Crossword Genius

Love referring to mineral (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ore

'mineral' is the definition.
(I know that ore is a type of mineral)

'love referring to' is the wordplay.
'love' becomes 'o' (love means zero in tennis).
'referring to' becomes 're' ('re' means regarding or about).
'o'+'re'='ORE'

(Other definitions for ore that I've seen before include "Natural material from which metals can be extracted" , "Natural minerals" , "Raw mineral" , "Small coins" , "Rock from which metal is extracted" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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