The resources of nonmetallic minerals are minerals and rocks, except for fuel minerals and metallic minerals, from which nonmetallic chemical elements and  compounds can be industrially extracted or which can be directly utilized by different sectors of industries under current technico-economic conditions. A small number of this category of mineral resources are used in forms of chemical elements and compounds extracted from them, but most of them are used in the form of entire minerals or rocks for their special physico-chemical and technical performances. So  non-metallic mineral resources are called "industrial minerals and rocks" in some countries of the world. The definitions of both are basically the same, but the scopes involved are different to some extent. At present there is no strict definition of differences between the two terms.

The kinds of resources of nonmetallic minerals are highly varied and the number of them is increasing incessantly with the progress of science and technology. Many minerals and rocks were not considered as ores before, and now are included in the range of nonmetallic mineral resources after achieving positive results in experiments and researches and being applied in industrial sectors. Some of them were used in simple forms before, and now their values have multiplied and their use has been  developing rapidly as their application scopes have widened. 

The resources of nonmetallic minerals are the mineral resources which closely accompany the existence and multiplication of mankind and social evolution and have the longest application history, widest application scopes and broadest development prospects. They are widely used in various fields, such as architecture and construction, metallurgy, chemical industry, light industry, petroleum industry, geological exploration, machine building, agriculture, pharmacy, jewellery and environmental protection. With the progress of science and technology and the development of economy, nonmetallic minerals and their products send out extraordinary glamor with their excellent performances, becoming incomparable and irreplaceable materials by metallic materials and obtaining more and more attention of most countries in the world and winning favor of people all over the world. As early as the 1950s , the value of the world's nonmetallic minerals production had already exceeded that of metallic minerals. In the 1970s, the development and utilization of resources of nonmetallic minerals increased speedily. In the 1980s, the industry of nonmetallic minerals and their products entered into a stage of flourishing development. The application fields of nonmetallic minerals have extended to the fields of aerospace, laser, photoconductor, new kinds of energy and new, high and advanced technologies, as well as the boosting of high living standards of mankind. The world per-capita annual consumption of nonmetallic minerals is about 5 tons. It is the highest one among the three categories of mineral raw materials. 

China is one of the few countries in the world that have a complete range of minerals, abundant resources and superior quality of nonmetallic minerals. Up to now, 102 kinds of nonmetallic minerals have been found in China. The reserves of 89 kinds from them have been explored. The reserves of over 10 nonmetallic minerals rank in the forefront of the world. The outputs of several nonmetallic minerals and their products, such as cement, fluorite, barite, talc, magnesite and graphite, occupy the first place in the world for years. The nonmetallic mineral resources and relevant industries occupy a decisive position in the world's economy.  

The development of the nonmetallic minerals industry in China started in the 1950s after the founding of New China in 1949. Since the end of 1970s, after the reform and opening up, China's nonmetallic minerals industry has entered into the period of high-speed development. Recently, the nonmetallic minerals industry has become a modern raw materials industry providing various sectors of the national economy in China with raw materials and nece-ssary supporting and supplementary products. In the Ninth Five-Year Plan and a cross-century period in China, the strategical objectives and main direction of the development of China's nonmetallic minerals industry and their applied research are to serve the four pillar industries including architectural, automotive, electromechanical and chemical industries and serve the fields such as agriculture, the development of high and new technology, the environ-mental protection and energy saving.