Ore

rock containing one or more valuable minerals, mined for metals but also non-metals that can be extracted from the minerals; metal ores usually contain the metals as parts of compounds with other elements

An ore is a mineral which has a valuable metal inside it. Ores are usually extracted by being mined. They can sometimes be found on the Earth's surface. Most ores are chemical compounds such as oxides or sulfides. There are different ways to get the metal out of the ore, which is called smelting. Iron ore, for example, is smelted in a blast furnace.