ORE MINERALS

Describe how ore minerals are found,

mined, and processed for human use.
 Rock Seam or 2

Ore
It is a natural rock or
sediment containing one or
more valuable mineral.
 It is a metalliferous mineral,
an
or aggregate of
metalliferous minerals
and gangue (associated rock Chrysotile Asbestos Mineral Seam in
of no economic value), that can Rock
 Mineral 3

Ores
These are rock deposits that contain
minerals.
 Mineral 4

Ores
These are rock deposits that contain
minerals.
 Mineral and Ore 5

 Deposit
Mineral deposit designates a
natural occurrence of a useful
mineral. It is a “geologic term”.

 Ore deposit denotes a mineral

deposit of sufficient extent and
concentration to invite
exploitation. It is an “economic
term”. Map of Mineral Deposits in the
Philippines
 6

Typical
development
workings of an
underground
mine.
How Minerals
are Found?
“Mineral 7

Exploration”
 Mineral 8

 Exploration
It is a complete
sequence of activities
which aims to discover
deposits of minerals
and rocks that can be
used to meet the
resource needs of
society
 1) Project 9

 Design
This is the initial stage in formulating a
project.
 This involves review of all
available data (geologic
reports, mining history,
maps, etc.), government
requirements in acquiring
and economic
the project, acceptability
review of
of social,
the project, andpolitical,
environmental, budget and
organization proposals. alaskajournal.co
m
 2) Field 1
0

Exploration
This stage involves physical activities in the selected
project area. This can be subdivided into three (3)
phases:

A. Regional Reconnaissance - The main objective is to

identify targets or interesting mineralized zones covering a relatively large area
(regional).

B. Detailed Exploration - This involves more detailed surface

and subsurface activities with the objective of finding and delineating targets or
mineralized zones.
 2) Field 1
1

Exploration
This stage involves physical activities in the selected
project area. This can be subdivided into three (3)
phases:
Regional Detailed Exploration Prospect Evaluation
Reconnaissance
 3) Pre-production Feasibility 1
Study 2
 The feasibility study determines and
validates the accuracy of all data and
information collected from the
different stages.

 The purpose is for independent

to satisfy interested investors to rais
assessors
funds and bring the project e
production. int
o
 How Minerals
are Mined?
“Different Types of 1
3
Mining”
 History of 1
4
Mining
Archaeological discoveries indicate that
mining was conducted in prehistoric times.
 Flint – the first mineral
used. It is because of its
conchoidal fracturing pattern,
could be broken into sharp-
edged pieces that were useful as
scrapers, knives, and
 Mini 1
5
ng
It is the process of mineral extraction
from a rock seam or ore.
 It is the process of
extracting useful
minerals from the
surface of the
Earth, including
the seas.
Types of 1
6
Mining
Two (2) Main Methods of
Mining
1) Surface Mining
a) Open-Pit Mining
b) Dredging
c) Strip Mining
d) Quarrying
e) Placer Mining
n
 Types of 1
8
1)Mining
Surface Mining - Utilized to extract ore minerals that are close
to Earth’s
surface. There are different types which includes:

 Open-pit mining –
It is the most common. It
means a big hole (or pit) in
the ground. The pit in mine
is created by blasting with
explosives and drilling. It is
used to mine gravel and
 Types of 1
9
1)Mining
Surface Mining
 Dredging – It is the
process of mining materials
from
bottom the
of a bodyof
includin water,
g rivers, lakes,
oceans. and
 Types of 2
0
1)Mining
Surface Mining
 Strip mining – It
involves the removal of a thin strip
of overburden (earth or soil) above
a desired deposit,
dumpin the removed
g theoverburden
deposit, th
behind extracting
deposit, creating a e
desired second,
parallel strip in the same manner,
and depositing the waste materials This mining method is used for
from that second (new) strip onto coal, phosphates, clays, and
the first strip. tar mining.
 Types of 2
1
1)Mining
Surface
Mining
 Placer
Mining –
It is mining of
stream bed
(alluvial) deposits
for minerals. This
may be done by
 Types of 2
2
2)Mining
Underground Mining - Utilized to extract
ore minerals from the orebody is that is deep under
the Earth’s surface.
 How Minerals
are processed
for human
“Milling use?
or Mineral 2
3
Processing”
 I

It
UI O V
Htn

t
· o , u a t •l t .t l :
-
nckc , tH
naH
"'
V,b, 8 Ul
J

0 H II Mt I n !f J I ,d Mall
tin , It I ,
n ,. 11

'
1 Slimes i on Cell Transfe1r
Hoistin1 Pumps
7 Thickener Feed 1Pump s 8 C ean up
2 Collectio n SumpsPumps 9 HiCh Concentrate FIiter Feed Pumps 10 Pl1peltneTranfe1r
3 Mine Dewatering 4 Clean up Sum.ps S Cyc 11Tailings Pond Clean out
Pumps
12 Sump 13 Fitter Feed 4 Fi irate C rculating Pumps 15 Acidic Sump Pumps, Forth Pumps 16Autoclave Feed
 Milling or Mineral 2
5
 Processing
It is the process of extracting minerals
from the ore, refining them, and
preparing these minerals for use.
 It is an art of treating crude ores and
mineral products in order to separate
the valuable minerals from the waste
rock, or gangue.
 Milling or Mineral 2
6
Processing
Primary Steps in Processing
Minerals
1. Sampling - is the removal of a portion which represents a whole
needed for the analysis of this material.
2. Analysis - is important to evaluate the valuable component in an ore. This
includes
chemical, mineral and is the process
particle where the valuable components of the ore
size analysis.
are and
3. Comminution
separated through crushing
grinding.
-
4. Concentration - involves the separation of the valuable minerals from
the raw This involve filtration and sedimentation of the
materials suspension
drying of the solid materials and from this
harvested
suspension.
 Milling or Mineral 2
7
Processing
Examples of Milling or Recovery Methods or
Processes:
1. Heavy Media Separation - The crushed rocks are submerged in
liquid where the heavier/denser minerals sink thus are separated from the
lighter minerals.
2. Magnetic Separation - If the metal or mineral is magnetic, the
crushed ore is The powdered ore is placed into an agitated and frothy slurry
separated
some minerals where
fromand
the waste materials
metals based onusing a powerful
physical magnet.
and chemical properties may either
3. Flotation -
sink to the bottom or may stick to the bubbles and rise to the top thus
separating the minerals and metals from the waste.
4. Cyanide Heap Leaching - This method used for low-grade gold ore
where
the crushed rock is placed on a “leach pile” where cyanide solution is sprayed or
 Milling or Mineral 2
7
Processing
Examples of Milling or Recovery Methods or
Processes:
5. Optical separation - is a process used in the
concentration of minerals with distinct contrasting
colors (black and white) seen with the naked eye.
6. Gravity separation - is a process that uses the
density of minerals as the concentrating agent and
performs a sink and float separation of water and the
grounded minerals.
7. Electrostatic separation is a process that
separates the mineral particles based on their electric
2
8
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9
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 After processing, only the mineral is used,
and the remaining of the ore is disposed as
waste. This waste, if not handled and managed
properly, can cause serious environmental
problems.
Mining generates a lot of wastes. For
example, a mine obtains 1lb of copper. In the
process of obtaining the 1lb, 99 lbs. of wastes
are removed. Simply put, ore will be one percent
(1%) useful mineral and ninety-nine percent
(99%) waste. Can you imagine how much waste
is produced in mining?
Mining Waste
Products and
Their
 Heavy metal wastes can seep through soil making it
poisonous for plants to grow. Water sources can be
contaminated by the acid used in the mining process.
Tailings, a by-product of milling ores, can travel from the
dump ponds into the water source of nearby communities.
In the Philippines, some of these wastes damaged
mangroves, reefs, and impaired agriculture.
It is then crucial that waste products be controlled to
prevent them from making a more pronounced impact in
our environment. There are ways to lessen the wastes and
1. Recent improvements in
technology enable mining companies
to extract more minerals from the
ores with fewer wastes in production.
2. The mining companies
must be able to plan out their
sites from exploration to
rehabilitation.
3. The mining company must
also ensure that they are able to
restore the community that was
displaced because of their
activities.
4. Tailings from mines can be zoned
in and surrounded by lands so that
plants can avoid erosion of the
ponds thus minimizing the
possibility of seepage of the tailings.
5. Mine structures should be
designed at par or even
surpassing current rules and
regulations set by the
government and international
6. Other mining practices
include reforestation, slope
stabilization, maintenance for
dump facilities, managing and
monitoring air
 REFERENC 3
3
 ES
Bayo-ang, R., Coronacion, M., Jorda, A., & Restubog,
A. (2016). Earth and Life Science for Senior High
School. (M. Moncada, Ed.) Quezon City, Philippines:
Educational Resources Corporation.
 Pascual, C. B., & Cadiz, A. P. (2017). Fundamentals of
Earth & Life Science. Manila, Philippines:
Mindshapers Co., Inc.
 Slideshare: https://www.slideshare.net/AbbieMahinay/
 Various internet sources