Minerals

SGT deals in the following minerals:

• Iron Ore

  People have used iron for more than 5,000 years, and it is a very abundant metal. Iron is used to make steel, which is used in engineering, manufacturing and to construct buildings around the world. Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, deep purple, to rusty red. Ores carrying very high quantities of hematite or magnetite (greater than ~60% iron) are known as "natural ore" or "direct shipping ore", meaning they can be fed directly into iron-making blast furnaces. Iron ore is the raw material used to make pig iron, which is one of the main raw materials to make steel. 98% of the mined iron ore is used to make steel. Indeed, it has been argued that iron ore is "more integral to the global economy than any other commodity, except perhaps oil". Mining iron ore is a high volume but low margin business, as the value of iron is significantly lower than base metals.
  
  Iron ore mining methods vary by the type of ore being mined. There are four main types of iron ore deposits worked currently, depending on the mineralogy and geology of the ore deposits. These are magnetite, titanomagnetite, massive hematite and pisolitic ironstone deposits.
  
  

  Open Pit Iron Ore Mine
  
  
  

  The major iron ore producing countries include China, Australia, Brazil, India, Russia, Ukraine, South Africa, United States of America. Canada and Kazakhstan. SGT source good quality iron ore directly from the mines of iron ore producing countries and supplies to steel manufacturing companies in China, Japan, and Korea. SGT is a leading supplier of Iron ore in Middle East with annual supply of more than five million tons per year.

  
  

• Chromite Ore

  Chromite Ore is an iron chromium oxide. Chromite is the most important ore of chromium from which it derives its name. Chromium is an important metal and has a wide range of industrial uses. Chromite is the only ore of chromium, a metal used to induce hardness, toughness and chemical resistance in steel. The alloy produced is known as "stainless steel". When alloyed with iron and nickel it produces an alloy known as "nichrome" which is resistant to high temperatures and used to make heating units, ovens and other appliances. Thin coatings of chromium alloys are used as platings on auto parts, appliances and other products and given the name "chrome plated". Chromite is used as a refractory material, because it has high heat stability. Other applications are in pigments, leather processing, catalysts, surface treatments, and refractories. Major producing countries include South Africa, India, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Zimbabwe, Finland Brazil, and Middle East.
  
  SGT directly sources good quality chromite from the mines and supplies to China, Japan, Korea, CIS and other Asian countries.

  
  

« back to Minerals, Industrial Fuels & Metals