Brief description of the main minerals.
Aluminum ores - minerals and rocks used to produce aluminum. The main aluminum ores are bauxite, nepheline and alunite.
Bauxites (the name comes from the Bo area in the south of France) - sedimentary rocks of red or brown color. In northern Australia, 1/3 of their global reserves lie, and the country is among the leading states in their production. In Russia, bauxite is mined in the Ural Mountains. The main component of bauxite is alumina.
Alunites (the name comes from the word Alun - alum (fr.) - minerals, which include aluminum, potassium and other inclusions. Alunite ore can be a raw material for not only aluminum, but also potassium fertilizers and sulfuric acid. Alunite deposits are in USA, China, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and other countries.
Nepheline (the name comes from the Greek "nephele", which means the cloud) - minerals of complex composition, gray or green, containing a significant amount of aluminum. They are part of igneous rocks. In Russia nepheline is mined on the Kola Peninsula and in Eastern Siberia. The aluminum obtained from these ores is a soft metal, gives strong alloys, is widely used in mechanical engineering, as well as in the manufacture of household goods.
Iron ores are natural mineral clusters containing iron. according to the mineralogical composition, the amount of iron in them and various impurities. Impurities can be valuable (manganese chromium, cobalt, nickel) and harmful (sulfur, phosphorus, arsenic). The main iron ores are brown iron ore, red iron ore, magnetic iron ore.
Brown iron ore, or limonite, is a mixture of several minerals containing iron mixed with clay substances. It has a brown, yellow-brown or black color. It occurs most often in sedimentary rocks. If the ores of brown iron ore - one of the most common iron ores - have an iron content of at least 30%, then they are considered industrial. The main deposits are in Russia (Ural, Lipetsk), Ukraine (Kerch), France (Lorraine), and Cuba.
Red iron ore, or hematite, is a mineral from red-brown to black, containing iron up to 65%. It is found in various rocks in the form of crystals and thin plates. Sometimes it forms clusters in the form of solid or earthy masses of bright red color. The main deposits of red iron ore are in Russia (KMA), Ukraine (Kryvyi Rih), USA, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Canada, Sweden.
Magnetic iron ore, or magnetite, is a black mineral containing 50-60% of iron. This is high quality iron ore. Consists of iron and oxygen, highly magnetic. It occurs in the form of crystals, inclusions and solid masses. The main deposits are in Russia (Ural, KMA, Siberia), in Ukraine (Krivoy Rog), in Sweden and the USA.
Copper ores are mineral deposits containing copper in an amount suitable for industrial use. Ores containing copper from 1% and above are usually processed. Most copper ores require enrichment - separation of waste rock from a valuable component. About 90% of the world's copper reserves are concentrated in deposits whose ores, in addition to copper, include some other metal. Most often this is nickel. Copper is widely used in industry, especially in the electrical industry and in mechanical engineering. Copper is used for the production of alloys that are widely used both in everyday life and in industry: an alloy of copper with tin (bronze), an alloy of copper with nickel (cupronickel), an alloy of copper with zinc (brass), an alloy of copper with aluminum (duralumin). In Russia, copper ores occur in the Urals, in Eastern Siberia, on the Kola Peninsula. Rich ore deposits are available in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Armenia. Among foreign countries, copper ore is mined by Chile, Peru, Zaire, Zambia, Congo, Canada, USA, Poland.
Manganese ores are mineral compounds containing manganese, the main property of which is to give ductility and hardness to steel and cast iron. Modern metallurgy is unthinkable without manganese: a special alloy is smelted - ferromanganese, containing up to 80% manganese, which is used for smelting stainless steel. In addition, manganese is necessary for the growth and development of animals, is microfertilizer. The main ore deposits are located in Ukraine (Nikolskoye), India, Brazil and the Republic of South Africa.
Tin ores are numerous minerals containing tin. Tin ores with a tin content of 1-2% or more are being developed. These ores require enrichment - an increase in the valuable component and separation of waste rock, therefore ores are going to smelting, the tin content of which is increased to 55%. Tin is not oxidized, which caused its widespread use in the canning industry. In Russia, tin ores occur in Eastern Siberia and the Far East, and abroad they are mined in Indonesia, on the Malacca Peninsula.
Tungsten ores are minerals containing tungsten. In nature, they are found in conjunction with iron, manganese and potassium. Tungsten is a very important industrial metal. 90% of it is used in the production of stainless steel, since the addition of tungsten sharply increases its hardness, increases its strength and elasticity. Tungsten is also used in the manufacture of filaments for light bulbs, for the manufacture of high-quality paints. Tungsten ores in Russia are mined in Eastern Siberia and the North Caucasus. Abroad - in China, USA, Bolivia, Portugal, Myanmar.
Nickel ores are mineral compounds containing nickel. It does not oxidize in air. The addition of nickel to steels greatly increases their elasticity. Pure nickel is used in mechanical engineering. In Russia, it is mined on the Kola Peninsula, in the Urals, in Eastern Siberia; Abroad - in Canada, Cuba, and Brazil.
Uranium-radium ores are mineral deposits containing uranium. Radium is a product of the radioactive decay of uranium. The radium content in uranium ores is negligible - up to 300 mg per 1 ton of ore. Uranium ores are of great importance, since nuclear fission of each gram of uranium can give 2 million times more energy than burning 1 gram of fuel, so they are used as fuel at nuclear power plants to produce cheap electricity. Uranium-radium ores are mined in Russia, the USA, China, Canada, Congo, South Africa and other countries of the world.