The main feature of iron ores. Iron ore reserves in the world by country

In most cases iron ore open method. Its essence lies in the fact that all the necessary equipment is delivered to the deposit and a quarry is built. On average, the quarry is about 500 meters deep, and its diameter directly depends on the features. Then, with the help of special equipment, the iron ore is mined, piled on machines adapted for the transportation of very heavy loads, and taken out. As a rule, minerals are immediately transported to enterprises that process them.

The disadvantage of the open method is that it only allows iron ore to be mined at a relatively shallow depth. Since it often lies much deeper - at a distance of 600-900 m from the surface - it is necessary to build mines. First, the shaft of the shaft, which resembles a very deep well with reliably reinforced walls. Corridors that are called drifts depart from the trunk in different directions. The iron ore found in them is blown up, and then it is raised to the surface with the help of special equipment. This way of mining iron ore effective, but at the same time associated with serious danger and costly.

There is another way to mine iron ore. It is called SRS or borehole hydraulic production. Ore is extracted from the ground in the following way: a deep hole is drilled, pipes with a hydromonitor are lowered there and, with the help of a very strong water jet, the rock is crushed, and then it is raised to the surface. This method is safe, however, unfortunately, it is still ineffective. Thanks to this method, it is possible to extract only about 3% of the iron ore, while with the help of mines about 70%. Nevertheless, specialists are engaged in the development of the method of borehole hydraulic production, and therefore there is a hope that in the future this very option will become, displacing quarries and mines.

Sources:

• where iron ore is mined

Iron ore is a natural mineral formation that contains iron, as well as its various compounds. In this case, the percentage of iron in the rock should be such that its extraction would be expedient for industry.

Chemically, iron ores contain various iron compounds. These can be hydrates, carbonate salts of iron oxide. The main minerals that make up iron ores are magnetic iron ore, red iron ore and brown iron ore, as well as iron spar and its variety, spherosiderite. Basically, iron ores are a mixture of these minerals, as well as their mixture with minerals that do not contain iron in their composition.

Depending on the amount of iron contained in the iron ore, rich and poor ores are distinguished. In a rich ore, iron should be at least 57%. It should contain 8-10% silica, as well as sulfur and phosphorus. Such iron ore is formed by leaching and decomposition of silicates during prolonged weathering or metamorphosis. Lean iron ore contains at least 26% iron. At lower values ​​of iron, it becomes unprofitable. Before processing, the poor one is additionally enriched.

In its own way, all iron ores can be divided into three categories: magmatogenic, metamorphogenic and exogenous. Magmatogenic ores under the influence high temperatures or hot saline solutions. Metamorphogenic iron ores have been converted by impact high pressure... Exogenous include sea and lake basins, less often they are formed in river valleys and deltas with local enrichment of waters with iron compounds.

The richest iron ore is Australia, Brazil and Canada, which are its main exporters. There are also ore deposits in Russia. It is near Kursk, in Kusbass, near Norilsk, on Kola. But the main consumers of iron ore are China, Japan and South Korea.

Sources:

• iron ore what is it

Ore in the world World games of Warcraft is one of the rarest and most valuable resources used in various professions. The complexity of its extraction is due to the fact that the principle of the appearance of silver veins is random, therefore, make specific route will not work.

Features of silver deposits

Silver in WOW is necessary not only for jewelers, but also for blacksmiths, and even engineers who make special contacts and weapon parts from silver ingots. Unlike most other ores, the deposits of which are located at fixed points game world, Silver Ore is mined from veins that randomly appear instead of other metals: tin and iron.

Obviously, it makes sense to mine silver ore in those locations where the number of tin and iron deposits is maximum, while the location itself should not be overly populated, otherwise you will have to fight for every vein with competitors. Such locations include Stranglethorn Vale, Feralas, Arathi Highlands, Hillsbrad Foothills, Stonetalon Mountains, and many others.

You need to focus on the location level, since tin and iron veins are in the most large quantities are located in places intended for characters of 20-30 levels.

It is believed that the chance of a silver vein appearing in the place of a tin one is higher than in the place of an iron one, but there is no official confirmation of this. Perhaps the fact is that iron ore is more in demand, so there are not so many untouched lives in the regions where it prevails.

Extraction on an industrial scale

Ideally, to find silver ore quickly and efficiently, you need to acquire the fastest vehicle, that is, a flying dragon or a griffin with maximum speed flight. Unfortunately, such a pet is not cheap, and besides, you first have to reach the level required to learn the skill of a rider. You will need to pay additionally a certain amount gold for the ability to fly over the territories of Azeroth.

To make life easier for a miner can special modifications or "add-ons" that remember the coordinates of all the deposits visited earlier. After a few days of searching, you will have a map on which most possible locations the appearance of a particular ore.

If you are seriously considering mining silver, you should not neglect the tin and iron veins, especially when you are moving along the circular route. The fact is that a silver vein will appear on the site of another deposit only if this place is free, which means that everything needs to be dug out. Please note that if you do not pick up

How is iron obtained?

Iron is the most important chemical element in the periodic table; metal that is used in a wide variety of industries. It is mined from iron ore, which lies in the bowels of the earth.

How iron is obtained: methods

There are several ways to mine iron ore. The choice of this or that method will depend on the location of the deposits, the depth of the ore and some other factors.

Iron is mined in both open and closed ways:

1. When choosing the first method, it is necessary to ensure the delivery of all the necessary equipment directly to the deposit itself. Here, with her help, a quarry will be built. Depending on the width of the ore occurrence, the quarry can be of different diameters and up to 500 meters in depth. This method of mining iron ore is suitable if the mineral is shallow.
2. Still more common is the closed method of mining iron ore. In the course of it, deep wells-mines are dug up to 1000 m deep, to the sides of which branches (corridors) are dug - drifts. Special equipment is lowered into them, by means of which ore is removed from the ground and rises to the surface. Compared to the open, the closed method of mining iron ore is much more dangerous and costly.

After removing the ore from the bowels of the earth, it is loaded onto special hoisting machines that deliver the ore to processing plants.

Iron ore processing

Iron ore is a rock that contains iron. In order to send iron to industry in the future, it must be extracted from the rock. For this, iron itself is smelted from stone pieces of rock, and this is done at very high temperatures (up to 1400-1500 degrees).

Typically, the mined rock consists of iron, coal and impurities. It is loaded into blast furnaces and heated, and the coal itself maintains a high temperature, while the iron acquires a liquid consistency, after which it is poured into various forms... At the same time, the slags are separated, and the iron itself remains clean.

Iron ore are called natural mineral formations that contain iron in large quantities and such chemical compounds that its extraction is possible and expedient. The most important are: magnetite, magnomagnetite, titanomagnetite, hematite, hydrohematite, goethite, hydrogoethite, siderite, ferruginous chlorites. Iron ores differ in mineral composition, iron content, useful and harmful impurities, conditions of formation and industrial properties.

Iron ores are divided into rich (more than 50% iron), ordinary (50-25%) and poor (less than 25% iron), depending on chemical composition they are used to smelt pig iron in natural form or after enrichment. Iron ores used for steel production must contain certain substances in the required proportions. The quality of the resulting product depends on this. Certain chemical elements (other than iron) can be extracted from the ore and used for other purposes.

Iron ore deposits are classified by origin. Usually 3 groups are distinguished: magmatogenic, exogenous and metamorphogenic. They can be subdivided into several more groups. Magmatogenic are formed mainly when various compounds are exposed to high temperatures. Exogenous deposits arose in valleys during sedimentation and weathering rocks... Metamorphogenic deposits are pre-existing sedimentary deposits that have been transformed under high and temperature conditions. The largest number iron ore is concentrated in Russia.

The largest in Russia:

Bakcharskoe iron ore deposit

This deposit is one of the largest such iron ore deposits in Russia and the world. It is located on the territory of the Tomsk region in the interfluve of the Andorma and Iksa rivers. The field was discovered by accident during exploration in the 1960s.

The Bakcharovskoye iron ore deposit covers an area of ​​16 thousand km2. Iron ore formations are located at a depth of 190 to 220 meters. Ores contain up to 57% iron, as well as other impurities chemical elements(phosphorus, vanadium, palladium, gold and platinum). The iron content in the beneficiated ore reaches 95-97%. Iron ore reserves in this area are estimated at 28.7 billion tons.

Currently, new field development technologies are being introduced. The ore is supposed to be mined not by open-pit mining, but with the help of borehole hydro-mining.

Abagasskoe iron ore deposit

The Abagas iron ore deposit is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, 186 km west of the city of Abakan, on the territory of I. The field was discovered back in 1933, but its development began only 50 years later. The ores here are mainly magnetite, high-alumina, magnesian.

The main ore mineral here is magnetite, and the minor ones are musketite, hematite, and pyrite.

The Abagas iron ore deposit is divided into two zones: South (over 2600 m in length) and North (2300 m). The balance reserves of iron ores are over 73 million tons. Development is in progress open way... The total average annual production of 4.4 million tons of ore with an iron content of 28.4%.

Abakan iron ore deposit

The Abakan iron ore deposit is located in Khakassia, near the city of Abaza, in the northeastern spurs. Opened in 1856, it was originally called "Abakan Grace". After the discovery, the development of ores was carried out periodically. From 1947 to 1959, enterprises for the extraction and processing of ores were built. From 1957 to 1962, the deposit was developed by an open pit, and then underground (a mine with a depth of 400 m).

Abakanskoe is a deposit of magnetite ores. It contains: magnetite, actinolite, chlorite, calcite, andesite and cobalt-containing pyrite.

Explored reserves of ore with an average iron content of 41.7 - 43.4% with admixtures of zinc and sulfur amount to 140 million tons. Average annual production 2.4 million tons. The industrial product contains about 47.5% iron. Production and processing centers are the cities of Abaza, Abakan, Novokuznetsk.

Kursk magnetic anomaly

The Kursk Magnetic Anomaly is the world's most powerful iron ore basin. Ore deposits on its territory are estimated at 200-210 billion tons, which is about 50% of the iron ore reserves on the planet. It is located mainly in the Kursk, Belgorod and Oryol regions.

At present, the borders of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly cover an area of ​​over 160 thousand km2, capturing the territories of nine regions of the Center and South of the country. The prospective reserves of rich iron ores in the unique basin amount to many billions of tons, and ferruginous quartzites are practically inexhaustible.

The magnetic anomaly in this area was discovered back in the 18th century, but scientists started talking about its possible cause - deposits of magnetic ore only in the last century. Rich ores were discovered in 1931. The area is about 120 thousand km2. Ores: magnetite quartzites, rich iron ores in the weathering crust of ferruginous quartzites. The reserves of ferruginous quartzites are over 25 billion tons with an iron content of 32-37% and over 30 billion tons of high-grade ores (52-66% iron). Deposits are developed both by open and underground methods.

The Kursk Magnetic Anomaly includes the Prioskolskoye iron ore deposit and the Chernyanskoye iron ore deposit.

Thanks to its unique properties- malleability, strength, ductility - the metal is widely used by any industry throughout the world. The raw materials for its manufacture are iron-containing minerals.

Stocks in the world

There are deposits of iron-bearing minerals on every continent. Their resources are distributed as follows (in descending order):

• European states.
• Countries of Asia.
• African continent: South Africa, Algeria, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Gabon.
• South and North America.

Deposits of iron ore have been found in the territories of 98 states. 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.

V percentage iron ore reserves in the countries of the world are distributed as follows:

• Ukraine - 18%.
• Russia - 16%.
• Brazil - 13%.
• Australia - 11%.
• China - 13%.
• India - 4%.
• The rest is 25%.

Ore beds 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 is 25%.

Of all mined iron-bearing minerals, 87% are of low quality (iron content 16–40%). Such raw materials require enrichment. Russia produces only 12% of ferruginous 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 estimated that at the current level of ore mining, the iron supply of the world economy will be 250 years.

Largest deposits

Of all 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. Several powerful fields are located here. One of them - Lebedinskoye (14.6 billion tons) - was twice entered into the Guinness Book of Records for its size and output.

As well as less affluent regions:

• Ural.
• Kola ore region.
• Karelia.
• Western Siberia.

In addition to Russia, large deposits are located on the territory of:

• Australia (Iron Knob, Western Australian).
• USA (Verkhneozernoe).
• Canada (Newfoundland, 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 - Krivorozhskoe, Beloretskoe and Kremenchugskoe. The latter has deposits with low content gland. Moreover, they contain many harmful impurities. The other two deposits produce high quality iron ore.

Rich ferrous compounds (up to 68% Fe) are mined in Venezuela. The resource of the country is 2,200 million tons. The Brazilian deposits Karajas and Urukum contain more than ten billion tons of rich deposits (50–69% Fe). About 3,000 million tons of ordinary brown iron ore lies on the island. Cuba.

In the United States, there are huge deposits of ferruginous quartzites, which require thorough enrichment.

Rating of countries in the world for the extraction of iron ore for 2017

Ore is mined in more than 50 countries. The industry leaders are China, Australia, Brazil, Russia, India. Together, they extract 80% of all iron-bearing minerals.

The volumes of the iron-mining industry all over the world are increasing from year to year, but they do not fully cover the needs of mankind. Many countries with developed mining and metallurgical industries do not have enough of their own iron ore resources, and they are forced to buy it abroad.

The largest importers are South Korea, Japan, USA, and EU countries. Even the Celestial Empire, a republic that ranks 1st in the world in ore mining, is forced to import it. The largest export of iron ore raw materials is Australia, Brazil and India.

To understand how the iron ore industry is developing, a comparative table for ore production per year (million tons) is presented:

The Indian iron ore industry has grown steadily. It is expected to increase by 35% by 2020.

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 carry out production in many countries, own power plants, plants for the enrichment of iron ore minerals and smelting steel, carry out rail and sea transportation with their own transport, set world prices for raw materials.

One of the most valuable industrial minerals is iron ore. Deposits in Russia of this mineral are abundant. It is not without reason that our country is one of the five leaders in terms of the production of this raw material. Let's find out where the richest iron ore deposits in Russia are located.

The role of iron ore in industry

First, let's find out what role it plays in Russia, more precisely, in its industrial production, what qualities it possesses.

Iron ore is a naturally occurring mineral that contains iron in such quantities that it is economically efficient and feasible to extract it from the ore.

This mineral is the main raw material for the metallurgical industry. Main final product- cast iron and steel. The commercial form of the latter is called rental. Indirectly, through this industry, machine building, automotive, shipbuilding and other spheres of the national economy depend on the supply of iron ore.

Therefore, every available iron ore deposit in Russia is so important for the development of the country. The economic regions of the country, especially the East Siberian, Central Black Earth, Ural, North and West Siberian, are largely tied to the processing of ore raw materials.

The main properties of iron, because of which it is so widespread in industry, is strength and heat resistance. It is equally important that, unlike most other metals, the extraction and extraction of iron from ore is possible in large volumes and at relatively low cost.

Iron ore classification

Iron ores have their own classification system.

Depending on the chemical composition, ores are divided into the following types: oxides, hydroxides and carbonate salts.

The main types of iron ore minerals are magnetite, limonite, goethite, siderite.

Iron ore deposits in Russia also have their own classification. Depending on the method of ore occurrence and its composition, they are divided into several groups. Of primary importance are the following: sedimentary deposits, skarn, complex, quartzite.

Reserves and production volumes

Now let's find out what volumes of iron ore are mined in Russia.

In terms of the volume of explored deposits of iron ore in terms of iron, the Russian Federation shares the first place with Brazil, having 18% of the total amount of world reserves. This is due to the fact that we have the largest iron ore deposits in Russia.

If we take into account not pure iron, but all the ore with impurities, then in terms of reserves, the Russian Federation takes the second place in the globe- from 16% of world reserves, second only to Ukraine in this indicator.

By volumes of extraction of valuable mineral Russia long time ranks in the top five countries. Thus, in 2014, 105 million tons of iron ore were mined, which is 1,395 million tons less than the leader of this list, China, or 45 million tons less than the fourth in the list, India. At the same time, Russia is ahead of the next Ukraine by 23 million tons in terms of production.

For many years, Russia has been in the top ten largest countries for the export of iron ore. In 2009, the country ranked sixth with an export volume of 21.7 million tons, in 2013 it dropped to ninth place, and in 2015 it climbed to fifth. According to this indicator, the unchanging world leader is Australia.

In addition, it should be said that two Russian metallurgical plants at once are among the top ten world giants in the production of iron ore products. These are Evrazholding (production volume - 56,900 thousand tons / year) and Metalloinvest (44,700 thousand tons / year).

Main deposits

Now let's define where the main iron ore deposits are located in Russia.

The largest iron ore basin in the country is KMA. The Kola ore region and deposits of Karelia have large ore reserves. The Urals are also rich in iron ore. One of the largest in Russia is the West Siberian basin. Large deposits of iron ore in Russia are located in Khakassia and in the Altai Territory.

With the annexation of Crimea to Russia in 2014, another large iron ore basin appeared in the Russian Federation - the Kerch basin.

Deposits of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly

Kursk anomaly is not only the most large deposit iron ore in Russia, but also the undisputed world leader in terms of iron content. In terms of the amount of crude ore (30,000 million tons), this region is second only to one Bolivian deposit, the reserves of which are still being verified by specialists.

KMA is located on the territory of Kursk, Oryol and Belgorod regions and has a total area of ​​120,000 sq. km.

The basis of the iron ore in this region is magnetite quartzite. It is with the magnetic properties of this mineral that the anomalous behavior of the magnetic needle in this area is connected.

The largest deposits of the KMA are Korobkovskoye, Novoyaltinskoye, Mikhailovskoye, Pogrometskoye, Lebedinskoye, Stoilenskoye, Prioskolskoye, Yakovlevskoye, Chernyanskoye, Bolshetroitskoye.

Deposits and Karelia

Significant deposits of iron ore in Russia are located on the territory Murmansk region and the Republic of Karelia.

The total area of ​​the Kola ore region, located within the Murmansk region, is 114,900 sq. km. It should be noted that not only iron ore is mined here, but many other ore minerals - nickel, copper, cobalt ores and apatites. Among the deposits in the region, Kovdorskoye and Olenogorskoye should be highlighted. The main mineral is ferruginous quartzite.

The largest deposits in Karelia are Aganozerskoe, Kostomukshskoe, Pudozhgorskoe. True, the first of them is more specialized in mining

Deposits of the Urals

The Ural Mountains are also rich in iron ore. The main production area is the Kachkanar group of fields. The ore from this region has a relatively high titanium content. The extraction is carried out in an open way. The total explored volume of iron ore is approximately 7,000 million tonnes.

In addition, it should be said that it is in the Urals that the largest metallurgical plants Russia, in particular Magnitka and NTMK. But at the same time, it should be noted that a significant part of the former reserves of iron ores have been exhausted, so they have to be imported to these enterprises also from other regions of the country.

West Siberian basin

One of the largest iron ore regions in Russia is the West Siberian Basin. It could be the largest field in the world (up to 393,000 million tons), but, according to explored data, it is still inferior to KMA and the El Mutun field in Bolivia.

The pool is located mainly on the territory of the Tomsk region and covers an area of ​​260,000 square meters. km. It should be noted that despite the huge volumes of ore reserves, exploration and production of ore deposits are associated with a number of difficulties.

The largest deposits of the basin are Bachkarskoe, Chuzikskoe, Kolpashevskoe, Parbigskoe and Parabelskoe. The most significant and explored of them is the first on the list. It has an area of ​​1200 sq. km.

Deposits in Khakassia

Deposits in the Altai Territory and Khakassia are quite significant. But if the development of the first of them is carried out rather poorly, then the Khakass ore reserves are actively mined. Of the specific deposits, the Abagazskoye (volume of more than 73,000 thousand tons) and Abakanskoye (118,400 thousand tons) should be distinguished.

These deposits are of strategic importance for the development of the region.

Kerch basin

More recently, in connection with the annexation of the Crimea, Russia's wealth was also replenished with the Kerch basin, which is rich in iron ore. It is completely located on the territory of the Republic of Crimea, and has an area of ​​more than 250 sq. km. The total ore reserves are estimated at 1,800 million tons. A feature of ore deposits in this region is that they are located mainly in the deflections of rocks.

Among the main deposits are Kyz-Aulskoye, Ocheret-Burunskoye, Katerlezskoye, Akmanayskoye, Eltigen-Ortelskoye, Novoselovskoye, Baksinskoye, Severnoe. Conventionally, all these deposits are combined into the northern and southern groups.

Other iron ore regions

In addition, a significant number of other iron ore deposits are located in Russia, which are of less importance and volumes than those listed above.

A large iron ore deposit is located in Kemerovo region... Its resources are used to provide raw materials for the West Siberian and Kuznetsk metallurgical plants.

V Eastern Siberia In addition to Khakassia, there are iron ore deposits in Transbaikalia, in the Irkutsk region and in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. On Far East- in the long term - large-scale development may begin in Yakutia, Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories, Amur Region. Yakutia is especially rich in iron.

However, this is far from complete list deposits of iron ore that are available in addition, one should not forget that some deposits may be poorly explored, underestimated in terms of volume or not at all discovered at the moment.

The importance of the iron ore industry

Of course, the extraction of iron ore and its subsequent processing and export are of rather high importance for the economy of the entire country. Russia has the largest iron ore reserves in the world and is one of the leaders in their extraction and export.

We stopped at the most important iron ore deposits in Russia, but this is far from full list... This mineral can be found in almost every economic region of the country. Select (Russian iron ore deposits, by the way, not all are fully explored) any of them on the economic map - and you will surely stumble upon such a site.

Today this industry is of great interest as a promising direction.