Iron ore is mined in about 50 countries. The seven largest of these producing countries account for about three-quarters of total world production. Australia and Brazil together dominate the world’s iron ore exports, each having about one third of total exports. 

Iron (Fe) is a metallic element of composes about 5% of the Earth’s crust. When pure it is a dark, silvery-gray metal. It is a very reactive element and oxidizes (rusts) very easily. The reds, oranges and yellows seen in some soils and on rocks probably iron oxides. The inner core of the Earth is believed to be a solid iron-nickal alloy. Iron-nickel meteorites are believed to represent plantes: Mars, the “Red Planet,” is red due to the iron oxides in its crust. 

Iron is one of the three naturally magnetic elements; the others are cobalt and nickel. Iron is the most magnetic of the tree. The mineral magnetite (Fe3O4) is a naturally occurring metallic mineral that is occasionally found in sufficient quantities to be an ore of iron. The principle ores of iron are Henatite, (70% Iron) and Mgnetite, (72 % Iron). Taconite is a low-grade iron ore, containing up to 30% Magnetite and Hematite. 

Hematite is iron oxide (Fe2O3). The amount of hematite needed in any deposit to make it profitable to mine must be in the tens of millions of tones. Hematite deposits are mostly sedimentary in origin, such as the banded iron formations (BIFs). BIFs consist of alternating layers of chert, hematite and magnetite. They are found throughout the world and are the most important iron ore in the shallow seas about 1.8 – 1.6 billion years ago, during the Proterozoic Eon. 

Taconite is a silica-rich iron ore that is considered to be a low-grade deposit. However, the iron-rich components of such deposits can be processed to produce a concentrate that is about 65% iron, which means that some of the most important iron ore deposits around the world were derived from taconite. Taconite is mined in the United States, Canada, and China. 

The human body is 0.006% iron, the majority of which is in the blood. Blood cells rich in iron carry oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body. Lack of iron also lowers a person’s resistance to infection. It is estimated that world wide range of 800 billion tons of iron ore resources, containing more than 230 billion tons of iron. Iron ore is the raw material used to make pig iron.