MiningMining is the extraction of geological materials and minerals from Earth's surface. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or feasibly made artificially in a laboratory or factory. Ores recovered by mining include metals, coal, oil shale, gemstones, limestone, chalk, dimension stone, rock salt, potash, gravel, and clay.
OreOre is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. Ore grade refers to the concentration of the desired material it contains. The value of the metals or minerals a rock contains must be weighed against the cost of extraction to determine whether it is of sufficiently high grade to be worth mining and is therefore considered an ore.
MineralCrystalline chemical element or compound formed by geologic processesCrystals of serandite, natrolite, analcime, and aegirine from Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, CanadaIn geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form. The geological definition of mineral normally excludes compounds that occur only in living organisms.
CopperChemical element with atomic number 29 (Cu)–↑Cu↓Agnickel ← copper → zinc
ZincChemical element with atomic number 30 (Zn)–↑Zn↓Cdcopper ← zinc → gallium
NickelNickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slow to react with air under standard conditions because a passivation layer of nickel oxide that prevents further corrosion forms on the surface.
LeadChemical element with atomic number 82 (Pb)Sn↑Pb↓Flthallium ← lead → bismuth
MetalType of materialIron, shown here as fragments and a 1 cm cube, is an example of a chemical element that is a metal.Metal in the form of a gravy boat made from stainless steel, an alloy largely composed of iron, chromium and nickelA metal (from Ancient Greek μέταλλον (métallon) 'mine, quarry, metal') is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well.
TinTin is a chemical element; it has the symbol Sn (from Latin stannum) and atomic number 50. A metallic-gray metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the so-called "tin cry", as a result of twinning in tin crystals. Tin is a post-transition metal in group 14 of the periodic table of elements.
GoldGold is a chemical element; its chemical symbol is Au (from Latin aurum) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a bright-metallic-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal, a group 11 element, and one of the noble metals. It is one of the least reactive chemical elements, being the second lowest in the reactivity series, with only platinum ranked as less reactive. Gold is solid under standard conditions.
SilverCu↑Ag↓Aupalladium ← silver → cadmiumIronChemical element with atomic number 26 (Fe)–↑Fe↓Rumanganese ← iron → cobalt*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.