Which 3 minerals are essential for plant growth?

One would expect that this question regards the minerals most typically found in fertilizer: Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium. Their relative proportions are given on the label of the fertilizer such as: 18-46-10 (I don't know why they don't reduce the proportions to 9-23-5).

The nitrogen may be in the form of urea or some other ammonium compound, The potassium and phosphorous might be combined in the form of potassium phosphate (potash).