9.2: Ore Minerals
- Page ID
- 17549
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Ores and ore minerals vary greatly in quality. Ideal ores contain 100% ore minerals. Such ores do not exist, but some come close. Ideal ore minerals contain 100% of the commodity of interest. Native copper, for example, is an ideal copper ore mineral. Ideal ore minerals are, however, uncommon. The most commonly mined ores are not ideal. Instead they are rich in ore minerals that can be processed relatively inexpensively to isolate desired components.
The table seen here lists common ore minerals for various metals. The minerals include the native metals copper and gold, and many sulfides, oxides, and hydroxides. Minerals in these groups are generally good ore minerals because they contain relatively large amounts of the desired elements. Furthermore, processing and element extraction are usually straightforward and relatively inexpensive. That is why we mine Cu and Cu-Fe sulfides for their copper content and iron oxides for their iron content.
Silicate minerals, although common, are generally poor ore minerals and are not included in the table. For example, although aluminum is found in many common silicates, tight bonding makes producing metallic aluminum from silicates uneconomical. We obtain most aluminum from Al-hydroxides found in bauxite deposits.
We discussed igneous and sedimentary minerals in previous chapters. In the following section, we focus on economic minerals that belong to other groups.
| Some Common Ore Minerals | ||
| metal | mineral | formula |
| Al | gibbsite boehmite diaspore |
Al(OH)3 AlO(OH) AlO(OH) |
| Fe | magnetite hematite goethite siderite pyrite |
Fe3O4 Fe2O3 FeO(OH) FeCO3 FeS2 |
| Cu | copper chalcopyrite bornite chalcocite covellite |
Cu CuFeS2 Cu5FeS4 Cu2S CuS |
| Ni | pentlandite garnierite |
(Ni,Fe)9S8 (Ni,Mg)3Si2O5(OH)4 |
| Zn | sphalerite wurtzite zincite franklinite |
ZnS ZnS ZnO ZnFe2O4 |
| Mn | hausmannite polianite pyrolusite cassiterite |
Mn3O4 MnO2 MnO2 SnO2 |
| Cr | chromite | FeCr2O4 |
| Pb | galena cerussite |
PbS PbCO3 |
| Ag | gold calaverite |
Au AuTe2 |