Since antiquity, humans have made pottery from clay, which consists of fine particles of silicate minerals. Kaolinite is an aluminum silicate mineral, and it is the main component of porcelain, a particularly hard type of ceramic. Clay, which is used to make other types of pottery, may contain silica and grains from sedimentary rocks. Quartz, also referred to as silica or silicon dioxide, is a key component of another important solid material: glass. In the ancient Middle East, humans made glass by heating silica with alkali that was made from the ashes of plants. Other minerals such as calcium, lead, calcium, and manganese were added to improve the glass. Metals and metallic oxides were also added to color the glass or to make it clear, since natural glass tends to be slightly colored from impurities in the sand. Ruby red is made from powdered gold, while an orangey-red is produced by copper oxides. If the glass with copper oxide is heated too much, it will turn green. Cobalt and iron can make blue glass, and manganese is used for purple. Antimony or manganese oxide will produce clear glass. Glass for specialized purposes, like cookware and optical instruments, may require additives, such as boron oxide or lead oxide.

When some minerals are ground into powders, they may be used as pigments, solid substances that change the color of the materials they are mixed with. The first pigments, known since prehistoric times, were iron oxides, which make warm, dark reds and browns. Other early pigments were made of lead, carbon (in charcoal form), malachite, and azurite. Today's paints may contain synthetic dyes in addition to natural pigments and fillers such as calcium carbonate, mica, silica, talc, and titanium dioxide. Minerals have been used as ingredients in facial makeup at least since the days of ancient Egypt, when women painted their eyes with kohl, a mixture containing finely ground galena, or lead sulfide. Modern-day cosmetics manufacturers avoid hazardous substances like lead and arsenic, but many of their products contain microscopic particles of minerals and their derivatives such as iron oxide (from goethite and other minerals), titanium dioxide (usually from ilmenite), talc, mica, and kaolinite.