About the Book – Riches from the Earth This book is the second in the series Adventures in Earth Science. It introduces minerals as basic components of Earth materials and describes the mining, separation and uses of the most common economic minerals or ores. This includes gemstones, composition and recognition. The smelting of the ores of copper, iron and aluminium is given in detail. The second part of this book deals with energy and the extraction of coal, coal-seam gas, oil and uranium from the Earth and their processing and use as energy sources. The cases for and against the use of the fossil fuels and nuclear energy are outlined and several alternative energy sources are also discussed. These include the latest developments in hydroelectricity, wind power, solar energy sources, tidal power and geothermal energies. Some future options are also discussed. The text is current and is lavishly illustrated by many photographs, coloured drawings and charts. It also contains links to several videos produced onsite by the author demonstrating mineral testing skills and surface and sub-surface mining techniques from many parts of the world.