Ore concentrate
Encyclopedia
Ore concentrate, dressed ore or simply concentrate is the product generally produced by metal
ore mines
. The raw ore is usually ground finely in various comminution
operations and gangue
(waste) is removed, thus concentrating the metal component. The concentrate is then transported to smelters
where it is used to produce useful metals.
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
ore mines
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
. The raw ore is usually ground finely in various comminution
Comminution
Comminution is the process in which solid materials are reduced in size, by crushing, grinding and other processes. It occurs naturally during faulting in the upper part of the crust and is an important operation in mineral processing, ceramics, electronics and other fields. Within industrial uses,...
operations and gangue
Gangue
In mining, gangue is the commercially worthless material that surrounds, or is closely mixed with, a wanted mineral in an ore deposit. The separation of mineral from gangue is known as mineral processing, mineral dressing or ore dressing and it is a necessary and often significant aspect of mining...
(waste) is removed, thus concentrating the metal component. The concentrate is then transported to smelters
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
where it is used to produce useful metals.