Mineral

From The StarCraft 2 Wiki

Minerals in StarCraft are the main resource for purchasing, training, or building things. They are essential to any melee map as they are necessary to create units. It is gathered by the workers of Protoss, Terran and the Zerg. Staple units, such as the Terran Marine, Protoss Zealot, or Zerg Zergling, only need minerals for production. For advanced units, technologies, and upgrades, Vespene Gas is required.

Typically minerals are placed strategically in "clumps" around the map, semicircling an ideal spot for expansion, leaving room for strategy as the player needs to expand to have a strong economy. Exceptions to this are "Fastest" style maps, where all minerals are stacked onto each other next to the starting base of the player.