Metal Extraction

In this course you will learn about where metal comes from, some of the key metal ores, and understand how these ores are extracted from the ground, and how they are purified

Introduction 

Metals are very important materials for many types of production, either as the main component or as a key part of electronics. But where do metals come from?

Metals such as iron, aluminium and copper are found underground in rocks known as metal ores. These ores must be mined from below the ground and processed in order to extract the metal.

Metal ores are a non-renewable resource, as there is only a finite amount of them existing in the world. The mining process is very energy intensive, so there is significant environmental impact to metal ore mining. Because of the limited resource and cost of extracting it, recycling metal when it reaches the end of its life cycle is very important.

You will learn 

·       Understand how electrolysis is used to extract and purify some metals