General characteristics of minerals

First of all, minerals are called rocks and minerals that are used in the economy of countries.

According to their physical condition, they can be:

  • solid - coal, salt, ore, marble, etc.;
  • liquid - oil, mineral waters;
  • gaseous - combustible gas, helium, methane.

When their use is taken as a basis, then they distinguish:

  • combustible - coal, oil, peat;
  • ore - ores of rocks, including metal;
  • non-metallic - gravel, clay, sand, etc.

Precious and ornamental stones represent a separate group.

Mineral resources were formed in different ways and by origin are magmatic, sedimentary, metamorphic, the distribution of which along the earth's interior obeys certain laws.

Folded regions are usually magmatic, i.e. ore minerals. This circumstance is due to the fact that they are formed from magma and hot aqueous solutions released from it.

Magma rises from the depths of the earth through cracks in the earth's crust and freezes in them at different depths.

Also, ore minerals can be formed from the erupted magma-lava, which cools down relatively quickly. Magma is introduced, as a rule, during the period of active tectonic movements, therefore ore minerals are associated with the folded regions of the planet.

Ores can also form on platform plains, but, in this case, they are confined to the lower tier of the platform. On platforms, ore minerals are associated with shields, i.e. with outcrops of the platform foundation to the surface or in those places where the sedimentary cover does not differ in thickness, and the foundation is close to the surface.

An example of such a deposit is the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly in Russia and the Krivoy Rog Basin in Ukraine.

Remark 1

In general, ore is a mineral aggregate from which metal or metal compounds can be extracted by technological means.

Metal ores are associated with areas of active mountain building, but the presence of mountains does not mean the presence of rich deposits. The third part of Europe, for example, is occupied by mountains, but there are very few large ore deposits.

Based on the field of application, ore minerals are divided into groups - ferrous metal ores, non-ferrous metal ores, noble metal ores and radioactive metals.

Such ore minerals as iron ore are the basis for the production of ferrous metals - cast iron, steel, rolled products. The largest reserves of iron ore are concentrated in the USA, India, China, Brazil, Canada.

There are separate large deposits in Kazakhstan, France, Sweden, Ukraine, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Australia, Liberia, Malaysia, in the countries of North Africa.

In Russia, apart from KMA, large reserves of iron ores are found in the Urals, the Kola Peninsula, in Karelia, and in Siberia.

Ferrous metal ores

Among the ores of ferrous metals, the most demanded and used in industry are iron ores.

Minerals such as hematite, magnetite, limonite, siderite, chamosite and thuringite are the main iron-bearing rocks.

The extraction of iron ore in the world exceeds 1 billion tons. The largest iron ore producer is China, with 250 million tonnes, while Russia produces 78 million tonnes. 60 million tons are mined by the USA and India, Ukraine - 45 million tons.

Iron ore is mined in the United States in the Lake Superior region and in the state of Michigan.

In Russia, the largest iron ore basin is the KMA, the deposits of which are estimated at 200-210 billion tons, or 50% of the planetary reserves. The deposit covers the Kursk, Belgorod, Orel regions.

For the production of alloy steel and cast iron, manganese is used as an alloying additive to give them strength and hardness.

World industrial reserves of manganese ores are concentrated in Ukraine - 42.2%. There are manganese ores in Kazakhstan, South Africa, Gabon, Australia, China, and Russia.

Large quantities of manganese are also produced in Brazil and India.

In order for steel not to rust, to be heat-resistant and acid-resistant, chromium is needed, one of the main components of ferrous metal ores.

Experts assume that of the world reserves of this ore, 15.3 billion tons of high grade chromite ore is in South Africa - 79%. Chromium is found in small quantities in Kazakhstan, India, Turkey; a fairly large deposit of this ore is located in Armenia. A small field is being developed in Russia in the Urals.

Remark 2

The rarest of the ferrous metals is vanadium. It is used for the production of grade iron and grade steel. Vanadium is very important for the aerospace industry because its additive provides superior performance in titanium alloys.

In the production of sulfuric acid, vanadium is used as a catalyst. It does not exist in its pure form, and vanadium is found in titanomagnetite ores, sometimes found in phosphorites, uranium-bearing sandstones and siltstones. True, its concentration is no more than 2%.

Sometimes even significant amounts of vanadium can be found in bauxite, brown coal, oil shale and sands. When extracting the main components from mineral raw materials, vanadium is obtained as a by-product.

The leaders in the recorded reserves of this ore are South Africa, Australia and Russia, and its main producers are South Africa, the USA, Russia, and Finland.

Non-ferrous metal ores

Non-ferrous metals are presented in two groups:

  1. light, these include aluminum, magnesium, titanium;
  2. heavy ones are copper, zinc, lead, nickel, cobalt.

Of all the non-ferrous metals, aluminum is the most abundant in the earth's crust.

Its physical properties include low density, high thermal conductivity, plasticity, electrical conductivity, and corrosion resistance. This metal lends itself well to forging, stamping, rolling, drawing. It can be easily welded.

The raw material for metallic aluminum is alumina, which is obtained during the processing of bauxite and nepheline ores.

There are bauxite reserves in Guinea, Brazil, Australia, and Russia ranks 9th in terms of them.

Russian bauxite reserves are concentrated in the Belgorod and Sverdlovsk regions, as well as in the Komi Republic. Russian bauxite is of low quality. Nepheline ores occur on the Kola Peninsula. Russia ranks 6th in the world for the production of alumina. All alumina is produced from domestic raw materials.

Titanium, discovered in 1791. Its distinctive characteristics are high strength and corrosion resistance. For industry, the main type of titanium ores is coastal-sea placers. Such large placers are known in Russia, Australia, India, Brazil, New Zealand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka.

The titanium placer deposits are complex and contain zirconium.

Light nonferrous metals include magnesium, which is used in industry relatively recently. During the war years, most of it went for the production of incendiary shells, bombs, flares.

Raw materials for magnesium production are confined to many regions of the planet. Magnesium is found in dolomite, carnallite, bischofite, cainite and other rocks that are widespread in nature.

The United States accounts for about 41% of the world production of metallic magnesium and 12% of its compounds.

In addition to the United States, Turkey and the DPRK are major producers of metallic magnesium. Manufacturers of magnesium compounds - Russia, China, DPRK, Austria, Greece, Turkey.

Among heavy non-ferrous metals, copper stands out, which is a plastic element of a golden-pink hue, covered with an oxygen film in the open air.

A distinctive feature of copper is its high antibacterial properties. In alloys with nickel, tin, gold, zinc, it is used in industry.

After Chile and the United States, Russia ranks third in the world in terms of copper reserves.

In addition to native copper, chalcopyrite and bornite are the raw materials for its production. Copper deposits are spreading in the USA - the Rocky Mountains, in the Canadian Shield and the province of Quebec, Ontario in Canada, in Chile and Peru, in the copper belt of Zambia, DRC, in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia.

The main and large producers of this metal are Chile and the USA, as well as Canada, Indonesia, Peru, Australia, Poland, Zambia, and Russia.

Zinc was first obtained from calamine, essentially it is zinc carbonate ZnCO2. Today zinc is obtained from sulfide ores, the most important of which are zinc blende and marmatite.

Zinc ores are mined in Canada, USA, Russia, Australia, Mexico, Central Africa, Kazakhstan, Japan and other countries.

Large producers of zinc ore - Japan and the USA, are also its major importers.

Nickel, known since antiquity, when added to steel, increases its toughness, elasticity, and anti-corrosion properties.

For the first time metallic cobalt was obtained in 1735. Today it is used for the production of superhard alloys.

The raw material for lead is its main ore mineral galena. Lead ores are mined in many countries, and the leading producers are Australia, China, Peru, Canada.

Lead is mined in Kazakhstan, Russia, Mexico, Sweden, South Africa, Morocco. There are large deposits of lead in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan.

In Russia, lead deposits are concentrated in Altai, Transbaikalia, Yakutia, Primorye, and the North Caucasus.

Iron ore Is the main raw material for the global metallurgical industry. The economies of different countries to a significant extent depend on the market for this mineral, therefore, increased attention is paid to the development of mines 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 increased 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, oxidative 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 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 requires enrichment, while being easily processed into ore (high-quality pig iron is obtained from it).

Magnetic iron ore are dense and grainy in structure, they look 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 to extract 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 up to 350 meters deep is pulled out, 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 on 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 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 ore is 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 (the 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

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

Once my son, leafing through a book about ancient people, puzzled me with a question: " Is the mammoth a mineral? " I, keeping a serious look, replied that, they say, of course, because thanks to him, scientists will learn something new about the history of the Earth. "No," the seven-year-old polymath snapped, "not useful - a mammoth cannot be used in industry!" It was necessary to "keep the brand", so I sketched out a rough diagram of the known types of minerals and their economic value.

Economic value of minerals

"Economic" means "practical", that is, it was necessary to delete all discoveries that have a purely theoretical value, such as the discovery of mineral springs at prohibitively great depths. If you also exclude quite specific fossils. like gems, then the main types of minerals will be combustible (fuel), ore and non-metallic.

Fuel minerals

This group includes the following solid, liquid and gaseous substances:

  • oil... It is widely used to obtain fuel, however, recently it has been actively replaced by environmentally friendly gas;
  • natural gas... Used like fuel in residential premises, as well as raw materials for plastics;
  • coal... Goes to work out fuel in the energy sector. Bituminous coal is used to obtain graphite;
  • oil shale... Mainly used for the production of a composition close to oil resins;
  • peat... The main application is again as fuel, in addition, it is used as fertilizer and thermal insulation material.

Ore minerals

The vast majority of these minerals are used as raw materials for the metallurgical industry, although there are exceptions:

  • iron, nickel, aluminum and other ores - the basis of future metal structures;
  • uranium ore. Application - nuclear industry;
  • sulfuric ore. Raw materials for fertilizers.

Nonmetallic minerals

Fossils of this type are used both naturally and as raw materials:
  • granite, limestone, marble - construction;
  • apatite- production fertilizers;
  • some clays - getting refractory materials;
  • diamond, quartz – jewelry industry.
  • Non-metallic minerals, non-metallic minerals - non-metallic minerals used in industry and construction in their natural form or as raw materials. Nonmetallic minerals can refer to minerals or rocks. Oil, coal, other fossil fuels (fossil fuels), and groundwater (hydromineral underground minerals) are excluded from this definition. Materials such as sand, pebbles, crushed stone, gravel, sandstone, clay, chalk, etc. can be considered both non-metallic minerals, and as a special category - common minerals.

    Over the past decades, nonmetallic minerals have far outstripped metal ores in terms of production volumes and the cost of raw materials used.

    In terms of technological and economic development, non-metallic minerals have their own specifics that distinguish this group from metallic minerals. One of these differences is the strong influence of the composition and properties of raw materials both on the technology of its processing and on the final product, which requires, when assessing deposits, an assessment of the applicability of this particular type of mineral, taking into account its specific properties (for example, thermolite-containing talc, as opposed to steatite talc ). The second difference between many non-metallic minerals is, on the one hand, the use of the same type of raw material in many sectors of the economy, on the other hand, the interchangeability of many types of raw materials (as a filler, the same talc can be replaced with barite or kaolin).