- taconite
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/tak"euh nuyt'/, n.a low-grade iron ore, containing about 27 percent iron and 51 percent silica, found as a hard rock formation in the Lake Superior region.[1890-95, Amer.; named after the Taconic mountain range (east of the Hudson River); see -ITE1]
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Low-grade iron formation (e.g., in Minnesota).Recovery of the iron requires fine grinding and concentration of iron-bearing phases (see mineral processing), which are then formed into pellets suitable for blast furnaces. As high-grade deposits of iron ore have become depleted, taconite deposits have increased in importance.* * *
▪ minerala low-grade siliceous iron formation in Minnesota, U.S., from which high-grade iron ore is derived. The iron formation consists of fine-grained silica with variable ratios of hematite and magnetite totaling less than 30 percent iron. Recovery of the iron requires fine grinding and concentration of iron-bearing phases, which in turn are formed into pellets suitable for blast furnaces. As high-grade deposits of iron ore have become depleted, taconite deposits have increased in importance as a source of iron ore.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
