Mineral oil is used to  distinguish oily substances that came out of the ground from oily  substances that are derived from plant … s or animals. The mineral  in this case is petroleum, the substance from which  mineral oil is derived.(Petroleum simply means stone oil in  Greek).   Mineral oil is mainly a mixture of alkane hydrocarbons. If that  sounds a lot like gasoline, it is ...he mineral  in this case is petroleum, the substance from which  mineral oil is derived. (Petroleum simply means stone oil in  Greek).    Mineral oil is mainly a mixture of alkane hydrocarbons.