How people use iron ore. What is an ore? What types of ore are there? How are they mined? Leading countries in ore mining

Iron ore is a mineral formation, the main component of which is iron. For industrial mining, ore with great content iron, more than 40%, the highest percentage of the presence of iron in magnetic iron ore is 70%.

World iron ore reserves

Iron ore mining is one of the leading branches of the industrial complex in Russia. Despite this fact, our country produces only 5.6% of the total ore production in the world. In total, world reserves amount to more than 160 billion tons. According to preliminary calculations, the content of pure iron can reach up to 80 billion tons. Distribution of iron ore reserves by country:

Map of Russia's iron ore reserves

• Russian Federation – 18%;
• Chinese People's Republic – 9%;
• Australia - 14%;
• Brazil - 18%;
• Ukraine - 11%
• Canada - 8%
• USA - 7%
• Other countries - 15%.

Iron ores are usually distinguished by the content of iron, as well as by the mineral composition (impurities). Ores are also divided into rich in iron (more than half of iron), ordinary (from a quarter to a half) and poor (iron content less than a quarter).

Magnetic iron ore, containing the maximum amount of iron, is mined in Russia in the Urals - in the High and Magnitnaya mountains; Kachkanar, Thank you.

Large deposits in Sweden near the cities of Falun, Gellivar and Dannemor. In the US, there are significant deposits in the state of Pennsylvania. In Norway, Persberg and Arendal. Russia ranks third in the world in terms of the number of ore deposits in the world. In the first place - Brazil, in the second - Australia. Iron ore reserves in Russia today amount to more than 50 billion tons.

The largest deposits

Bakchar iron ore deposit is located in the Tomsk region between two rivers - Andorma and Iksa. It is one of the largest not only in Russia, but also in the world. The reserves are approximately estimated at 28.7 billion tons. On the this moment for the field, new technologies are being actively introduced, such as hydraulic borehole production, rather than open-pit mining, as before.

The Kursk magnetic anomaly in Russia is the largest iron ore basin in the world. According to the most conservative estimates, the reserves of this deposit amount to 200 billion tons. The deposits of the Kursk magnetic anomaly account for about half of all world reserves iron ore. This iron ore basin is located on the territory of three regions at once: Kursk, Oryol and Belgorod. It is also customary to include the Chernyanskoye and Prioskolskoye deposits in the Kursk magnetic anomaly.

The Abakan iron ore deposit is located near the city of Abaza in the Republic of Khakassia. First, open-pit mining was carried out, and then underground (mines). The depth of the mines reaches 400 meters.

Abagas iron ore deposit is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Main ores: magnesite, high alumina and magnesia. The field is divided into two main zones: Northern (2300 meters) and Southern (more than 2600 meters). Development is carried out in an open way.

Mining methods

All methods of rock extraction can be divided into 2 main types: open (quarries) and closed (mines). The open method of mining brings more damage to the environment, in contrast to the closed method. But its application requires small capital investments. Ore that is shallow in earth's crust(up to 500 m), extracted by a quarry method.

At the initial stage, the top layer of soil is cut off. Further actions are aimed at excavating the rock using buckets of special equipment, loading it onto conveyors and delivering it to processing plants.

Iron ores of the Urals. Bakal deposit

When developing quarries, explosion technology is used to make it easier to excavate the rock. Explosive work is carried out using the following substances:

• ammonium nitrate;
• emulsified oil.

The explosion is carried out in a fraction of a second and is capable of destroying large areas of rock. During blasting, the quality of the ore does not suffer in any way. Most big quarry not only in Russia, but throughout the world is located in the Belgorod region, between Stary Oskol and the city of Gubkin.

It is called Lebedinsky, it was twice entered into the Guinness Book of Records for size and production volumes - a depth of 450 m, a diameter of 5 km, according to estimates, 14.6 billion tons of iron ore lie here, about 133 units of machinery work per day, one dump truck capable of delivering up to 200 kg of ore.

A notable fact about this quarry is that it is subject to groundwater flooding. If they had not been pumped out, this huge quarry would have been full in a month.

However, the use of quarrying deposits becomes impossible when the level of occurrence useful breed below 500 meters. In this case, the construction of underground mines is used. Sometimes their depth reaches several kilometers. Under the ground, drifts are dug - extensive branches.

Combine-type machines pierce the rock with spikes, breaking it, then it is delivered to the surface with the help of loaders.

The extraction of ore by the mine method is quite expensive, since it requires a certain infrastructure, as well as the creation of safe conditions for the work of people and equipment. Frequent cases of displacement of the earth's rock and the collapse of mines, their flooding and other cataclysms. Therefore, this method is not used in Russia when the ore contains a small percentage of iron. Although the technologies of the manufacturing industry are constantly evolving and provide opportunities for more productive enrichment of ores containing iron in small quantities.

Rock beneficiation methods

Before applying one of the enrichment methods, the resulting ore must be crushed, since the seams can be up to two meters. Further, one or more enrichment methods are applied:

• flotation;
• complex method.

Gravity separation is one of the better ways mining. This method has become widely used due to its low cost. Gravity separation is used to separate large and small rock particles from each other. It is used not only for iron, but also for tin, lead, zinc, platinum and gold ores. Necessary equipment consists of a vibrating platform, a centrifugal machine and a spiral.

The magnetic separation method is based on the difference in the magnetic properties of substances. Due to this property, this method becomes indispensable in production, when other methods do not give the desired effect.

Magnetic separation is used to separate non-metallic impurities from iron ore. It is based on a simple law of physics - iron is attracted to a magnet, and impurities are washed away with water. Pellets or hot briquetted iron are made from raw materials obtained on a magnet.

Flotation is a method of extracting ore, in which metal particles are combined with air bubbles due to flowing chemical reaction. For flotation separation, it is necessary that the resulting rock be homogeneous and all particles be crushed to the same size.

It is also important to consider the quality of the reagents that will interact with the required chemical element. To date, flotation is mainly used to renew iron ore concentrates obtained as a result of magnetic separation. As a result of this, the previously worked out ores give another 50% of the metal.

Quite rarely, only one separation method is sufficient to obtain the necessary raw materials. Most often, several methods and techniques are used for one enrichment process. The essence of the complex method is grinding, cleaning with a spiral classifier from large impurities of rocks, processing raw materials in a magnetic separator. This routine is repeated several times until the maximum of raw materials is produced.

After processing iron ore and obtaining metal in the form of HBI (hot briquetted iron), it is sent to an electrometallurgical plant, which produces metal blanks of standard shapes, as well as non-standard ones, on an individual order. Sometimes steel billets can be up to 12 meters long.

The high quality of the metal is ensured by advanced technologies for its recovery - electric arc melting, which significantly reduces the amount of impurities.

After the metallurgical plant, the steel is sent to end consumers - machine-building, automotive enterprises, for the pipe, bearing and hardware industries.

Video: Iron ore

Iron ores- natural mineral formations containing iron and its compounds in such a volume when the industrial extraction of iron from these formations is advisable. Despite the fact that iron is included in a greater or lesser amount in the composition of all rocks, the name of iron ores is understood only as accumulations of ferruginous compounds from which metallic iron can be obtained economically.

Iron ores are special mineral formations, which include iron and its compounds. This type of ore is considered to be iron ore if the proportion of this element is contained in such a volume that its industrial extraction would be economically viable.

Ferrous metallurgy uses three main types of iron ore products:

— separated iron ore (low iron content);

— sinter ore (medium iron content);

- pellets (raw iron-containing masses)

Iron ore deposits are considered rich if the iron content in them is more than 57%. Poor iron ores can contain a minimum of 26% iron. Scientists distinguish two main morphological types of iron ore; linear and flat.

Linear deposits of iron ore are wedge-shaped ore bodies in the zones of earth faults, bends in the process of metamorphosis. This type of iron ores is characterized by a particularly high iron content (54-69%) with a low content of sulfur and phosphorus.

Flat-like deposits can be found at the tops of iron quartzite beds. They belong to typical weathering crusts.

Rich iron ores are mainly sent for smelting to open-hearth and converter production or for direct reduction of iron.

Main industrial types iron ore deposits:

• — bedded sedimentary deposits;
• — complex titanomagnetite deposits;
• — deposits of ferruginous quartzites and rich ores;
• — skarn iron ore deposits;

Minor industrial types of iron ore deposits:

• — iron ore siderite deposits;
• — iron ore sheet-like lateritic deposits;
• —complex carbopatite apatite-magnetite deposits;

The world reserves of explored iron ore deposits are 160 billion tons, they contain about 80 billion tons of pure iron. The largest deposits iron ore found in Ukraine, and the largest reserves of pure iron are located in Russia and Brazil.

The volume of world production of iron ore is growing every year. More than 2.4 billion tons of iron ore were mined in 2010, with China, Australia and Brazil accounting for two-thirds of the output. If we add Russia and India to them, then their total market share will be more than 80%.

How ore is mined

Consider several main options for the extraction of iron ore. In each particular case, the choice in favor of one or another technology is made taking into account the location of minerals, the economic feasibility of using this or that equipment, etc.

In most cases, ore is mined in a quarry. That is, to organize production, a deep quarry is first dug out, approximately 200-300 meters deep. After that, iron ore is taken out directly from its bottom on large machines. Which, immediately after mining, is transported by diesel locomotives to various plants, where steel is made from it. Today, many large enterprises produce ore, if they have all the necessary equipment for such work.

The quarry should be dug using large excavators, but keep in mind that this process can take you quite a lot of years. After excavators dig to the very first layer of iron ore, it is necessary to hand it over to experts for analysis so that they can determine exactly what percentage of iron it contains. If this percentage is not less than 57, then the decision to mine ore in this area will be economically viable. Such ore can be safely transported to combines, because after processing it will definitely produce high-quality steel.

However, this is not all, you should very carefully check the steel that appears as a result of the processing of iron ore. If the quality of the mined ore does not meet European standards, then it should be understood how to improve the quality of production.

The disadvantage of the open method is that it allows you to extract iron ore only at relatively shallow depths. Since it often lies much deeper - at a distance of 600-900 m from the surface of the earth - mines have to be built. First, a shaft is made, which resembles a very deep well with securely reinforced walls. From trunk to different sides corridors depart, which are called drifts. The iron ore found in them is blown up, and then its pieces are raised to the surface with the help of special equipment. This method of extracting iron ore is effective, but at the same time it is associated with serious danger and cost.

There is another way to mine iron ore. It is called SHD or well hydraulic production. Ore is extracted from the ground in the following way: a deep well is drilled, pipes with a hydraulic monitor are lowered there and the rock is crushed with a very strong water jet, and then it is raised to the surface. This method is safe, however, unfortunately, it is still ineffective. With this method, only about 3% of the iron ore can be extracted, while mines extract about 70%. Nevertheless, experts are developing the method of borehole hydraulic production, and therefore there is hope that in the future this option will become the main one, displacing quarries and mines.

Iron ore is a special mineral formation, including iron, as well as its compounds. An ore is considered iron ore if it contains this element in sufficient volumes to make it economically profitable to extract it.

The main variety of iron ore is magnetic iron ore. It contains almost 70% oxide and ferrous oxide. This ore is black or steel grey. on the territory of Russia, they are mined in the Urals. It is found in the depths of High, Grace and Kachkanar. In Sweden, it is found in the vicinity of Falun, Dannemor and Gellivar. In the US, this is Pennsylvania, and in Norway, Arendal and Persberg.

In ferrous metallurgy, iron ore products are divided into three types:

Separated iron ore (with low iron content);

Sinter ore (with an average iron content);

Pellets (crude iron-containing mass).

Morphological types

Iron ore deposits are considered rich if they contain more than 57% iron in their composition. Poor ores include those in which at least 26% iron. Scientists divided iron ore into two morphological types: linear and flat-like.

Iron ore of the linear type is wedge-shaped ore bodies in the zones of bends and earth faults. This type is distinguished by a particularly high iron content (from 50 to 69%), but sulfur and phosphorus are contained in such ore in small quantities.

Flat-like deposits occur on the tops of ferruginous quartzites, which represent a typical weathering crust.

Iron ore. Application and extraction

Rich iron ore is used to produce pig iron and is mainly used for smelting in converter and open-hearth production or directly for the reduction of iron. A small amount is used as a natural paint (ocher) and weighting agent for clay

The volume of world reserves of explored deposits is 160 billion tons, and they contain about 80 billion tons of iron. Iron ore is found in Ukraine, and Russia and Brazil have the largest reserves of pure iron.

The volume of world ore mining is growing every year. In most cases, iron ore is mined by an open method, the essence of which is that all the necessary equipment is delivered to the deposit, and a quarry is built there. The depth of the quarry is on average about 500 m, and its diameter depends on the features of the found deposit. After that, with the help of special equipment, iron ore is mined, stacked on vehicles adapted to transport heavy loads, and delivered from the quarry to enterprises that are engaged in processing.

The disadvantage of the open method is the ability to extract ore only at shallow depths. If it lies much deeper, you have to build mines. First, a trunk is made that resembles a deep well with well-fortified walls. Corridors, the so-called drifts, depart from the trunk in different directions. The ore found in them is blown up, and then its pieces are raised to the surface with the help of special equipment. The extraction of iron ore in this way is efficient, but involves serious danger and cost.

There is another method by which iron ore is mined. It is called SHD or borehole hydraulic production. Ore is extracted from underground in this way: a well is drilled, pipes with a hydraulic monitor are lowered into it and the rock is crushed with a very powerful water jet, which is then raised to the surface. The extraction of iron ore in this way is safe, but, unfortunately, inefficient. Only 3% of the ore can be mined this way, and 70% is mined using mines. However, the development of the SHD method is being improved, and there is a high probability that in the future this option will become the main one, displacing mines and quarries.

Iron has been known to man since ancient times. The historical period when a person got acquainted with iron and began to actively use it in his everyday life is called iron age. Back in the 1st millennium BC. people learned how to extract iron in adits, and also already knew steel and cast iron, which are the final main components of iron ore.

Millennia later, iron to this day remains one of the most common metals, which is used in various fields of human activity. The production of iron is associated with the extraction of iron ores.

Iron ores are minerals formed in nature, which contain iron and its compounds. It should be noted that a certain percentage of iron is found in absolutely all rocks, but not all of them are iron ores. Only those can be called such, the content of iron in which is sufficient for its extraction from the point of view of economic benefits.

Basic iron ores

Iron ores have their own classification. Scientists distinguish the following types:

• Titanium-magnetite and ilmenite-titanomagnetite in mafic and ultramafic rocks;
• Apatite-magnetite in carbonatites;
• Magnetite and magno-magnetite in skarns;
• Magnetite-hematite in iron quartzites;
• Martite and martite-hydrohematite (rich ores, formed after iron quartzites);
• Goethite-hydrogoethite in weathering crusts.

However, the most priority of all types of iron ores is magnetic iron ore, which contains up to 70% oxide and ferrous oxide.

Ferrous metallurgy divides iron ores into three classes:

1. Separated. Has a low percentage of iron;
2. Agglore. Iron is present in its composition in an average value;
3. Pellets. Raw iron-containing mass, which, as a rule, contains an admixture of limestone.

Iron ore deposits

According to world statistics, deposits have been successfully developed on planet Earth today, which contain about 160 billion tons of iron ore and about 80 billion tons of iron. Iron ore pools have been found in Russia, Brazil, Australia, Ukraine, China, India, the USA and others. However, deposits with the maximum concentration of pure iron are found in the Russian and Brazilian territories. Iron ores in Russia are mined in the territory Southern Urals, Sverdlovsk region (Kachkanarskoe field), Kursk magnetic anomaly, as well as in other regions of the country.

Among the industrial deposits, the main and secondary ones are distinguished. Deposits of each specified group are classified according to types. Today, among the deposits of the first group, there are:

1. Deposits of ferruginous quartzites and rich ores;
2. Reservoir sedimentary;
3. Skarn iron ore;
4. Complex titanomagnetite.

The second group includes:

1. Complex carbonatite apatite-magnetite;
2. Iron ore magno-magnetite;
3. Iron ore siderite;
4. Iron ore and ferromanganese oxide deposits in volcanic-sedimentary strata;
5. Iron ore sheet-like lateritic deposits.

Iron ore mining

It is economically profitable to mine iron ore with the highest iron content. Thus, its deposits are divided into rich and poor. The former are characterized by the presence of iron in the amount of 57% or more. The latter, in turn, have a significantly lower iron content - about 26%.

In the world, the amount of extraction of this mineral is increasing day by day. Iron ore is mined mainly by open pit mining. Its peculiarity is the fact that all the equipment necessary for the work is transported to the field, where the formation of a quarry takes place. Its average depth is usually 500 meters. With the diameter, the situation is different - it is influenced by the features of the deposit. Iron ore is extracted using special equipment and transported to enterprises for further processing. The open method has some imperfections, consisting in the ability to extract minerals, the deposits of which are located shallow underground.

Otherwise, fossils are extracted from the bowels of the earth by the mine method. To do this, first of all, a trunk is formed, from which corridors (drifts) branch out in different directions. The discovered ore cannot be completely extracted, and therefore it is blown up right in the mine, after which the ore is raised in parts to the surface. This mining method is highly efficient. But, despite this, it is distinguished by its danger and high cost.

These are not the only two methods of extracting iron ores; there is also the so-called SHD or hydraulic borehole mining. Its essence lies in the formation of a well through which pipes with a hydromonitor are brought to the fossil deposits. Through the pipes under the very high pressure water is supplied, the jet of which crushes the rock. After that, the rock rises to the top.

The last method, compared with the previous one, has one big plus and minus at the same time. While it is absolutely safe, it is also inefficient, since it can extract about 3% of the ore, while the mine method can extract up to 70%.

Scientists are constantly working to improve this method. And, perhaps, after some time, the SRS will be able to get ahead of the mine and quarry methods in the extraction of minerals.

A large photo report about my favorite mining and processing plant, one of the leading producers of iron ore: it accounts for more than 15% of commercial ore production in Russia. Filming took place over five years and took over 25 days in total. In this report the most juice is squeezed out. Stoilensky GOK was founded in 1961 in Stary Oskol, Belgorod Region. The main products of the plant are iron ore concentrate and iron sinter ore for the production of iron and steel.

Iron ores are natural mineral formations containing iron and its compounds in such a volume that the industrial extraction of iron from these formations is advisable. SGOK takes raw materials from the Stoilenskoye deposit of the Kursk magnetic anomaly. From the outside, such objects look like most industries - some kind of workshops, elevators and pipes.

Rarely, when public viewing platforms are made on the edge of the quarry bowl. In Stoilensky GOK, it is possible to approach this huge funnel, with a surface diameter of more than 3 km and a depth of about 380 meters, only with passes and approvals. From the outside, you can’t say that the skyscrapers of Moscow City will easily fit in this hole, and they won’t even hang around.

Mining is carried out in an open way. To get to rich ore miners remove and dump tens of millions of cubic meters of earth, clay, chalk, and sand into dumps.

Loose rocks are mined with backhoes and draglines. "Backhoes" look like the usual buckets, only in the SGOK quarry they are large - 8 cubic meters. m.

In such a bucket, 5-6 people or 7-8 Chinese people can freely accommodate.

Loose rocks, which miners call overburden, are transported to dumps by trains. Every week the horizons on which the work is done change their shape. Because of this, it is constantly necessary to shift the railway tracks, the network, transfer railway crossings, etc.

Dragline. The bucket on a 40-meter boom is thrown forward, then the ropes pull it towards the excavator.

Under its own weight, the bucket rakes in about ten cubic meters of soil in one throw.

The driver needs a lot of skill to unload such a bucket into the car without damaging the sides and without hitting the high-voltage line of the locomotive contact network.

A train with dump cars (these are self-tipping cars) transports overburden to dumps.

On the dumps, reverse work takes place - the roof of the wagons is stored by an excavator in neat hills.

At the same time, loose rocks are not just piled up, but stored separately. In the language of miners, such warehouses are called man-made deposits. Chalk is taken from them for the production of cement, clay - for the production of expanded clay, sand - for construction, black soil - for land reclamation.

Mountains of chalk deposits. All this is nothing but deposits of prehistoric marine life- mollusks, belemnites, trilobites and ammonites. About 80 - 100 million years ago, a shallow ancient sea splashed in this place.

One of the main attractions of Stoilensky GOK is the mining and stripping complex (GVK) with the key unit - the KU-800 walking bucket wheel excavator. The GVK was manufactured in Czechoslovakia, assembled in a SGOK quarry for two years, and put into operation in 1973.

Since then, a bucket wheel excavator has been walking along the sides of the quarry and cutting off chalk deposits with an 11-meter wheel.

The height of the excavator is 54 meters, weight - 3 thousand 350 tons. This is comparable to the weight of 100 subway cars. From this amount of metal, 70 T-90 tanks could be made.

The excavator rests on a turntable and moves with the help of “skis”, which are driven by hydraulic cylinders. To operate this monster, a voltage of 35 thousand volts is required.

Mechanic Ivan Tolmachev is one of those people who participated in the launch of the KU-800. More than 40 years ago, in 1972, immediately after graduating from the Gubkinsky Mining Technical School, Ivan Dmitrievich was accepted as an assistant to the driver of a rotary excavator. That's when the young specialist had to run around the stair galleries! The fact is that the electrical part of the excavator turned out to be far from perfect, so more than one hundred steps had to be overcome until you find the reason for the failure of one or another node. Plus, the documents were not completely translated from Czech. In order to delve into the schemes, I had to sit over the papers at night, because by morning it was necessary to figure out how to eliminate this or that malfunction.

The secret of the KU-800's longevity lies in its special mode of operation. The fact is that, in addition to scheduled repairs during the working season, in winter the entire complex is undergoing major repairs and restructuring of conveyor lines. Three months GVK prepare for the new season. During this time, they manage to put in order all the components and assemblies.

Alexei Martianov in the cab with a view of the excavator rotor. The rotating three-story wheel is impressive. In general, traveling through the galleries of the KU-800 is breathtaking.
- You have these impressions, probably already a little dulled?
- Yes, there is, of course. I have been working here since 1971.
- So, in those years, this excavator did not exist yet?
- There was a platform on which it was just beginning to be mounted. He walked here in knots, for about three years he was assembled by the Czech installation chiefs.
- Was it an unprecedented technique at that time?
- Yes, this is the fourth car that came off the assembly line of the Czechoslovak manufacturer. The newspapermen attacked us then. Even in the journal "Science and Life" they wrote about our excavator.

Hanging halls with electrical equipment and switchgear serve as a counterweight to the boom.

Of course, I understand that this is a walking excavator. But I still can’t imagine how such a “colossus” can actually walk?
- She walks very well, turns well. A step of two and a half meters takes only one and a half minutes. Here, at hand, is the step control panel: skis, base, stop, excavator turn. In a week we are preparing to change the place of deployment, in reverse side let's go, to where the conveyor is being built.

Aleksey Martianov, the foreman of GVK machinists, talks about his excavator with love, as about an animated object. He says that he has nothing to be ashamed of in this: each of his crew also treats his car. Moreover, the specialists of the Czech manufacturer, who oversee major repairs of the excavator, are beginning to speak of a living thing.

Only on the top platform of the excavator, forty meters from the ground, you feel its true dimensions. It seems that you can get lost in the stairways, but in these intricacies of metal and cable communications there are also workers and engine rooms, a hall with electrical equipment, switchgear, compartments for hydraulic units for walking, turning, devices for lifting and extending a rotary boom, cranes, conveyors.
With all the metal and energy intensity of the excavator, only 6 people work in its crew.

Narrow iron ladders in places with moving steps entangle the excavator, like forest paths. Endless rivers of wires run through the excavator.

How do you manage it? Do you have any secrets? Here comes, for example, new person, after how many months it will be possible to put him here, in this chair?
- It's not months, it's years. Learning to work in the cockpit, crash, walk is one thing, but to feel the car is quite another. After all, the distance from me to the driver of the loading boom is 170 meters, and we must hear and see each other well. I don't know what to feel with my back. There is, of course, a speakerphone here. All five drivers can hear me. And I hear them. You also need to know the electrical circuits, the device of this huge machine. Who masters quickly, and who only after ten years becomes a machinist.

The design of the KU-800 still surprises with engineering solutions. First of all, optimal calculations of bearing units and parts. Suffice it to say that excavators similar in performance to the Czech KU-800 are much larger in size and weight, they are up to one and a half times heavier.

The chalk cut by the rotor travels about 7 kilometers through a conveyor system and is stored in the chalk mountains with the help of a spreader.

During the year, such a volume of chalk is sent to the dumps, which would be enough to fill a two-lane road 1 meter high and 500 kilometers long.

Loader operator. In total, a shift of 4 people works on the spreader.

The spreader is a smaller copy of the KU-800 except for the absence of the rotor wheel. The excavator is the opposite.