A raw material is a basic and unprocessed resource that is used as an input in the production of goods and services. Raw materials can include minerals, metals, forest products, agricultural products, chemicals, and other natural resources. These materials are often considered to be the building blocks of the economy, as they are used to produce the products, buildings, and infrastructure that support economic activity. For example, steel is a raw material that is used in the construction of buildings and vehicles, while oil is a raw material that is used to produce a wide range of products, including plastics and fuels. Raw materials are an essential part of the economy, and their availability and quality can have a significant impact on the success of businesses and industries.
In some cases, raw materials are processed and/or manufactured. For example, petrochemicals are used to make plastic but from the perspective of most industries, plastic is a raw material. Rare earths are 17 nearly-indistinguishable soft heavy metals that are difficult to mine because they are seldom found in large deposits. They are considered rare for this reason but are more abundant than copper in the Earth’s crust. Raw materials are extracted at great scale and can have significant environmental and social impact. As such, responsible selection/sourcing of raw materials is a basic sustainability practice.
The following is a list of major raw materials.
- Abrasives
- Almonds
- Aluminium
- Bamboo
- Bauxite
- Beans
- Butter
- Cement
- Chemicals
- Chromium
- Clay
- Cobalt
- Cocoa
- Coffee
- Construction Aggregate (sand, gravel, crushed stone etc..)
- Copper
- Corn
- Cotton
- Diamond
- Diatomite
- Dyes
- Feldspar
- Fish
- Fruit Juices
- Fruits
- Gemstones
- Glass / Silica
- Gold
- Graphite
- Gravel
- Gypsum
- Honey
- Iron
- Lime
- Limestone
- Lithium
- Lumber
- Magnesium
- Manganese
- Marble
- Meet
- Metal Alloys
- Milk
- Millet
- Molasses
- Molybdenum
- Natural Gas
- Natural Rubber (latex)
- Nickel
- Nitrogen
- Nuts
- Oats
- Palladium
- Peanuts
- Peat
- Petroleum
- Phosphate Rock
- Pigments
- Plastics
- Platinum
- Potash
- Quartz Crystal
- Rare Earths
- Rice
- Rocks
- Salt
- Sand
- Silicon
- Silk
- Silver
- Soda Ash
- Sorghum
- Soybeans
- Spices
- Steel
- Stone
- Sugar
- Sulfur
- Synthetic Fibers
- Synthetic Rubber
- Talc
- Tea
- Tin
- Titanium
- Vegetables
- Water
- Wheat
- Wool
- Zinc
