ABSTRACT
412In chemistry we learn that all known matter is made up of 109 known elements (not all of them are naturally occurring). Elements are the most basic substances consisting of atoms arranged in characteristic structures. An element cannot be broken down by chemical means into anything simpler. Elements are further subdivided into metals and nonmetals. Interestingly, most known elements are metals (86 in total) but over 80% of the Earth’s crust, the area of interest for the mining industry, is made up of nonmetals. On the periodic table, metals are all the elements to the left of the diagonal line running from boron to astatine (Figure 13.1).
