Which process reduces ore to inches before further processing?

• A. Crushing
• B. Scrubbing
• C. Screening
• D. Sizing

Answer: (A)

Reducing ore size is about breaking large blocks into smaller, more manageable pieces so the material can be processed further. Crushing is the process that specifically turns big rock blocks into smaller chunks at the inch scale, providing the feed for subsequent steps like grinding. Scrubbing focuses on cleaning the ore surface rather than reducing its size. Screening separates particles by size after some size reduction, but it doesn’t itself produce inch-sized pieces. Sizing aims to achieve a particular size class, typically using screens or crushers as part of the reduction train, but the action that first makes the ore inches in size is crushing.