Davidson E. Egirani, Mohd T. Latif, Nanfe R. Poyi,
Napoleon Wessey and Shukla Acharjee
Additional information is available at the end of the chapter
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.75776
© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Iron oxides are chemical complexes which occur naturally, comprising iron and oxygen.
Here, together, 16 types of iron oxides and oxyhydroxides have been identified. These
two components of oxides are widely spread naturally. They are vital to humans and
useful in most geological and biological activities. In addition, they are useful as pigments
and catalyst in industries and hemoglobin in blood circulation. The interplay and
conversion of these components from one form to another are essentially controlled by
bacterial species. These contain 70 and 72% iron, respectively. Furthermore, iron ores are
classified in terms of occurrence. Banded iron formation (BIF) comprises 15% iron, comprising
minerals of iron that are bedded besides silica. Beneficiation processes of iron ore
generate dust in the atmosphere, acid mine drainage in the ecosystem and metallic iron
for steelmaking. The beneficiation process requires dissolution of minerals surrounding the
ore and the release of metals and cement matrix into watercourses. These generate acid
leading to acid mine drainage. Therefore, there is a need for impact assessment of the
environment in the planned beneficiation cycle. Sustainable beneficiation must be done
to reduce the impact on the natural, social or economic environment.
Keywords: Genesis, uses, environmental implications, ochre, oxides of iron, iron ore
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