Question

What is the difference between ore and mineral?

Answer 1

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid that has a crystalline structure and a definite chemical formula.

An ore is a rock that contains minerals in concentrations that are high enough for economical extraction.

For example, bauxite is an aluminium ore.

It is a heterogeneous mixture of the aluminium minerals gibbsite `"Al(OH)"_3`, boehmite, `"AlO(OH)"`, and diaspore, `"AlO(OH)"`, along with other materials such as silica and iron oxides.

The image below shows crystals of gibbsite

boehmite,

and diaspore.