Iron processing | Definition, History, Steps, Uses, & Facts | Britannica
Iron processing, use of a smelting process to turn the ore into a form from which products can be fashioned. Included in this article also is a discussion of the mining of iron and of its preparation for smelting.
Iron processing - Smelting, Refining, Alloying | Britannica
Iron processing - Smelting, Refining, Alloying: The primary objective of iron making is to release iron from chemical combination with oxygen, and, since the blast furnace is much the most efficient process, it receives the most attention here.
Iron processing - Ores, Smelting, Refining | Britannica
Iron processing - Ores, Smelting, Refining: Iron ores occur in igneous, metamorphic (transformed), or sedimentary rocks in a variety of geologic environments. Most are sedimentary, but many have been changed by weathering, and so their precise origin is difficult to determine.
Iron processing - Smelting, Refining, Alloying | Britannica
Iron processing - Smelting, Refining, Alloying: Most blast furnaces are linked to a basic oxygen steel plant, for which the hot metal typically contains 4 to 4.5 percent carbon, 0.6 to 0.8 percent silicon, 0.03 percent sulfur, 0.7 to 0.8 percent manganese, and 0.15 percent phosphorus.
Mineral processing | Metallurgy, Crushing & Grinding | Britannica
Mineral processing, art of treating crude ores and mineral products in order to separate the valuable minerals from the waste rock, or gangue. It is the first process that most ores undergo after mining in order to provide a more concentrated …
Nickel processing - Extraction, Refining, Alloying | Britannica
The specific processes taken depend on whether the ore is a sulfide or a laterite. In the case of sulfides, the reaction of oxygen with iron and sulfur in the ore supplies a portion of the heat required for smelting.
Nickel processing | Extraction & Refining Techniques | Britannica
Canadian ores are sulfides containing nickel, copper, and iron. The most important nickel mineral is pentlandite, (Ni, Fe) 9 S 8, followed by pyrrhotite, usually ranging from FeS to Fe 7 S 8, in which some of the iron may be replaced by nickel.
Manganese processing | Extraction, Uses & Benefits | Britannica
The primary product of the smelting process outlined above is a carbon-saturated ferroalloy containing 76 to 80 percent manganese, 12 to 15 percent iron, up to 7.5 percent carbon, and up to 1.2 percent silicon. It can be produced by two methods.
Copper processing - Ores, Refining, Smelting | Britannica
The second step, involving either smelting or leaching, removes a large proportion of impurity elements—in particular iron and, in the case of sulfide ores, sulfur. The final step, refining , removes the last traces of the impurity elements and produces a …
Aluminum processing - Ores, Refining, Alloying | Britannica
The most important aluminum ore, an iron-containing rock consisting of about 52 percent aluminum oxide, was discovered in 1821 near Les Baux in southern France. The material was later named bauxite .