Book excerpt: Introduction to Industrial Minerals introduces the reader to the subject of the new mineral raw materials that our society demands. It emphasizes the way in which, in order to satisfy the consumer, the requirements of industry control mineral exploitation, and the way fundamental mineral properties are exploited for particular applications. It describes aggregates, industrial clays and raw materials for the chemical industry. The need for high temperature processing is addressed with a chapter on interpretation and use of mineralogical phase diagrams and time-temperature-transformation diagrams. These are then applied in separate chapters on the manufacture of glass, cement, brick clays and refractories. Evaluation of geological reserves is described in the context of computer modelling of deposit quality, and the final chapter considers the use of a site after extraction, emphasizing the requirements for waste disposal.