A mineral is a solid, naturally occurring combination of inorganic substances. Metallic minerals are minerals which contain one or more metallic elements.

Metallic minerals occur in rare, naturally formed concentrations known as mineral deposits. These deposits can consist of a variety of metallic minerals containing valuable metals that are used in various aspects of our daily lives such as:

• copper (chalcopyrite)
• zinc (sphalerite)
• lead (galena)

Metallic minerals must be broken apart and chemically processed to extract the useful metal from the mineral.