Ore Minerals

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.

Some Common Ore Minerals

metal mineral formula

Al gibbsite Al(OH)3
boehmite AlO(OH)
diaspore AlO(OH)
Fe magnetite Fe3O4
hematite Fe2O3
goethite FeO(OH)
siderite FeCO3
pyrite FeS2
Cu copper Cu
chalcopyrite CuFeS2
bornite Cu5FeS4
chalcocite Cu2S
covellite CuS
Ni pentlandite (Ni,Fe)9S8
garnierite (Ni,Mg)3Si2O5(OH)4
Zn sphalerite ZnS
wurtzite ZnS
zincite ZnO
franklinite ZnFe2O4
Mn hausmannite Mn3O4
polianite MnO2
pyrolusite MnO2
cassiterite SnO2
Cr chromite FeCr2O4

Pb galena PbS
cerussite PbCO3
Ag gold Au
calaverite AuTe2