Answer: when it contains fluorite or sulfur minerals in sufficient amounts to be extracted profitablywhen it contains at least one metallic mineral in sufficient amounts to be extracted profitably
When is a rock considered an ore?

Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals typically containing metals that can be mined treated and sold at a profit. Ore is extracted from the earth through mining and treated or refined often via smelting to extract the valuable metals or minerals. The grade of ore refers to the concentration of the desired material it contains. The value of the metals or minerals a rock co…

Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals typically containing metals that can be mined treated and sold at a profit. Ore is extracted from the earth through mining and treated or refined often via smelting to extract the valuable metals or minerals. The grade of ore refers to the concentration of the desired material it contains. The value of the metals or minerals a rock contains must be weighed against the cost of extraction to determine whether it is of sufficiently high grade to be worth mining and is therefore considered an ore. Minerals of interest are generally oxides sulfides silicates or native metals such as copper or gold. Ores must be processed to extract the elements of interest from the waste rock. Ore bodies are formed by a variety of geological processes generally referred to as ore genesis.

An ore deposit is an economically significant accumulation of minerals within a host rock. This is distinct from a mineral resource as defined by the mineral resource classification criteria. An ore deposit is one occurrence of a particular ore type. Most ore deposits are named according to their location (for example the Witwatersrand South Africa) or after a discoverer (e.g. the Kambalda nic…

An ore deposit is an economically significant accumulation of minerals within a host rock. This is distinct from a mineral resource as defined by the mineral resource classification criteria. An ore deposit is one occurrence of a particular ore type. Most ore deposits are named according to their location (for example the Witwatersrand South Africa) or after a discoverer (e.g. the Kambalda nickel shoots are named after drillers) or after some whimsy a historical figure a prominent person something from mythology (phoenix kraken serepentleopard etc.) or the code name of the resource company which found it (e.g. MKD-5 was the in-house name for the Mount Keith nickel sulphide deposit ). Classification Ore deposits are classified according to various criteria developed via the study of economic geology or ore genesis . The classifications below are typical. Hydrothermal e...

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