Astra Resources Cambodia Highlighting Varied Users Of Iron

Iron is one of the most common minerals found on earth

, and it is also one of the most commonly utilized for industrial purposes. However, it is very rarely found in its pure elemental metallic form. Instead, it is found in a variety of rocks and minerals that are collectively known as iron ore. The most common molecular forms in which iron is found on earth are hematite, magnetite, goethite, limonite, and siderite. Thus, these minerals constitute the most common forms of iron ore used for industrial activities.

Humans first encountered these forms of iron ore in relatively high concentrations. Early man discovered that if these minerals were heated to a very high temperature, the molten version of the metallic metal iron could be extracted. Very high temperatures are required for this extraction process, and it was ultimately refined by the use of a blast furnace. Coal or charcoal was burnt along with the iron ore. To increase the temperature of the resulting combustion, air was forced onto the flame.

Initially, this infusion of air was effected by a bellows. In more modern times, the same process is carried out with an electrically operated blower. The molten iron is allowed to drain from the combustion chamber, the ash is removed, and the process is later repeated. When the molten product is allowed to cool, the result is relatively pure metallic iron.

When humans first harvested iron ore in this manner, it was possible to find relatively pure deposits of iron ore near the surface. These easy deposits have, however, been depleted in all but the most remote areas of earth. Today, in order to harvest iron, one of two approaches must be used. The first is to mine deeper in the earth to locate untapped deposits of relatively pure iron ore. The other method is to utilize less pure deposits. This requires that the raw ore first be refined to produce an ore that is more pure. By either a mechanical or chemical process, the non-ferrous minerals within a particular rock are separated, and the rocks containing mostly iron bearing molecules are used in the blast furnace.

Today, iron ore is rarely used to produce raw iron as the final product. Instead, todays iron is alloyed with other metals to produce steel. But the initial processing of the iron ore is the same, in principle, as the methods used by the first humans to make use of this durable substance.

by: Steve Rohl

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