In terms of the availability of projected reserves of iron ore, Russia is only third, behind Brazil and the United States. The total amount of ore in the Russian Federation is estimated at about 120.9 billion tons. If we count on the reliability of "intelligence", then the reserves (category P1) are most accurately determined at 92.4 billion tons, the probability of full production at 16.2 billion tons (category P2) is slightly less likely and the probability of mining explored ore is 2.4 billion tons (category P3). The average iron content is 35.7%. Most of the resources are concentrated in the KMA (Kursk Magnetic Anomaly) located in the European part of Russia. The deposits located in Siberia and the Far East are of lesser importance.

Distribution of ore reserves in Russia

The share of high-quality ore that does not require beneficiation, with an iron content of at least 60%, in Russia is almost 12.4%. Basically, the ores are medium and poor, with an iron content in the range of 16-40%. However, only Australia has large reserves of rich ores in the world. 72% of Russian reserves are classified as profitable.

Today, there are 14 largest deposits in the Russian Federation. Of these, 6 are located in the area of ​​the anomaly (i.e., more than half), which provides 88% of the development of iron ores. The RF State Balance Register has 198 deposits, 19 of which have off-balance reserves. The main places of extraction of iron ore, located in descending order (in terms of the volume of mined minerals):
- Mikhailovskoye deposit (in the Kursk region);
- M. Gusevgorskoe (in the Sverdlovsk region);
- M. Lebedinskoye (in the Belgorod region);
- M. Stoilenskoye (in the Belgorod region);
- M. Kostomukshskoe (Karelia);
- M. Stoylo-Lebedinskoe (in the Belgorod region);
- M. Kovdorskoe (in the Murmansk region);
- m. Rudnogorskoe (in the Irkutsk region);
- M. Korobkovskoe (in the Belgorod region);
- M. Olenegorskoe (in the Murmansk region);
- M. Sheregeshevskoe (in the Kemerovo region);
- M. Tashtagolskoye (in the Kemerovo region);
- M. Abakanskoe (Khakassia);
- M. Yakovlevskoe (in the Belgorod region).

Over the past decade, an increase in iron ore mining has been observed in the Russian Federation. The average annual growth rate is about 4%. However, there is something to strive for: the share of Russian ore in global production is less than 5.6%. Basically, all ore in Russia is mined at the KMA (54.6%). In Karelia and the Murmansk region, the volume is 18% of the total production, in the Sverdlovsk region, 16% of the ore is given out.

Iron ore Is the main raw material for the global metallurgical industry. The economies of different countries largely depend on the market for this mineral, therefore, the development of mines is given increased attention all over the world.

Ore: definition and features

Ores are rocks that are used to process and extract the metals they contain. The types of these minerals differ in origin, chemical content, concentration of metals and impurities. The chemical composition of the ore contains various of its oxides, hydroxides and carbonate iron salts.

Interesting! The ore has been in demand on the farm since ancient times. Archaeologists managed to find out that the manufacture of the first objects from iron dates back to the 2nd century. BC. For the first time this material was used by the inhabitants of Mesopotamia.

Iron- a chemical element common in nature. Its content in the crust of the earth is about 4.2%. But in its pure form, it almost never occurs, most often in the form of compounds - in oxides, iron carbonates, salts, etc. Iron ore is a combination of minerals with significant amounts of iron. In the national economy, the use of ores containing more than 55% of this element is considered economically justified.

What is made from ore

Iron ore industry- the metallurgical industry, which specializes in the extraction and processing of iron ore. The main purpose of this material today is the production of cast iron and steel.

All products made from iron can be divided into groups:

  • Pig iron with a high carbon concentration (above 2%).
  • Cast iron.
  • Steel in ingots for the manufacture of rolled products, reinforced concrete and steel pipes.
  • Ferroalloys for steelmaking.

What is ore for?

The material is used for smelting iron and steel. Today, there is practically no industrial area that does without these materials.

Cast iron Is an alloy of carbon and iron with manganese, sulfur, silicon and phosphorus. Pig iron is produced in blast furnaces, where ore is separated from iron oxides at high temperatures. Almost 90% of the obtained pig iron is limiting and is used in steelmaking.

Various technologies are used:

  • electron beam smelting for pure, high quality material;
  • vacuum treatment;
  • electro-slag remelting;
  • refining of steel (elimination of harmful impurities).

The difference between steel and cast iron is the minimum concentration of impurities. For cleaning, oxidizing smelting in open-hearth furnaces is used.

The highest quality steel is smelted in electric induction furnaces at extremely high temperatures.

Ore differs in the concentration of the element it contains. It can be enriched (with a concentration of 55%) and poor (from 26%). It is advisable to use poor ores in production only after beneficiation.

The following types of ores are distinguished by origin:

  • Magmatogenic (endogenous) - formed under the influence of high temperature;
  • Surface - settled remains of the element on the bottom of sea basins;
  • Metamorphogenic - obtained under the influence of extremely high pressure.

The main compounds of minerals with iron content:

  • Hematite (red iron ore). The most valuable source of iron with an element content of 70% and a minimum concentration of harmful impurities.
  • Magnetite. A chemical element with a metal content of 72% is distinguished by high magnetic properties and is mined on magnetic iron ore.
  • Siderite (iron carbonate). There is a high content of waste rock, iron itself in it is about 45-48%.
  • Brown iron ore. A group of hydrous oxides with a low percentage of iron, with impurities of manganese and phosphorus. An element with such properties is distinguished by good recoverability and a porous structure.

The type of material depends on its composition and the content of additional impurities. The most common red iron ore with a high percentage of iron can be found in different states - from very dense to dusty.

Brown iron ore have a loose, slightly porous structure of brown or yellowish color. Such an element often needs to be enriched, while being easily processed into ore (high-quality pig iron is obtained from it).

Magnetic iron ore are dense and granular in structure, looking like crystals embedded in the rock. The shade of the ore is characteristic black and blue.

How ore is mined

The extraction of iron ore is a complex technical process in which immersion into the earth's interior takes place in order to search for minerals. Today, there are two ways of mining ore: open and closed.

Open (career method) is the most common and safest option in comparison with the closed technique. The method is relevant for those cases when there are no hard rocks in the working area, and there are no settlements or engineering systems nearby.

First, a quarry is pulled out to a depth of 350 meters, after which iron is collected and removed from the bottom by large machines. After extraction, the material is sent to the steel and cast iron factories in diesel locomotives.

Quarries are dug with excavators, but this process takes a long time. As soon as the machine reaches the first layer of the mine, the material is submitted for examination in order to determine the percentage of iron content and the feasibility of further work (if the percentage is higher than 55%, work in this area continues).

Interesting! Compared to the closed method, mining in quarries is half the price. This technology does not require the arrangement of mines or the creation of tunnels. At the same time, the efficiency of work in open pits is several times higher, and the loss of material is five times less.

Closed mining method

Shaft (closed) ore mining is used only if it is planned to preserve the integrity of the landscape in the area where the ore deposits are being developed. Also, this method is relevant for work in mountainous areas. In this case, a network of tunnels is created underground, which leads to additional costs - the construction of the mine itself and the complex transportation of metal to the surface. The main drawback is the high risk to the lives of workers, the mine can collapse and block access to the surface.

Where is the ore mined

Iron ore mining is one of the leading spheres of the economic complex of the Russian Federation. Despite this, the share of Russia in the world ore production is only 5.6%. World reserves are about 160 billion tons. The volume of pure iron reaches 80 billion tons.

Countries rich in ores

The distribution of fossils by country is as follows:

  • Russia - 18%;
  • Brazil - 18%;
  • Australia - 13%;
  • Ukraine - 11%;
  • China - 9%;
  • Canada - 8%;
  • USA - 7%;
  • other countries - 15%.

Significant deposits of iron ore are noted in Sweden (cities of Falun and Gellivar). In America, a large amount of ore is found in the state of Pennsylvania. In Norway, the metal is mined in Persberg and Arendali.

Ores of Russia

The Kursk Magnetic Anomaly is a large iron ore deposit in the Russian Federation and in the world, in which the volume of crude metal reaches 30,000 million tons.




Interesting! Analysts note that the scale of production of minerals at the mines of the KMA will remain until 2020, in the future there will be a decline.

The area of ​​mines on the Kola Peninsula is 115,000 sq. Km. Iron, nickel, copper ores, cobalt and apatite are mined here.

The Ural Mountains are also among the largest ore deposits in the Russian Federation. The main development area is Kachkanar. The volume of ore resources is 7000 million tons.

To a lesser extent, the metal is mined in the West Siberian basin, in Khakassia, the Kerch basin, in Zabaikalsk and the Irkutsk region.

As you know, Russia is very rich in natural resources and is actively developing their production. It is on its territory that the world's largest iron ore deposits are located. The metal made from it, as you know, is important not only for production purposes, but also for everyday needs. Let's take a closer look at how iron ore is mined in Russia.

Man has learned to receive various benefits from the earth for his existence since ancient times. Cultivation of the land allows him to grow food, and the extraction of minerals from its depths and their processing - raw materials and fuel for a variety of purposes.

It was from the time that man began to extract iron that a completely new stage began in his development. Today, life without metal can no longer be imagined - it has become so entrenched in all its spheres. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the largest volume of extraction of metal ores was assigned to iron.

Despite the fact that iron is found in many rocks, only the most economically viable ones are mined, which contain the largest amount of metals and are suitable for processing in terms of their qualities.

Specifications

The ore contains many homogeneous bodies - minerals, and their quantity and the presence of iron itself are the main criteria that determine its quality. An important role is also played by the amount of impurities, chemical, physical properties and a number of other indicators. According to the content of ferrous compounds, the following types are divided:

  • very rich (iron exceeds 65%);
  • rich (50% -65%);
  • medium (25% -45%);
  • poor (25% or less).

The composition of the ore and its other characteristics affect its further use. In particular, it can be used to make cast iron or steel. At the same time, a large number of harmful impurities complicate the processes of metal production and increase their cost. Some chemical elements are purposefully extracted from it.

Iron ore deposits

Iron ore deposits are usually classified according to their origin. In total, in geology, it is customary to distinguish the following types of them:

  1. Magmatogenic, formed as a result of high temperature effects.
  2. Exogenous, originating in river valleys. Their formation was influenced by sedimentary processes and weathering of rocks.
  3. Metamorphogenic, which were formed on sedimentary deposits under the influence of various transformation processes, high temperatures and pressures.

Today, over 50 countries are engaged in the iron mining industry and Russia is one of the five leaders. In terms of the amount of reserves, it ranks first and only in terms of the quality of the iron itself is somewhat inferior.

How iron ore is mined

In total, there are two ways to extract iron ore:

  1. Open. Open-air mining.
  2. Closed. Creation of a system of underground mine workings in the form of mines.

The essence of the open method consists in cutting off the top layer of the earth in order to extract the rock using a special technique. Then it goes to special enrichment plants, and then to electrometallurgical plants.

Since the iron ore is buried in a solid, massive and intact rock, blasting operations are carried out to extract it. Their implementation involves the use of ammonium nitrate, oil and other explosives. At the same time, the quality of the extracted rock does not undergo any changes. As a result of explosions, the rock is destroyed, and its fragments are transported from the quarry.

If the depth of the mined mineral formation is below 500 meters, it is no longer possible to use the open-pit method for its extraction. In this case, they resort to the construction of mines, the depth of which, as is known, can reach several kilometers. They are much less harmful to the environment, in contrast to quarries, but they are also more expensive. Special machine-type combines break the rock, after which it is transported to the surface.

How is ore dressing

The sizes of ore layers can be up to two meters, therefore, they must be crushed before enrichment. Then the following methods are used:

  1. Gravitational separation. To separate large and small particles, a mechanical effect is exerted on them - crushing, rotation, etc. It is considered the best and lowest cost method, therefore it has become widespread.
  2. Magnetic separation. With the help of a magnet, iron ore is separated from impurities, which are washed off with water.
  3. Flotation. Metal particles are oxidized by air, which attaches them to itself. For its implementation, only a homogeneous and finely crushed rock is suitable.
  4. Complex way. When only one of the above methods is not enough to obtain the necessary raw materials, they are combined. Sometimes the procedure requires repeated repetition.

Further, the obtained iron ore raw materials are sent to production, where metal will be made from them. In its pure form, it is rarely used, but its various alloys due to individual characteristics have become widespread.

The largest iron ore deposits in Russia

Most of the Russian reserves are usually attributed to Precambrian sedimentary rocks. Mostly these are red, brown and magnetic iron ore, differing in their characteristics. However, only 12% of them are of high quality rock, whose iron content exceeds 60%.

In addition, the geological conditions at the Russian deposits are rather complicated, which presents difficulties in their development, and they are located rather unevenly throughout the territory of the Russian Federation. The largest of them are based in the Central Federal District. More than 55% of the total volume of iron extracted in the country is supplied by these deposits.

Karelia and the Murmansk region also boast that their deposits provide 18% of all ore, while Gusevogorskoye, located in the Sverdlovsk region, provides 16%. Let us consider further the largest deposits of the Russian Federation.

Kursk magnetic anomaly

It is in it that more than half of the total iron reserve on the planet is located. The Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (KMA) is the world's largest iron ore basin. Most of it is located mainly in the following regions:

  • Kursk;
  • Orlovskaya;
  • Belgorod.

It should be noted that, in aggregate, its borders affect nine regions of central and southern Russia. Active development is underway at the following fields of the KMA:

  • Stoilensky;
  • Mikhailovsky;
  • Lebedinsky.

KMA reserves are estimated at billions of tons, which makes it the largest field in the world. Nevertheless, the explored volumes are only 30 billion tons. Its area is over 160 thousand km². The ore mined in it is represented by magnetite quartzites and granitoids.

The texture of the ore mined in the KMA is multicomponent, and its depth varies from 30 to 650 meters. In the future, there is also the discovery of new fields for development.

Bakcharskoe deposit

This deposit is also considered to be one of the largest occurrences of ore in the world. Belongs to the West Siberian basin in the Tomsk region between the Androma and Iksa rivers.

Represents four iron ore layers, overlapping each other in some places. The ore occurs at a depth of 200 meters, and from the northern side it reaches up to 300 meters. With an area of ​​16 thousand km², the estimated volume of its reserves is over 30 billion tons.

The deposit is well explored and contains high quality ore. The amount of iron in it reaches 57%, moreover, it lends itself well to enrichment, which can increase its content to 97%.

The mined iron ore contains components of such metals as cobalt, titanium, chromium, etc. It is noteworthy that this field was discovered completely randomly, during an expedition to search for oil back in the 60s.

Olenegorskoye field

Its base of raw materials abounds in ferruginous quartzites, where magnetite and hematite act as key minerals. Although the rock is located almost at the surface, the main ore body reaches a depth of 800 meters or more, and its length is 32 kilometers.

There are very few harmful impurities in the ore of this deposit, which makes it possible to obtain high-quality metal. Another advantage of the Olenegorsk iron ore is its easy dressing. However, the iron content in it is only 31%.

Conclusion

It is important to emphasize that Russia, being quite rich in natural resources, is also quite harsh in terms of climate and geography. Extraction of natural resources on its territory is associated with much higher costs and risks. But it is thanks to these difficulties that the mining industry is developing at such an active pace.

Today it is difficult to imagine life without steel, from which many things around us are made. The basis of this metal is iron, obtained by smelting ore. Iron ore differs in origin, quality, method of extraction, which determines the feasibility of its extraction. Also, iron ore is distinguished by its mineral composition, the percentage of metals and impurities, as well as the usefulness of the additives themselves.

Iron as a chemical element is a part of many rocks, however, not all of them are considered raw materials for mining. It all depends on the percentage of the substance. Specifically, iron formations are called mineral formations in which the volume of useful metal makes it economically feasible to extract it.

They began to extract such raw materials 3000 years ago, since iron made it possible to produce better quality durable products in comparison with copper and bronze (see). And already at that time, the masters who had smelters distinguished the types of ore.

Today the following types of raw materials are mined for further metal smelting:

  • Titanium-magnetite;
  • Apatite-magnetite;
  • Magnetite;
  • Magnetite-hematite;
  • Goethite-hydrogoethite.

Iron ore is considered rich if it contains at least 57% iron. But, development can be considered expedient at 26%.

Iron in the composition of the rock is more often in the form of oxides, the remaining additives are silica, sulfur and phosphorus.

All currently known types of ores were formed in three ways:

  • Magmatic... Such ores were formed as a result of exposure to high temperatures of magma or ancient volcanic activity, that is, the melting and mixing of other rocks. Such minerals are hard crystalline minerals with a high percentage of iron. Magmatic ore deposits are usually tied to old mountain building zones where molten matter came close to the surface.

The process of formation of igneous rocks is as follows: the melt of various minerals (magma) is a very fluid substance, and when cracks form in the places of faults, it fills them, cooling down and acquiring a crystalline structure. This is how the layers with the magma frozen in the earth's crust were formed.

  • Metamorphic... This is how sedimentary types of minerals are transformed. The process is as follows: when moving individual sections of the earth's crust, some of its layers containing the necessary elements fall under the overlying rocks. At depth, they are susceptible to heat and pressure from the upper layers. Over the course of millions of years of such exposure, chemical reactions take place here, transforming the composition of the starting material, crystallization of the substance. Then, in the process of the next movement, the rocks are closer to the surface.

Typically, iron ore of this origin does not occur too deeply and has a high percentage of useful metal composition. For example, as a bright sample - magnetic iron ore (up to 73-75% iron).

  • Sedimentary... The main "workers" in the ore formation process are water and wind. Breaking rock strata and moving them to lowlands where they accumulate in layers. Plus water, as a reagent, can modify the starting material (leach). As a result, brown iron ore is formed - a crumbly and loose ore containing from 30% to 40% iron, with a large amount of various impurities.

The raw materials are often mixed in strata with clays, limestones and igneous rocks due to a variety of formation paths. Sometimes deposits of different origins can be mixed in one field. But most often one of the listed types of breed predominates.

Having established by means of geological exploration an approximate picture of the processes occurring in a particular area, they determine the possible places with the occurrence of iron ores. As, for example, the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly, or the Krivoy Rog Basin, where, due to magmatic and metamorphic influences, types of iron ore of industrial value were formed.

Mining of iron ores on an industrial scale

Mankind began to mine ore a very long time ago, but most often it was raw materials of poor quality with significant sulfur impurities (sedimentary rocks, the so-called "swamp" iron). The scale of development and smelting was constantly increasing. Today, a whole classification of various iron ore deposits has been built.

The main types of industrial deposits

All ore deposits are divided into types depending on the origin of the rock, which in turn makes it possible to distinguish the main and secondary iron ore regions.

Major types of industrial iron ore deposits

These include the following deposits:

  • Deposits of various types of iron ore (ferruginous quartzite, magnetic iron ore), formed by the metamorphic method, which makes it possible to extract very rich ores in their composition. Usually deposits are associated with the most ancient processes of formation of rocks of the earth's crust and lie on formations called shields.

Crystalline Shield are large curved lens formations. It consists of rocks formed at the stage of the formation of the earth's crust 4.5 billion years ago.

The most famous deposits of this type are the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly, the Krivoy Rog Basin, Lake Superior (USA / Canada), the Hamersley province in Australia, and the Minas Gerais iron ore region in Brazil.

  • Deposits of bedded sedimentary rocks. These deposits were formed as a result of the deposition of iron-rich compounds that are present in the composition of minerals destroyed by wind and water. A striking example of iron ore in such deposits is brown iron ore.

The most famous and large deposits are the Lorraine basin in France and the Kerch one on the peninsula of the same name (Russia).

  • Skarn deposits. Usually, the ore is of magmatic and metamorphic origin, the layers of which, after formation, were displaced at the time of the formation of the mountains. That is, iron ore, located in layers at a depth, was crumpled into folds and moved to the surface during the movement of the lithospheric plates. Such deposits are more often located in folded areas in the form of beds or irregular pillars. Formed by a magmatic method. Representatives of such deposits: Magnitogorskoe (Ural, Russia), Sarbaiskoe (Kazakhstan), Iron Springs (USA) and others.
  • Titanomagnetite ore deposits. Their origin is magmatic, most often found at the outcrops of ancient bedrocks - shields. These include basins and fields in Norway, Canada, Russia (Kachkanarskoye, Kusinskoye).

Secondary deposits include: apatite-magnetite, magneto-magnetite, siderite, ferromanganese deposits, developed in Russia, European countries, Cuba and others.

Iron ore reserves in the world - leading countries

To date, according to various estimates, deposits with a total volume of 160 billion tons of ore have been explored, from which about 80 billion tons of metal can be obtained.

The US Geological Survey presents data on which Russia and Brazil account for about 18% of the world's iron ore reserves.

In terms of iron reserves, the following leading countries can be distinguished

The picture of world ore reserves is as follows

Most of these countries are also the largest exporters of iron ore. In general, the volume of raw materials sold is about 960 million tons per year. The largest importers are Japan, China, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan, France.

Usually private companies are involved in the extraction and sale of raw materials. For example, the largest in our country Metallinvest and Evrazholding, which produce a total of about 100 million tons of iron ore products.

According to the estimates of the same US Geological Survey, the volumes of mining and production are constantly growing, about 2.5-3 billion tons of ore are mined per year, which reduces its cost on the world market.

The markup for 1 ton today is approximately $ 40. The record price was fixed in 2007 - 180 USD / ton.

How is iron ore mined?

The layers of iron ore occur at different depths, which determines its methods of extraction from the bowels.

Career way. The most common method of open pit mining is used when deposits are found at a depth of about 200-300 meters. Development takes place through the use of powerful excavators and rock crushing plants. After that, it is loaded for transportation to processing plants.

Mine method. The mine method is used for deeper seams (600-900 meters). Initially, the shaft of the mine is pierced, from which drifts are developed along the seams. From where the crushed rock is fed "to the mountain" with the help of conveyors. Ore from the mines is also sent to beneficiation plants.

Downhole hydraulic production. First of all, for borehole hydraulic production, a well is drilled to the formation of the rock. After that, pipes are brought into the target, the ore is crushed with a powerful pressure of water with further extraction. But this method today has very low efficiency and is used quite rarely. For example, 3% of raw materials are extracted by this method, and 70% by mine.

Once mined, the iron ore material needs to be processed to become the main raw material for metal smelting.

Since in the composition of ores, in addition to the necessary iron, there are many impurities, in order to obtain the maximum useful yield, it is necessary to purify the rock by preparing the material (concentrate) for smelting. The whole process is carried out at mining and processing plants. To various types of ores, their own techniques and methods of purification and removal of unnecessary impurities are applied.

For example, the technological chain of enrichment of magnetic iron ore is as follows:

  • Initially, the ore goes through the stage of crushing in crushing plants (for example, jaw) and is conveyed by a belt conveyor to a separation station.
  • Using electromagnetic separators, parts of the magnetic iron ore are separated from waste waste rock.
  • After that, the ore mass is transported to the next crushing.
  • The crushed minerals are transferred to the next cleaning station, the so-called vibrating sieves, here the useful ore is sieved, separating from the unnecessary light rock.
  • The next stage is a bunker of fine ore, in which small particles of impurities are separated by vibrations.
  • Subsequent cycles include the next addition of water, grinding and passing the ore mass through slurry pumps, which remove unnecessary sludge (waste rock) together with the liquid, and again crushing.
  • After repeated cleaning by pumps, the ore goes to the so-called screen, which once again cleans the minerals by the gravitational method.
  • The mixture, which has been purified many times, goes to a dehydrator that removes water.
  • Dried ore again goes to magnetic separators, and only then to the gas-liquid station.

Brown iron ore is purified according to slightly different principles, but the essence of this does not change, because the main task of beneficiation is to obtain the purest raw materials for production.

The enrichment results in an iron ore concentrate used in smelting.

What is made from iron ore - the use of iron ore

It is understood that iron ore is used to produce metal. But, even two thousand years ago, metallurgists realized that in its pure form, iron is a rather soft material, products from which are slightly better than bronze. The result was the discovery of an alloy of iron and carbon - steel.

Carbon for steel plays the role of cement, which strengthens the material. Usually, the composition of such an alloy contains from 0.1 to 2.14% carbon, and more than 0.6% is already high-carbon steel.

Today, a huge list of products, equipment and machinery is made from this metal. However, the invention of steel was associated with the development of weaponry, in which craftsmen tried to obtain a material with durable characteristics, but at the same time, with excellent flexibility, malleability, and other technical, physical and chemical characteristics. Today, high quality metal has other additives alloying it, adding hardness and wear resistance.

The second material that is produced from iron ore is cast iron. It is also an alloy of iron with carbon, of which there is more than 2.14% in the composition.

For a long time, cast iron was considered a useless material, which was obtained either in violation of the technology of steel smelting, or as a by-product that settles at the bottom of smelting furnaces. Basically it was thrown away, it is impossible to forge it (fragile and practically not plastic).

Before the advent of artillery, they tried to add cast iron on the farm in various ways. For example, in construction, foundation blocks were made from it, coffins were made in India, and coins were initially minted in China. The advent of cannons made it possible to use cast iron for casting nuclei.

Today, cast iron is used in many industries, especially in mechanical engineering. Also, this metal is used to obtain steel (open-hearth furnaces and the immortal method).

With the growth of production, more and more materials are required, which contributes to the intensive development of deposits. But developed countries consider it more expedient to import relatively inexpensive raw materials, reducing the volume of their own production. This allows the main exporting countries to increase the extraction of iron ore with its further enrichment and sale as a concentrate.

Iron ore is a natural mineral formation that contains iron compounds accumulated in such a volume, which is sufficient for its economically profitable extraction. Of course, all rocks contain iron. But iron ores are precisely those ferrous compounds that are so rich in this substance that they allow the industrial extraction of metallic iron.

Types of iron ores and their main characteristics

All iron ores differ greatly in their mineral composition, the presence of harmful and useful impurities. The conditions of their formation and, finally, the iron content.

The main materials that are classified as ore can be divided into several groups:

  • Iron oxides, which include hematite, martite, magnetite.
  • Iron hydroxides - hydrogoethite and goethite;
  • Silicates - thuringite and chamosite;
  • Carbonates - sideroplesite and siderite.

In industrial iron ores, iron is contained in various concentrations - from 16 to 72%. The useful impurities contained in iron ores include: Mn, Ni, Co, Mo, etc. There are also harmful impurities, which include: Zn, S, Pb, Cu, etc.

Iron ore deposits and mining technology

By genesis, the existing iron ore deposits are divided into:

  • Endogenous. They can be magmatic, in the form of inclusions of titanomagnetite ores. There may also be carbonatite inclusions. In addition, there are lenticular, sheet-like skarn-magnetite deposits, volcano-sedimentary sheet deposits, hydrothermal veins, as well as irregularly shaped ore bodies.
  • Exogenous. These mainly include brown iron and siderite sedimentary bedded deposits, as well as deposits of thuringite, chamosite and hydrogoethite ores.
  • Metamorphogenic are deposits of ferruginous quartzites.

The maximum volumes of ore mining are provoked by significant reserves and fall on the Precambrian ferruginous quartzites. Sedimentary brown iron ores are less widespread.

When extracting, a distinction is made between rich and ores requiring enrichment. The iron ore mining industry also carries out pre-processing: sorting, crushing and the aforementioned beneficiation, as well as sintering. The ore mining industry is called the iron ore industry and is a raw material base for the ferrous metallurgy.

Industries of application

Iron ore is the main raw material for pig iron production. It goes to open-hearth or converter production, as well as iron reduction. As you know, a wide variety of products are made from iron, as well as from cast iron. The following industries need these materials:

  • Mechanical engineering and metalworking;
  • Automotive industry;
  • Rocket industry;
  • Military industry;
  • Food and light industry;
  • Building sector;
  • Oil and gas production and transportation.