矿产 (kuàng chǎn) literally combines 矿 (kuàng), meaning 'mine' or 'ore', and 产 (chǎn), meaning 'to produce' or 'product'. Together, they refer to naturally occurring mineral resources found in the earth—such as coal, iron ore, copper, gold, and rare earth elements—that can be extracted and used for economic or industrial purposes. It is a collective noun and typically treated as singular in Chinese.

This term is commonly used in formal, technical, and policy-related contexts—especially in geography, geology, environmental science, and government reports. While it refers to physical substances, 矿产 is never used for living things or agricultural products; it strictly denotes non-renewable geological materials. In everyday speech, people may say 矿产资源 (kuàng chǎn zī yuán) for emphasis, but 矿产 alone already implies 'resources'.