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For other uses, see Ore (disambiguation).
Iron ore (Banded iron formation)
Iron ore (Banded iron formation)
Manganese ore
Manganese ore
Lead ore
Lead ore
Gold ore
Gold ore
Ore and metal imports in 2005
Ore and metal imports in 2005

An ore is a volume of rock containing components or minerals in a mode of occurrence that renders it valuable for mining. Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 Banded iron formations (also known as banded ironstone formations or BIF s are a distinctive type of rock often found in primordial ( Precambrian) Sedimentary Manganese (ˈmæŋgəniːz is a Chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. Characteristics Lead has a dull luster and is a dense, Ductile, very soft highly Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 The M acro E xpansion T emplate A ttribute L anguage complements TAL, providing macros which allow the reuse of code across In Geology, rock is a naturally occurring aggregate of Minerals and/or Mineraloids The Earth's outer solid layer the ‘ Lithosphere A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition a highly ordered atomic structure and specific An ore must contain materials that are

Ore deposits are mineral deposits defined as being economically recoverable. Mineral deposits may include those bodies of mineralisation which are uneconomic resources, of too low a grade or tonnage or technically impossible for extraction of the contained metal.

Rare samples of ore in the form of exceptionally beautiful crystals, exotic layering (when sectioned or polished) or metallic presentations such as large nuggets or crystalline formations of metals such as gold or copper may command a value far beyond their value as mere ore or raw metal for subsequent reduction to utilitarian purposes. In Materials science, a crystal is a Solid in which the constituent Atoms Molecules or Ions are packed in a regularly ordered repeating Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29

Ore is thus an economic entity, not a physical entity. Fluctuations in commodity prices will determine what rock is considered valuable and hence ore, and what rock is not valuable and is considered waste. A commodity is anything for which there is demand but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market Similarly, the costs of extraction may fluctuate, for example with fuel costs, rendering mining unprofitable and turning ore into waste.

The grade or contained concentration of an ore mineral, or metal, as well as its form of occurrence, will directly affect the costs associated with mining the ore. The cost of extraction must thus be weighted against the contained metal value of the rock and a 'cut-off grade' used to define what is ore and what is waste.

Ore minerals are generally oxides, sulfides, silicates, or "native" metals (such as native copper) that are not commonly concentrated in the Earth's crust or "noble" metals (not usually forming compounds) such as gold. An oxide is a Chemical compound containing at least one Oxygen atom as well as at least one other element A sulfide mineral is a Mineral containing Sulfide (S2- as the major Anion. The silicate minerals make up the largest and most important class of rock-forming Minerals They are classified based on the structure of their silicate Ion group Copper, as native copper, is one of the few Metallic elements to occur in uncombined form as a natural Mineral, although most commonly occurs in In Geology, a crust is the outermost solid shell of a planet or moon Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 The ores must be processed to extract the metals of interest from the waste rock and from the ore minerals.

Ore bodies are formed by a variety of geological processes. Geology (from Greek γη gê, "earth" and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit The process of ore formation is called ore genesis. The various theories of ore genesis explain how the various types of mineral deposits form within the Earth's crust.

Contents

Ore deposits

Main article: Mineral resource classification

An ore deposit is an accumulation of ore. Mineral resource classification is the systematic organization of information on Ores and other mineral deposits which contain economic value This is distinct from a mineral resource as defined by the mineral resource classification criteria. An ore deposit is one occurrence of the particular ore type. Most ore deposits are named according to either their location (for example the Witswatersrand, South Africa), or after a discoverer (eg; the kambalda nickel shoots are named after drillers), or after some whimsy, an historical figure, a prominent person, something from mythology (phoenix, kraken, etc) or the code name of the resource company which found it (eg; MKD-5 is the in-house name for the Mount Keith nickel mine). Kambalda type nickel ore deposits are a class of magmatic Nickel - Copper Ore deposit in which the physical processes of Komatiite volcanology

Classification of ore deposits

Main article: Ore genesis

Ore deposits are classified according to various criteria developed via the study of economic geology, or ore genesis. The various theories of ore genesis explain how the various types of mineral deposits form within the Earth's crust. The various theories of ore genesis explain how the various types of mineral deposits form within the Earth's crust. The classifications below are typical

Hydrothermal epigenetic deposits

Granite related hydrothermal

Nickel-cobalt-platinum deposits

Volcanic-related deposits

Metamorphically reworked deposits

Carbonatite - alkaline igneous related

Sedimentary deposits

Sedimentary hydrothermal deposits

Astrobleme-related ores

Extraction

Main article: mining

The basic extraction of ore deposits follows the steps below;

  1. Prospecting or Exploration to find and then define the extent and value of ore where it is located ("ore body")
  2. Conduct resource estimation to mathematically estimate the size and grade of the deposit
  3. Conduct a pre-feasibility study to determine the theoretical economics of the ore deposit. Tungsten (ˈtʌŋstən also known as wolfram (/ˈwʊlfrəm/ is a Chemical element that has the symbol W and Atomic number 74 Czechoslovakia may also refer to what is now the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Chert (ˈtʃɝt is a fine-grained Silica -rich Microcrystalline, Cryptocrystalline or Microfibrous Sedimentary rock that may contain Carbonate-hosted lead-zinc ore deposits are important and highly valuable concentrations of lead and zinc sulfide Ores hosted within carbonate ( Limestone Hematite, also spelt hæmatite, is the Mineral form of Iron(III oxide (Fe2O3 one of several Iron oxides Iron ores are rocks and Minerals from which Metallic Iron can be economically extracted Banded iron formations (also known as banded ironstone formations or BIF s are a distinctive type of rock often found in primordial ( Precambrian) Sedimentary The Sudbury Basin, also known as Sudbury Structure or the Sudbury Nickel Irruptive, is the second largest known Impact crater or Astrobleme Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body Prospecting is the physical search for Minerals Fossils precious metals or mineral specimens and is also known as Fossicking. Mineral exploration is the process undertaken by companies partnerships or corporations in the endeavour of finding Ore (commercially viable concentrations of minerals to Mineral resource classification is the systematic organization of information on Ores and other mineral deposits which contain economic value This identifies, early on, whether further investment in estimation and engineering studies is warranted and identifies key risks and areas for further work.
  4. Conduct a feasibility study to evaluate the financial viability, technical and financial risks and robustness of the project and make a decision as whether to develop or walk away from a proposed mine project. " Feasibility Study " is also the title of an episode from The Outer Limits television show This includes mine planning to evaluate the economically recoverable portion of the deposit, the metallurgy and ore recoverability, marketability and payability of the ore concentrates, engineering, milling and infrastructure costs, finance and equity requirements and a cradle to grave analysis of the possible mine, from the initial excavation all the way through to reclamation. Metallurgy is a domain of Materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their
  5. Development to create access to an ore body and building of mine plant and equipment
  6. The operation of the mine in an active sense
  7. Reclamation to make land where a mine had been suitable for future use

Trade

Ores (metals) are traded internationally and comprise a sizeable portion of international trade in raw materials both in value and volume. Land rehabilitation is the process of returning the land in a given area to some degree of its former state after some process ( Industry, Natural disasters etc This is because the worldwide distribution of ores is unequal and dislocated from locations of peak demand and from smelting infrastructure.

Most base metals (copper, lead, zinc, nickel) are traded internationally on the London Metal Exchange, with smaller stockpiles and metals exchanges monitored by the COMEX and NYMEX exchanges in the United States and the Shanghai Futures Exchange in China. The London Metal Exchange or LME is the Futures exchange with the world's largest market in options and Futures contracts on base and

Iron ore is traded between customer and producer, though various benchmark prices are set yearly between the major mining conglomerates and the major consumers, and this sets the stage for smaller participants.

Other, lesser, commodities do not have international clearing houses and benchmark prices, with most prices negotiated between suppliers and customers one-on-one. This generally makes determining the price of ores of this nature opaque and difficult. Such metals include lithium, niobium-tantalum, bismuth, antimony and rare earths. Lithium (ˈlɪθiəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Li and Atomic number 3 Niobium (naɪˈoʊbiəm or columbium (/kəˈlʌmbiəm/ is a Chemical element that has the symbol Nb and Atomic number 41 Tantalum (ˈtæntələm (formerly tantalium /tænˈtæliəm/ is a Chemical element with the symbol Ta and Atomic number 73 Bismuth (ˈbɪzməθ is a Chemical element that has the symbol Bi and Atomic number 83 Antimony (IPA (Received Pronunciation, /ˈæntɪmoʊni/ (US is a Chemical element with the symbol Sb (stibium meaning "mark" and Rare earth elements and rare earth metals are according to IUPAC, the collection of seventeen Chemical elements in the Periodic table, namely Most of these commodities are also dominated by one or two major suppliers with >60% of the world's reserves. The London Metal Exchange aims to add uranium to its list of metals on warrant.

The World Bank reports that China was the top importer of ores and metals in 2005 followed by the USA and Japan. The World Bank is an internationally supported Bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs (e

As compared with 2005-20067 at the end of 2007 - beginning of the year 2008 the Iron ore prices on FOB/CIF terms increased considerably, at least at 50-55%. The prices were increased after CVRD, which is the world's biggest iron ore producer, has agreed to increase its contract prices, continuing its previleged position on this market.

Price FOB Brazil reached 141-144 U$D/MT CIF Europe came up to 185-188 U$D/MT.

Important ore minerals


See also

Argentite was primarily treated as a Mineral belonging to the Galena group cubic Silver Sulfide ( Ag2S) occasionally Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen Baryte ( Ba[[Sulfur S]] O 4 is a Mineral consisting of Barium sulfate. Bauxite is the most important Aluminium Ore. It consists largely of the minerals Gibbsite Al(OH3 Boehmite γ-AlO(OH and WikipediaNaming The Mineral beryl is a Beryllium Aluminium cyclosilicate with the Chemical formula Be3Al2(SiO36 Bornite is a Sulfide mineral with chemical composition Cu 5 Fe[[sulfur S]]4 that crystallizes in the Orthorhombic system Cassiterite is a Tin Oxide Mineral, SnO2. It is generally opaque but is translucent in thin crystals Chalcocite, copper(I sulfide (Cu2S is an important Copper Ore mineral Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 Chalcopyrite (ˌkælkoʊˈpaɪraɪt kal-co-pie-right —"kal" as in " cal endar" "co" as in co de is a Copper Chromite is iron magnesium chromium oxide (Fe MgCr2O4 It is an Oxide Mineral belonging to the Spinel group Chromium (ˈkroʊmiəm is a Chemical element which has the symbol Cr and Atomic number 24 Cinnabar, sometimes written cinnabarite, is a name applied to red Mercury(II sulfide ( Hg[[sulfide S]] or native Vermilion, the common Mercury (ˈmɜrkjʊri also called quicksilver or hydrargyrum, is a Chemical element with the symbol Hg ( Latinized hydrargyrum Cobaltite is a Sulfosalt mineral composed of Cobalt, Arsenic and Sulfur, Co[[arsenic As]] S. Ferrocolumbite, also called niobite, niobite-tantalite, columbate and columbite ] Mn)( Nb, Ta)2 Tantalite, ] Mn) Ta 2 O 6] is a Mineral that is close to Columbite. Coltan is the colloquial African name for Columbite - Tantalite, a metallic Ore from which is extracted the elements Niobium and Galena is the natural mineral form of Lead sulfide. It is the most important Lead Ore mineral Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 Quartz (from German) is the most abundant Mineral in the Earth 's Continental crust (although Feldspar is more common in Placer mining (pronounced "plass-er" refers to the mining of alluvial deposits for Minerals This may be done by open-pit (also called open-cast Hematite, also spelt hæmatite, is the Mineral form of Iron(III oxide (Fe2O3 one of several Iron oxides Ilmenite is a weakly magnetic titanium-iron oxide Mineral which is iron-black or steel-gray Magnetite is not to be confused with Magnesite or Maghemite. Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic Mineral with chemical Molybdenite is a mineral of Molybdenum disulfide, Mo[[sulfur S]]2 Pentlandite is an Iron - Nickel sulfide ( Fe, Ni)9 S 8 Pentlandite usually has a NiFe ratio of close to 11 Pyrolusite is a Mineral consisting essentially of Manganese dioxide ( Mn[[oxygen O]]2 and is important as an Ore of manganese Scheelite is a Calcium Tungstate Mineral with the Chemical formula Ca[[tungsten W]] O 4 Sphalerite (( Zn, Fe) S) is a Mineral that is the chief Ore of Zinc. Uranium (jʊˈreɪniəm is a silvery-gray Metallic Chemical element in the Mineral resource classification is the systematic organization of information on Ores and other mineral deposits which contain economic value Economic geology is concerned with earth materials that can be utilized for economic and/or industrial purposes The various theories of ore genesis explain how the various types of mineral deposits form within the Earth's crust.

Dictionary

ore

-noun

  1. Rock that contains utilitarian materials; primarily a rock containing metals or gems which -- at the time of the rock's evaluation and proposal for extraction -- are able to be separated from its neighboring minerals and processed at a cost that does not exceed those materials' present-day, intrinsic, econmomic values.
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