Key Points
- Metal ores are formed in the process of ore genesis, and they are extracted through mining.
- Extractive metallurgy is the practice of removing valuable metals from an ore and refining the extracted raw metals into a purer form.
- Hydrometallurgy uses aqueous solutions to extract metals from ores ( leaching ).
Is there such a thing as metallic ore?
! Metals occur in all kinds of rocks but usually in concentrations that are too low to be mined. Metallic ore deposits, however, are relatively rare concentrations of metal‐bearing minerals (usually sulfides) that contain enough metal to be profitably mined.
How is metal extracted from rocks?
The rock is then crushed by powerful machinery. Metal is extracted from the crushed ore by one of two major methods: smelting or electrolysis. Smelting uses heat to separate the valuable metal from the rest of the ore.
What is a metallic ore deposit?
Metallic Deposits. Metals occur in all kinds of rocks but usually in concentrations that are too low to be mined. Metallic ore deposits, however, are relatively rare concentrations of metal‐bearing minerals (usually sulfides) that contain enough metal to be profitably mined. Again, the profit line is dependent on a number of economic factors.
How are metallic ores formed in intrusive rocks?
The development of metallic ores in intrusive rocks, such as porphyry copper deposits, is related to the partial melting and rising of crustal material along subduction zones. Metal in these systems may also be contributed from sea‐floor deposits that were subducted and became part of the new magma.
What is a metallic ore?
Metal ores are generally oxides, sulfides, silicates (Table 12.3. 1) 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 (Figure 12.3. 1).
Where are metallic minerals formed?
Metallic minerals are usually found in igneous and metamorphic rock formations.
How ore is produced?
Ores are classified based on how they form. Some ores form from the cooling and crystallization of minerals within magmas, lavas, or igneous intrusions. These are known as magmatic or volcanic ores. Nickel, copper, and iron ores are typically formed from magmatic or volcanic-related deposits.
What metal is produced by a metallic ore?
Metallic minerals are extracted from mineral deposits, which are concentrations of metallic minerals produced by geological processes. Some metallic minerals contain valuable metals, such as copper, gold, nickel, lead, zinc or platinum.
Which one is a metallic ores?
Examples of metallic minerals – iron ore, bauxite, hematite etc. Those minerals which do not contain metals are called non-metallic minerals. Examples of non-metallic minerals – diamond, mica, salt, potash etc.
What is the major source of metallic minerals?
Most of the metallic minerals in India occur in the peninsular plateau region in the old crystalline rocks. Over 97 per cent of coal reserves occur in the valleys of Damodar, Sone, Mahanadi and Godavari.
Is Diamond an ore?
Diamond ore is a rare ore that generates deep underground, and is the only reliable source of diamonds. Deepslate diamond ore is a variant of diamond ore that can generate in deepslate and tuff blobs....Diamond Ore.RenewableNoHardnessDiamond Ore: 3 Deepslate Diamond Ore: 4.5LuminantNoTransparentNoFlammableNo5 more rows
What is metallic resource?
Metallic resources are things like Gold, Silver, Tin, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Iron, Nickel, Chromium, and Aluminum. Nonmetallic resources are things like sand, gravel, gypsum, halite, Uranium, dimension stone. A mineral resource is a volume of rock enriched in one or more useful materials.
What is another word for ore?
What is another word for ore?metalalloymineralcastingdepositfoilmailplateingotload3 more rows
What are the four types of metal ores?
Ores are the minerals from which metal is conveniently and profitably extracted. There are mainly four kinds of ores like Ores Oxides; Ores Carbonate; Sulphide Ores; Ores Halides.
Why are metallic minerals found in igneous and metamorphic rocks?
Answer: The development of metallic ores in intrusive rocks, such as porphyry copper deposits, is related to the partial melting and rising of crustal material along subduction zones. Metal in these systems may also be contributed from sea‐floor deposits that were subducted and became part of the new magma.
What are made in metallic minerals?
They are also utilised in the manufacture of fertilizers and refractory materials. Metallic Minerals: Metallic minerals are those containing one or more metals. In general, they exist as mineral deposits and are excellent conductors of heat and electricity, such as iron, copper, gold, bauxite, and manganese.
Which type of rocks contain metallic minerals?
Generally, metallic minerals are found in igneous and metamorphic rock formations that form large plateaus.
Which rocks are formed by heat and pressure?
Metamorphic rocks form when rocks are subjected to high heat, high pressure, hot mineral-rich fluids or, more commonly, some combination of these factors. Conditions like these are found deep within the Earth or where tectonic plates meet.
How is metal extracted from crushed ore?
Metal is extracted from the crushed ore by one of two major methods: smelting or electrolysis. Smelting uses heat to separate the valuable metal from the rest of the ore. Smelting usually requires a reduction agent, or another chemical, to separate metal from its ore.
What is ore in mining?
Select Text Level: Ore is a deposit in Earth’s crust of one or more valuable minerals. The most valuable ore deposits contain metals crucial to industry and trade, like copper , gold, and iron. Copper ore is mined for a variety of industrial uses.
What are the three types of ore genesis?
There are three major types of ore genesis: internal processes, hydrothermal processes, and surficial processes. Ore can accumulate through geologic activity, such as when volcanoes bring ore from deep in the planet to the surface. This is called an internal process.
What is iron used for?
Iron is used in everything from glass to fertilizer to the solid-rocket boosters once used for the space shuttle to leave Earth’s atmosphere. Metals are often associated with particular ores. Aluminum, for example, is usually found in the ore called bauxite. Aluminum found in bauxite is used in containers, cosmetics, and medicines.
What is the process of accumulating ore?
This is called an internal process. Ore can also accumulate when seawater circulates through cracks in Earth’s crust and deposits minerals in the areas around hydrothermal vents. This is called a hydrothermal process.
Why is gold used in space?
However, most gold is used to create jewelry. For thousands of years, gold ore was mined as a basis for currency, or money.
How is aluminum extracted from bauxite?
Aluminum, which burns at a very high temperature, is extracted from bauxite by electrolysis. Bauxite is placed in a pool of acid, and an electrical current is run through the pool. The electrons in the current attach to oxygen and hydrogen, the other elements in bauxite, leaving the aluminum.
What is Ore?
An ore is a naturally occurring deposit of geologic material (rock) that includes a sufficient quantity of one or more valuable elements or compounds that it can be extracted for economic gain. These valuable elements include metals like copper, platinum, iron, lead, gold, silver, aluminum, nickel, and many more.
What Makes a Mineral an Ore?
All ores are minerals, but not all minerals are ores. Minerals are naturally occurring inorganic elements or compounds that have specific characteristics, such as unique and ordered molecular structures, as well as specific colors, textures, and malleability.
How are Ores Formed?
Ores are categorized by how they are formed. There are many different ways that ores are formed, each involving distinct chemical and physical processes. One such way is through the cooling of magma or lava, which forms igneous ores.
How do ore deposits form?
The deposits form above the roof of a magma chamber that lies beneath an active volcano. As the magma crystallises into granitic rock in the subsurface, metal- and salt-rich aqueous solutions are expelled from the chamber. These fluids make their way up through the volcanic vent, which has already solidified into porphyritic rock. At a certain height, the metals precipitate from the ascending fluids. The ore deposit has a typical, well-defined shape that resembles the cap of a mushroom. Its “stem” is the volcanic vent, which has solidified into porphyry and then cracked to form numerous veins through which the fluid pushed its way upwards.
How are copper and gold deposits formed?
The enrichment process of these metals follows physical principles that are similar to the extraction of deep geothermal energy by hydraulic fracturing of the rock.
Why is the interaction between rock behaviour and fluid dynamics important?
“This interaction between rock behaviour and fluid dynamics is crucial for our model because the permeability of the rock strongly influences fluid flow and thus determines whether there will be a chemical enrichment to substantial economic ore grades at a particular point,” Weis stresses.
How to extract geothermal energy?
In practice, the key to efficient extraction of deep geothermal energy is to create a rock permeability that is high enough but not too high. If the water is allowed to flow through the fractured rock too fast, it cannot heat up sufficiently. On the other hand, if cracks and pores in the rock are too small, the flow is weak and ineffective for energy extraction.
What is the shape of an ore deposit?
At a certain height, the metals precipitate from the ascending fluids. The ore deposit has a typical, well-defined shape that resembles the cap of a mushroom. Its “stem” is the volcanic vent, which has solidified into porphyry and then cracked to form numerous veins through which the fluid pushed its way upwards.
How does water affect the permeability of rock?
In the crystalline subsurface, water injected artificially into a deep borehole exerts high pressure on the surrounding rock and changes its permeability. After fracturing the rock, water can flow through and heat up before being collected at a second drillhole, to be transported back to the Earth’s surface. “This interplay between fluid and rock is comparable to the ore system, even if the different temperature and pressure conditions call for different material descriptions,” explains co-author Thomas Driesner.
How long does it take for magma to expel fluid?
It takes around 50,000 years for the magma chamber to expel its fluid. During this period, the precipitation zone hardly shifts, enabling a substantial amount of copper to accumulate about two kilometres beneath the Earth’s surface.
How are metallic ores formed?
The metallic minerals are concentrated into rich masses by igneous, hydrothermal, or erosional/weathering processes. Metals such as chromium, platinum, nickel, copper, and iron can precipitate as sulfide minerals in a cooling body of magma. Magmatic deposits result when the minerals settle to the bottom of the intrusive body and form thin, high‐grade layers. Hydrothermal deposits rich in copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, molybdenum, tin, mercury, and cobalt form from hot solutions that circulate through fractured country rock. The solutions come from nearby intrusions or heated meteoric water. Much of the dissolved metal in the solutions is leached from the surrounding rocks through which the solutions migrate. Changing pressures and temperatures precipitate the metals as sulfides or pure metal, such as gold, silver, and copper. This process is usually repeated many times until the heat source has cooled or the fracture systems have become filled with mineral deposits.
How do ore deposits form?
Ore deposits can form also by other processes at the earth's surface. Mississippi Valley‐type deposits are concentrations of lead and zinc that are thought to be deposited in porous limestones and sandstones by low‐temperature water that was driven out of deeper sediments by compaction.
What is the result of lateritic weathering?
Lateritic weathering results in residual deposits that became enriched through the chemical breakdown and removal ...
What is mineral exploration?
Mineral exploration is the practice of exploring for and discovering new ore deposits. Exploration is becoming progressively more challenging as the ore deposits exposed at the surface are discovered and mined. Future exploration will focus on developing techniques that will help find ore deposits that are hundreds or thousands of feet below the surface and impossible to detect at the surface.
What are metal deposits?
Metallic Deposits. Metals occur in all kinds of rocks but usually in concentrations that are too low to be mined. Metallic ore deposits, however, are relatively rare concentrations of metal‐bearing minerals (usually sulfides) that contain enough metal to be profitably mined.
Where are iron and manganese deposits found?
These deposits are common in the central United States over relatively stable crust and may be one of the few deposit types not related to some kind of igneous heat source. The ore minerals in most of the world's iron and manganese reserves were chemically precipitated in the ocean and accumulated on the sea floor.
Where do metal solutions come from?
The solutions come from nearby intrusions or heated meteoric water. Much of the dissolved metal in the solutions is leached from the surrounding rocks through which the solutions migrate. Changing pressures and temperatures precipitate the metals as sulfides or pure metal, such as gold, silver, and copper.
How are valuable ore minerals separated?
The valuable ore minerals are separated from the gangue minerals by froth flotation, gravity concentration, and other operations known collectively as mineral processing, or ore dressing .
Why is red band iron ore not recovered?
The red bands contain also hematite; most of it, otherwise a valuable iron ore mineral, cannot be recovered economically because it is finely intergrown with quartz. Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.
What are the minerals of interest?
Minerals of interest are generally oxides, sulfides, silicates, or native metals such as copper or gold. Ores must be processed to extract the elements of interest from the waste rock. Ore bodies are formed by a variety of geological processes generally referred to as ore genesis .
What is the term for the part of an ore that is not economically desirable and that can not be avoided in mining?
Ore, gangue , ore minerals, gangue minerals. In most cases, an ore does not consist entirely of a single ore mineral but it is mixed with other valuable minerals and with unwanted or valueless rocks and minerals. The part of an ore that is not economically desirable and that can not be avoided in mining is known as gangue.
What is an ore deposit?
Main article: Mineral resource classification. An ore deposit is an economically significant accumulation of minerals within a host rock. This is distinct from a mineral resource as defined by the mineral resource classification criteria. An ore deposit is one occurrence of a particular ore type.
Why are ores traded internationally?
This is because the worldwide distribution of ores is unequal and dislocated from locations of peak demand and from smelting infrastructure.
What is the grade of ore?
The grade of ore refers to the concentration of the desired material it contains. The value of the metals or minerals a rock contains must be weighed against the cost of extraction to determine whether it is of sufficiently high grade to be worth mining, and is therefore considered an ore.
What are metal ores?
Metal ores are generally oxides, sulfides, silicates, or native metals (such as native copper) not commonly concentrated in the crust of the Earth, or noble metals (normally not forming compounds) such as gold. To remove the elements of interest from the waste material and the ore crystals, the ores must be extracted.
What is the process of forming ore bodies called?
A variety of geological processes form ore bodies. The formation of the ore process is called the genesis of the ore.
What is an ore mineral?
An ore is a natural occurrence of rock or sediment which contains enough minerals with economically important elements, typically metals, that can be extracted from the deposit economically.
How are ores extracted?
The ores are extracted by mining for a profit from the earth ; they are then refined (often by smelting) in order to extract the valuable elements. The ore quality, and density of a rock or metal ore, as well as its occurrence type, can directly affect the ore mining costs.
Types of Minerals
Metallic Minerals
- We obtain metal by extraction of these minerals. It is considered very valuable as we obtain the metal in its purest form. Metallic minerals further classified into two types 1. Ferrous Minerals 2. Non-Ferrous Minerals
Ferrous Minerals
- Ferrous minerals are those minerals that exhibit magnetic characteristics due to the presence of iron in the form of hydroxides, carbonates, or sulphides. These minerals are critical for the growth of a country’s metallurgical industry. Hematite, magnetite, manganese, and other ferrous minerals are examples. India exports a significant amount of ferrous minerals. These minerals provide a s…
Non-Ferrous Minerals
- Non-ferrous metals are alloys or metals that are free of iron. Except for iron (Fe), which is sometimes known as ferrite after the Latin word ferrum, which means “iron,” other non-ferrous elements are non-ferrous. Nonferrous metals are more expensive than ferrous metals, but they have desired features such as light weight (aluminium), high conductivity (copper), non-magneti…
Sample Questions
- Question1: India has a lot of natural resources, however the distribution isn’t even. What are your thoughts on this? Answer: Question 2: Name three elements that influence a reserve’s economic viability. Answer: Question 3: Explain how bauxite is formed and what metal is derived from it. Answer: Question 4: What is one property of Magnetite and Hematite? Answer: Question 5: Wh…