Book Review: Sanz et al. Elements and Mineral Resources; Springer: Cham, Switzerland, 2022; ISBN 978-3-030-85888-9

Mineral resources remain essential to contemporary society and determine the important patterns of its sustainable development. Although technological progress has allowed for the extraction of some materials from the Earth’s interiors to be minimized, the same progress has accelerated the demand for other substances such as lithium-rich brines. Naturally, Earth-related (not only “purely” geological) education pays significant attention to mineral resources. This education, however, needs certain modifications and updates that take into account the present and future demands of society. Principally, this means that new books with up-to-date knowledge of mineral resources should be welcomed. A really notable, rather comprehensive, and logical book was recently published by Sanz et al., and it deserves serious attention from the world’s academic community.

The reviewed book demonstrates the diversity of mineral resources and their applications in the modern world. It is anchored in the experience of the Geological Museum Valentí Masachs (Polytechnical University of Catalonia in Spain), but its scope and content are not limited to the experience of this particular museum. The book offers a really broad, multidisciplinary view of mineral resources, and it balances the characteristics of their geological properties and practical (technological) applications well. Such an approach facilitates the really complex, sustainability-focused understanding of mineral resources. In other words, the latter are explained in relation to contemporary society’s needs and the ongoing technological progress.

The book consists of three unequal parts. The first part starts with a brief synopsis of the information about the dynamics of metal prices. Then, it addresses more than 60 chemical elements in regard to the related mineral resources and their utility. Each of them is considered in a separate chapter. The second part deals similarly with 17 rare earth elements. The third part differs by its focus on industrial materials. Presumably, it is about 18 kinds of mineral resources, which could be difficult to relate to any particular element. Although such a distribution of knowledge between the parts is rather provisional (some duplications or illogical placement of the information are inevitable), the book is easy to follow. The chapters are organized similarly. They start with the basic information (the position of the elements in the periodic table is shown), followed by the characteristics of geological setting, current production, applications, and recycling options. Finally, several sources are recommended for further reading. The authors successfully escape two common pitfalls, namely, telling too elementary or even trivial facts, or focusing on curious, sensational facts. In contrast, they are able to offer a really concise but comprehensive coverage of the above-mentioned issues. Two other significant advantages of the book are as follows. First, the less known or even almost unknown (except for a few experts with “narrow” interests) mineral resources such as iridium, lutetium, and thenardite are described similarly to the widely distributed and generally well-known resources (for instance, those related to copper or iron). This is really important to demonstrate the true diversity of mineral resources. And who knows, maybe lutetium will be in higher demand by the future generations than iron? Second, the modern technological applications are addressed. For instance, the reader can learn about the importance of fluorine in the production of Teflon coatings, the importance of indium in the production of liquid crystal displays and solar cells, and even about the use of sepiolite in the production of cat litter! Various applications are exemplified with photographs. The knowledge presented about recycling options is really unique, and the reviewer can only wonder how the authors were able to collect it in such large amounts. Indeed, the book stimulates pro-environmental thinking!

Speaking generally about its content, the publication exceeds all possible expectations. Indeed, some other sources can offer more specific knowledge, especially about geological aspects [1], but the reviewed book is very informative alone and provides its readers with a broad view of mineral resources. Although some blocks of information could be added (for instance, about resources’ distribution routes and environmental and health risks), these additions can be left for the future editions of this book. Taking into account the richness of the information, the book would benefit from offering a detailed glossary explaining specific geological and technical terms. One can wonder how quickly this book will be outdated. Although technological progress is very rapid (for instance, when we talk about lithium, it is necessary to mention both lithium-ion and lithium metal batteries [2]), it is very likely that this book will remain an important source of knowledge even in two to three decades. Of course, publishing its updated versions will be reasonable.

The cover of the book promises that this is a textbook. Is it really so? On the one hand, it is possible to imagine a university course with lectures based on this book’s chapters and following their order. However, teaching topics, exercises, and even a glossary are absent. On the other hand, the book looks like a true encyclopedia, and it would be better to label it accordingly. Either way, it can serve as an excellent teaching material and as a companion to “classical” textbooks (e.g., [3]).

Additionally, what might be the target audience of this book? Indeed, it includes Earth science educators and students. The former can enrich (and even re-design) their lectures, and the latter can acquire some additional but very fresh and useful information for subsequent dissemination. However, this book is not only for use in classes. In fact, many scholars (including experts in circular economics and sustainability) can find important facts and statistics to include in the introductory sections of their articles. Moreover, the book is written and styled rather appropriately to be well understood by science journalists and policy makers. Indeed, this is an academic publication, but the highly complex information is communicated rather easily (without shortcuts and simplifications), and thus, it does not require too much professional knowledge from the readers. Beginners in the Earth and environmental sciences, as well as in material sciences and technologies, should not have problems with this book.

The style of the reviewed book is more academic than popular, but it is very appropriate, taking into account the needs of the target audience. Many “pure” scientific details are provided and, particularly, minerals’ formulae are indicated. The authors should be acknowledged for the similar organization of the information in all the chapters, which seems to be an essential quality for such a book. The chapters in all the parts are organized in alphabetical order, which is also useful for finding necessary information quickly.

The book is richly illustrated, and it bears a lot of drawings, maps, diagrams, and photographs. Importantly, their size is optimal, and they are more or less similarly designed, which facilitates comprehension of the information and does not distract the readers with collages that are too variegated. The illustrations are simple, but professional. They are properly selected, and it is very important that they demonstrate not only minerals, but also goods, technologies, and production processes. Two minor failures are the choice of colors for the maps and captions that are too short for some of the figures. Speaking of the former, it is very important that the maps demonstrate the principal countries exploiting the particular resources. However, it would be better to color them according to the statistics of production (these data are usually given at the bottom of the maps)—for instance, to use the standard spectrum of colors for distinguishing between bigger (red, orange, yellow) and smaller (green, blue, dark blue) producers. As for the captions, it is not always indicated where the photograph was captured, and one needs to guess what is shown, for example, in Figure 13.2 of the book (this is not so difficult, but it would be better to see the complete caption). There is additional matter which does not deserve criticism but should be noted. It is really excellent to find nice photographs of mineral specimens. Like the majority of mineralogical books and textbooks, the present one tends to display not typical, but spectacular views. Although some photographs are attractive, they do not inform the readers about the most common views of minerals. For instance, Figure 5.1 shows excellent crystals of barite. However, such ideal views are rarely found in nature (as the reviewer can judge by their own, rather extensive experience with this mineral). Nonetheless, this book should be appreciated for its many mineral images, which demonstrate more or less common views. For the next editions of the present book, it is strongly recommended to show scale bars on some photographs. Regardless, the reviewed book is illustrated and designed exceptionally well, and the noted minor failures do not matter significantly.

Generally, the book by Sanz et al. seems to be really outstanding and has the potential to be an in-demand publication. It is strongly recommended to the broad circle of readers who should not miss this publication. Indeed, the richness of the presented knowledge stimulates a “deeper” understanding of mineral resources.