Ores are not useful and profitable.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not sure
• D. Depends

Answer: (B)

Ores are rocks that contain a concentration of minerals valuable enough to mine and process. The usefulness comes from the metals or materials they yield—iron ore provides steel, copper ore supplies metal for electrical wiring, gold ore contributes to jewelry and electronics, and so on. Because these minerals are central to modern industry, ores are generally useful, and mining can be profitable when the ore is of sufficient grade and the market price covers the costs of extraction and processing. So the statement that ores are not useful and profitable is not correct. Of course, profitability can vary with ore quality and market conditions, but the basic idea is that ores are economic sources of useful materials.