The kanji 鉱 generally refers to "ore," "mineral," or "mine." It represents substances found in the earth that are mined for their valuable components. This includes both the raw materials extracted and the location from which they are taken.

・On-yomi (音読み): コウ (kō) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): None, as the primary meaning is often conveyed through compound words.

⚫︎ 鉱山 (こうざん) Translation: Mine (as in, a place where minerals are extracted) ⚫︎ 鉱物 (こうぶつ) Translation: Mineral ⚫︎ 鉄鉱石 (てっこうせき) Translation: Iron ore

The kanji 鉱 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). ⚫︎ The semantic component (意符, いふ) is 石 (いし), meaning "stone" or "rock," indicating that the character relates to something found within the earth. ⚫︎ The phonetic component (音符, おんぷ) is 广 (げん), which contributes to the sound of the kanji. Originally, 广 (げん) meant "cliff," suggesting the location of a mine might be on a cliffside. Over time, the character evolved to focus on the extraction of stone and minerals from the earth.