Mineral determination

After a prospective mineral is located, the mining engineer then determines the ore properties. This may involve chemical analysis of the ore to determine the composition of the sample. Once the mineral properties are identified, the next step is determining the quantity of the ore. This involves determining the extent of the deposit as well as the purity of the ore. The engineer drills additional core samples to find the limits of the deposit or seam and calculates the quantity of valuable material present in the deposit.