6th grade science question
They are minerals that contain iron. Example hematite Fe3O4 (If memory serves). The Fe is iron.
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in colour from dark grey, bright yellow, deep purple, to rusty red. The iron itself is usually found in the form of magnetite (Fe3O4), hematite (Fe2O3), goethite, limonite or siderite. Hematite is also known as natural ore. The name refers to the early years of mining, when certain hematite ores contained 66% iron and could be fed directly into iron making blast furnaces. Iron ore is the raw material used to make pig iron, which is one of the main raw materials to make steel. 98% of the mined iron ore is used to make steel.
It is mot only the ores of iron (haematite, magnetite, limonite) that contain iron, but also iron is present in many important minerals that are found in igneous and metamorphic rocks, such as the pyroxenes and amphiboles. Iron carbonate (siderite) is also a common cementing mineral in sedimentary rocks.
