definition
strict definition
mineral mining
A site where solid minerals other than gems are extracted from the earth in raw form for eventual use.
A mineral mine is a place where any kind of natural mineral is extracted from the ground, including salt, iron, copper, gold, etc. It does not include coal mining or any sort of gemstone mining.
The site extracts natural mineral material from the ground. A mineral mine need not produce a pure metal; the recovered material can be an ore from which usable material is obtained later.
Gem mining and coal mining remain outside this particular mineral-mine definition. Refining minerals already extracted elsewhere is also a different operation from mining.