A renewable resource is a natural resource which can replenish with the passage of time, either through biological reproduction or other naturally recurring processes. Renewable resources are a part of Earth's natural environment and the largest components of its ecosphere. A positive life cycle assessment is a key indicator of a resource's sustainability.
A non-renewable resource (also known as a finite resource) is a resource that does not renew itself at a sufficient rate for sustainable economic extraction in meaningful human time frames. An example is carbon-based, organically-derived fuel. The original organic material, with the aid of heat and pressure, becomes a fuel such as oil or gas. Fossil fuels (such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas), and certain aquifers are all examples of non-renewable resources.
Metal ores are other examples of non-renewable resources. The metals themselves are present in vast amounts in the earth's crust which can never be exhausted, and which are continually being concentrated and replenished over time scales of millions of years, however their extraction by humans only occurs where they are concentrated by natural processes (such as heat, pressure, organic activity, weathering and other processes) to a level that is economically extractable, and where these processes occur, or are brought near, the earth's surface, generally over tens of thousands to millions of years.
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