Thanks to your unique properties– malleability, strength, ductility – the metal is widely used by any industry throughout the world. The raw materials for its production are iron-containing minerals.
World reserves
There are deposits of iron-containing minerals on every continent. Their resources are distributed as follows (in descending order):
- European states.
- Asian countries.
- African continent: South Africa, Algeria, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Gabon.
- South and North America.
Iron ore deposits have been discovered in the territories of 98 countries. Today, their real figure is 212 billion tons. But scientists believe that the world's deposits of this strategic raw material can amount to 790 billion tons.
IN percentage Iron ore reserves around the world are distributed as follows:
- Ukraine – 18%.
- Russia – 16%.
- Brazil – 13%.
- Australia – 11%.
- China – 13%.
- India – 4%.
- The rest – 25%.
Ore layers vary in iron content. They are rich (more than 50% Fe), ordinary (25–50%), poor (less than 25%). Therefore, in terms of iron content, their reserves are distributed differently:
- Russia – 19%.
- Brazil – 18%.
- Australia – 14%.
- Ukraine – 11%.
- China – 9%.
- India – 4%.
- The rest – 25%.
Of all mined iron-containing minerals, 87% are of low quality (iron content 16–40%). Such raw materials require enrichment. Russia produces only 12% of ferrous compounds High Quality, with an iron content of more than 60%. The highest quality raw materials for metallurgy are mined on the Australian mainland (64% Fe).
It is calculated that when current level Once ore is mined, the world economy will be supplied with iron for 250 years.
Largest deposits
Of all the countries in the world, the richest reserves of iron ore are in Russian Federation. They are concentrated in several regions.
Kursk magnetic anomaly. This is a huge iron ore region on a global scale. There are several powerful deposits located here. One of them - Lebedinskoye (14.6 billion tons) - was twice entered into the Guinness Book of Records for its size and production volumes.
And also less wealthy regions:
- Ural.
- Kola ore district.
- Karelia.
- Western Siberia.
Besides Russia, large deposits are located on the territory:
- Australia (Iron Knob, Western Australian).
- USA (Verkhneozernoe).
- Canada (Newfoundland and Labrador).
- South Africa (Transvaal).
- India (Singbhum).
- Sweden (Mount Kirunavaare).
- China (near the city of Anshan).
Ukraine has significant reserves of iron ore - more than 21 billion tons. There are 3 deposits here - Krivorozhskoye, Beloretskoye and Kremenchugskoye. The latter has deposits with low iron content. In addition, they contain a lot harmful impurities. The other two deposits produce high quality iron ore.
Rich iron compounds (up to 68% Fe) are mined in Venezuela. The country's resource is 2,200 million tons. The Brazilian deposits of Carajas and Urukum contain more than ten billion tons of rich deposits (50–69% Fe). About 3,000 million tons of brown ordinary iron ore lie on the island. Cuba.
In the USA there are huge deposits ferruginous quartzites, which require thorough enrichment.
Rating of countries in the world by iron ore production for 2017
Ore mining is carried out on the territory of more than 50 countries. The industry leaders are China, Australia, Brazil, Russia, and India. Together they produce 80% of all iron-containing minerals.
The volumes of the iron mining industry around the world are increasing from year to year, but they do not fully cover the needs of humanity. Many countries with developed mining and metallurgical industries lack their own iron ore resources and are forced to purchase it abroad.
The largest importers are South Korea, Japan, USA, EU countries. Even the Celestial Republic, which ranks 1st in the world in ore production, is forced to import it. Australia, Brazil and India export the most iron ore.
To give an idea of how the iron ore industry is developing, we present comparison table by ore production per year (million tons):
The Indian iron ore industry is witnessing steady growth. It is expected that by 2020 its indicators will increase by 35%.
Among all the mining companies in the world, 3 ore giants occupy a fundamental place:
- BHP Billiton, the largest Australian-British company.
- Vale S.A. (Brazilian company).
- Rio Tinto, a multinational corporation.
They conduct mining operations in many countries, own power plants, iron ore processing and steel smelting plants, and carry out rail and sea transportation. own transport, set world prices for raw materials.
Iron ore is a rock that contains a natural accumulation of various minerals and necessarily, in one ratio or another, contains iron, which can be smelted from the ore. The components that make up the ore can be very diverse. Most often, it contains the following minerals: hematite, martite, siderite, magnetite and others. The quantitative content of iron contained in the ore varies, on average it ranges from 16 to 70%.
Depending on the amount of iron content in the ore, it is divided into several types. Iron ore containing more than 50% iron is called rich. Conventional ores contain no less than 25% and no more than 50% iron. Low-grade ores have a low iron content; it constitutes only a quarter of the total amount of chemical elements included in general content ore.
Iron ores containing sufficient iron content are smelted; for this process it is most often enriched, but can also be used in pure form, it depends on the chemical composition ore. In order to produce, an exact ratio of certain substances is necessary. This affects the quality of the final product. Other elements can be smelted from ore and used for their intended purpose.
In general, all iron ore deposits are divided into three main groups, these are:
Igneous deposits (formed under the influence of high temperatures);
exogenous deposits (formed as a result of sedimentation and weathering of rocks);
metamorphogenic deposits (formed as a result of sedimentary activity and subsequent influence high pressure and temperature).
These main groups of deposits can, in turn, be subdivided into some subgroups.
It is very rich in iron ore deposits. Its territory contains more than half of the world's iron deposits. The most extensive deposit is the Bakchar deposit. This is one of the most large sources iron ore deposits not only on the territory of the Russian Federation, but throughout the world. This deposit is located in Tomsk region in the area of the Androma and Ixa rivers.
Ore deposits were discovered here in 1960, during the search for oil sources. The deposit spreads over a very vast area of 1600 square meters. meters. Iron ore deposits are located at a depth of 200 meters.
Bakchar iron ores are 57% rich in iron; they also contain other useful chemical elements: phosphorus, gold, platinum, palladium. The volume of iron in enriched iron ore reaches 97%. The total ore reserve at this deposit is estimated at 28.7 billion tons. Technologies for the extraction and development of ore are being improved from year to year. Quarry mining is supposed to be replaced by borehole mining.
In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, approximately 200 km from the city of Abakan, in westward, the Abagas iron ore deposit is located. Prevailing chemical element, which is part of the local ores is magnetite, it is complemented by musketovite, hematite, and pyrite. General composition iron in the ore is not so large and amounts to 28%. Active work Ore mining at this deposit has been going on since the 80s, despite the fact that it was discovered back in 1933. The deposit consists of two parts: Southern and Northern. Every year, an average of just over 4 million tons of iron ore are mined in this place. The total amount of iron ore reserves at the Abas deposit is 73 million tons.
In Khakassia, near the city of Abaza in the Western Sayan region, the Abakan deposit has been developed. It was discovered in 1856, and since then ore has been mined regularly. During the period from 1947 to 1959, special enterprises for the extraction and enrichment of ores were built at the Abakan deposit. Initially, mining was carried out open method, and later switched to the underground method, building a 400-meter shaft. Local ores are rich in magnetite, pyrite, chlorite, calcite, actinolite, and andesite. The iron content in them ranges from 41.7 to 43.4% with the addition of sulfur and. The average annual production level is 2.4 million tons. Total stock deposits amount to 140 million tons. Iron ore mining and processing centers are located in Abaza, Novokuznetsk and Abakan.
The Kursk magnetic anomaly is famous for its richest iron ore deposits. This is the largest iron pool in the entire world. More than 200 billion tons of ore lie here. This amount is a significant indicator, because it accounts for half of the iron ore reserves on the entire planet as a whole. The field is located on the territory of Kursk, Oryol and Belgorod regions. Its borders extend over 160,000 square meters. km, including nine central and southern regions countries. A magnetic anomaly was discovered here a long time ago, back in the 18th century, but more extensive ore deposits became possible to discover only in the last century.
The richest reserves of iron ore began to be actively mined here only in 1931. This place contains a reserve of iron ore equal to 25 billion tons. The iron content in it ranges from 32 to 66%. Mining is carried out both open-pit and underground. The Kursk magnetic anomaly includes the Prioskolskoye and Chernyanskoye iron ore deposits.
Iron ore is one of the mineral formations. Among its constituent elements there is iron and various compounds. If the ore contains a large proportion of iron, then it is classified as iron. The main production of iron ore occurs in magnetic iron ore. Iron compounds occupy about 70% of it.
Iron ore reserves in the world
Within the Russian industrial complex, the main share falls on ore mining. In general, the country contributes no more than 6% to world production. IN total Today there are about 160 billion tons of this fossil on the planet. Taking into account the share of iron in it, reserves of this particular substance are estimated at 80 billion tons.
Iron ore reserves in various countries the world are as follows:
- Russia and Brazil – 18% each.
- Australia – 14%.
- Ukraine – 10%.
- China – 9%.
- Canada – 8%.
- USA – about 7%.
The remaining 15% is distributed in various shares among other countries of the world.
Experts divide iron ore products into several categories, namely:
- with a high iron content (more than 50% of the composition);
- privates (25–49%);
- poor (less than 25%).
Magnetic iron ore is characterized by the highest iron content. On Russian territory its reserves are located mainly in the area Ural mountains. This ore also occurs in large quantities in Sweden and in some of the US states.
Current reserves of various ores in Russia today are about 50 billion tons. In terms of its reserves, the country ranks third in the world, behind only Australia and Brazil.
Ore mining methods
Now there are several basic methods of ore mining. For each case, the choice is made individually. When making decisions, specialists evaluate a number of factors, including the economic feasibility of operating certain machines and units, the location of iron ore and some others.
Career way
The bulk of iron ore mining sites are developed using open-pit mining methods. She assumes initial stage work preparing a quarry of a certain depth (on average 300 meters). Next, other equipment is included in the work. The ore mass is removed from it using large dump trucks.
Typically, the rock is immediately transported to specialized enterprises for further production of iron ore products, including steel.
When preparing a quarry this method For mining, the largest and most massive excavators are used. Once the process reaches its completion and the equipment reaches the lower layers of the ore mass, the resulting samples are analyzed immediately before the start of iron ore mining. Based on its results, the specific proportion of iron in its composition is determined.
The decision to begin development and extraction of iron ore is made if the analysis shows the presence of iron in an amount of more than 57%. This option will be beneficial in economically. IN otherwise special commission solves the need to extract such material along with possible options improving production quality.
Has a lot of advantages. Its main disadvantage is that the development and extraction of ore bodies can be carried out at shallow depths.
Mine method
In practice, the ore is often quite deep. This necessitates the development of mines. Their depth reaches several hundred meters – up to a kilometer. Initially, its trunk is organized, which has an external resemblance to a well.
Specialized corridors extend from the mine shaft. They are called drifts. This is one of the most effective ways ore mining. At the same time, it is the most financially expensive and dangerous.
Borehole hydraulic production
SHD is a hydromechanical method. In this case, production involves organizing deep well, which includes pipes equipped with a hydraulic monitor. Next, using a jet of water, the rock breaks off and moves upward.
This option is characterized by low efficiency but high safety. In practice, it is used in 3% of cases.
Rock beneficiation methods
In any case, the enrichment procedure is preceded by grinding of the raw materials. On next stage Direct enrichment is carried out using one of the following methods:
- gravity separation;
- magnetic separation;
- flotation;
- complex technique.
Greatest practical use received the option of gravitational separation. It has a minimal cost. For implementation, machines such as a centrifugal machine, a vibrating platform, and a spiral are required.
Due to the presence of substances magnetic properties, the magnetic separation option works. It is relevant in cases where the others are ineffective.
In practice, a complex effect on ore is often required through several beneficiation methods at once.
Video: Iron ores of the Urals
Humanity, according to archaeologists, learned to process iron ore and make various products from it as early as 3000 BC.
IN different countries iron ore was processed using complex techniques, and over the centuries people have only improved in its processing and forging. Over time, the production of iron ore increased, and the production of quality products increased to such a level that they became available to everyone.
At each time stage, humanity used iron ores that could be processed with economic benefit using the equipment of that time: in the first millennium, only ores with an iron content of at least 80-90% were processed. But the more advanced the technology and methods of mining iron ore became, the more poor iron ores were used.
IN modern world industries where iron ore is found permanent use- This is steel production, iron smelting, production of ferroalloys and pipes.
Currently, all iron ore deposits are divided according to the degree of Fe content into rich (57% iron content in the total ore mass) and poor (at least 26%). And the iron ore itself is divided into ordinary (sinter ore), its iron content is at an average level, pellets are the raw iron-containing mass, and separated ore with the lowest iron content in the total mass.
TO special type The ore can be classified as magnetic iron ore with a 70% content of iron oxide and ferrous oxide. The mining area for such iron ore in Russia is the Urals, Blagodat and Magnitnaya mountains.
Norway and Sweden also have such deposits. In the USA, magnetic iron ore is mined in the state of Pennsylvania, but the best deposits for the extraction of iron ore in this country have already been practically developed, leaving deposits with an ordinary ore content (up to 40-50%), the same situation is in the deposits of Ukraine and Russia.
For this reason, many countries leading in iron ore production have to constantly improve raw material processing technologies. Rich deposits in last years found only in Australia, they are found in Canada and Mexico. At the same time, North America and Western Europe are inferior in total iron ore production to Australia, which has been the leader in iron ore production for several years.
Countries such as Germany, Great Britain and Belgium were forced to abandon the development of their own deposits, since the raw materials that are mined there belong to the third group and their further processing is very expensive. In these countries, iron ore mining was carried out using open pit mining. First of all, with such development of poor deposits, great damage environment, since for every ton of pure iron mined, there are several tens of tons of industrial waste dumps.
Iron ore mining technology
In a quarry where a layer of iron ore rocks lies at a shallow depth, the upper layers of soil are excavated to a depth of about 500 meters. After upper layer removed, the ore is selected using special equipment and transported from the quarry to processing plants. Economic benefits for producers in these countries are reduced due to Low quality ore requiring beneficiation. This entails additional financial expenses, and the need to carry out expensive restoration measures at the development site makes the extraction of such minerals unprofitable.
As a result, countries such as France and Germany have been among the top ten countries importing iron ore and its primary processing products for many years. Supplies are mainly made from Asian countries, as well as Russia.
India has rich deposits in Asian countries. In South America, the main place for iron ore mining is Brazil, which has iron ore deposits with a 60% iron ore content and is successfully developing specialized enterprises.
The PRC, despite the fact that, according to experts, has large but poor deposits, still processes this ore. In 2009, China was the leader in iron ore exports. In the total world production of iron ore, this country accounted for 1/3 of all raw materials. Compared to the mid-20th century, the main production of ore for the ferrous metallurgy industry has shifted from Western Europe to Asia, South America and Eastern Europe. Asian countries currently account for about 55% of all production.
At the same time, the industry's need for iron ore production throughout the world is only increasing from year to year. Some countries with developed automobile and industrial production, such as Japan and South Korea do not have their own deposits. For this reason, it becomes important to introduce new technologies to reduce economic costs in the extraction of iron ore raw materials. Countries of the world that have significant reserves of iron ore deposits are looking for new technologies for enriching the extracted raw materials.
Today, almost 100 countries have such raw materials deposits that are potentially ready for development. America (both North and South) accounts for approximately 267 billion tons, Russia - 100 billion tons, Asian countries have deposited reserves of 110 billion tons, Australia and Oceania (together) - 82, Africa has about 50 billion tons, in Europe - 56 billion tons.
At the same time, in terms of iron content in ore, Brazil and Russia have the same percentage of global reserves. Each of these countries has 18% of the reserves. Third place in this ranking belongs to Australia with 14%, fourth place is occupied by Ukraine - 11%, China has reserves of 9%, India - 5%. The United States has the smallest reserve of iron content in ore among the current active deposit developers, only 3%.
Processing of raw materials is carried out different ways: Western European countries and the USA, thanks to new scientific and technical methods for enriching poor raw materials, are achieving the final product best quality. They agglomerate raw materials, but it should be taken into account that such raw materials cannot be transported and must be processed on the domestic market.
In the issue of iron ore mining, the countries that benefit are the producing countries that export iron ore pellets; the mining technologies do not differ from the generally accepted ones, but the raw materials undergo pre-processing. Iron ore pellets are easy to transport and then on site, it is a raw material, thanks to modern technologies, is easily reduced into pure iron and enters a further industrial process.
The iron content in industrial ores ranges from 16 to 72%. Beneficial impurities include Ni, Co, Mn, W, Mo, Cr, V, etc., and harmful impurities include S, R, Zn, Pb, As, Cu. According to their genesis, iron ores are divided into, and (see map).
Basic iron ores
Industrial types of iron ores are classified by the predominant ore mineral. Magnetite ores are composed of magnetite (sometimes magnesian - magnomagnetite, often martitized - transformed into hematite in the process of oxidation). They are most characteristic of carbonatite, skarn and hydrothermal deposits. Apatite and baddeleyite are simultaneously extracted from carbonatite deposits, and cobalt-containing pyrite and sulfides of non-ferrous metals are extracted from skarn deposits. A special type of magnetite ores are complex (Fe-Ti-V) titanomagnetite ores of igneous deposits. Hematite ores, composed mainly of hematite and, to a lesser extent, magnetite, are common in the weathering crust of ferruginous quartzites (martite ores), in skarn, hydrothermal and volcanic-sedimentary ores. Rich hematite ores contain 55-65% Fe and up to 15-18% Mn. Siderite ores are divided into crystalline siderite ores and clay spar iron ores; they are often magnesian (magnosiderites). They are found in hydrothermal, sedimentary and volcanic-sedimentary deposits. The average Fe content in them is 30-35%. After roasting siderite ores, as a result of removing CO 2, fine-porous iron oxide concentrates are obtained containing 1-2%, sometimes up to 10% Mn. In the oxidation zone, siderite ores turn into brown iron ores. Silicate iron ores are composed of ferruginous chlorites (, leptochlorite, etc.), accompanied by iron hydroxides, sometimes. They form sedimentary deposits. The average Fe content in them is 25-40%. The admixture of sulfur is insignificant, phosphorus up to 1%. They often have an oolitic texture. In the weathering crust, they turn into brown, sometimes red (hydrohematite) iron ores. Brown iron ores are composed of iron hydroxides, most often hydrogoethite. They form sedimentary deposits (marine and continental) and deposits of weathering crust. Sedimentary ores often have an oolitic texture. The average Fe content in ores is 30-35%. Brown iron ores of some deposits (Bakalskoye in the CCCP, Bilbao in Spain, etc.) contain up to 1-2% Mn or more. Naturally alloyed brown iron ores, formed in the weathering crusts of ultramafic rocks, contain 32-48% Fe, up to 1% Ni, up to 2% Cr, hundredths of a percent Co, V. From such ores, chromium-nickel cast iron and low-alloy steel are smelted without additives. (, ferruginous) - poor and medium in iron content (12-36%) metamorphosed iron ores, composed of thin alternating quartz, magnetite, hematite, magnetite-hematite and siderite layers, in places with an admixture of silicates and carbonates. They are distinguished by a low content of harmful impurities (S and R - hundredths of a percent). Deposits of this type usually have unique (over 10 billion tons) or large (over 1 billion tons) ore reserves. In the weathering crust, silica is carried away, and large deposits of rich hematite-martite ores appear.
The largest reserves and production volumes are found in Precambrian ferruginous quartzites and the rich iron ores formed from them; sedimentary brown iron ores, as well as skarn, hydrothermal and carbonatite magnetite ores are less common.
Iron ore beneficiation
There are rich (over 50% Fe) and poor (less than 25% Fe) ores that require. For qualitative characterization of rich ores important has the content and ratio of nonmetallic impurities (slag-forming components), expressed by the basicity coefficient and the silicon module. According to the magnitude of the basicity coefficient (the ratio of the sum of the contents of calcium and magnesium oxides to the sum of silicon oxides and ) iron ores and their concentrates are divided into acidic (less than 0.7), self-fluxing (0.7-1.1) and basic (more than 1.1 ). Self-fluxing ores are the best: acidic ores, compared to basic ores, require the introduction of an increased amount of limestone (flux) into the blast furnace charge. According to the silicon modulus (the ratio of the content of silicon oxide to aluminum oxide), the use of iron ores is limited to types of ores with a modulus below 2. Low-grade ores that require beneficiation include titanomagnetite, magnetite, and magnetite quartzites with a magnetite Fe content of more than 10-20%; martite, hematite and hematite quartzites with a Fe content of more than 30%; siderite, hydrogoethite and hydrogoethite-leptochlorite ores with a Fe content of more than 25%. The lower limit of total Fe and magnetite contents for each deposit, taking into account its scale, mining and economic conditions installed by air conditioning.
Ores that require beneficiation are divided into easy-to-benefit and difficult-to-benefit, which depends on their mineral composition and textural and structural features. Easy-to-process ores include magnetite ores and magnetite quartz, difficult-to-process ores include iron ores in which iron is associated with cryptocrystalline and colloidal formations; when crushed, it is not possible to reveal ore minerals due to their extremely small size and fine intergrowth with non-metallic minerals. The choice of enrichment methods is determined mineral composition ores, their textural and structural features, as well as the nature nonmetallic minerals and physical and mechanical properties of ores. Magnetite ores are enriched magnetically. The use of dry and wet magnetic separation ensures the production of quality concentrates even with a relatively low iron content in the original ore. If there are commercial hematite contents in the ores, along with magnetite, magnetic flotation (for finely disseminated ores) or magnetic-gravitational (for coarsely disseminated ores) enrichment methods are used. If magnetite ores contain industrial quantities of apatite or sulfides, copper and zinc, boron minerals and others, then flotation is used to extract them from magnetic separation waste. Enrichment schemes for titanomagnetite and ilmenite-titanium magnetite ores include multi-stage wet magnetic separation. In order to separate ilmenite into titanium concentrate, wet magnetic separation waste is enriched by flotation or gravity, followed by magnetic separation in a high-intensity field.
Beneficiation schemes for magnetite quartzites include crushing, grinding and magnetic beneficiation in weak field. Enrichment of oxidized ferruginous quartzites can be carried out magnetically (in strong field), roasting, magnetic and flotation methods. To enrich hydrogoethite-leptochlorite oolitic brown iron ores, a gravitational or gravitational-magnetic (in a strong field) method is used; research is also being conducted on the enrichment of these ores using a magnetic roasting method. Clay hydrogoethite and (boulder) ores are enriched by washing. Beneficiation of siderite ores is usually achieved by roasting. When processing ferruginous quartzites and skarn-magnetite ores, concentrates with a Fe content of 62-66% are usually obtained; in conditioned concentrates of wet magnetic separation from apatite-magnetite and magnetite ores of iron, at least 62-64%; For electrometallurgical processing, concentrates are produced with a Fe content of not less than 69.5%, SiO 2 not more than 2.5%. Concentrates of gravity and gravity-magnetic enrichment of oolitic brown iron ores are considered standard with a Fe content of 48-49%; As enrichment methods improve, the requirements for ore concentrates increase.
Most iron ores are used to smelt iron. A small amount serves as natural paints (ochers) and weighting agents for drilling clay solutions.
Iron Ore Reserves
In terms of iron ore reserves (balance sheet - over 100 billion tons), CCCP ranks 1st in the world. The largest iron ore reserves in the CCCP are concentrated in Ukraine, in central regions RSFSR, in Northern Kazakhstan, in the Urals, in western and eastern Siberia. Of the total explored reserves of iron ores, 15% are rich and do not require enrichment, 67% are enriched using simple magnetic circuits, 18% require complex methods enrichment.
KHP, North Korea and CPB have significant reserves of iron ore, sufficient for the development of their own ferrous metallurgy. see also