Hello!

Ore extraction isn't really that big of a deal, so don't worry too much about the nitty gritty details.

In general, when extracting ore, you want to first pulverize the ore into tiny fragments

then place these fragments in a large furnace.

The differing melting points of substances that make up the ore allows for extraction of whatever substance you are mining for.

One thing that may come up (due to the resulting environmental problems) is gold extraction.

Previously, gold was extracted from ore by using mercury.

Mercury can bind to gold in the ore and create amalgams (a mixture of different elements).

Later, this amalgam can be heated to vaporize the mercury, leaving only the gold behind.

Nowadays, cyanide is used instead of mercury, but because cyanide is still toxic to human health,

gold extraction in poorly ventilated conditions can cause human health problems

as well as environmental problems when it is not managed properly.

Once again, don't fret about the actual process of ore extraction,

instead focus on environmental problems that can arise from these mining practices,

legislation related to mining, and solutions for solving problems arising from mining.

hope this helps :D