OREANDA-NEWS. With the start-up of the S11D and Additional 40 projects in Para and Itabiritos, in Minas Gerais, our production will increase so we can meet the demand from developing countries, such as China, that are growing and urbanizing at an accelerated pace. Transformed into steel, iron ore is used in the construction of buildings, airplanes, and various other components that are indispensable in our day-to-day lives. Find out more here.

From the discovery of an orebody to the final product, the whole process involves a variety of steps that start with the exploration of the mineral deposit and end with the processing of the mined ore. The first of these is geological formation, which leads to the formation of mineral deposits in some regions of the world and determines the composition of the ore.

Geological formation

Rocks, minerals and ores are formed as a result of the planet’s geological transformations. These phenomena explain the distribution of mineral resources in Brazil and other regions of the world. These processes are very slow yet constantly occurring, and their influence on rock formation continues up until the present day. Orebodies found at ground level containing iron, bauxite and gold are the type that were most recently formed, although this process of enrichment at the earth’s surface actually started to take place tens of millions of years ago.

The composition of iron ore

An ore is an economically exploitable mineral or an association of minerals (rock). Iron ore, for example, which is our main product, occurs in its oxide, carbonate, sulphate and silicate forms. The largest sources of iron ore on the planet are known as banded iron formations (BIFs), known in Brazil as itabirites and jaspelites. The rock in these formations undergoes intense physical and chemical processes that result in the removal of silica, transforming it into hematitite (rock rich in hematite). It is the level of hematite that can be found in the ore that determines the iron content of an orebody.