Ore concentrate, dressed ore or simply concentrate is the product generally produced by

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

mines. The raw ore is usually ground finely in various

comminution Comminution is the reduction of solid materials from one average particle size to a smaller average particle size, by crushing, grinding, cutting, vibrating, or other processes. Comminution is related to pulverization and grinding. All use m ...

operations and

gangue Gangue () is the commercially worthless material that surrounds, or is closely mixed with, a wanted mineral in an ore deposit. It is thus distinct from overburden, which is the waste rock or materials overlying an ore or mineral body that are di ...

(waste) is removed, thus concentrating the metal component. The concentrate is then transported to various physical or chemical processes called

hydrometallurgy Hydrometallurgy is a technique within the field of extractive metallurgy, the obtaining of metals from their ores. Hydrometallurgy uses solutions to recover metals from ores, concentrates, and recycled or residual materials. Usually the extracti ...

, pyrometallurgy smelters, and electrometallurgy where it is used to produce useful metals. Ore concentrates are classified as a hazardous cargo for

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

ping by the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code, which is part of the

SOLAS Convention The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international maritime treaty which sets out minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships. The International Maritime Organizat ...

, due to their tendency under certain conditions, to liquefy, which may affect the stability of the ship due to the

free surface effect The free surface effect is a mechanism which can cause a watercraft to become unstable and capsize. It refers to the tendency of liquids — and of unbound aggregates of small solid objects, like seeds, gravel, or crushed ore, whose behavior app ...

potentially causing a ship to

capsize Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is Turtling (sailing), upside down in the water. The act of reco ...

. Special measures are required by the code in order to safely transport concentrates.

References

Mining {{Mining-stub

See also

References