Ore refers to a mineral aggregate from which useful components can be extracted or which has certain properties that can be utilized . It can be divided into metallic minerals and non-metallic minerals. The unit content of useful components (elements or minerals) in an ore is called the ore grade . Precious metal ores such as gold and platinum are expressed in grams per ton, while other ores are usually expressed in percentages.
Ore grade is often used to measure the value of ore, but the composition of gangue (useless minerals in the ore or minerals with very small content of useful components and cannot be used) and the amount of harmful impurities in the effective ingredient ore also affect the value of the ore.
When you are excited about picking up a beautiful ore, danger may have already invaded your body. In the field of geology and mining, there are many rocks or ores that have a bright appearance but are also deadly toxic! Below, let us take a look at the ten most deadly ores in the world.
Arsenopyrite
Arsenopyrite is generally produced in high-temperature hydrothermal deposits, pegmatites and metasomatic deposits, and coexists with wolframite and cassiterite in tungsten-tin veins. Arsenopyrite is magnetic after burning, and it will emit a garlic smell when hammered. Arsenopyrite is an iron sulfide arsenide mineral with a Mohs hardness of 5.5-6 and a specific gravity of 6.2. Arsenopyrite is tin white to steel gray, with gray-black streaks, metallic luster, and opaque. It is a sulfide mineral of the monoclinic orthorhombic columnar type.
Arsenopyrite is the most widely distributed sulfur arsenic compound. It is mainly distributed in Hunan, Jiangxi, Yunnan and other places in my country. The world’s famous production areas include Freiberg in Germany, Cornwall in the UK, Cobol in Canada and other places. In ancient times, arsenopyrite was called white arsenic and arsenic. Arsenic sand was smashed into small pieces, and the miscellaneous stones were removed. It was smelted with coal, charcoal or wood, and then sublimated to form arsenic trioxide. This stone is poisonous, so be sure to wash your hands in time after touching it.
Chrysotile
Chrysotile is a general term for serpentine asbestos, a trioctahedral silicate mineral with a double-layer structure consisting of silicon-oxygen tetrahedrons and magnesium hydroxide octahedrons. Due to the incoordination between the tetrahedral layer and the octahedral layer, three different basic structures are formed, constituting three types of minerals, namely, plate-like serpentine with a flat structure, antigorite with an alternating wavy structure, and chrysotile with a curled cylindrical structure.
Chrysotile is widely produced, highly crystalline and has good divisibility. Chrysotile with significant filamentous characteristics is a useful industrial mineral, also known as chrysotile asbestos. It is highly carcinogenic, can split into smaller particles and fibers, and rapidly breaks apart in the lungs. Prolonged exposure can cause disease, so workers engaged in mining chrysotile are prone to occupational diseases.
Blue Vitriol
Copper sulfate pentahydrate, commonly known as blue vitriol, gall vitriol or copper vitriol, is also known as copper sulfate crystals. It is a blue crystal with a molecular weight of 249.68 and a water content of 36%. It has the effects of inducing vomiting, removing rot and detoxification. Blue vitriol crystals melt into and penetrate into the water, which may have a fatal effect on animals and plants. It is a common ingredient in herbicides and pesticides.
Mercury telluride
This stone is often found in cooled magmatic rocks. It is a kind of ore formed by the fusion of mercury and tellurium at high temperatures. Because tellurium is toxic, it will release toxic substances when heated, so it can cause harm to the human body if you are not careful.
Galena
Galena is a sulfide, a relatively common mineral, in which the ratio of metal (lead) to sulfur is 1:1. Galena often appears in cubic crystals, and the aggregates are usually granular or dense blocks; it is lead gray, with gray-black streaks, metallic luster, hardness of 2.5, density of 7.4 g to 7.6 g/cm3, and has weak conductivity and good detectability.
Galena is mainly a mineral of hydrothermal origin. It always coexists with sphalerite and is easily weathered into lead alum and cerussite on the surface. It is formed in metamorphic rocks and volcanic sulfide deposits, often mixed with copper ore. Galena can also be formed in coral reef limestone and dolomite. It is the most widely distributed lead mineral and the most important mineral raw material for refining lead, but it contains a variety of toxic substances. Long-term contact or inhalation of dust may cause lead poisoning.
Red lead ore
The mineral, which is found throughout Europe and is made up of thallium, lead, and arsenic, can cause hair loss and lead to serious illness or even death if exposed to it for a long time.
Arsenic trisulfide
Arsenic trisulfide, also known as arsenous sulfide, is a symbiotic mineral of realgar (tetraarsenic tetrasulfide), so it is called “mineral mandarin duck”. Pure arsenic trisulfide is lemon yellow, belongs to the monoclinic system, has a relative density of 3.43, and boils at 707℃ without decomposing.
Arsenic trisulfide is poorly soluble in water and inorganic acids, but soluble in sodium sulfide, alkali metal hydroxides and carbonates. This ore is often found in hydrothermal vents, and long-term exposure can cause poisoning due to the neurotoxins they release.
Stibnite
Stibnite is an antimony sulfide mineral, containing 71.69% antimony, belonging to the orthorhombic (orthorhombic) crystal system, and is in the shape of a long column with a pointed top and vertical stripes on the column surface. Stibnite is mainly produced in medium and low temperature hydrothermal deposits, and often coexists with cinnabar, realgar and orpiment.
my country is the world’s largest antimony producer, with antimony deposits distributed in Hunan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan and other provinces. The large antimony deposit in Lengshuijiang Tin Mine in Hunan is world-famous. This stone can cause poisoning in people, which looks like arsenic poisoning.
Copper uranium mica
Copper-uranium mica is a uranium-containing mineral that can be used to refine uranium. It is green crystals or mica-like blocks and is of the phosphate type.
Copper-uranium mica often exists in the oxidation zone of endogenous deposits and has a typical layered mica structure, but copper-uranium mica and calcium-uranium mica do not belong to the mica family of minerals and only have the characteristics of mica.
These minerals are often found in granite. They are composed of uranium and have always been very popular with collectors, but they are radioactive and also emit toxic radon gas.
Cinnabar
Cinnabar, also known as cinnabar, cinnabar, red cinnabar, and mercury sand, is a natural ore of mercury sulfide. Its main component is mercury sulfide, but it is often mixed with realgar, apatite, asphaltene, etc.
Cinnabar has the effects of sedation, hypnosis, detoxification, preservation, and inhibition or killing of skin bacteria and parasites. Cinnabar is a compound of mercury, which has a special affinity with the sulfhydryl group in protein. The mercury that enters the body is mainly distributed in the liver and kidneys, and can directly damage the central nervous system through the blood-brain barrier.
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