Meaning & use
beneficiate
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Meaning
verbtransitivetechnicalspecialist
To treat raw ore so that impurities are removed and the valuable part is concentrated.
Grammar: Takes an object: beneficiate the ore. Often used in the passive: the ore is beneficiated.
Patterns
- beneficiate ore
- beneficiate something by something
- be beneficiated
The plant beneficiates iron ore before it is shipped to the smelter.
Workers beneficiate the raw material using gravity separation.
Low-grade deposits must be beneficiated to make mining profitable.
Word forms
| third person singular | beneficiates |
|---|---|
| past tense | beneficiated |
| past participle | beneficiated |
| -ing form | beneficiating |
Common combinations
- beneficiate ore
- The company beneficiates ore at a site near the mine.
- beneficiate by flotation
- They beneficiate the ore by flotation to remove sulfur.
- beneficiate low-grade deposits
- New technology allows them to beneficiate low-grade deposits.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- beneficiation noun
- The process of treating ore in this way.
- beneficiated adjective
- Describing ore that has been treated.
Commonly confused: beneficiate or benefit?
beneficiate vs benefit
A common verb meaning to help or be useful; it has nothing to do with ore treatment.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
The passive 'is beneficiated' is correct because the ore receives the action. The other options use the verb intransitively, which is not standard for this technical term.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “beneficiate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.