The classification and use of ores are very extensive. We classify them based on multiple factors such as the chemical composition, physical properties and industrial application of minerals. The following are the metal ores and non-metallic ores that can be roughly sorted according to type.

Metal ores

Metal ores are ores containing metal elements or their compounds, mainly used to extract metals. Depending on the metals contained, metal ores can be further divided into the following categories:

1. Precious metal ores: such as gold, silver, platinum group metal ores, etc., mainly used in the manufacture of jewelry, currency reserves and some high-tech products.

2. Non-ferrous metal ores: including copper, lead, zinc, aluminum, etc., widely used in wires and cables, building materials, automobile manufacturing, aircraft manufacturing, electronic products and other fields.

3. Ferrous metal ores: such as iron ore, manganese ore, chromium ore, mainly used in steel production and the manufacture of other alloys.

4. Rare metal ores: such as tantalum, niobium, lithium, etc., are crucial to high-tech industries such as electronics, aerospace, new energy vehicles, etc.

5. Radioactive ores: such as uranium and thorium, which are mainly used in nuclear power generation and medical fields.

These ores can be extracted into metals after mining, crushing, beneficiation and refining. These metals are processed into various products and are widely used in various industries such as construction, machinery manufacturing, electronics, transportation, aerospace, etc.

Non-metallic ores

Non-metallic ores contain no or almost no metal elements. They either provide industrial raw materials or are used as decorative and building materials.

1. Chemical raw material ores: such as phosphate, potassium salt, limestone, etc., which are used in the manufacture of fertilizers and chemical products.

2. Gems and decorative stones: such as diamonds, rubies, jade, marble, granite, etc., which are used in jewelry and architectural decoration.

3. Building material ores: such as gypsum, quartz sand, limestone, which are used in cement, glass manufacturing and construction industries.

4. Ceramic and refractory ores: such as kaolin and clay, which are used to make ceramic utensils and high-temperature resistant materials.

5. Energy ores: such as coal, oil, and natural gas, although they do not strictly belong to the traditional ore classification, they are also important natural resources and are mainly used for energy supply. In addition to being used as building materials, they are also used to manufacture chemicals, medicines, cosmetics, ceramic products, glass products, etc., and are also widely used in agriculture, environmental protection and high-tech industries.

There are many types of ores and they are widely used. From metal ores to non-metallic ores, from energy ores to construction ores and chemical raw material ores, they all play an important role in their respective fields. The mining and utilization of ores is one of the foundations of modern industrial society. However, its mining process needs to consider environmental protection and sustainable development issues. With the advancement of science and technology and the development of industry, human demand for ores will continue to increase, and the mining and utilization of ores will also be more efficient and environmentally friendly. In order to make full use of various types of metal and non-metallic ore resources, combined with the physical and chemical characteristics of the ore, a suitable mineral processing process is selected for sorting. At present, the common mineral processing methods are mainly the following:

Flotation method: It is a method of selectively attaching minerals to bubbles by treating the differences in the physical and chemical properties of the ore surface to achieve sorting. In the process of mineral processing, especially in the treatment of non-ferrous metal ores (such as copper, lead, zinc, sulfur, molybdenum, etc.), flotation is widely used. In addition, some ferrous metals, rare metals and non-metallic ores (such as graphite ore, apatite, etc.) can also be processed by flotation.

Gravity separation: It is a method of sorting according to the relative density (also known as specific gravity) of minerals. By applying fluid dynamics and various mechanical forces in a moving medium (such as water or air), concentrators of different densities can create suitable loose stratification and separation conditions, thereby achieving the separation of mineral particles of different densities.

Magnetic separation: It is a method of sorting ores by using the magnetic difference of minerals to generate different forces in the magnetic field of the magnetic separator. It is mainly used in the sorting of ferrous metal ores (such as iron, manganese, chromium), and can also be used for the sorting of non-ferrous metals and rare metal ores.

Electrostatic separation: It is a method of separation based on the difference in the electrical conductivity of minerals. By placing the minerals in a high-voltage electric field, the electrostatic force acts differently due to the different conductivity of the minerals, thereby achieving the separation of minerals. This method is mainly used for the separation of rare metals, non-ferrous metals and non-metallic ores, especially in the separation of sub-mixed coarse concentrates, such as scheelite and cassiterite, zircon, tantalum-niobium ore, etc.

Chemical beneficiation: It is a beneficiation technology that uses chemical methods to change the mineral composition and then enriches the target components by other methods. For example, copper ore containing malachite can be leached with dilute sulfuric acid to convert malachite into a copper sulfate solution. By replacing the copper ions in the solution with iron filings, metallic copper (sponge copper) can be obtained. Chemical beneficiation is one of the effective methods for processing and comprehensively utilizing some poor, fine, and impure mineral raw materials that are difficult to select. It is also one of the important ways to make full use of mineral resources, solve the problems of wastewater, waste residue, and waste gas treatment, realize waste recycling, and protect the environment.

Microbial beneficiation: Also known as bacterial beneficiation, it is a beneficiation method that uses microorganisms such as iron-oxidizing bacteria, sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, and silicate bacteria to remove elements such as iron, sulfur, and silicon from ores. By using iron-oxidizing bacteria to oxidize iron, sulfur-oxidizing bacteria to oxidize sulfur, and silicate bacteria to decompose silicon in bauxite, the purpose of desulfurization, iron removal and desiliconization can be achieved. In addition, microbial beneficiation can also be used to recover metals such as copper, uranium, cobalt, manganese, and gold.

Photoelectric beneficiation: It is a beneficiation method that uses the physical characteristics of the ore to be beneficiated and the gangue to identify and sort, and uses a combination of machinery and electricity to separate minerals by imitating the action of hand selection. Different minerals are identified and sorted by using the differences in the degree of reflection and transmittance of light, such as color, texture, luster, shape, gloss, spots, density and other characteristics. The ore is mainly separated after passing through the feeding system, photoelectric system, electric control system, and sorting system.

As a leader among manufacturers specializing in photoelectric beneficiation, MINGDER has launched a series of sorting equipment, involving five series and more than 20 equipment, mainly artificial intelligence sorting machines, ore color sorting machines, mineral sand sorting machines, X-ray intelligent sorting machines, AI removal robots and other products. At present, it is widely used in metal and non-metallic minerals such as quartz, potassium feldspar, calcite, calcium carbonate, dolomite, fluorite, talc, wollastonite, bauxite, pegmatite quartz, limestone, calcium oxide, sponge titanium, silicon slag, gold mine, pebble, phosphate rock, silica, brucite, tungsten tailings, coal gangue, coal-bearing kaolin, etc.!