Mining is the extraction of valuable geological materials from the Earth and other astronomical objects. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or feasibly created artificially in a laboratory or factory. 
Ore recovered by mining include metals, coal, oilshale, gemstones, limestone, chalk, dimension stone, rock salt, potash, gravel, and clay. 
Ore must be a rock or mineral that contains valuable constituent, can be extracted or mined and sold for profit. Including a valuable mineral Mining in a wider sense includes extraction of any non-renewable resource such as petroleum, natural gas, or even water.
Modern mining processes involve prospecting for ore bodies, analysis of the profit potential of a proposed mine, extraction of the desired materials, and final reclamation or restoration of the land after the mine is closed. 
Mining materials are often obtained from ore bodies, lodes, veins, seams, reefs, or placer deposits. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is dependent on investment, labor, energy, refine and transportation cost.
Mining operations can create a negative environmental impact, both during the mining activity and after the mine has closed. Hence, most of the world's nations have passed regulations to decrease the impact; however, the outsized role of mining in generating business for often rural, remote or economically depressed communities means that governments often fail to fully enforce such regulations. Work safety has long been a concern as well, and where enforced, modern practices have significantly improved safety in mines. Unregulated or poorly regulated mining, especially in developing economies, frequently contributes to local human rights violations and resource conflicts.
The term geological resource refers to all the solid, gas, and liquid elements originating from the earth’s crust both on the surface and below the surface with optimal concentration to be extracted. Based on the potential usage, geological resources can be classified into 3 main groups, namely:
 Material resources: that are utilized in their physical form. Those include rocks, metallic and non-metallic minerals, gemstones, and others.
 Energy resources: that are utilized to produce energy and or further needs. Those include coal, oil and gas, geothermal, groundwater, waterfalls, and others.
 Spatial resources: that are in the form of space or living space, for example land area, geomorphology, and environment.
Based on this definition, geological resources can be defined as the accumulation of rock, metal and non-metal mineral resources, coal, peat, solid bitumen, oil, natural gas, geothermal, and the environment (water and soil) existing in the earth’s crust, both on the surface and below the surface, and are able to be extracted sustainably to meet human needs.