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Ore

An ore is a volume of rock containing components or minerals Mineral

Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological [i] processes. ... 

 in a mode of occurrence which renders it valuable for mining. An ore must contain materials which are: * valuable * in concentrations which can be profitably mined Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable [i] mineral [i]s or other geological [i] materials f ... 

, transported, milled, and processed. * able to be extracted from waste rock by mineral processing techniques. 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.

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An ore is a volume of rock containing components or minerals Mineral

Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological [i] processes. ... 

 in a mode of occurrence which renders it valuable for mining. An ore must contain materials which are:
  • valuable
  • in concentrations which can be profitably mined Mining

    Mining is the extraction of valuable [i] mineral [i]s or other geological [i] materials f ... 

    , transported, milled, and processed.
  • able to be extracted from waste rock by mineral processing techniques.


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.

What is valuable to mine is generally considered in terms of purely economic considerations. However, cultural Culture

The word culture, from the Latin [i] colo, -ere, with its root meaning "to cultivate", generall ... 

, strategic or social goals of nations, tribes and individuals may render economically unfeasible bodies of rock valuable for extraction, for instance ochre Ochre

Ochre or Ocher is a color [i], usually described as golden-yellow or light yellow brown. ... 

, some clays Clay

Clay is a term used to describe a group of hydrous aluminium [i] phyllosilicate [i] ... 

 and ornamental stones which are of religious, cultural or sentimental value to a population. Here, value is placed on the rock in non-economic terms

Rare samples of ore in the form of exceptionally beautiful crystal Crystal

In chemistry [i] and mineralogy [i], a crystal is a solid [i] in which the constituent atom [i]s, molecule [i] ... 

s, exotic layering or metalic presentations such as large nuggets or chrystaline formations of metals such as gold Gold

Gold is a highly sought-after precious metal [i] that for many centuries has been used as money [i], a store of value [i] ... 

 or copper Copper

Copper is a chemical element [i] in the periodic table [i] that has the symbol Cu and atomic number [i]... 

 may command a value far beyond their value as mere ore or raw metal for subsequent reduction to utilitarian purposes.

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. 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 that are not commonly concentrated in the Earth's crust or "noble" metals such as gold Gold

Gold is a highly sought-after precious metal [i] that for many centuries has been used as money [i], a store of value [i] ... 

. 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 Geology

Geology anetary geology]] [i] refers to the application of geologic principles to other bodies of the solar... 

 processes. The process of ore formation is called ore genesis.

Important ore minerals

  • Argentite Argentite

    Argentite, a mineral [i] which belongs to the galena [i] group, is cubic silver [i] sulfide [i]. ... 

    : Ag2S for production of silver Silver

    Silver is a chemical element [i] with the symbol Ag . ... 

  • Barite Barite

    Barite is a mineral [i] consisting of barium sulfate [i].... 

    : BaSO4
  • Bauxite Bauxite

    Bauxite is an aluminium [i] ore [i] which consists largely of the Al minerals gibbsite [i] Al3, boehmite [i] ... 

     Al2O3 for production of aluminum Aluminium

    Aluminium or aluminum is the chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Al ... 

  • Beryl: Be3Al26
  • Bornite Bornite

    Bornite is a sulfide [i] mineral [i] with chemical composition Cu5FeS4 that crystallizes in the cubic sy ... 

    : Cu5FeS4
  • Cassiterite Cassiterite

    Cassiterite is a tin [i] oxide [i] mineral [i], SnO2. ... 

    : SnO2
  • Chalcocite Chalcocite

    Chalcocite, copper(I) sulfide, is an important copper [i] ore [i] mineral.... 

    : Cu2S for production of copper Copper

    Copper is a chemical element [i] in the periodic table [i] that has the symbol Cu and atomic number [i]... 

  • Chalcopyrite Chalcopyrite

    Chalcopyrite is a copper [i] iron [i] sulfide [i] mineral [i] that crystallizes in the tetragonal [i] sy... 

    : CuFeS2
  • Chromite Chromite

    Chromite, iron magnesium chromium oxide:Cr2O4, is an oxide [i] mineral [i] belonging to the spinel [i] g ... 

    : Cr2O4 for production of chromium Chromium

    Chromium is a chemical element [i] in the periodic table [i] that has the symbol Cr and atomic number [i] ... 

  • Cinnabar Cinnabar

    Cinnabar, sometimes written cinnabarite, is a name applied to red mercury [i] sulfide [i] ... 

    : HgS for production of mercury
  • Cobaltite: AsS
  • Columbite-Tantalite or Coltan: 2O6
  • Galena Galena

    Galena is a lead [i] ore [i]. ... 

    : PbS
  • Gold Gold

    Gold is a highly sought-after precious metal [i] that for many centuries has been used as money [i], a store of value [i] ... 

    : Au, typically associated with quartz Quartz

    Quartz is one of the most common mineral [i]s in the Earth [i]'s continental crust [i].... 

     or as placer Placer mining

    Placer mining refers to the mining of alluvial deposits for mineral [i]s. ... 

     deposits
  • Hematite Hematite

    Hematite or haematite is the mineral [i] form of Iron oxide [i], , one of several iron oxide [i] ... 

    : Fe2O3
  • Ilmenite: FeTiO3
  • Magnetite Magnetite

    Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic [i] mineral [i] with IUPAC [i] name iron(II,III) oxide... 

    : Fe3O4
  • Molybdenite Molybdenite

    Molybdenite is a mineral of molybdenum disulfide [i], Mo [i]S [i]2. ... 

    : MoS2
  • Pentlandite Pentlandite

    Pentlandite is an iron [i]-nickel [i] sulfide,9S8. ... 

    :9S8
  • Pyrolusite Pyrolusite

    Pyrolusite is a mineral [i] consisting essentially of manganese [i] dioxide and is important as an ore [i] ... 

    :MnO2
  • Scheelite Scheelite

    Scheelite is a calcium [i] tungstate [i] mineral [i] with the chemical formula [i] CaWO4.... 

    : CaWO4
  • Sphalerite Sphalerite

    Sphalerite is a mineral [i] that is the chief ore [i] of zinc [i]. ... 

    : ZnS
  • Uraninite Uraninite

    Uraninite is a uranium [i]-rich mineral [i] with a composition that is largely UO2 , but which also cont ... 

     : UO2 for production of metalic uranium Uranium

    Uranium is a chemical element [i] in the periodic table [i] that has the symbol U and atomic number [i] ... 

  • Wolframite Wolframite

    WolframiteWO4, is an iron [i] manganese [i] tungstate [i] mineral [i] that is the intermediate between ferberite [i] ... 

    : WO4

See also

  • Mineral resource classification
  • Economic geology
  • Ore genesis






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