Geography of Illinois before the dinosaurs. Galena, a lead ore, has been mined in the northwest corner of the state. The ore was processed around Peru, Illinois, where river transport was available to bring the ore to a source of coal. About six tons of coal are needed for each ton of ore. Fluorite, calcium fluoride, is the state mineral. It is mined in the southeastern portion of the state, around Metropolis. Fluorine gas is produced from fluorite. This is used in the production of uranium hexafluoride in Metropolis, Illinois for use at the gaseous diffusion plant in Paducah, Kentucky. Geodes can be
Mineral processing auxiliary materials handling operations are also considered a branch of mineral processing such as storage (as in bin design), conveying, sampling, weighing, slurry transport, and pneumatic transport. The efficiency and efficacy of many processing techniques are influenced by upstream activities such as mining method and blending. Mineral processing In the field of extractive metallurgy, mineral processing, also known as ore dressing, is the process of separating commercially valuable minerals from their ores. Before the advent of heavy machinery the raw ore was broken up using hammers wielded by hand, a process called "spalling". Before long, mechanical means were found to