Mineral resources are embedded within socio-cultural systems as materials that support livelihoods, technologies, institutions, and patterns of consumption. The concept of entropic dissipation helps explain why minerals, once extracted and used within society, inevitably move toward states of greater disorder and lower availability. Entropy, derived from thermodynamics, refers to the tendency of energy and matter to disperse and become less ordered over time. When applied to mineral resources, entropic dissipation signifies the progressive loss of concentration, quality, and recoverability of minerals as they pass through stages of extraction, processing, use, reuse, and disposal within socio-economic systems. In natural geological settings, minerals occur in concentrated, ordered forms due to long-term geological processes operating under specific physical and chemical conditions. Mining represents an intervention by human societies to appropriate these concentrated stocks for economic and cultural purposes. Once minerals are extracted, they enter complex socio-technical networks involving transportation, manufacturing, consumption, and waste generation. At each stage, minerals are physically transformed, mixed with other materials, dispersed across products, and often degraded in purity. This transformation reflects an increase in entropy, as materials move from concentrated and ordered states to dispersed and heterogeneous ones. Entropic dissipation is not merely a physical phenomenon but also a socio-cultural one. Modern societies are characterized by mass production, consumerism, and rapid technological change, all of which accelerate material throughput. Minerals are incorporated into countless products such as electronics, infrastructure, machinery, and consumer goods. Many of these products are designed for short life cycles due to cultural preferences for novelty, planned obsolescence, and economic incentives that favor replacement over repair. As a result, minerals quickly move from use to waste streams, where they are often scattered in landfills, emissions, or low-grade residues. This dispersal across space