Iron Ore

To make iron, you start with iron ore. Iron ore is simply rock that happens to contain a high concentration of iron.

Photo courtesy USGS Hematite, a common iron ore

One thing that gave certain countries an edge between the 15th and 20th centuries was the availability of iron ore deposits. For example, England, the United States, France, Germany, Spain and Russia all have good iron ore deposits. When you think of the historical importance of all of these countries, you can see the correlation!

Common iron ores include:

• Hematite - Fe₂O₃ - 70 percent iron
• Magnetite - Fe₃O₄ - 72 percent iron
• Limonite - Fe₂O₃ + H₂O - 50 percent to 66 percent iron
• Siderite - FeCO₃ - 48 percent iron

Usually, you find these minerals mixed into rocks containing silica.