erz

Erz is the German word for ore, used in geology and mining to refer to naturally occurring rock that contains economically valuable minerals in sufficient concentrations to justify mining. An ore is typically a mixture of ore minerals and gangue, and its economic value is determined by ore grade—the concentration of the desired substance—and by market prices and mining and processing costs. Ores are categorized by the metal or material they contain, such as iron ore, copper ore, lead–zinc ores, or precious-metal ores like gold-bearing minerals, as well as industrial minerals such as phosphate or limestone when extracted for industrial use.

Mining and processing: Ore extraction begins with mining, followed by crushing and milling to reduce particle size. Beneficiation methods—gravity separation, magnetic separation, flotation, or electrostatic separation—increase the ore concentrate by removing gangue. The concentrated ore then undergoes pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical processing to extract the metal, involving smelting, refining, or electrochemical methods.

In the German-speaking world, Erz is also associated with the Ore Mountains, Erzgebirge, a historic mining region along the border of Germany and the Czech Republic. The range has long been known for tin and silver and later for uranium and other metals; mining and metallurgy shaped the economy and culture of the region from the Middle Ages through the early modern period, with many mines now commemorated as heritage sites.

The term Erz thus denotes both a general geological concept and a linguistic link to a landscape with a deep mining legacy. Environmental and social considerations accompany modern ore extraction, including tailings management, habitat disruption, and economic dependence on commodity prices.