Bijih besi: Perbezaan antara semakan

[[Image:HematitaEZ.jpg|thumb|250px|Hematite: the main iron ore in Brazilian mines]] [[Image:LightningVolt Iron Ore Pellets.jpg|thumb|250px|This stockpile of iron ore pellets will be used in [[steel]] production.]] '''Iron ores''' are [[Rock (geology)|rocks]] and [[mineral]]s from which [[metal]]lic [[iron]] can be economically extracted. The [[ore|ores]] are usually rich in [[iron oxide]]s and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, deep purple, to rusty red. The iron itself is usually found in the form of [[magnetite]] ({{Chem|Fe|3|O|4}}), [[hematite]] ({{Chem|Fe|2|O|3}}), [[goethite]] ({{Chem|Fe|O|(OH)}}), [[limonite]] ({{Chem|Fe|O|(OH)|.n(H₂O)}}) or [[siderite]] ({{Chem|Fe|C|O₃}}). Hematite juga dikenali sebagai "bijih semulajadi", a name which refers to the early years of mining, when certain hematite ores containing up to 66% iron could be fed directly into iron-making blast furnaces. Iron ore is the raw material used to make [[pig iron]], which is one of the main raw materials to make [[steel]]. 98% of the mined iron ore is used to make steel.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mii.org/Minerals/photoiron.html |title= IRON ORE -Hematite, Magnetite & Taconite |work=Mineral Information Institute |accessdate=7 April 2006}}</ref> Indeed, it has been argued that iron ore is "more integral to the global economy than any other commodity, except perhaps oil".<ref name="Iron ore pricing"/>▼