Question

What is the difference between rock, mineral, ore and metal?

Answer 1

• A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic element or compound having an orderly internal structure and characteristic chemical composition, crystal form, and physical properties. Some examples of minerals are quartz, feldspar, mica, amphibole etc. Minerals are the building blocks of rocks. For example, granite, a common rock, is a combination of the minerals quartz, feldspar and biotite. There are about 3000 different minerals in the world. Minerals are made of chemicals – either a single chemical or a combination of chemicals.
• A rock is an aggregate of one or more minerals, or a body of undifferentiated mineral matter. Examples like granite, basalt, limestone, and sandstone etc. All rocks are made of minerals. Three major groups of rocks are defined: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. A rock is made up of 2 or more minerals, whereas a mineral is composed of the same substance throughout.
• Ore is a type of rock that contains sufficient minerals with important elements including metals that can be economically extracted from the rock or a mineral or an aggregate of minerals from which a valuable constituent, especially a metal, can be profitably mined or extracted is an ore. Example: bauxite ore of aluminium. Earth’s most important iron ore deposits are found in sedimentary rocks.
• The ores are then refined to produce the metals such as aluminium that we use in our daily life. Rocks contain minerals, which in large concentration are called ores, and these are mined for metals.