What is Ore? – Definition & Examples

Ore is aggregate of minerals and that can be can be economically extracted from the rock.

Examples : Galena (Lead Ore)

Ore Deposit

An ore deposit is an accumulation of a particular ore or more than one ore. Most ore deposits are named according to their location (for example, Tummalapalle Uranium Deposit, India), or after a discoverer (e.g. the kambalda nickel shoots are named after drillers).

Classification of Ores

Ores are classified based on how they form. Some ores form from the cooling and crystallization of minerals within magmas, lavas, or igneous intrusions, some are formed by sedimentary processes and some are formed by ore fluids in later process.

1. 1. Magmatic Ore Deposit: An ore deposit formed by magmatic segregation, generally in mafic rocks and layered intrusions, as crystals of metallic oxides or from an immiscible sulfide liquid.
   2. Hydrothermal Deposit: A mineral deposit formed by precipitation of ore and gangue minerals in fractures, faults, breccia openings, or other spaces, by replacement or open-space filling, from aqueous fluids ranging in temperature from 50º to 700ºC but generally below 400ºC, and ranging in pressure from 1 to 3 kilobars. The fluids are of diverse origin.
   3. Sedimentary Ore Deposit: An ore deposit formed by sedimentary processes, e.g. saline residues, phosphatic deposits, or alluvial gold.