Iron ore

[Segilla]

When iron rusts, does it it turn back into same substance as iron ore?
Can it be refined again?
I ask this as it was suggested in a recent BBC programme that there is talk of 'mining ' old tips for their metal.
To what extent can a mixture of metals be separated? I hav e seen tin (floating on the top I think) of liquid metal.

[buildersmate]

The short answer is yes.
Iron ore is the generic name given to compounds of iron found naturally in the ground. The most common one is haematite, which is one to two oxides of iron that are possible - in this case, ferric oxide.
Mixtures of metals are separated by various methods, but getting one of the mixed elements to combine with another substance that floats or sinks in the second element is a common technique.
With iron, the main impurity in haematite is silicon. By heating the iron with a commonly available limestone, calcium silicate is formed which floats on the surface as slag. This slag can be skimmed off.
If the price of a base metal rises, a point is reached at which it is worth revisting old spoil heaps to remove more of the material not previously worth transporting for processing - because, say, the percentage of metal in the ore was originally not high enough to make it worthwhile.

[craft1948]

methinks the poster has confused geology and genealogy................

[buildersmate]

Well deduced, Craft - it was puzzling me as well.
The best that I'd come up with was that we used to be a country what led the world in the production of iron and steel. But that's all history now.

[craft1948]

buildersmate.......you were helpful and informative as ever......