There are huge amounts of metallic minerals discovered every year. This is because many of the deposits are quite common, including sulfide deposits (pyrite, sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, etc.) and oxide deposits (uranium, bauxite).
Metallic minerals were formed originally during the formation years of our planet through the transmutation of nebular gases into various types of matter.
Metallurgy is the study and science devoted to metals; it deals with their properties, their extraction from ores and other materials, and the alloys that can be made from them.
Metallic minerals must be broken apart and chemically processed to extract the useful metal from the mineral.
Metals such as nickel, copper and zinc are fundamentally important to modern society since they are used for an endless variety of purposes.
These minerals contain metal content and can be sub-divided into three types:
- Precious metals: gold, silver, platinum etc.
- Ferrous metals: iron and other metals often mixed with iron to form various kinds of steel.
- Non-ferrous metals: include metals like copper, lead, zinc, tin, aluminium etc.
