So much of what we make starts with materials we extract from the Earth.   Some of these materials make up only a tiny proportion of our planet, but fortunately for us, they are concentrated in certain places, which makes it possible to extract them in economically viable quantities.   So how exactly do these materials become concentrated?

Lawrence Robb is a Visiting Professor at the Department of Earth Sciences at Oxford University.   By analyzing the relationship between mineral deposits, principally in Africa and Asia, and our latest understanding of plate tectonics and mountain-building, he has unraveled the processes that formed some of our most important mineral deposits.

Go to geologybites.com for illustrations that support this episode as well as to learn more about the podcast series.