Ore Minerals

The two methods of mining and extracting of minerals from rocks:

- How ores are found, mined and processed for human use.

Surface Mining
- Ore minerals are found near the surface of the Earth. Ores are covered and buried with
soil and rocks. These ore minerals are obtained through blasting, which gets rid of the
unwanted rocks and soil, leaving only the valuable materials. The valuable materials that
are obtained through open-pit mining, quarrying, or strip mining are placed in a truck,
then brought to a refinery for a process called mineral processing. Through this mining
method, materials like copper, coal, gold, silver, iron, aluminum, and many more can be
acquired. Non-metallic minerals such as sand and gravel used for constructions can also
be obtained.

Underground Mining
- Ore minerals are found beneath the Earth’s surface, these ores can be obtained through
tunnels or caves because they are located deep below the surface. Creating tunnels is their
way to access and reach these ores, miners will use explosive devices to separate the
minerals from the rocks that cover them. Compared to surface mining, this method is
very expensive and dangerous, expensive devices and equipment are required for this
mining method. Aside from that, this is risky for the miners, since the light and air
present in tunnels is not enough, which may cause suffocation.

All the ores acquired in both methods undergo mineral processing which is a process that
extracts the minerals from the ores, determines the properties of these minerals, and finds the
possible uses of it. The primary stages involved in this process are sampling and analysis.
Sampling is a process where a portion that represents the material is withdrawn from a whole
mass, which will be used for the next process called analysis. On the other hand, analysis is a
procedure where minerals are evaluated to separate its valuable components from the non-
valuable ones. After this process, minerals are classified through its properties and uses, this will
then be delivered to manufacturers to transform these minerals into usable products and
technologies that are used for our daily activities.