Geography: How do naturally occurring items become resources?

Naturally occurring items are goods found in nature.  Trees, water, minerals--all of these are naturally occurring.  However, unless someone is there to utilize the items.  Trees become resources when they can be turned into timber for building, fuel for fire, or even tourist attractions which can create a positive interest in one's country.  Water can be used for hydroelectricity, irrigation, or drinking water.  Minerals are useful when people attach artificial values to them such as they do with diamonds or gold or when they serve a useful purpose, like heating homes or fertilizing fields.  These naturally occurring items must be readily accessible and in demand for them to become resources as well.  Until Americans learned how to extract natural gas from shale deposits, no one spoke of this as a resource.  The controversial practice of fracking has given Americans a very valuable resource of natural gas.