[1] The subject of labor may be materials provided directly by nature like timber or coal, or materials that have been modified by labor.
In the latter case, the subject of labor (e.g., yarn in a textile mill or semi-conductor chips in a computer assembly factory) are called "raw materials".
This usage of the term "raw materials" is given in, for instance, in Capital, Part III.
[3] In both cases, the term refers to what is being worked on.
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