Learn Iron Ore Properties and Mine Deep Added Value

1. Pig iron is usually divided into steel-making pig iron, casting pig iron and alloy pig iron according to different purposes.

2. Mainly magnetite, hematite, sub-hematite magnetite, hematite, maghemite, ilmenite, limonite, siderite, etc. have industrial value. When using the iron ore, what we need most is to learn the properties of each iron ore, so as to play its role well.

• Magnetite ore: It is a kind of iron oxide ore, and the main component is Fe3O4, which is the composite of Fe2O3 and FeO. The color is dark gray; the streaks is black, semi-metallic luster and opaque. The hardness ranges from 5.5 to 6.5. The proportion ranges from 4.9 to 5.2. It has strong magnetism.

• Hematite: the crystalline hematite has a steel gray color and is a kind of  cryptocrystalline. The earthy hematite is red with the streak color of cherry red or fresh pork liver color. It has the metal to semi-metallic luster and sometimes the gloss is dim. The hardness ranges from 5 to 6. The proportion ranges from 5 to 5.3.

• Maghemite: both the color and the streak are brown. The hardness is 5 and the proportion is 4.88 with the strong magnetism. Maghemite is mainly formed by secondary changes of magnetite under oxidizing conditions.

• Limonite: The goethite's streaks are reddish brown with the hardness ranging from 5 to 5.5 and the proportion from 4 to 4.3. The limonite's streaks are generally light brown or yellowish brown with the hardness from 1 to 4 and the proportion from 3.3 to 4.

• Ilmenite: The main component is FeTiO3, that is ferrous titanate, a kind of rhombohedral crystals. It is often in irregular granular, scaly or thick. Above 950℃, ilmenite and hematite form a complete isomorphism. When the temperature is lowered, melting occurs, so ilmenite often contains fine scaly hematite inclusions. The color of ilmenite is iron black or steel gray. The streaks are steel gray or black. The streaks are brown or brownish red when containing hematite inclusions. It has semi-metallic luster and opaque. The hardness is between 5 to 6.5 and the proportion is between 4 to 5 with low magnetism.

• Siderite: The main component is FeCO3, which also known as the ferrous carbonate. The mass fraction of Fe is about 49.0504689248%, often containing Mg and Mn. It is a kind of trigonal crystal system. The siderite is often seen in rhombohedrons and the crystal faces are often curved. It has the glass luster. The hardness is from3.5 to 4.5, and the proportion is about 3.96.

• Pyrite is a disulfide of iron. Generally, pyrite is used as a raw material for the production of sulfur and sulfuric acid, rather than as a raw material for refining iron. because refining iron has better iron ore, and a large amount of SO2 is generated during the refining process, causing air pollution. The color is light yellow (copper yellow), and the streaks are green and black. It is strong metallic luster and opaque with no cleavage and jagged fracture. The Mohs hardness is relatively high, reaching 6-6.5, and the knife will not move. The proportion is from4.9 to 5.2.

The above are the seven iron ore porperties, and I hope it can be helpful to you.