Life arose from minerals; then minerals arose from life

Aeon Magazine by Robert Hazen  Mineral fodder We may think we are the first organisms to remake the planet, but life has been transforming the earth for aeons

http://aeon.co/magazine/science/how-life-transformed-the-planet/

Life arose from minerals; then minerals arose from life. The
geosphere and biosphere have become complexly intertwined, with 
numerous feedback loops driving myriad critical natural processes in 
ways that are only now coming into focus. Photosynthetic microbes 
created new pathways for making novel minerals of uranium and 
copper; now, those new uranium and copper minerals provide 
environments for specialised kinds of microbes, which in turn are 
instrumental in forming new ore deposits. The rise of atmospheric 
oxygen was accompanied by a decline in CO2, leading to a decrease 
in the ocean’s acidity, which fostered the formation of limestone 
reefs, which provided stable new environments for more 
photosynthesis. The oxygen produced by photosynthetic microbes 
also led to the formation of the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere, 
which blocked the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation, allowing life 
to populate shallow coastal areas.

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