Mineral deposit, aggregate of a mineral in an unusually high concentration. About half of the known chemical elements possess some metallic properties. The…

Smelting Perhaps 1,000 years after humans learned about melting virgin copper, they found that still another…

Ore, a natural aggregation of one or more minerals that can be mined, processed, and…

Mining, process of extracting useful minerals from the surface of the Earth, including the seas. A mineral, with…

Mineral, naturally occurring homogeneous solid with a definite chemical composition and a highly ordered atomic arrangement; it is usually formed by inorganic…

Sintering, the welding together of small particles of metal by applying heat below the melting point. The process…

Blast furnace, a vertical shaft furnace that produces liquid metals by the reaction of a flow of air introduced…

Surface mining, method of extracting minerals near the surface of the Earth. The three most…

Hematite, also spelled haematite, heavy and relatively hard oxide mineral, ferric oxide (Fe2O3), that constitutes the most important iron ore because…

Beneficiation, removal of worthless particles from pulverized metal ore. Ores Iron ores occur in igneous, metamorphic…