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This heap of iron ore pellets will be used in steel production.Iron ores are minerals from which metallic iron can be extracted. The iron itself is usually found in the form of magnetite (Fe3O4) or hematite (Fe2O3), both of which are iron oxides. However, as much of the pure magnetite and hematite ore has already been mined, modern iron mines rely on aggregate minerals such as taconite, which must be processed to remove non-iron-bearing components prior to smelting. Iron mines therefore produce tremendous amounts of waste causing environmental problems in the areas they are mined.
Iron ore is common worldwide, but commercial mining operations are dominated by seven countries: Australia, Brazil, the People's Republic of China, India, RussiaThe Russian Federation ( Russian: , transliteration: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya or Rossijskaja Federacija , or Russia (Russian: , transliteration: Rossiya or Rossija , is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. With, the USAThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in, and UkraineUkraine Ukrayina in Ukrainian; in Russian) is a republic in eastern Europe which borders the Black Sea to the south, the Russian Federation to the east, Belarus to the north, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west and Romania and Moldova to the west and. World production averages one billion metric tons of raw ore annually.
Most iron ore is used in the production of steel.
Economic geologyEconomic geology is concerned with earth materials that can be utilized for economic and/or industrial purposes. These materials include precious and base metals, nonmetallic minerals, construction-grade stone, petroleum minerals, coal, and water. The ter
