User:Blackmystry

Minerals and Ores, What's the Difference?
Confused about the difference between Minerals and Ores? Here is some help:

Minerals
Minerals are basically lots of tiny things stuck together really tightly and they are found deep under the ground at your feet. They are made up of the 'ingredients' that can be found in everything around you. For example in a pile of dirt there can be little tiny pieces of fizzy drink cans, pieces of gold and even pieces of diamonds! But they are stuck together in something called a 'compound' which is basically a cluster of tiny pieces of just about anything.

Ores
Ores are minerals that are worth more money than what it cost to get them out of the dirt. So if I pay $100 to dig up $200 worth of 'stuff' than the 'stuff' is an ore. But if the 'stuff' is worth less than $100 then it is just a mineral.

Why is Gold so Expensive?
Ever wondered why gold is so expensive while other metals are cheap? Its all to do with the way you get the metal, how much you get and how much of it is left in the ground.

Why does it cost?
When something is 'dug up' or 'mined' from the ground it takes a lot of people, machines and money. Here is a list of some of the needed resources for getting the 'Ore' from the ground (Mining) and then being able to use the 'Ore' to make things like cars, cans and Call of Duty games: Thanks to these costs the price of the final product (Metal) has to go up so that the everything can be paid for. So if it costs lots of money to get the Ores out of the ground and then turn them into something useful, then it will also cost lots of money to buy. But if you can get it out of the ground cheap, then you can also buy it cheap.
 * Money for the workers
 * Massive earthmoving machines
 * Trucks
 * Explosives
 * Smelters (Where the ores are heated and melted, which helps separating the metals from the dirt)
 * And the list goes on...

How Does Ore Turn Into A Metal?
To make Ores useful the metal inside must be 'separated' or 'removed from' the Ore.

How Ore Turns Into Copper
Here are the steps that people use to turn Ore into Copper:
 * 1) The ore (Chalcopyrite) is crushed into powder.
 * 2) The powder is mixed with water and other chemicals to create bubbles that the copper sticks to (Froth Flotation).
 * 3) The bubbles are scooped up and then get all the chemicals removed so the mixture is now called the "Metal Concentrate".
 * 4) The "Metal Concentrate" is then cooked/roasted in an extremely hot oven until the copper becomes separated from the other metals. This is called "Smelting".
 * 5) The copper is repeatedly "Smelted" until almost all of the other stuff is removed from the copper.
 * 6) Electricity is used to remove all the tiny bits of other stuff until the copper is 100% pure (electrolytic refining).

What happens to aluminium cans after they go into the yellow lid bin and the garbage man takes them away?
This whole process leads to a healthier world for us to live in, thanks to lowered amounts of mining and pollution.
 * 1) Once the cans arrive at the recycling facility they are grouped into large piles and sometimes squished into a cube.
 * 2) The piles or cubes are then transported to a smelter where they are melted down at a blazing 500 degrees, into bars of aluminium (ingots).
 * 3) These Ingots are then rolled into thin sheets of metal.
 * 4) The sheets are then distributed to companies all over the world where they are filled with your favourite drink.
 * 5) The drinks are then bought by your parents and before you know you can start the recycling process all over again.

Why is recycling so popular?
Here are some reason why recycling is so popular: The above reasons are the basic reasons why people all over the world are recycling whatever they can, for example: A company will save money and look good to the public, which means the stuff we buy is environmentally friendlier. Everyone wins.
 * Pretty much everything that we dig from the ground and turn into something useful will eventually run out.
 * It is usually better for the environment.
 * It usually is cheaper to recycle rather than make something from scratch.
 * Decreases the amount of rubbish that needs to be buried (landfill).