that can arrange themselves as crystal structures.
• Molecules are made up of atoms.
• Molecules that consist of only one type of atom are also known as elements.
• All naturally occurring elements plus a few that can only be made in laboratories can be found in the so-called 'periodic table'.
• The difference between minerals, traces and trace elements lies in how much they occur in the human body.

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