What steps are taken before mined materials may be used?

Question

What steps are taken before mined materials may be used?

Answer 1

can you be more specific or is it a general question. It depends on the material that is being mined. Each has a different process. For instance,  gold ore gets crushed and mixed with sodium cyanide. it gets oxidized and its ore is separated from the gold bearing solution. At the zinc is added. It is chemical process.