The kanji 鉱(こう) primarily represents "ore," "mineral," or "mine." It signifies naturally occurring, inorganic solid substances with a definite chemical composition and crystalline structure, typically extracted from the earth for various purposes. It also extends to the places where these materials are found or extracted, such as mines.

・On-yomi (音読み): コウ (kō) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): あらがね (aragane) - less common, referring to raw iron or ore.

⚫︎鉱物(こうぶつ) Translation: mineral ⚫︎鉱山(こうざん) Translation: mine ⚫︎採鉱(さいこう) Translation: mining

The kanji 鉱 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side, 石(いし - ishi), is the radical and represents "stone" or "rock," indicating the core meaning. The right side, 广 (an abbreviated form of 广, and its upper part 王), acts as the phonetic component, contributing to the sound コウ(kō). The presence of the "stone" radical clarifies that it refers to something related to minerals or substances found in the earth, like stone. The formation therefore suggests the extraction of something valuable from stone.