fines

ore

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Last updated

June 26, 2026

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"Fines" refers to finely crushed or powdered material, often found in ore mixtures. These are very small particles, typically less than 7 millimeters in size. In iron ore processing, larger lumps are separated from fines using sieves. While lump ore can be directly used in a blast furnace, fines must first be reformed into larger pieces through a process called sintering. Sintering involves heating the fines until they partially melt and fuse together, creating a material suitable for the blast furnace. This process is crucial in mineral processing to separate valuable minerals from waste rock.1234

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iron processing
Lumps and fines
As-mined iron ore contains lumps of varying size, the biggest being more than 1 metre (40 inches) across and the smallest about 1 millimetre (0.04 inch). The blast furnace, however, requires lumps between 7 and 25 millimetres, so the ore must be crushed…
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As-mined iron ore contains lumps of varying size, the biggest being more than 1 metre (40 inches) across and the smallest about 1 millimetre (0.04 inch). The blast furnace, however, requires lumps between 7 and 25 millimetres, so the ore must be crushed…
Read More