Rate balsa different to a mineral (9)
I believe the answer is:
alabaster
'to a mineral' is the definition.
(alabaster is a kind of mineral)
'rate balsa different' is the wordplay.
'different' indicates anagramming the letters (letters placed in a different order).
'rate'+'balsa'='ratebalsa'
'ratebalsa' is an anagram of 'ALABASTER'.
(Other definitions for alabaster that I've seen before include "Stone often used for carving" , "Translucent white gypsum as found carved into ornaments" , "Material for sculpting" , "Stab a real odd white mineral" , "Altar base (anag)" .)