Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Iron formations must be at least 15% iron in composition, just like ironstones and all iron-rich sedimentary rocks. However, iron formations are mainly Precambrian in age which means that they are 4600 to 590 million years old.
Banded iron formation – Distinctive layered units of iron-rich sedimentary rock that are almost always of Precambrian age Breccia – Rock composed of angular fragments Calcarenite – Type of limestone that is composed predominantly of sand-size grains
Ironstone (sandstone with iron oxides) from the Mississippian Breathitt Formation, Mile Marker 166, I-64, Kentucky. Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially.
Iron-rich sedimentary rocks are composed of >15% iron; the most common forms are banded iron formations and ironstones. [ 6 ] Phosphatic sedimentary rocks are composed of phosphate minerals and contain more than 6.5% phosphorus ; examples include deposits of phosphate nodules , bone beds, and phosphatic mudrocks.
Iron-rich rocks are common worldwide, but ore-grade commercial mining operations are dominated by the countries listed in the table aside. The major constraint to economics for iron ore deposits is not necessarily the grade or size of the deposits, because it is not particularly hard to geologically prove enough tonnage of the rocks exist.
العربية; Aragonés; Asturianu; Azərbaycanca; 閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gú; Башҡортса; Беларуская; Беларуская (тарашкевіца)
Following development of high grade direct shipping iron ore deposits on the Mesabi Range, containing up to 65% iron and as little as 1.25% silica, miners termed the unaltered iron-formation wall rock taconite. The iron content of taconite is generally 30% to 35%, and the silica content generally around 45%.
Banded iron formation is more precisely defined as chemically precipitated sedimentary rock containing greater than 15% iron. However, most BIFs have a higher content of iron, typically around 30% by mass, so that roughly half the rock is iron oxides and the other half is silica.