For a metal in the middle of the reactivity series, having a sulphide ore, the following processes are done to extract the metal M.
i. The ore might contain impurities (also called gangue) which must be removed before the extraction of metal.
ii. The metal sulphide ore is subjected to strong heating in excess air. This process is called roasting, and it converts the metal sulphide to the corresponding metal oxide. The reaction can be represented as:
Metal sulphide + Oxygen \(\overset{heat}{\rightarrow}\) Metal oxide +Sulphur dioxide
iii. Now, the metal oxide is reduced to the metal M using suitable reducing agents like C (coke) in the presence of heat.
Metal oxide + C → M + CO
iv. Once the extraction is complete, M is subjected to various refining processes to remove impurities from the metal.
