Main Menu >  Rocks and Mining Rocks At Earth’s Surface Earth’s history is written on pages of stone. Since our planet’s birth 4.6 billion years ago, rocks have been continually forming and, over time, changing from one kind to another. Every rock preserves part of this ancient and ongoing story. Rocks Made to Order Rocks Tell Stories Water Recycles Rocks Rocks Build Cities Rocks Below Earth’s Surface Deep below Earth’s surface it’s extremely hot, and the pressure from overlying rocks is immense. These conditions can transform rocks into entirely new sets of minerals—or even melt them. Inside Earth Rocks Melt Rocks Deform Rocks Transform Mining Dynamic natural forces have concentrated rocks and minerals into deposits that are within human reach. We mine these deposits to obtain the raw materials that have become indispensable to modern industrial society. Tour Three Mines Minerals Matter