Iron Ore

Iron (Fe) is one of the most abundant rock-forming elements, constituting about 5% of the Earth\'s crust. It is the fourth most abundant element after oxygen, silicon and aluminium, and after aluminium, the most abundant and widely distributed metal. Iron is indispensable to modern civilisation and people have been skilled in its use for more than 3,000 years. However, its use only became widespread in the 14th century, when smelting furnaces (the forerunner of blast furnaces) began to replace forges. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in colour from dark grey, bright yellow, deep purple, to rusty red. The iron itself is usually found in the form of magnetite, hematite, goethite, limonite, or siderite.

Iron ore is the raw material used to make pig iron, which is one of the main raw materials to make steel. 98% of the mined iron ore is used to make steel. It is for this reason iron is perhaps one of the most important metals used in developed and developing economies. Indeed, it has been argued that iron ore is \"more integral to the global economy than any other commodity, except perhaps oil\".

The pure iron metal is strongly magnetic and melts at 1528° C. Magnetite ore is used to remove impurities in coal washing, and its magnetic qualities enable recovery and reuse.