Mineral Deposit

Course Outline:

I. The Development of the Modern Theories of Ore Deposition

II. The Ore Bearing Fluids/Migration of the Ore Bearing Fluids

III. Deposition of Ores

IV. Alteration and Gangue

V. Paragenesis and Zoning

VI. The Classifiation of Ore Depositions

a. Magmatic Segregation Deposit
b. Pegmatites
c. Igneous Metamorphic Deposits
d. Hypothermal Deposits
e. Mesothermal Deposits
f. Epithermal Deposits
g. Telethermal Deposits
h. Xenothermal Deposits

VII. Volcanogenic Deposits

VIII. Sedimentary Deposits

IX. Weathering

X. Supergene Sulfide Enrichment

XI. Metamorphism of Ores

ECONOMIC MINERAL DEPOSITS

Mineral Deposits – whether metalliferous or nonmetallic, are

accumulations or concentrations of one or more useful substances
that are for most sparsely distributed in the Earth’s outer crust.

*Elements in the mineral deposits are derived from the rocks of the
earth’s outer crust or from molten bodies (magma) that have cooled
to form igneous rocks.

*99.5 % of the earth’s outer crust is made-up of the following

elements:
1. oxygen 2. silicon 3. aluminum 4. iron 5, calcium 6. sodium 7.
potassium 8. magnesium 9. titanium 10. phosphorus 11. hydrogen
12. carbon 13. manganese

*0.5% include platinum, gold, silver copper, lead, zinc, tin, nickel, etc.

*thus geologic processes are necessary to collect these diffuse

elements into workable mineral deposits.

Metalliferous Deposits – generally represent concentration of

diffuse metals.

Ore Minerals – one that may be used to obtain one or more metals.
 single metal may be extracted from several ore minerals, e.g.
copper is extracted from ore minerals like chalcopyrite, bornite,
cuprite, native copper and malachite.
 *more than one metal may be extracted from a single ore
mineral, e.g. stannite where copper and tin are yielded.

Classes of ore minerals:

1. primary or hypogene – deposited during the original period or
periods of metallization.
2. secondary or supergene – are alteration products of the
former as a result of weathering or other surficial processes
resulting from descending surface waters.
Gangue Minerals – are the associated nonmetallic materials of a
deposit. Usually discarded in the treatment of ore. Sometime
referred to as waste.
 some metallic minerals are included, e.g. pyrite
 some gangue are collected as by-products, e.g. pyrite for sulfur;
limestone as flux; rock gangue as road fillings.

Ore - mineral from which metal is extracted: a naturally occurring

mineral from which constituents, especially metals, can be profitably
extracted. Contains both ore and gangue minerals.

Tenor of Ore – metal content of ore, expressed in ounces per ton,

gram per ton, etc.

Materials of Nonmetallic Deposits

 consists of solids, liquids and gases

 term ”ore” generally not applied
 referred to by the substance itself

Examples:
Coal, gypsum, feldspar, gemstones, asbestos, graphite, rocks
(aggregates), mica, rock phosphate, sulfur, sand, etc.

Determination of Materials

 visually
 assaying, spectroscopic examination, thermal analyses or
physical tests
 important in design of ore processing (e.g. smelting)

Temperature and Pressure

 formation of mineral generally indicates a change from mobile

to a solid state
 most minerals are precipitated from solutions, either liquid or
gaseous, hence temperature and pressure play important roles
  change in temperature affects solubility of materials, therefore
promotes precipitation
 in general decrease in temperature promotes precipitation from
aqueous solutions or magmas
 more soluble salts stay longer in solution and be precipitated
later (results to sequences or mineral zoning)
 in general increase in pressure promotes solubility, and
decrease in pressure , such that which occurs when solution or
magma ascends in the earth, promotes precipitation

Geologic Thermometers

 minerals that yield information as to the temperatures of their

formation
 important in proper understanding of origin and classification
 done through direct measurements of temperatures (lavas, hot
springs), determining melting points (indicate maximum
temperature at which minerals can crystallize or upper limits of
their formation-temperature)
 inversion points
 exsolution (minerals that form natural solid solutions in each
other, and at determined lower temperatures unmix to yield
distinguishable mineral intergrowths) indicates a temperature of
formation above at which exsolution takes place
 recrystallization – similar to exsolution and inversion but applies
more to native metals, e.g. copper recrystallizes at about 450°C
(original below this temperature)
 liquid inclusions (fluid inclusions) – liquid inclusions in crystals
indicate approximate temperature of formation of the crystals by
the amount of contraction of the liquid, assuming that liquid
originally filled the cavity
 changes in physical property – some minerals undergo
recognizable changes at certain temperatures e.g. amethyst
loses color between 240°C and 260°C

PROCESSES OF FORMATION OF MINERAL DEPOSITS

 complex
 no two are alike
  differ in mineralogy, texture, content, shape, size and other
features

1. Magmatic Concentration

 result from simple crystallization, or from concentration by

differentiation, of intrusive igneous masses
 some ore minerals actually crystallize later than the rock
minerals
 characterized by their close relationship with intermediate
or deep seated intrusive igneous rocks
 magmatic products that crystallize from magma
 filter pressing – partly crystalliza magma with a mush of
crystals and fuid in the interstices, pressure would cause
crystals to mush together and the residual liquid squeezed
out, thus forming fraction of distinct chemical composition
 immiscibility – the inability to mix

Classification of Magmatic Mineral Deposits and Processes

TYPE PROCESS EXAMPLES
I. Early Magmatic
A. Dissemination Disseminated Diamond pipes
crystallization
without
concentration
B. Segregation Crystallization Bushveld Chromite;
differentiation and Zambales,
accumulation Philippines
C. Injection Differentiation and Kiruna, Sweden
injection
II. Late Magmatic
A. Residual liquid Crystallization Bushveld
segregation differentiation and titanomagmetite,
residual magma platinum; iron,
accumulation Wyoming, USA
B. Residual liquid Same with filter Pegmatites;
injection pressing and or Adirondack
injection magnetite
C. Immiscible liquid Immiscible liquid Insizwa, South
segregation separation and Africa
accumulation
D. immiscible liquid Same with injection Bushveld
injection

2. Sublimation
 Applies to only to compounds that are volatilized and
subsequently redeposited from vapor at lower temperature
or pressure
 Involves direct transition from the solid to the gaseous
state, or vice-versa without passing through the liquid
state e.g. sulfur deposits near volcanoes, fumaroles

3. Contact Metasomatism

Contact effects of escaping high-temperature gaseous

emanations during or shortly after the consolidation of
intrusive magmas

Two types of effects:

1. contact metamorphism – the effects of heat without
appreciable accessions. Manifests by: a. endogene
or internal effects upon the margins of intrusive
bodies themselves; effects chiefly textural and
mineral changes in the border zone, and by b.
exogene or external effects upon the rocks invaded
by the igneous mass; baking and hardening of the
surrounding rocks and generally their thorough
transformation; alteration is iis most intense nearest
the intrusive.
2. contact metasomatism – important accessions from
the magma are involved;

form new minerals under condition of high

temperature and pressure;

adds to contact metamorphism resulting to more

varied and complex mineralogy;
 result from heat transferred by the magmatic
emanations and to a minor extent by conduction;

temperature range from 500°C to 1,100°C

commences after intrusion and continues until well

after consolidation of the outer part of the intrusive;
magnetite and hematite form with silicates, then the
sulfides (pyrite and arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite,
molybdenite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena and
sulfo-salts last.

Resulting mineral deposits:

Position – ore bodies occur within the contact
aureole and generally relatively close to the intrusive
contact; scattered irregularly around the contact.
Form and size – irregular, almost any shape
Texture – course containing large crystals or clusters
of crystals

4. Hydrothermal

CONDITIONS WALL ROCK ALTERATION

(Temperature) PRODUCTS
Epithermal Limestone Silicification
(50°C-200°C)
Lavas Alunite, chlorite,
pyrite, some serecite,
clay minerals
Igneous
Intrusives Chlorite, epidote,
calcite, quartz, some
serecite, clay minerals

Mesothermal Limestone Silicified to jasperoid;

(200°C-300°C) dolomites, siderite
 Shales, lavas Silicification, clay
minerals
Siliceous
igneous rocks Largely serecite and
quartz; some clay
Basic igneous minerals
rocks
Serpentinized,
epidote, chlorite

Hypothermal Granitic rocks; Greisen; topaz, white

(300°C-500°C) schists; lavas mica, tourmaline;
pyroxenes, amphibole

5. Sedimentation

Formation involves:
1. adequate source of materials: derived from
weathering/oxidation of rocks, former mineral
deposits such as iron, copper, manganese
2. the gathering of materials by solution or other
processes; sedimentary carbonates are derived from
sea or saline waters
3. the transportation of the materials to the site of
accumulation (if necessary): solution of the
constituents goes during weathering, chief solvents
are carbonated water, humic and other organic acids,
and sulphate solutions (pyrite oxidation yields
sulfuric acid, acid mine drainage-amd)
4. the deposition of the materials in a sedimentary
basin; subsequent compaction, chemical alteration,
or other changes may take place

Valuable Deposits – iron, manganese, copper, phosphate,

coal, carbonates, clay, diatomaceous earth, bentonite,
sulfur, magnesite, uranium, vanadium.
6. Evaporation

A process in which something is changed from a liquid to a

vapor without its temperature reaching boiling point.

 important in producing valuable types of nonmetallic mineral

deposits
 proceeds most rapidly in warm, arid climates
 least soluble salts are precipitated first and most soluble last
 affected by temperature and salinity (time is a factor)
 when evaporating bodies of saline water, concentration of the
soluble salts occurs, and when supersaturation of any salt is
reached, that salt is precipitated
 some salts undergo change during and after evaporation
(gypsum to anhydrite)

7. Residual and Mechanical Concentration

Under slow and unrelenting attack of weathering, rocks

and enclosed mineral deposits succumb to mechanical
disintegration and chemical decomposition.

Minerals that are unstable under weathering conditions

suffer chemical decay; the soluble parts may be removed
and the insoluble residues may accumulate; some may
form residual mineral deposits.

Stable minerals like quartz, gold undergo little or no

chemical change but may be freed from their enclosing
matrix and undergo residual enrichment on the surface or
be mechanically concentrated into placer deposits.

Weathering Process

Mechanical disintegration by itself is confined largely to

arid regions where pronounced annual and diurnal
temperature changes occur or very cold regions where
surface chemical changes proceed slowly and frost action
is vigorous most of the time.
Chemical weathering is most active in warm, humid
regions where rainfall supplies moisture and nourishes
plant life that yields humic and organic acids to assist
chemical activity. Creates new minerals.

Deep and long continued weathering is necessary to yield

residual products.

Agents of decomposition that operate at the surface

include: water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, heat, acids, alkalis,
vegetable and animal life and some soluble products of the
decomposition of rocks themselves.

Temperate vs. Tropical Climate weathering

Temperate – silica of silicate rocks is not extensively

removed but remains behind to form clay along with
hydrous oxides of iron, and residual grains of quartz. Thus
clayey soils are common products of weathering.

Tropical – weathering is carried further, leaching is more

complete, the silicates are more thoroughly decomposed,
but particularly, the surface waters readily and extensively
remove silica. Result is laterite soil (bauxite, hydrous
aluminum oxide) instead of hydrous aluminum silicate
(clay in temperate climate.

Residual Concentration

Accumulation of valuable minerals when undesired

constituents in rocks or mineral deposits are removed from
weathering. Residues may continue to accumulate unit
their volume and purity make them of commercial
importance.
Formation:
1. presence of rocks or lodes containing valuable minerals
2. climatic conditions must be favorable
 3. relief must not be too great, or the valuable residue will
be washed away as rapidly as it formed
4. long continued crustal stability is essential in order that
residues may accumulate in quantity and that the
deposits are not destroyed by erosion

8. Oxidation and Supergene Enrichment

 When ore deposits become exposed by erosion they are

weathered along with the enclosing rocks.
 The surface waters oxidize many ore minerals and yiled
solvents that dissolve other minerals.
 An ore deposit thus becomes oxidized and generally
leached of many of its valuable materials down to the
groundwater table, or to a depth where oxidation cannot
take place.
 The oxidized part is called the zone of oxidation
 Effects of oxidation may extend far bbelow the zone of
oxidation.
 As the cold, dilute, leaching solutions trickle downward
they a lose a part or all of their metallic content within the
zone of oxidation and give rise to oxidize ore deposits.
 If solutions penetrate the water table, their metallic content
may be precipitated in the form of secondary or supergene
sulfide enrichment.
 The lower unaffected part of the deposit is called the
primary or hypogene zone.

9. Metamorphism

Metamorphic processes profoundly alter pre-existing mineral

deposits and form new ones. The chief factors involved are
heat, pressure and water.

Unlike, rocks ores rarely suffer mineral recombinations

The chief deposits are: asbestos, graphite, talc, soapstone, garnet,

some emery.
 Kuroko Deposits – strata bound polymetallic mineral deposits
genetically related to submarine acid volcanic activity.

Cyprus Type – refers to the massive base metal sulfide ores

associated with rocks of mafic-ultramafic composition.

Besshi or Kieslager type – strata bound massive cupriferous iron

sulfide deposits, bed like or lenticular in form that line conformably
in crystalline schist.

ALTERATION TYPE (Porphyry MINERALS

Copper)
Potassic Orthoclase, quartz alunite,
secondary biotite, chlorite.
Gypsum, zeolite, andhydrite
Phyllic Quartz, sericite, pyrite secondary
biotite, chlorite zeolite, gypsum,
anhydrite, calcite
Argillic Clay, pyrite, quartz sericite,
chlorite, calcite, gypsum,
anhydrite,eolite
Propyllitic Epidote, chlorite, calcite quartz,
gypsum, pyrite, zeolite

Dike – a sheet like body of igneous rock which is discordant or

cuts across the bedding or structural planes of the host rock.

Sill – a sheet like body of igneous rock which conforms to bedding

planes o or other structural plane.

Batholith – large intrusive mass of igneous rock.

ALTERATION CHARACTERISTICS
Low Sulfidation Neutral pH thermal waters,
temperature decreases with
 decreasing depth and increasing
distance from the fluid conduits;
smectite, illite/smectite,
illite/adularia
High Sulfidation Contain acid stable minerals such
as alunite, kaolinite, dickite,
pyrophyllite, diaspore and
zunyite.

Petrography – places emphases on the purely descriptive part of

the rock science from textural, mineralogical and chemical points
of view.

Economic geology – is the study of deposits of useful minerals and

rocks but it also teaches the occurrence of underground waters
explains the derivation and constitution/composition of soils and
applies geologic principle to the planning of important engineering
works.
- It is related to one side to theoretical geology, paleontology,
mineralogy and petrography.
- On another side it is also related to mining and metallurgy.
- It is also related to economics and finance.
Finance – management of money

Note: In recent years a bitter understanding of the interior of the earth

has been obtained based on the velocity of earthquake waves at
different depths on the geology of meteorites on the compressibility of
rocks and on the chemistry of igneous rocks.

Note: It is well known that sea water contains some gold and silver,
the various determinations ranging from 5 to 65 milligrams of
gold/metric ton of sea water; silver is present in larger amounts
ranging up to 1900 milligrams. Salt formed by evaporation of sea
water also naturally contains the precious metals.
Economics – the science that deals with the production, distribution
and consumption of wealth.

Processes involves in the Deposition of Minerals

1. Magmatic concentration
2. Sublimation
3. Contact metasomatism
4. Hydrothermal processes
5. Bacteria processes
6. Submarine exhalative and Volcanic processes
7. Evaporation
8. Residual and Mechanical concentrations
9. Oxidation and Leaches
10. Metamorphism

Petrogenic elements – are those elements that make up the bulk of

the rocks.

Metallogenic elements – includes those elements which are of

economic importance.

Processes involved in the formation of minerals:

1. Magmatic differentiation
2. Sedimentation
3. Weathering
4. Actions of solutions with the many kinds of the solid rocks on
the crust.

AND/OR

1. Magmatic concentrations.
2. Sublimation
3. Contact metasomatism
4. Hydrothermal
5. Sedimentation
6. Bacteriogenic
7. Submarine exhalative and volcanogenic
8. Evaporation
9. Residual and mechanical concentrations
10. Oxidation and supergene enrichment
 11. Metamorphism

Magmatic differentiation – includes all processes whereby a broadly

homogenic magma breaks up into unlike fractions which ultimately
form rocks of different composition.

Sedimentation – the accumulation or deposition of sediments.

The deposition of an insoluble materials.

Weathering – is the change in rocks on or near the surface of the

earth due to the action of air, H2O and organic matter.

Actions of solutions –
Ores – are rocks and mineral that can be recovered at a profit.
- Refers only to metals or metal-bearing minerals, but in
common usage a fur of the non-metallic minerals such as
sulfur & fluorite are included.

Note: Building stone and industrial materials such as abrasives,

clays, refractories & salt are not considered ore. They are classified
as Industrial rocks and minerals.

Gangue – are the associate of ore minerals with valueless material.

Protore – mineralized rock that is to lean a profit.

Country rock – rocks that surround and is penetrated by the mineral

vien.

Parent rock – source rock.

Host rock – a rock which serves as the host for other rock type.

Condensation – a process by which a substance changes from gas to

liquid.

Metasomatism – it assimilates and replaced the original into another

type of different composition.
II. The Development of the Modern Theories of Ore Deposition

Georguis Agricola – is considered as the Father of economic geology

Agricola’s principal contribution was his attempt to classify ores for

without classification no great scientific progress would be possible.

His classification was based upon genesis; whether the deposits

were alluvial or in situ and upon form.

Agricola is responsible for two fundamental principle;

1. That ore channelsare secondary features younger than the
country rocks.
2. That the ores are deposited from solutions circulating in these
channels.

Nicolas Steno – is responsible for other contributions such that the:

a. The ores are the product of condensation from vapor ascending
through fissures.

Fissures – an extensive cracking of rocks, a high narrow cave

passage way.

Henkel and Zimmerman – acknowledge the importance of

hydrothermal solutions or vapors of deep-seated origin, which they
correctly reasoned and should contain dissolved rock materials.

- Recognized the product of ore deposition by metasomatism.

Delius – who first recognized that the superficial alteration of ores is

by atmospheric agents.
- Observed the development of secondary minerals in the
alteration zone as well as a zone of supergene enrichment
beneath the altered layer.

Lindgren Classifications of Mineral Deposits are:

1. Products of mechanical or chemical concentration.
 If chemical – whether they were deposited from surface waters,
from magmas, or within bodies of rock.

Within this group Lindgren included the following:

a. Pyrometasomatic deposits
b. Hydrothermal deposit
1. Hypothermal deposits
2. Mesothermal deposit
3. Epithermal deposits

Explanation:

Pyrometasomatic deposit – form a high-temperature replacement

bodies near the border zones of igneous intrusive.

Hydrothermal deposits – the ores formed by hot aqueous solutions

were further subdivided by Lindgren.

Emanation – something that emanates or issues from a source

Subdivisions of Hydrothermal Deposits according to temperature and

depth of formation.

1. Hypothermal – those deposit formed at great depth and at high

temperatures ( 300oC to 500oC)
2. Mesothermal – those deposits formed at intermediate depths
and temperature (150 to 300oC)
3. Epitheral – those formed at shallow depths and relatively low
temperatures. (50 to 150oC)

Metemophism – is generally a process of dispersion rather than

concentration, the mobile constituents are thought to be concentrated
along channel ways away from the center of metamorphism.

Hepyl – make the important distinction between years of bedded

deposit and former cross cutting fissures of secondary, open fissures
origin and later being conformably interbedded with the stratified
sediments.
Chapter II. The Ore Bearing Fluids

Four stages may be recognized in the formation of ore deposits:

1. The source and character of the ore bearing fluids.
2. The source of the ore constituents and how they are obtained in
solution.
3. The migration of ore bearing fluids.
4. The manner of deposition

Divisions of Ore bearing fluids

a. Magmas and magmatic fluids

b. Meteous waters
c. Connate waters
d. Fluids associated with metamorphic processes
Formed by gaseous agent (vapor)

Note: pneumatolytic – if fluids are in gaseous form.

Hydrothermal solution – refers to any hot, watery fluid without
regard to origin.

Definition of magma – naturally occurring mobile rock material,

generated within the earth and capable of intrusion and extrusion.
- Is a silicate melt ore a much of liquid and crystals.

Note: As a magma cools, it crystallize and separates into fractions by

the processes of magmatic differentiation.

Magmatic differentiation
- If a partly crystallized magma is subjected to stresses, the
fluid fraction is squeezed off from the residual crystalline
mush. This process is known as filter pressing.
- Metallic elements may be concentrated in either the
crystalline residual mush or in the more fluid molten fraction.
If either of these materials is forced into the surrounding
rocks, the process is known as magmatic injection, and if
ore is present the product is known as magmatic injection
deposit.

Note: The process of crystallization which includes

 a. Differentiation gradually increase the concentration of the
b. Crystal settling more volatile and fugitive constituents in a
magma if the substance have no means of
escape.

The lighter, volatile fractions, plus the compounds that crystallize at

lower temperature then the bulk of the magma accumulate near the
top of the magma chamber.

These volatile and materials of low freezing point are the mother
liquors of pegmatite and the hydrothermal or pneumatolytic fluids of
magmatic affiliation.

Note: The mobile elements play an important role in the

transportation of metals.

Water-as a fluid phase – is quantitatively the principal mobile

constituents in all magmas and plays a leading part in the
transportation of many ores.

Other important mobile elements

1. Sulfur
2. Chlorine
3. Boron
4. Phosphorus
5. Carbon dioxide
6. Arsenic

Meteoric water are one source of hydrothermal

Connate water fluids

Chapter III. Migration of the Ore-Bearing Fluid

Migration of Fluids at Depth

Note: The mineralizing fluids are generally believed to move around

and penetrate the borders of mineral grains which they corrode and
alter, enabling subsequent solutions to pass more readily.

That fluid under pressure is able to fracture and work their way
through rocks that has been long an attractive idea.

Migration of Fluids at Shallow Depths:

Factors to be considered in the near-surface movement of

fluids include:

1. The character of the fluid, especially its viscosity and density

2. The nature of the medium being traversed, especially its
porosity and permeability
3. Hydraulic head, or liquid pressure.

Chapter 4 – Deposition of the Ores

Factors to be considered in the localization of an ore deposit:

1. Its ore constituent
2. Its deposition
3. Size of the deposit
4. Deposition by gravity
5. Deposition due to chemical changes such as a change in PH,
which will result from reactions between the ore-bearing
solutions and the host rocks.
6. Localization will depend upon the permeability, structure,
brittleness,or chemistry of the rocks.

Ground preparation:

Epigenetic deposits – are formed later than the host rock

- Rocks which serves as host for other rocks
Syngenetic deposits – ores formed at the same time as the host rock.
- Are deposited as part of the original rock and therefore do
not require ground preparation.
Parent rock is a source rock.

Deposition of Magmatic Segregation Deposits

Magmatic segregation – deposit form as a direct result of

differentiation. Some are early differentiates that settled through the
magma in response to gravity; others are like products of
fractionation. Magmatic products of this type migrate and solidify in
the same manner as dikes and minor intrusive of ordinary igneous
rocks.

Note: The mechanisms of formation of magmatic segregation are:

a. Crystal settling
b. Simple crystallization of an ore-grade fluid phase. The ore may
crystallize in place or may be squeezed into the surrounding
rocks as a separate.

Note: The concentration of ore minerals in a massive igneous rock

may be great or small depending upon the kind of mineral and the
degree of differentiation.

List of the following criteria for recognizing replacement are:

1. Pseudomorphs – an altered mineral whose crystal form has the
outward appearance of another mineral species.
- Also known as false form.
2. Widening of a fracture filling to an irregular mass where the
fracture crosses certain chemically reactance mineral grains or
rock layers.
3. Formation of vermicular intergrowths at wide places along
cracks and at boundaries of areas not related to
crystallographic directions.

Vermiculite – A clay mineral constituent similar to chlorite and

montmorillonite, and consisting of trioctahedral mica sheets
separated by double water layers; sometimes used as a
textural in painting, or as an aggregate in certain plaster
formulations used in sculpture.

4. Islands of unreplaced host mineral or wall rocks.

5. Concave surfaces into host.
 6. Non-matching walls or borders of a fracture.
7. Rims penetrating the crystallographic directions of the host
mineral.
8. Oriented unsupported fragments
9. Selective associations
10. Physicochemical incompatibility between metacryst and
mineral of the host.
11. Metacryst transecting original structure.

Metacryst – A large crystal, such as garnet, formed in

metamorphic rock by crystallization.

12. Metacryst deposited in obvious relation to fractures.

13. Disparity in size of the metacryst and the minerals of the
host.
14. Metacryst deposited along what was clearly an advancing
zone of alteration
15. Depositional sequence in which minerals become
progressively richer in one constituent.
16. Preservation of original structures and textures
17. Doubly terminated crystals
18. Gradational boundaries
19. Residual resistant minerals
20. No offset along the intersections of fractures

Open Space Filling – is common in shallow zones where rocks yield

by breaking rather than by following: the opening in these zones tend
to remain open despite pressure from surrounding rock. At these
shallow depths the ore bearing fluids have relatively free circulation;
their open connection with the surface permits deposition to be
brought about by fairly rapid pressure and temperature changes
rather than by prolonged contact with the surrounding rocks which
undergo slow chemical changes.

A list of the common criteria by which open space filling may be

recognized:
1. Many vugs and cavities
2. Fine grained minerals on the walls of a cavity and coarser
minerals in the center.
 3. Crustification
4. Comb structure
5. Symmetrical banding
6. Matching walls
7. Cockade structure
8. Offset oblique structure

Vugs – a small cavity in a vein or rock usually lined with minerals

differing in composition from those of the enclosing rock. Also known
as bughole.

Offset – the movement of an upcurrent part of the shore to a more

seaward position than a downcurrent part. Normal horizontal
separation.

Colloidal Deposition

Note: Amorphous minerals such as opal, nestocite, wood tin, and

garnierite are thought to have been deposited from colloidal solutions:

Chalcedony as cryptocrystalline minerals

Manganese oxides were carried and
Pyrite deposited as colloids
Marcasite that were crystallize
Pitchblende shortly after
Oxidation products of copper lead & zinc deposition

The lists of the best available features of colloidal deposition are:

1. Colloform textures – pertaining to the rounded, globular texture

of mineral formed by colloidal precipitation.
2. Shrinkage cracks
3. Diffusion banding
4. Absorption of foreign materials causing a variable composition
5. Chaotic non crystalline structure – completely without order of
arrangement.
6. Columnar crystal extending in crystallographic continuity
through more than one color or compositional zone without
interruptions.
7. Spheroids – composed of concentric or spherical shells.
 Diffused – spreading a broad
- The natural process by which molecules will disperse.

Chapter 5 – Alteration and Gangue

Alteration – a change in a rocks mineral composition.

Gangue – The valueless rock or aggregates of minerals in an ore.

Note: The country rocks bordering ore deposits of hydrothermal origin

are generally altered b the host fluids that have passed through them
and which the ores are associated. The alteration is considered to be
due as much as to the mineralizing processes as the ore itself;
indeed replacement ores are merely commercially valuable products
of wall-rock alteration.

The nature of the alteration products depends on:

1. The character of the original rock.
2. The character of the invading fluid which defines such factors
as Eh, ph, vapor pressure and the degree of hydrolosis.
3. The temperature and pressure at which the reactions took
place.
Hydrolosis – a chemical reaction of a compound with water. For
instance, salts of weak acids or bases hydrolyse in aqueous solution.

Several types of rock alteration products may be distinguished in

which they may be a result from:
a. Diagenesis – the processes, both chemical and physical that
modify a sediment once it has become buried. A material such
as calcite or silica may crystallize and form a cement that binds
together the particles of a sedimentary rocks. Changes in
temperature with pressure may convert one type of clay into
 another new materials, may be deposited or formed by
recrystaliization such as the formation of calcite from aragonite.
b. Regional processes
c. Post magmatic processes such as hydration.
d. Alteration related directly to mineralization.

Metasomatism – a variety of metamorphism in which one mineral or a

mineral assemblage is replaced by another of different composition
without melting.

Diagenesis – chemical and physical changes occurring in sediments

during and after their deposition but before consolidation.

Wall Rock Alteration

Note: If the wall rocks are unstable in the presence of early, ground-
preparing hydrothermal fluids or of ore-forming solutions, they will
undergo physical and chemical changes to reach equilibrium under
the prevailing conditions.
The alteration may range from simple recrystallization to the
addition, removal or re-arrangement of chemical components.

Halos – are secondary dispersion patterns which are nearly

equidimensional:

The nature of wall rock alteration by hydrothermal processes

offers strong evidence in support of the view that many hydrothermal
solutions are neutral or slightly acidic at higher temperatures.

List of the most significant controls of wall rock alteration:

1. Reaction with the wall rocks, hence the nature of the rock.
2. Changes in the pressure-temperature state of the aqueous
phase such as throttling and boiling with possible fractionation
of volatile components.
3. Mixing of hypogene solutions with supergene solutions or
groundwater.
4. Oxidation of H2S to stronger sulfur acids.

Note: wall-rock alteration ma bring about recrystallization changes in

permeability, and changes in odor.
The general products of alteration for each type of ore deposit are the
following:
1. Magmatic deposits
2. Pegmatites
3. Igneous-metamorphic deposits
4. Hypothermal deposits
5. Mesothermal deposits
6. Epithermal deposits
7. Telethermal deposits
8. Hydrothermal deposits

1. Magmatic deposits – wall rock alteration around magmatic

segregation and magmatic injection deposits is generally
inconspicuous and non-diagnostic.

Magmatic segregations – are formed by the solidification of basic

magmatic material and occur as dikes and irregular masses. They
are associated with characteristics igneous parent rock that are fresh
or are but slightly altered.
- Are early concentrations of valuable constituents of the
magma that have been taken place, as a result of gravitative
differentiation.

Magmatic injection – has undergone a change in deposition before

consolidation

2. Pegmatites deposits – are found in or near igneous rocks and at

the outer margins of intrusive masses. They have the composition of
igneous rocks but contain a smaller range of minerals. Consequently
they are derived from very thin fluids. Pegmatites are usually coarsely
crystalline. They frequently contain valuable gem minerals such as
garnet, topaz, beryl, emerald, tour maline and sapphire.

3. Igneous-metamorphic deposits – refer to all forms of alteration

associated with the intrusion of igneous rocks. Ore deposits of
igneous-metamorphic in origin form under high temperature and
pressure, usually deep within the earth.
Note; rocks intruded by igneous masses are commonly rerystallized
altered and replaces. These changes are caused by heat and by
fluids emanating from or activated by the intrusive.

Igneous metamorphism –

Pyrometamorphism – refers only to thermal effects.

Pyrometasomatism – refers to replacement reactions.

Contact metamorphism – denotes proximity to the actual igneous

contact whereas many deposits are isolated from any known intrusive
mass.

4. Hypothermal deposits – are mineral deposits formed at great

depths and high (300 to 500oC) temperature.

5. Mesothermal deposits – those deposits formed at intermediate

depths at moderate temperature and pressure ranging from (200 o
300oC). They are formed from solutions that probably have at least a
tenuous connection with the surface.

6. Epithermal deposits – those formed at shallow depths and

relatively low temperature (50 t0 150oC).
- Are products of hydrothermal origin formed at shallow
depths and low temperature. Deposition normally takes
place within 3000 ft. of the surface.

7. Telethermal deposits – pertaining to a hydrothermal mineral

deposit precipitated at a shallow depth and at a mild temperature.

8. Hydrothermal deposits – a mineral deposit precipitated from a hot,

aqueous solution.

Gangue – consists of all non-economic minerals in an ore deposit.

Note: A mineral considered gangue in ore deposit may be regarded

as an ore mineral in another. They are principally silicates and
carbonates with subordinates oxides, fluorides and sulfates.
Chapter 6: Paragenesis and Zoning

Paragenesis – is an association of mineral having a common origin.

- The chronological order of mineral deposition is known as
the PARAGENESIS of a deposit.

Zoning – the association and order of crystallization of minerals in a

rock or vein.
- The effect of ore minerals on the development of another.
- Is the spatial distribution of a mineral deposits.
- In ore deposit, is any regular pattern in the distribution of
minerals or elements in space.
- It may be shown in a single orebody, in a mineral district, or
in a large region.

Zoning in ore deposits is conveniently divided into three inter

gradational classes based upon size but independent of origin.

1. Regional zoning – zoning on a very large scale

2. District zoning – the zoning shown by closely grouped mines.
3. Orebody zoning – changes in the character of mineralization
within a single orebody or a single ore shoot. Many massive
sulfide deposits of volcanogenic origin such as the Kuroko
bodies in the volcanic rocks of Japan, as well as many single
orebodies within zoned districts are in the category.

Chapter 7: Geothermometry and Isotropic Studies

Geothermometry – measurement of the temperatures at which

geologic processes occur or occurred.

Isotopic –

The temperature and pressure at which ores are deposited

range from very high at depth to atmospheric at the surface.

Placer deposits and other sedimentary ores form under

atmospheric conditions.
 Veins, pegmatites and magmatic segregation deposits may
form at depths of as much as several miles and at temperature above
500oC and at times even above 1000oC.

Studies of Fluid Inclusions

Fluid inclusions – received more study in recent years for determining

temperature of deposition of ore minerals.
- Furnish considerable information as to the chemical
character of the fluid.

Note: The theory behind fluid inclusion assumed that vacuoles in the
mineral were formed when the minerals were precipitating and that
the contents of these vacuoles were residues from the original
solutions. The fluids in these vacuoles are thought to have been
homogenous before cooling, when they were separated into gases
liquids and solids.

Vacuoles – a cavity in lava formed by entrapment of a gas bubble

during solidification. Also known as air sac, bladder, saccus.

Three types of fluid inclusions are distinguished as:

1. Primary
2. Pseudo-secondary
3. Secondary

Primary inclusions – are those isolated with no clear relationship to

any structure that would permit the escape or entry of either gas or
liquid.

Pseudo-secondary inclusions – are commonly aligned in streaks.

- But described as lenticular cluster where the inclusions show
no relationhip to structures in which leakage could take
place.

Secondary inclusions – are in zones or streaks that approach or

touch fractures either open or sealed in which leakage might be
possible.
 - Must be avoided in analysis since results obtained from
them are unreliable.

Chapter 8: The Classifcation of Ore Deposits

Lindgren’s classification of ore deposit, modified

I. Deposits produced by chemical processes of concentration

temperature and pressure vary between wide limits.

A. In magma, by processes of differentiation

1. Magmatic deposits proper, magmatic segregation deposits,
injection deposits. Temperature 700oC to 1500oC, pressure
very high.
2. Pegmatites, temperature very high to moderate, pressure
very high.

B. In bodies of rocks.
1. Concentration effected by introduction of substances foreign
to the rock (epigenetic).
a. Origin dependent upon the eruption of igneous rocks.

Homogenous – composed of parts that are of identical or a similar

kind on nature.
- Of uniform structure

Heterogenous – opposite or dissimilar in character, quality structure,

etc; not homogenous; disparate.

Sublimate – alter, change, because of vapor repress.

Vapor – the gaseous state of a substance normally liquid or solid.

- Particles of water or smoke in the air.
Part 1 – Principles 1
1. Mineral Economics and Exploration
2. Brief History of the Use of Minerals and the Development of
Economic Geology.
3. Materials of Mineral Deposits and their Fomation.
4. Petrology of Mineral Deposit: Magmas Solutions and
Sediments.

Part II. Processes of Formations of Mineral Deposits

5. Magmatic Concentration
6. Sublimation
7. Contact Metasomatism
8. Hydrothermal
9. Sedimentation
10. Bacteriogenic
11. Submarine Exhalative and Volcanogenic Process
12. Evaporation
13. Residual and Mechanical Concentration
14. Oxidation and Supergene enrichment
15. Metamorphism
16. Summary of origin of mineral deposits
17. Classification of Mineral Deposits

Part III. Metallic Mineral Deposits

18. The Precious Metals
19. The Non-Ferrous Metals
20. Iron of the Ferroalloy Metal
21. Minor Metals and Related Non Metal

Part IV. Non Metallic Minerals

22. Energy and Coal
23. Petroleum Geology
24. Ceramic Materials
25. Structural and Building Materials
26. Metallurgical and Refractory Materials
27. Industrial and Manufacturing Materials
28. Chemical Minerals
29. Abrasives and Abrasion Minerals
Geologist distinguished the two terms:

Mineral reserves – are concentrations of a usable mineral or energy

commodity which can be economically and legally extracted at the
time of evaluation.

Mineral resource – refers to the hypothetical and speculative

undiscovered sub-economic mineral deposits or an discovered
deposit of unknown economics

Hypothetical – based on hypothesis

Hypothesis – something assumed for the purpose of argument, a

theory to explain some fact that may or may not prove to be true.

Values Some of the factors involved in

Costs the subject of mineral economics
Long term crystal investment
Reserves
Distribution
Ownership
International flow of minerals

Factors that are almost economically unique in reference to minerals

are:
1. Occurrence
2. Uncertainty of Reserves and Discovery
3. Depletion. Exhaustion and Cost of Mining
4. Scrap Return (recycle)
5. Environmental requirements
6. Energy and Mineral Reserve Crisis
7. Solar Energy

Classifications of Minerals
1. Primary or hypogene
2. Secondary or supergene
Primary or hypogene – were deposited during the original period or
periods of metallization.

Secondary or supergene – are alteration products of the former as a

result of weathering or other surficial processes resulting from
ascending surface waters.

Note: All hypogene minerals are necessary primary but not all
primary ore minerals are hypogene.

Tenor of Ore – is the metal content of an ore which is generally

expresses in percentage or in the case of precious metals in ounces
per ton.

Note: In the formation of magmatic concentrations the process of

differentiation is applicable.

Magmatic differentiation – is the process whereby a burriedly

homogenous magma splits into fractions of different compositions.

Dissemination – simple crystallization of a deep-seated magma in

sites were yield a granular igneous rock in which early formed
crystals may be disseminated throughout it.

Magmatic segregation – a term used to designate magmatic deposits

as contrasted with those formed by solutions or other means.
- Is restricted to concentration of early crystallizing minerals in
place.
- Note: early magmatic segregations are early concentrations
of valuable constituents of the magma that have taken place,
as a result of gravitative crystallization differentiation.

Stoping – a process whereby magma works its way up which the

earth’s crust, engulfing blocks of rock.

Contact metasomatism – one of the main local processes of thermal

metamorphism that is related to intrusion of magmas takes place in
rocks or near their contact with a body of igneous rock.
Hydrothermal - of or pertaining to heated water to its action or to the
products of such action

Sedimentation – the act or process of accumulating sediment in

layers. The process of deposition of sediments.

Bacteriogenic – the part played by micro-organism. Bacteria

particularly the “ thread bacteria but also protozoa, algae and fungi
are concerned in the precipitation of ferric hydroxide. Thus, process
seems most important for the bog-iron ores. Certain other bacteria
seem to promote the formation of calcareous oolites in the sea.

Metamorphism – the mineralogical and structural changes of solid

rock in response to environmental conditions at depth in the earth’s
crust.

Supergene enrichment – the process whereby chemicals are

released by the breakdown of minerals in the zone of oxidation either
remain in place as stable companies or are carried in solution with
the meteoric waters that migrate downward to the phreatic zone. The
dissolved materials may be repeatedly deposited as they descend to
the groundwater table but if they are soluble they will eventually be
carried out of the oxidized zone. Rain waters and solutions that pass
through organic-rich soil zones become slightly too moderately acidic
and waters near oxidizing sulfides maybe strongly acidic. Reactions
of these acidic solutions with carbonates and the rock forming
silicates cover them to become neutral or alkaline. As would be
expected many compounds that are soluble in acidic oxidizing waters
are precipitated where the solutions become basic and reducing. In
the manner, some of the metals dissolved near the surface are
precipitated below the groundwater table.

Note: At greater depths and below the water table, the infiltrating
waters encounter a reducing environments and the dissolved ions
recombine to form new solids such as chalcocite, which is free of iron
and contains proportionately more copper than the original
chalcopyrite:

2Cu2+ + SO42- Cu2+S + 2O2

This process is known/referred to as supergene enrichment can lead
to a substantial increase in the concentration of metals.

Allogenic fallothogenic – formed from pre-existing rocks which have

been transported from another location.

Fumaroles – a vent that releases volcanic gases, including water

vapor (stream).
- an opening at the Earth’s Surface from which water vapor
and other gases are emitted, often at high temperature.

Sublimate – a solid formed from sublimation.

Authigenic – formed or generated in place.

- Rock constituents and minerals that have not been
transported or that crystallized locally at the spot where they
are now found.
- Mineral that come into existence at the same time as to the
formation of the rock of which they constitute as a part.

Natural gas – a mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons primarily methane

that occurs, often with oil deposits in the earth.

MINERAL ECONOMICS

Mineral economics – is the study of the business and economic

aspects of natural resource extraction and use. Mineral economics
involves studying topics in economic and financial analysis that are
developed to meet the special needs of the natural resource
industries. All participants in the industry use mineral economics,
including national and local governments, corporations, banks and
financial companies, and consulting firms.

Demand of Minerals
Minerals are in demand because they posses certain qualities or
attributes, such as strength and resistance to corrosion. These are
seldom final goods, but are essential to the manufacturing of final
consumer and producer goods. Demand is set for the attributes of the
minerals rather than the mineral commodities market and therefore
the minerals can be substituted for others.

The determinants often considered in mineral demand studies are;

1. Income is one of the most important variables affecting metal

demand.
2. A mineral’s own price is also is also normally an important
determinant of demand. Demand tends to fall with an
increase in price and rise with a decline in price.
3. The demand for a mineral commodity may be affected by
prices other than its own. An example would be the higher oil
prices in the 1970’s which increased the demand for coal
and natural gas. In some instances the fall in the price of one
commodity may actually increase to demand for another.
4. New technology can alter demand in several ways. An
example is the amount of aluminum in a beer can is being
reduced because of the newer technology used.
5. Government policies, regulations, and actions constitute
another major determinant of metal demand.

Main product – the product that alone makes the mine viable.

Coproduct – the result of two or more joint products that influence the
output of the mine.

Byproduct – a product that is unimportant and has no influence on the

viability of the mine.

Producer’s Market – firms quote the price they are prepared to sell
their product.

Competitive Market – the price is determined by the interplay of

supply and demand and is free to fluctuate as much as necessary to
clear the marketplace.
MINERAL EXPLORATION

Mineral exploration is the process undertaken by companies,

partnerships or corporations in the endeavour of finding ore
(commercially viable concentrations of minerals) to mine. Mineral
exploration is a much more intensive, organized and professional
form of mineral prospecting and, though it frequently uses the
services of prospecting, the process of mineral exploration on the
whole is much more involved.

STAGES OF MINERAL EXPLORATION

Area selection

Area selection is a crucial step in professional mineral exploration.

Selection of the best, most prospective, area in a mineral field,
geological region or terrain will assist in making not only possible to
find ore deposits, but to find them easily, cheaply and quickly.

Target generation

The target generation phase involves investigations of the geology

via mapping, geophysics and conducting geochemical or intense
geophysical testing of the surface and subsurface geology.

Resource evaluation

Resource evaluation is undertaken to quantify the grade and tonnage

of a mineral occurrences. This is achieved by drilling to sample the
prospective horizon, lode or strata where the minerals of interest
occur.

Reserve definition

Reserve definition is undertaken to convert a mineral resource into an

ore reserve, which is an economic asset. The process is similar to
resource evaluation, except more intensive and technical, aimed at
statistically quantifying the grade continuity and mass of ore.
Ore reserve – is the economically mineable part of a measured
and/or indicated mineral resource.

Extraction

The ultimate goal of mineral exploration is the extraction,

beneficiation and profitable and beneficial sale of mineral
commodities. Extraction methods may vary considerably and it is the
discipline of engineers trained in mining engineering to determine the
most safe, cost effective and efficient method of mining the ore body.

PRECIOUS METALS

A precious metal is a rare metallic chemical element of high

economic value. Chemically, the precious metals are less reactive
than most elements, have high luster, are softer or more ductile, and
have higher melting points than other metals. Historically, precious
metals were important as currency, but are now regarded mainly as
investment and industrial commodities. Gold, silver, platinum, and
each have an ISO 4217 currency code. A metal is deemed to be
precious if it is rare. The discovery of new sources of ore or
improvements in mining of refining processes may cause the value of
a precious metal to diminish. The status “precious” metal can also be
determined by high demand or market value.

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (Latin: aurum) and

atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having
been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and
for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history. The metal
occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits.
Gold is dense, soft, shiny and the most malleable and ductile pure
metal known. Pure gold has a bright yellow color traditionally
considered attractive.

Silver (is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic
number 47. A soft white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest
electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal
conductivity of any metal. The metal naturally occurs in its pure, free
form, (native silver) and as an alloy with gold (electrum), as well as in
various minerals, such as argentite and chlorargyrite. Most silver is
produced as a by-product of copper, gold, lead, and zinc refining.

Silver has been known since ancient times and has long been valued
as a precious metal, used to make ornaments, jewellery, high-value
tableware and utensils (hence the term silverware) and currency
coins. Today, silver metal is used in electrical contacts and
conductors, in mirrors and in catalysis of chemical reactions.

Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an

atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term
platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into “little silver of the
Pinto River.” It is in group 10 of the periodic table of elements. A
heavy, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal,
platinum is resistant to corrosion and occurs in some nickel and
copper ores along with some native deposits. Platinum is used in
jewelry, laboratory equipment, electrical contacts, dentistry, and
catalytic converters.

NON-FERROUS METALS AND THEIR PROPERTIES

Aluminum and its Alloys

Composition: 100% aluminum is an element

Appearance: Blue-white or light grey in colour
Properties: Malleable, ductile, lightweight, and a good conductor. It
casts well but is difficult to solder and weld because oxides form
rapidly upon its surface
Uses: aircraft industry, aluminum foil, cooking utensils, road signs

Copper

Composition: 100% copper is an element

Appearance: Reddish brown in colour
Properties: Extremely ductile and malleable when either hot or cold.
Good conductor of heat and electricity. Solders easily
Uses: Water pipes, electrical wiring, decorative articles

Brass
Composition: An alloy of copper and zinc. They are mixed in various
quantities but one popular form contains 60% copper and 40% zinc.
Appearance: Yellow in colour
Properties: Solders easily and polishes well
Uses: Screws, hinges, water fittings and electrical parts.

Zinc

Composition: 100% zinc is an element

Appearance: Blue-white in color
Properties: Resistant to atmospheric corrosion
Uses: Protective coating on mild steel (galvanizing). Used with other
metals to form alloys.

Lead

Composition: 100% lead is an element

Appearance: Grey in color
Properties: Very soft and very heavy. Resist corrosion by water and
acid.
Uses: Batteries, roofing and gutters

Tin

Composition: 100& tin is an element

Appearance: Silvery in colour
Properties: Extremely malleable and ductile. Resist corrosion
Uses: Coating for mild steel sheets (tinplate), the canning industry

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE USE OF MINERALS AND OF THE

DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC GEOLOGY

Economic geology is the study of fuels, metals and other

minerals from the earth that are of interest to industry or the economy
in general. It is concerned with the distribution o resources, the cost
and benefits of their recovery, and the value and availability of
existing materials. These materials include ore (rocks or minerals
possessing economic value.) as well as fossil fuels, which embrace
arrange of products from petroleum to coal. Rooted in several
subdisciplines of the geologic sciences – particularly geophysics,
structural geology, and stratigraphy – economic geology affects daily
life in myriad ways. Masonry stones and gasoline, gypsum wallboard
(sometimes known by the brand name sheetrock) and jewelry, natural
gas, and table salt – these and many more products are the results of
efforts in the broad field known as economic geology.

HOW IT WORKS?

BACKGROUND OF ECONOMIC GEOLOGY

Some sources of information in the geologic sciences use a definition

of “economic geology” narrower than the one applied here. Rather
than including nonmineral resources that develop in and are
recovered from a geologic environment – a category that consist s
primarily of fossil fuels – this more limited definition restricts the
scope of economic geology to minerals and ores. Given the obvious
economic importance of fossil fuels such as petroleum and its many
byproducts as well as coal and peat, however, it seems only
appropriate to discuss these valuable organic resources alongside
valuable inorganic ones.

The concept of economic geology as such is a relatively new one,

even though humans have been extracting metals and minerals of
value from the ground since prehistoric times. For all their ability to
appreciate the worth of such resources, however, premodern peoples
possessed little in the way of scientific theories regarding either their
formation or the means of extracting them.

The Greeks, for instance, believed that veins of metallic materials in

the earth indicated that those materials were living things putting
down roots after the manner of trees. Astrologers of medieval times
maintained that each of the “seven planets” (Sun, Moon, and the five
planets, besides Earth, known at the time) ruled one of the seven
known metals – gold, copper, silver, lead, tin, iron, and mercury –
which supposedly had been created under the influence of their
respective “planets”.
AGRICOLA’S CONTRIBUTION

The first thinker who attempted to go beyond such unscientific (if

imaginative) ideas was a German physician writing under the
Latinized name Georgius Agricola (1494-1555). As a result of treating
miners for various conditions. Agricola, whose real name was Georg
Bauer, became fascinated with minerals. The result was a series of
written works, culminating with De re metallica (On the nature of
minerals, 1556, released postthumusly), that collectively initiated the
modern subdiscipline of physical geology. (It is worth noting that the
first translators of Metallica into English were lou [d. 1944] and
Herbert Clark Hoover [1874-1964]. The couple published their
translation in 1912 in London’s Mining Magazine, and the husband
went on to become the thirty-first president of the United States in
1929).

Rejecting the works of the ancients and all manner of fanciful

explanations for geologic phenomena, Agricola instead favored
careful observation, on the basis of which he formed verifiable
hypotheses. Regarded as the father of both mineralogy and
economic geology, Agricola introduced several ideas that provided a
scientific foundation for the study of Earth and its products. In De ortu
et causis subterraneorum (1956), he critiqued all preceding ideas
regarding the formation of ores, including the Greek and astrological
notions mentioned earlier as well as the alchemical belief that all
metals are composed of mercury and sulfur. Instead, he maintained
that subterranean fluids carry dissolved minerals, which, when
cooled, leave deposits in the cracks of rocks and thus give rise to
mineral veins. Agricola’s ideas later helped form the basis for modern
theories regarding the formation of ore deposits.

In De natura fossilium (On the nature of fossils, 1546), Agricola also

introduced a method for the classification of “fossils,” as minerals
were then known. Agricola’s system, which categorizes minerals
according to such properties as color, texture, weight, and
transparency, is the basis for the system of mineral classification in
use today. Of all his works, however, the most important was De re
metallica, which could remain the leading textbook for miners and
mineralogists during two centuries that followed. In this monumental
work, he introduced many new ideas, including the concept that rocks
contain ores that are older than the rocks themselves. He also
explored in detail the mining practices in use during his time, itself an
extraordinary feat in that miners of the sixteenth century tended to
guard their trade secrets closely.

METALS, MINERALS, AND ROCKS

Of all known chemical elements, 87, or about 80%, are metals. The
latter group is identified as being lustrous or shiny in appearance and
malleable or ductile, meaning that they can molded into different
shapes without breaking. Despite their ductility, metals are extremely
durable, have high melting and boiling points, and are excellent
conductors of heat and electricity. Some, though far from all, register
high on the Mohs hardness scale, discussed later in the context of
minerals.

The bonds that the metals form with each other, or with nonmetals,
are known as ionic bonds, the strongest type of chemical bond. Even
within a metal, however, there are extremely strong, nondirectional
bonds. Therefore, though it is easy to shape metals, it is very difficult
to separate metal atoms. Obviously, most metal are solids at room
temperature, though this is not true of all: mercury is liquid at ordinary
temperatures, and gallium melts at just 85.6oF (29.76oc). Generally,
however, metals would be described as crystalline solids, meaning
that their constituent parts have a simple and definite geometric
arrangement that is repeated in all directions. Crystalline structure is
important also within the context of minerals as well as the rocks that
contain them.

MINERALS

Whereas there only 87 varieties of metal, there are some 3,700 types
of mineral. There is considerable overlap between metals and
minerals, but that overlap is far from complete: many
Minerals include nonmetallic elements, such as oxygen and silicon. A
mineral is a substance that appears in nature and therefore cannot be
created artificially, is inorganic in origin, has a definite chemical
composition, and possesses a crystalline internal structure.

The term organic does not refer simply to substances with a

biological origin; rather, it describes any compound that contains
carbon, with the exception of carbonates (which are a type of mineral)
and oxides, such as carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide. The fact that
a mineral must be of nonvarying composition limits minerals almost
exclusively to elements and compounds – that is, either to
substances that cannot be broken down chemically to yield simpler
substances or to substances formed by the chemical bonding
ofelements. Only in a few highly specific circumstances are naturally
occurring alloys, or mixtures of metals, considered minerals.

MINERALS GROUPS

Minerals are classified into eight basic groups:

Class 1: Native elements

Class 2: Sulfides
Class 3: Oxides and Hydroxides
Class 4: Halides
Class 5: Carbonates, nitrates, borates, iodates
Class 6: Sulfates, chromates, molybdates, tungstates
Class 7: Phosphates, arsenates, vanadates
Class 8: Silicates

The first group, native elements, includes metallic elements that

appear in pure form somewhere on Earth; certain metallic alloys,
alluded to earlier; as well as native nonmetals, semimetals, and
minerals with metallic and non-metallic elements. The native
elements, along with the six classes that follow them in this list, re
collectively known as nonsilicates, a term that emphasizes the
importance of the eight group.

The vast majority of minerals, including the most abundant ones,

belong to the silicates class, which is built around the element silicon.
Just as carbon can form long strings of atoms, particularly in
combination with hydrogen, silicon also forms long strings, though its
“ partner of choice” is typically oxygen rather than hydrogen. Together
with oxygen, silicon – known as metalloid because it exhibits
characteristics of both metals and nonmetals – forms the basis for an
astonishing array of products, both natural and man-made, which we
examine in brief later.

CHARACTERISTICS OF MINERALS

From the list of parameters first developed by Agricola has grown a

whole array of characteristics by which minerals are classified. These
characteristics also can be used to evaluate an unknown mineral and
thus to determine the mineral class within which it fits. One such
parameter is the type of crystal of which a mineral is composed.
Though there are thousands of minerals, there are just six crystal
systems, or basic geometric shapes formed by crystals.
Crystallographers, mineralogists concerned with the study of crystal
structures, are able to identify the crystal system by studying a good
specimen of a mineral and observing the faces of the crystal and the
angles at which they meet.

Minerals also can be identified by their hardness, defined as the

ability of one mineral to scratch another. Hardness can be measured
by the Mohs scale, introduced in 1812 by the German mineralogist
Friedrich Mohs (1773-1839), which rates minerals from 1 (talc) to 10
(diamond). Though it is useful for geologists attempting to identify to
identify a mineral in the field, the Mohs scale is not considered helpful
for the industrial testing of fine-grained materials, such as steel or
ceramics. For such purposes, the Vickers or Knoop scales are
applied. These scales (named, respectively, after a British company
and an American Official) also have an advantage over Mohs in that
they offer a precise, proportional scale in which each increase of
number indicates the same increase in hardness. By contrast, on the
Mohs scale, an increase from 3 to 4 (calcite to fluorite) indicates an
additional 25% in hardness, whereas a shift from 9 to 10 (corundum
to diamond) marks an increase of 300%.

Other properties significant in identifying minerals are color; streak, or

the appearance of the powder produced when one mineral is
scratched by a harder one; luster, the appearance of a mineral when
light reflects off its surface; cleavage, the planes across which a
mineral breaks; fracture the tendency to break along something other
than a flat surface;density or ratio of mass to volume; and specific
gravity, or the ratio between the mineral’s density and that of water.
Sometimes minerals can be identified in terms of qualities unique to a
specific mineral group or groups: magnetism, radioactivity,
fluorescence, phosphorescence, and so on.

ROCKS

A rock is an aggregate of minerals or organic material, which can

appear in consolidated or unconsolidated form. Rocks are of three
different types: igneous, formed by crystallization of molten minerals,
as in a volcano; sedimentary, sedimentary, usually formed by
deposition, compaction, or cementation of weathered rock; and
metamorphic, formed by alteration of preexisting rock. Rocks made
from inorganic material are typically sedimentary, an example being
coal.

Rocks have possessed economic importance from a time long before

“economics” as we know it existed – a time when there was nothing
to buy and nothing to sell. That time, of course, would be the Stone
Age, which dates back practically to the beginnings of the human
species and overlapped with the beginnings of civilization some 5,500
years ago. In the hundreds of thousands of years when stone
constituted the most advanced toolmaking material, humans
developed an array of stone devices for making fire, sharpening
knives, killing animals (and other humans), cutting food or animal
skins, and so on.

The Stone Age, both in the popular imagination and (with some
qualifications) in actual archaeotatlogical fact, was a time when
people lived in caves. Since that time, of course, humans have
generally departed from the caves, though exceptions exist, as the
United States military found in 2001 when attempting to hunt for
terrorists in the caves of Afghanistan. In any case, the human
attachment to stone dwellings has taken other forms, beginning with
the pyramids and continuing through today’s masonry homes. Nor is
rock simply a structural material for building, as the use of gypsum
wallboard, slate countertops, marble finishes, and graveled walkways
attests. And, of course, construction is only one of many applications
to which rocks and minerals are directed, as we shall see.

HYDROCARBONS

As noted earlier, the focus of economic geology is on both rocks and

minerals, on the one hand, and fossil fuels, on the other. The later
may be defined as fuel (specially, coal, oil, and gas) derived from
deposits of inorganic material that have experienced decomposition
and chemical alteration under conditions of high pressure. Given this
derivation from organic material, by definition all fossil fuels are
carbon-based, and, specially, they are built around hydrocarbons –
chemical compounds whose molecules are made up of nothing but
carbon and hydrogen atoms.

Theoretically, there is no limit to the number of possible

hydrocarbons. Carbon forms itself into apparently limitless molecular
shapes, and hydrogen is a particularly versatile chemical partner.
Hydrocarbons may form straight chains, branched chains, or rings,
and the result is a variety of compounds distinguished not by
elements in their makeup or even by the numbers of different atoms
in each molecule, but rather by the structure of a given molecule.

VARIETIES OF HYDROCARBONS

Among the various groups of hydrocarbons are alkanes or saturated

hydrocarbons, so designated because all the chemical bonds are
filled to their capacity with hydrogen atoms. Included among them are
such familiar names as methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), propane
(C3H8) and butane (C4H10). The first four, being the lowest in
molecular mass, are gases at room temperature, while the heavier
ones – including octane (C8H18) – are oily liquids. Alkanes even
heavier than octane tend to be waxy solids, an example being
paraffin wax, for making candles.
With regard to octane incidentally, there is a reason why its name is
so familiar, while that of heptanes (C7H16) is not. Heptanes does not
fire smoothly in an internal combustion engine and therefore disrupts
the engine’s rhythm. For this reason, it has a rating of zero on a scale
of desirability, while octane has a rating of 100. This is why gas
stations list octane ratings at the pump: the higher the content of
octane, the better the gas is for one’s automobile.

In a hydrocarbon chain, if one or more hydrogen atoms is, a new

bond may be formed. The hydrocarbon chain is then named by
adding the suffix yl – hence such names as methyl, ethyl, and so on.
This indicates that the substance is an alkaline, and that something
other than hydrogen can be attached to the chain; for example, the
attachment of a chlorine atom could yield methyl chloride. Two other
large structural groups of hydrocarbons are alkanes and alkynes,
which contain double or triple bonds between carbon atoms. Such
hydrocarbons are unsaturated – in other words, if the double or triple
bond is broken, some of the carbon atoms are then free to form other
bonds. Among the products of these groups is the alkene known as
acetylene, or C2H2, used for welding steel. In addition to alkanes,
alkenes, and alkynes, all of which tend to form carbon chains, there
are the aromatic hydrocarbons, a traditional name that actually has
nothing to do with smell.

All aromatic hydrocarbons contain what is known as a benzene ring,

which has the chemical formula C6H6 and appears in characteristics
ring shapes. In this groups are such products as naphthalene,
toluene, and dimethyl benzene. This last two are used as solvents as
well as in the synthesis of drugs, dyes and plastic. One of the more
famous products in this part of the vast hydrocarbon network is
trinitrotoluene, or TNT. Naphthalene is derived from coal tar and used
in the synthesis of other compounds. A crystalline solid with a
powerful odor, it is found in mothballs and various deodorant
disinfectantants

REAL – LIFE APPLICATIONS

FOSSIL FUELS
The organic material that has decomposed to create the
hydrocarbons in fossil fuels comes primarily from dinosaurs and
prehistoric plants, though it just as easily could have come from any
other organisms that died in large numbers along, long time ago. To
form petroleum, there must be very large quantities of organic
material deposited along with sediments and buried under more
sediment. The accumulated sediments and organic materials are
called source rock.
What happens after accumulation of this material is critical and
depends a great deal on the nature of the source rock. It is important
that the organic material – for example, the vast numbers of
dinosaurs that died in a mass extinction about 65 million years ago –
not be allowed simply to rot, as would happen in an aerobic, or
oxygen containing environment. Instead, the organic material
undergoes transformation into hydrocarbons as a result of anaerobic
chemical activity, or activity that takes place in the absence of oxygen

Good source rocks for this transformation are shale or limestone,

provided the particular rocks are composed of between 1% to 5%
organic carbons. The source rock should be deep enough that the
pressure heats the organic material, yet not so deep that the pressure
and temperature cause the rocks to undergo metamorphism or
transform them into graphite or other non-hydrocarbon versions of
carbon. Temperatures of up to 302oF are considered optimal for
petroleum generation.

Once generated, petroleum gradually moves from the source rock to

a reservoir rock or a rock that stores petroleum in its pores. A good
reservoir rock is one in which the pore space constitutes more than
30 % of the rock volume. Yet the rock must be sealed by another rock
that is much less porous; indeed, for a seal or cap rock, as it is called,
a virtually impermeable rock is preferred. Thus, the best kind of seal
forming rock is one made of very small, closely fitting pieces of
sediment, for instance, shale. Such a rock is capable of holding
petroleum in place for millions of years until it is ready to be
discovered and used.

HUMANS AND PETROLEUM

People have known about petroleum from pre-history, simply
because there were places on Earth where it literally seeped from the
ground. The modern era of petroleum drilling, however, began in
1853, when American lawyer named George Bissel (1821-1884)
recognized its potential for use as a lamp fuel. He hired Colonel
Edwin Drake (1819-1880) to oversee the drilling of an oil well at
Titusville, Pennsylvania, and in 1859 Drake struck oil. The legend of
“black gold” of fortunes to be made by drilling holes in the ground was
born.
In the wake of the development and widespread application of the
internal combustion engine during the latter part of the nineteenth and
the early part of the twentieth centuries, interest in oil became much
more intense, and wells sprouted up the world. Sumatra, Indonesia,
yielded oil from its first wells in 1885, and in 1901, successful drilling
began in Texas – the source of many a Texas-sized fortune. An early
form of the company known today as British Petroleum (BP)
discovered the first Middle Eastern oil in Persia ( now Iran) in 1908.
Over the next 50 years, the economic importance and prospects of
that region changed considerably.

With the vast expansion in automobile ownership that began following

World War I (1914-1918) and reached even greater heights after
World War II (1939-1945), the value and importance of petroleum
soared. The oil industry boomed, and as a result, many geologists
found employment in a sector that offered far more in the way of
financial benefits than university or government positions ever could.
Today geologists assist their employers in locating oil reserves, not
an easy task because so many variables must line up to produce a
viable oil source. Given the cost of drilling a new oil well, which may
run to $30 million or more, it is clearly important to exercise good
judgment in assessing the possibilities of finding oil.

The oil industry has been fraught with environmental concerns over
the impact of drilling (much of which takes place offshore, on rigs
placed in the ocean); possible biohazards associated with spills, such
as the one involving the Exxon Valdez in 1989; and the effect on the
atmosphere of carbon monoxide and other greenhouse gasses
produced by petroleum-burning internal-combustion engines. There is
even more wide-ranging concern over United States dependence on
oil sources in foreign countries (some of which are openly hostile to
the United States) as well as the possible dwindling of resources.

At present rate of consumption, oil reserves will be exhausted by

about 2040, but this takes into account only reserves that are
considered viable today. As exploration continues, the tapping of
United States reserves, such as those in Alaska, will become more
and more profitable, leading to increased exploitation of US
resources and decreased dependence on oil produced by Middle
Eastern states, many of which openly or covertly support terrorist
attacks against the United States. In the log run, however, it will be
necessary to develop new means of fueling in the industrialized
world, because petroleum is a nonrenewable resource: there is only
so much of it underground, and when it is gone, it will not be replaced
for millions of years.

PETROCHEMICALS

In the mean time, however, petroleum – a mixture of alkanes,

alkenes, and aromatic hydrocarbon – makes the world go round.
Petroleum itself is a raw material from which numerous products,
collectively known as petrochemicals or petroleum derivatives are
obtained. Through a process termed fractional distillation, the
petrochemicals of the lower molecular mass boil off first, and those
having higher mass separate at higher temperatures.

Natural gas separates from petroleum at temperatures below 96.8 oF

(36oC) – far lower than the boiling point of water. At somewhat higher
temperatures, petroleum, ether and naphtha, both solvents (naphtha
is used in paint thinner), separate; then in the region between 156.2 oF
and 165.3oF (69-74oC), gasoline separate. Still higher temperatures
yield other substances, each thicker than the one before it: kerosene;
fuel for heating and the operation of diesel engines; lubricating oils;
petroleum jelly; paraffin wax; and pitch or tar. A host of other organic
chemicals, including various drugs, plastics, paints, adhesives, fibers,
detergents, synthetic rubber, and agricultural chemicals, owe their
existence to petrochemicals.

SILICON, SILICATES, AND OTHER COMPOUNDS

It was started earlier that both carbon and silicone have the tendency
to produce long strings of atoms, usually in combination with
hydrogen in the first case and oxygen in the second. This is no
accident, since silicon lies just below carbon on the periodic table of
elements and they share certain chemical features. Just as carbon is
at the center of a vast world of hydrocarbons, so silicon is equally
important to inorganic substances ranging from sand or silica (SiO 2)
to silicone (a highly versatile set of silicon-based products), to the
rocks known as silicates.

Silicates are the basis for several well-known mineral types, including
garnet, topaz, zircon, kaolinite, talc, mica and two most abundant
minerals on Earth, feldspar and quartz. Made of compounds formed
around silicon and oxygen and comprising various metals, such as
aluminum, iron, sodium, and potassium, the silicates account for 30%
of all minerals. As such, they appear in everything from gemstones to
building materials; yet they are far from the only notable products
centered around silicon.

SILICONE AND OTHER COMPOUNDS

Silicone is not a mineral; rather, it is a synthetic product often used as

a substitute for organic oils, greases, and rubber. Instead of attaching
to oxygen atoms, as in a silicate, silicon atoms in silicone attached to
organic groups that is molecules containing carbon. Silicone oils are
used frequently in place of organic petroleum as a lubricant because
they can withstand greater variations in temperature. And because
the body tolerates the introduction of silicone implants better than it
does organic ones, silicones are used in surgical implants as well.
Silicone rubbers appear in everything from bouncing balls to space
vehicles, and silicones are also present in electrical insulators, rust
preventives, fabric softeners, hair sprays, hand creams, furniture, and
automobile polishes, paints, adhesives, and even chewing gum.

Even this list does not exhaust the many applications of silicon, which
accounts for the vast majority of the mass in Earth’s crust. Owing to
its semimetallic qualities, silicon is used as a semiconductor of
electricity. Computer chips are tiny slices of ultrapure silicon, etched
with as many as half million microscopic and intricately connected
electronic circuits. These chips manipulate voltages using binary
codes, for which 1 means “voltage on” and 0 means “voltage off”.
By means of these pulses, silicon chips perform multitudes of
calculations in seconds – calculations that would take humans hours
and months or even years.

A porous form of silica known as silica gel absorbs water vapor from
the air and is often packed alongside moisture-sensitive products.

ORES

Earlier, it was stated that an ore is a rock or mineral that possesses

economic value. This is true, but a more targeted definition would
include the adjective metalliferous, since economically valuable
minerals that contain no metals usually are treated as a separate
category, industrial minerals. Indeed, it can be said that the interest of
economic geology are divided into three areas: ores, industrial
minerals, and fuels, which we have discussed.

The very word ore seems to call to mind one of the oldest-known
metals in the world and probably the first material worked by
prehistoric metallurgist: gold. Even the Spanish word for gold, oro,
suggests a connection. When conquistadors from spain arrived in the
New World after about 1500, oro was their obsession, and it was said
that the Spanish invaders of Mexico found every bit of gold or silver
ore located at the surface of the earth. However, miners of the
sixteenth century lacked much of the knowledge that helps geologist
today find ore deposits that are not at the surface.

LOCATING AND EXTRACTING ORES

The modern approach uses knowledge gained from experience. As in

Agricola’s day. Much of the wealth possessed by a mining company
is in the form of information regarding the means of best seeking out
and retrieving materials from the solid earth. Certain surface
geochemical and geophysical indicators help direct the steps of
geologist and miners searching for ore. Thus, by the time a company
in search of ore begins drilling, a great deal of exploratory work has
been done. Only at that point is it possible to determine the value of
the deposits, which my simply be minerals of little economic interest.

It is estimated that a cubic mile (1.6 km3) of average rock contains

bout $1 trillion worth of metals, which at first sounds promising – until
one does the math. A trillion dollars is a lot of money, but 1 cu. mi.
(equal to 5280 X 5280 X 5280 ft., or 1,609 km 3) is a lot of space too.
The result is that 1 cu. ft. (0.028 m3) is worth only about $6.79. But
that is an average cubic foot in an average cubic mile of rock, and no
mining company would even consider attempting to extract metals
from an average piece of ground. Rather , viable ore appears only in
regions that have been subjected to geologic processes that
concentrate metals in such a way that their abundance is usually
many hundreds of times greater than it would be on Earth as a whole.

Ore contains other minerals, known as gangue, which are of no

economic value but which serve as a telltale sign that ore is to be
found in that region. The presence of quartz, for example, may
suggest deposits as well as in hydrothermal fluids. The latter are
emanations from igneous rock, in the form of gas or water, that
dissolve metals from rocks through which they pass and later deposit
the ore in other locations.

CONFRONTING THE HAZARDS OF MINING

Mining, a means of extracting not only ores but many industrial

minerals and fuels, such as coal, is difficult work fraught with
numerous hazards. There are short term dangers to the miners, such
as cave-ins, flooding, or the release of gases in the mines, as well as
long-term dangers that include such mining-related diseases as black
lung (typically a hazard of coal miners). Then there is the shear
mental and emotional stress that comes from spending eight or more
hours a day away from the sunlight, in claustrophobic surroundings.

And, of course, there is the environmental stress created by mining –

not just by the immediate impact of cutting a gash in Earth’s surface,
which may disrupt ecosystems on the surface, but myriad additional
problems, such as the seepage of pollutants into the water table.
Abandoned mines present further dangers, including the threat of
subsidence, which make these locations unsafe for the long term.
Higher environmental and occupational safety standards, established
in the United States during the last third of the twentieth century, have
led to changes in the way mining is performed as well as in the way
mines are left when the work is completed. For example, mining
companies have experimented with the use of chemicals or even
bacteria, which can dissolved a metal underground and allow it to be
pumped to the surface without the need to create actual underground
shafts and tunnels or to send human miners to work them.

INDUSTRIAL MINERALS AND OTHER PRODUCTS

Industrial minerals, as noted earlier, are nonmetal-containing mineral

asbestos, a generic term for a large group minerals that are highly
resistant to heat and flame; boron compounds, which are used for
making heat-resistant glass, enamels, and ceramics; phosphates and
potassium salts, used in making fertilizers; and sulfur, applied in a
range of products, from refrigerants to explosives to purifiers used in
the production of sugar.

Just one industrial mineral, corundum, can have numerous uses.

Extremely hard, corundum in the form of an unconsolidated rock
commonly called emery has been used as an abrasive since ancient
times. Owing to its very high melting point – even higher than that of
iron – corundum also is employed in making alumina, a fire-proof
product used in furnaces and fireplaces. Though pure corundum is
colorless, trace amounts of certain elements can yield brilliant colors:
hence, corundum with traces of chromium become a red ruby, while
traces of iron, titanium, and other elements yield varieties of sapphire
in yellow, green, and violet as well as the familiar blue.

AN ARRY OF APPLICATIONS

We have only begun to scratch the surface, as it were, of the uses to

which minerals can be put: after all, everything – literally, every solid
object - that people use is either organic in origin or a mineral. The
wide array of applications of minerals is clear from the following list of
mineral categories, classified by application: abrasives (corundum,
diamond), ceramics (feldspar, quartz), chemical minerals (halite,
sulfur, borax), and natural pigments (hematite, limonite).

Lime, cement and plaster comes from calcite and gypsum, while
building materials – both structural and ornamental – are products of
agate, as well as the two aforementioned minerals. Table salt is a
mineral, and so is chalk, as are countless other products. There are
rocks, such as granite and marble, used in building, decoration, or
artwork, and then there are “rocks” – to use a word that is at once a
geologic term and a slang expression – that appear in the form of
jewelry.

JEWELRY

Out of minerals, 16 are important for their use as gems: beryl,

chrysoberyl, corundum, diamond, feldspar, garnet, jade, lazurite,
olivine, opal, quartz, spinel, topaz, tourmaline, turquoise, and zircon.
Not all forms of these minerals, of course, are precious. Furthermore,
some minerals provide more than one type of gem: corundum, as we
have noted, is a source of rubies and sapphires, while beryl produces
both emeralds and aquamarines.

IRON AND FERROALLOY METALS

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe (latin: ferrum) and

atomic number 26. Iron is a group 8 and period 4 elements. Iron is
lustrous and silvery in color. It is soft, about 80 Brinell, relative to
steel, which is about 140 Brinell. It is one of the few ferromagnetic
elements.

Iron- 56 is the second heaviest stable isotope produced by the alpha

process in stellar nucleosynthesis, the heaviest being nickel-62;
heavier elements require a supernova for their formation. Iron is the
most abundant element in the core of red giants, and is the most
abundant metal in iron meteorites and in the dense metal cores of
planets such as earth. Iron and iron alloys are also the most common
source of ferromagnetic materials in everyday use.

OCCURRENCE
The red appearance of this water is due to iron in the rocks. Iron is
the sixth most abundant element in the universe, formed as the final
act of nucleosynthesis by carbon burning in massive stars. While it
makes up about 5% of the earth’s crust, the earth’s core is believed
to consists largely of an iron-nickel alloy consisting 35% of the mass
of the Earth as a whole. Iron is consequently the most abundant
element on Earth, but only the fourth most abundant element in the
Earth’s crust. Most of the iron in the crust is found combined with
oxygen as iron oxide minerals such as hematite and magnetite. About
1 in 20 meteorites consist of the unique iron-nickel minerals taenite
(35-80% iron) and kamacite (90-95% iron). Although rare, meteorites
are the major form of natural metallic iron on the Earth’s surface.
The reason for Mars’s red color is thought to be an iron-oxide-rich
soil.

Characteristics

Iron is a metal extracted mainly from the iron ore hematite. It oxidizes
readily in air and water to form Fe2O3 and is rarely found as a free
element. In order to obtain elemental iron, oxygen and other
impurities must be removed by chemical reduction. The properties of
iron can be modified by alloying it with various other metals and some
non-metals, notably carbon and silicon to form steels.

Nuclei of iron atoms have some of the highest binding energies per
nucleon, surpassed only by the nickel isotope. Ni. The universally
most abundant of the highly stable nuclides is, however, Fe. This is
formed by nuclear fusion in stars. Although a further tiny energy gain
could be extracted by synthesizing Ni, conditions in stars are
unsuitable for this process to be favoured, and iron abundance on
Earth greatly favors iron over nickel, and also presumably in
supernova element production.

Iron (as Fe2+, ferrous ion) is a necessary trace element used by

almost all living organisms. The only exceptions are several
organisms that live in iron-poor environments and have involved to
use different elements in their metabolic processes, such as
manganese instead of iron for catalysis, or hemocyanin instead of
hemoglobin. Iron-containing enzymes, usually containing heme
prosthetic groups, participate in catalysis of oxidation reactions in
biology, and in transport of a number of soluble gases. See
hemoglobin, cytochrome, and catalase.

APPLICATIONS

Iron is the most widely used of all metals, accounting for 95% of
worldwide metal production. Its low cost and high strength make it
indispensable in engineering applications such as the construction of
machinery and machine tools, automobiles, the hulls of large ship,
and structural components for buildings . Since pure iron is quite soft,
it is most commonly used in the form of steel. Some of the forms in
which iron is produced commercially include:

- Pig iron has 3.5-4.5% carbon and contains varying amounts

of contaminants such as sulfur, silicon, and phosphorus. Its
only significance is that of an intermediate step on the way
from iron ore to cast iron and steel.
- Cast iron contains 2-4% carbon, 1-6% silicon, and small
amounts of manganese. Contaminants present in pig iron
that negatively affect material properties, such as sulfur and
phosphorous have been reduced to an acceptable level. It
has a melting point in a range of 1420 – 1470 K, which is
lower than either of its two main components, and makes it
the first product to be melted when carbon and iron are
heated together. Its mechanical properties vary greatly,
dependent upon the form carbon takes in the alloy. “White”
cast iron contains their carbon in the form of cementite or
iron carbide. This hard, brittle compound dominates the
mechanical properties of the white cast irons, rendering
them hard, but unresistant to shock. The broken surface of
the white cast iron is full of fine facets of the broken carbide,
 a very pale, silvery, shiny material, hence the appellation. In
grey iron the carbon exist free as fine flakes of graphite, and
also renders the material brittle due to the stress-raising
nature of the sharp edge flakes of graphite. A newer variant
of grey iron, referred to as ductile ductile iron is specially
treated with trace amounts of magnesium to alter the shape
of graphite to spheroids, or nodules, vastly increasing the
toughness and strength of material.
- Wrought iron contains less than 0.25% carbon. It is a tough,
malleable product, but not as fusible as pig iron. If honed to
an edge, it loses it quickly. Wrought iron is characterized by
the presence of fine fibers of slag entrapped in the metal.
Wrought iron is more corrosion resistant than steel. It has
been almost completely replaced by mild steel for traditional
“wrought iron” products and blacksmithing. Mild steel does
not have the same corrosion resistance but is cheaper and
more widely available.
- Carbon steel contains 2.0% carbon or less, with small
amounts of manganese, sulfur, phosphorus and silicon.
- Alloy steels contain varying amounts of carbon as well as
other metals, such as chromium, vanadium, molybdenum,
nickel, tungsten, etc. they are used for structural purposes,
as their alloy contents raises their cost and necessitates
justification of their use. Recent developments in ferrous
metallurgy has produced a growing range of microalloyed
steel, also termed “HSLA” or high strength, low alloy steels,
containing tiny additions to produce high strengths and often
spectacular toughness at minimal cost.
- Iron (III) oxides are used in the production of magnetic
storage media in computers. They are often mixed with other
compounds, and retain their magnetic properties in solution.

The main disadvantage of iron and steel is that pure iron, and most of
its alloys, suffer badly from rust if not protected in some way.
Painting, galvanization, passivation, plastic coating and bluing are
some techniques used to protect iron from rust by excluding water
and oxygen or by sacrificial protection.

PRODUCTION OF IRON FROM IRON ORE

The production of iron ore or steel is a process unless the desired
final product is cast iron. The first stage is to produce pig iron in a
blast furnace. The second is to make wrought iron or steel from pig
iron by a further process.

BLAST FURNACE

Ninety percent of all mining of metallic ores is for the extraction of

iron. Industrially iron is produced starting from iron ores, principally
hematite (nominally Fe2O3) and magnetite (Fe3O4) by a carbothermic
reaction (reduction with carbon) in a blast furnace at temperatures of
about 2000oC. In a blast furnace, iron ore, carbon in a form of a coke,
and a flux such as limestone are fed into the top of the furnace, while
a blast of heated air is forced into the furnace at the bottom.

In the furnace, the coke reacts with oxygen in the air blast to produce
carbon monoxide:

2 C + O2 2 CO

The carbon monoxide reduces the iron ore ( in the chemical equation
below, hematite) to molten iron, becoming carbon dioxide in the
process:

3 CO + Fe2O3 2 Fe + 3 CO2

The flux is present to melt impurities in the ore, principally silicon

dioxide sand and other silicates. Common fluxes include limestone
(principally calcium carbonate) and dolomite (calcium-magnesium
carbonate). Other fluxes may be used depending on the impurities
that need to be removed from the ore. In the heat of the furnace the
limestone flux decomposes to calcium oxide (quicklime).

CaCO3 CaO + CO2

Then calcium oxide combines with silicon dioxide to form slag.

CaO + SiO2 CaSiO3

The slag melts in the heat of the furnace. In the bottom of the
furnace, the molten slag floats on top of the denser molten iron, and
apertures in the side of the furnace are opened to run off the iron and
the slag separately. The iron once cooled is called pig iron, while the
slag can be used as a material in road construction or to improve
mineral – poor soils for agriculture.

FURTHER PROCESSES

Pig iron is not pure, but has 4-5 % carbon dissolved in it with small
amounts of other impurities like sulfur, magnesium, phosphorus and
manganese. As the carbon is the major impurity, the iron (pig iron)
becomes brittle and hard. This form of iron is used to cast articles in
foundries such as stoves, pipes, radiators, lamp post and rails.

Alternatively pig iron may be made into steel or wrought iron. Various
processes have been used for this, including finery forges, puddling
furnaces, bessemer converters, open hearth furnaces, basic oxygen
furnaces and electric arc furnaces. In all cases, the objective is to
oxidize some or all of the carbon, together with other impurities. On
the other hand, other metals may be added to make alloy steels.

The hardness of the steel depends upon its carbon content. The
higher the proportion of carbon, the greater the hardness and the
lesser the ductility. The properties of the steel can also be changed
by tempering it. To harden the steel, it is heated to red hot and then
cooled by quenching it in the water. It becomes harder and more
brittle. This steel is then heated to a required temperature and
allowed to cool. The steel thus formed is less brittle.

FERROALLOY
Ferroalloy refers to various alloys of iron with a high proportion of one
or more other element, manganese or silicon for example. It is used
in the production of steels and alloys as a raw material.

The main ferroalloys are:

FeMn - ferromanganese
FeCr - ferrochromium
FeMg - ferromagnesium
FeMo - ferromolybdenum – min. 60% Mo, max. 1%Si,
max. 0.5% Cu
FeNi - ferronickel
FeTi - ferrotitanium – 10..30-65..75% Ti, max. 5-
6.5% Al, max. 1-4% Si
FeV - ferrovanadium
FeSi - ferrosilicon – 15-90% Si
FeB - ferroboron – 12-20% of boron, max. 3% of
Silicon, max. 2% aluminum, max. 1% of carbon
FeP - ferrophosphorus
FeCe - ferrocerium
FeNb - ferroniobium, also called ferrocolombium
FeW - ferrotungsten
FeAl - ferroaluminum
SiMn - silicomanganese
FeSiMg - ferrosilicon magnesium (with Mg 4 to 25%),
also called nodulizer.

Ferromanganese – a ferroalloy with high content of manganese is

made by heating a mixture of the oxides MnO2 and Fe2O3, with
carbon in a furnace. They undergo a thermal decomposition reaction.
It is used as a deoxidizer for steel.

A North American standard specification is ASTM A99. The ten

grades covered under this specification includes:

Standard ferromanganese
Medium-carbon ferromanganese
Low-carbon ferromanganese
A similar material is a pig iron with high content of manganese, is
called spiegeleisen.

Ferrochrome – aka. FeCr is a corrosion-resistant alloy of chrome

and iron containing between 50% and 65% chrome. It is a finishing
material which contains about 50 -70% chromium alloyed with iron.
Most of the world’s ferrochrome is produced in South Africa,
Kazakhstan and India, which have large domestic Cr ore resources.
Increasing amounts coming from Russia and China.

Usage

Over 80% of the world’s ferrochrome is utilized I the production of

stainless steel. Stainless steel depends on chrome for its resistance
to corrosion. The average chrome content in stainless steel is
approximately 18%. It is also used when it is desired to add
chromium to carbon steel. FeCr from Southern Africa known as
charge chrome produced from a Cr containing ore with a low Cr
content is most commonly used in stainless steel production, where
as High Carbon FeCr produced from high grade ore found in
Kazakhstan is more commonly used in specialist applications such as
engineering steels where a high Cr to Fe ratio and minimum levels of
other elements such as sulfur, phosphorus and titanium are important
and production of finished metals takes place in small electric arc
furnaces compared to large scale blast furnaces.

Production

Ferrochrome production is essentially a carbothermic reduction

operation taking place at high temperatures. Cr ore (an oxide of
chromium and iron) is reduced by coal and coke to form iron-
chromium alloy. The heat for this reaction can come from several
forms, but typically from the electric arc formed between the tips of
the electrodes in the bottom of the furnace and the furnace hearth.
This arc creates temperature of about 2800oC. In the process of
smelting, huge amounts of electricity are consumed making
production in countries with high power charges very costly.

Tapping of the material from the furnace takes place intermittently.

When enough smelted ferrochrome has accumulated in the hearth of
the furnace, the tap hole is drilled open and a stream of molten metal
and slag rashes down a trough into a chill or ladle. The ferrochrome
solidifies in large castings, which is crushed for sale or further
processed.

Ferrochrome is often classified by the amount of carbon and chrome

in contains. The vast majority of FeCr produced is charge chrome
from Southern Africa. With high carbon being the second largest
segment followed by the smaller sectors of low carbon and
intermediate carbon material.

Ferromolybdenum

Ferromolybdenum is an important iron molybdenum alloy, with an

molybdenum content of 60-70%. It is the main source for
molybdenum alloying of HSLA steel. The molybdenum is mined and
is subsequently transformed into the molybdenum(VI) oxide MoO 3.
This oxide is mixed with iron oxide and aluminum and is reduced in
the an aluminothermic reaction to molybdenum and iron. The
ferromolybdenum can be purified by electron beam melting or used at
it is. For alloying with steel the ferromolybdenum is added to molten
steel before casting.

Ferrotitanium

Ferrotitanium is a ferroalloy, an alloy of iron and titanium with

between 10-20..45-75% titanium and sometimes a small amount of
carbon. It is used in steelmaking as a cleansing agent for iron and
steel; the titanium is highly reactive with sulfur, carbon, oxygen and
nitrogen, forming insoluble compounds and sequestering them in
slag, and is therefore used for deoxidizing, and sometimes for
desulfurization and denitrification. In steelmaking the addition of
titanium yields metal with finer grain structure.
Ferrotitanium powder can be also used as a fuel in some pyrotechnic
compositions.

Ferrotitanium can be manufactured by mixing titanium sponge and

scrap with iron and melting them together in an induction furnace.

Ferrosilicon, or ferrosilicium, is a ferroalloy an alloy of iron and silicon

with between 15 and 90% silicon. It contains a high proportion of iron
silicides. Its melting point is about 1200 oC with boiling point of
2355oC. It also containabout 1 to 2% of calcium and aluminum.

Ferrosilicon is used in steelmaking and foundries as a source of

silicon in production of carbon steels, stainless steels, and other
ferrous alloys for its deoxidizing properties, to prevent loss of carbon
from the molten steel (so called blocking the heat); ferromanganese,
spiegeleisen, silicids of calcium, and many other materials are used
for the same purpose. It can be used to make other ferroalloys.
Ferrosilicon is also used for manufacture of silicon, corrosion-
resistant and high-temperature resistant ferrous silicon alloys, and
silicon steel for electromotors and transformer core. In manufacture of
cast iron, ferrosilicon is used for inoculation of the iron to accelerate
graphitization. In arc welding, ferrosilicon can be found in some
electrode coatings.

Ferrosilicon is a basis for manufacture of prealloys like magnesium

ferrosilicon (FeSiMg), used for modification of melted malleable iron;
FeSiMg contains between 3-42% of magnesium and small amounts
of rare earth metals. Ferrosilicon is also important as an additive to
cast irons for controlling the initial content of silicon.

Ferrosilicon is also used in the Pidgeon process to make magnesium

from dolomite.

In contact with water, ferrosilicon may slowly produce hydrogen.

Ferrosilicon is produced by reduction of silica or sand with coke in

presence of scrap iron, millscale, or other source of iron. Ferrosilicons
with silicon content up to about 15% are made in blast furnaces lined
with acid fire bricks. Ferrosilicons with higher silicon content are
made in electric arc furnaces. An overabundance of silica is used to
prevent formation of silica carbide. Microsilica is a useful byproduct.

The usual formulations on the market are ferrosilicons with 15,45,75,

and 90% of silicon. The remainder is iron, with about 2% of other
elements like aluminum and calcium.

Its CAS number is [8049-17-0].

A mineral perryite is similar to ferrosilicon, with its composition Fe 5Si2.

Ferrosilicon is used by the military to quickly produce hydrogen for

balloons by the ferrosilicon method. The chemical reaction uses
sodium hydroxide, ferrosilicon, and water. The generator is small
enough to fit a truck and requires only a small amount of electric
power, the materials are stable and not combustible and they do not
generate hydrogen until mixed.

Ferrocerium

Ferrocerium is a man made that has the ability to give off a large
number of hot sparks when scraped against a rough surface
(pyrophoricity), such as rigid steel. Because of this property it is used
in many applications, such as clockwork, toys, and strikers for
welding torches, so called “flint and steel”, fire starters in emergency
survival kits, and perhaps most commonly in lighters as the initial
ignition source for the primary fuel. Flint in modern times is actually
ferrocerium. Also known as Auermatall after its inventor Baron Carl
Auer von Welsbach, it is sold under trade names as Blastmatch, Fire
Steel and Metal-Match.

While ferrocerium and steels function in a similar way to actual flint

and steel in fire starting, ferrocerium actually takes on the role that
steel played in traditional methods: When small shavings of it are
removed quickly enough, the heat generated by friction is enough to
ignite those shavings. The sparks generated are in fact tiny pieces of
burning metal. In traditional flint-and-steel fire-starting systems, using
actual flint, tiny shavings of the steel that are removed in the striking
process, rather than the actual flint, are what burn. The origin of its
easy sparking is cerium’s low temperature pyrophoricity, its ignition
temperature occurring between 150 and 180 degrees celcius.

Since smaller scrapings become better sparks, the mechanical

properties of rare earth metals must be adjusted to give a usable
material, to that end, at least two strategies have been developed to
make such alloys more brittle.

1. Oxide – most contemporary flints are hardened with 20% iron

oxide and 2% magnesium oxide.
2. Intermetallic – in the Baron von Welsbach’s original alloy, 30% iron
(ferrum) was added to purified cerium, hence the name “ferro-
cerium”. Iron reacts with rare earth metals to form hard intermetallic
compounds similar to those in neodymium magnets; such magnets
are also known to generate sparks quite easily when broken.

There were actually three different Auermetals developed: The first

was just iron and cerium, the second also included lanthanum to
produce brighter sparks, and the third added other heavy metals.

A modern ferrocerium firesteel product is composed mostly of iron,

combined with an alloy of rare earth metals called mischmetal
(containing approximately 50% cerium, 45% lanthanum, and small
amounts of neodymium and praseodymium), plus a small amount of
magnesium.
Iron - 19%
Cerium - 38%
Lanthanum - 22%
Neodymium - 4%
Praseodtmium - 4%
Magnesium - 4%

Ferroniobium

Ferroniobium is an important iron niobium alloy, with a niobium

content of 60-70%. It is the main source for niobium alloying of HSLA
steel and covers more than 80% of the world wide niobium
production. The niobium is mined from pyrochlore deposits and is
subsequently transformed into the niobium pentoxide Nb2O5. This
oxide is mixed with iron oxide and aluminum and is reduced in the
aluminothermic reaction to niobium and iron. The ferroniobium can be
purifed by electron beam melting or as used as it is. For alloying with
steel the ferroniobium is added to molten steel before casting. The
largest producers of ferroniobium are the same as for niobium, and
are located in Brazil and Canada.

MATERIALS AND MINERAL DEPOSITS AND THEIR FORMATION

Mineral deposits are concentrations of minerals and, as such, is a

geological term. Whether a mineral deposit is also an ore deposit
depends on economics. “Ore” is therefore an economic term.

Ore deposits can be classified according to a number of different

criteria, such as
 the minerals contained within the deposit ( e.g. porphyry copper
deposits)
 the shape or size of the deposit (e.g. strataform and
stratabound deposits)
 the host rocks (e.g. shale hosted deposits, breccia pipes)
 the genesis of the deposit

There are basically five genetic processes that lead to the

concentration of minerals
 Hydrothermal mineral deposits form in association with magma
and water
 Magmatic mineral deposits concentrated in igneous rock
 Sedimentary mineral deposits are precipitated from a solution,
typically sea water.
 Placer minerals are sorted and distributed by flow of water or
(ice).
 Residual mineral deposits formed by weathering reactions at
the earth’s surface.
Hydrothermal Mineral Deposits

It is probable that more mineral deposits have been formed by

deposition from hydrothermal solutions than any other process. Much
research has therefore focused on understanding the types of fluids
that produce the deposits and where they are likely to form.
Mineralization occurs deep underground where it can not be seen. By
the time the deposit is exposed through the agents of uplift and
erosion, the hydrothermal solutions that carried the metals are no
longer present. Nevertheless, many details of the processes of
deposition are now understood, although much research still needs to
be done.

Types of Hydrothermal Deposits

1. Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) Deposits

Formation

At divergent boundaries, water from the ocean floor flows through

fractures in the oceanic crust. The waters are heated by the nearby
magma source, producing a seawater convection cell which reacts
with neighboring rocks to leach out metals. These dissolved metals
are transported to the ocean floor where they mix with cold bottom
waters. The sudden decrease in temperature causes the minerals to
precipitate from solution and they are incorporated into sediments
deposited along the ocean ridge system.

2. Vein Deposits

Hydrothermal deposits also form on land when metal-rich fluids are

expelled from magma chambers. These fluids form veins and may
contain concentrations of economic minerals. One of the last minerals
to form during the cooling of a magma chamber is quartz. Quartz is
precipitated in veins from quartz-rich fluids expelled form magma
chambers or from fluids formed during metamorphism and often form
associations with gold deposits.
DEFINITIONS

A vein type deposit is a fairly well defined zone of mineralization,

usually inclined and discordant, which is typically narrow compared to
its length and depth. Most vein deposits occur in fault or fissure
openings or in shear zones within country rock.

A vein deposit is sometimes referred to as a lode deposit. A great

many valuable ore minerals, such as native gold or silver or metal
sulfides, are deposited along with gangue minerals, mainly quartz
and/or calcite, in a vein structure.

A vein system is a group of discrete veins with similar characteristics

and usually related to the same structure.

MODE OF FORMATION

As hot (hydrothermal) fluids rise towards the surface from cooling

intrusive rocks through fractures, faults, brecciated rocks, porous
layers and other channels, they cool or react chemically with the
country rock. Some form ore deposits if the fluids are directed
through a structure where the temperature, pressure and other
chemical conditions are favourable for the precipitation and
deposition of ore minerals. The fluids also reacts with the rocks they
are passing through to produce an alteration zone with distinctive,
new minerals.

CHARACTERISTICS

Vein deposits include most gold mines, many large silver mines and a
few copper and lead-zinc mines.

Veins commonly consist of quartz usually occurring as interlocking

crystal in a variety of sizes or as finely laminated bands parallel to the
walls of the vein. Minor amounts of sulphide minerals and other
gangue minerals such as calcite and various clay minerals often
occur; gold is rarely visible.
Veins range in thickness from a few centimeters to 4 meters, the
average of mining width being around 1 meter. They can be several
hundreds of meters long and extend to depths in excess of 1,500
meters. Mineralization commonly occurs in shoots within the vein
structures. These may be up to 150 meters in strike length, 30 meters
in width and greater than 250 meters vertical.

Gold may be associated with pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, pyrite,

chalcopyrite, and with minor sulphides – the classic “free gold”.

Silver is commonly associated with galena and galena-sphalerite,

tetrahedrite or other copper minerals, antimony or copper-arsenic
sulphides and chalcopyrite.

3. Porphyry Copper Deposits

The major products from porphyry copper deposits are copper and
molybdenum or copper and gold.

The term porphyry copper are now includes engineering as well as

geological considerations; it refers to large, relatively low grade,
intrusion related deposits that can be mined using mass mining
techniques.

Geologically, the deposits occur close to or in granitic intrusive rocks

that are porphyritic in texture.

There are usually several episodes of intrusive activity, so, are

commonly associated with swarms of dykes and intrusive breccias.
The country rocks can be any kind of rock, and often there are wide
zones of closely fractured and altered rocks surrounding the
intrusions.

This country rock alteration is distinctive and changes as you

approach mineralization. Where sulphide mineralization occurs,
surface weathering often produces rusty-stained bleached zones
from which the metals have been leached; if conditions are right,
these may redeposit near the water table to form an enriched zone of
secondary mineralization.
CLASSIFICATION

Porphyry copper deposits comprise three broad types:

 Plutonic porphyry copper deposits occur in batholitic settings
with mineralization principally occurring in one or more phases
of plutonic host rock.
 Volcanic types occur in the roots of volcanoes, with
mineralization both in the volcanic rocks and in associated co-
magmatic plutons.
 Classic types occur with high level, post-orogenic stocks that
intrude unrelated host rocks; mineralization may occur entirely
within the stock, entirely in the country rock or in both. The
earliest mined deposits, as well as the majority of Cenozoic
porphyry copper deposits, are of the classic types. the term
classic has been applied to them because of their historical
significance, because of the role they played in development of
genetic models, and because no other term currently in the
literature adequately describes them.

ALTERATION

Strong alteration zones develop in and around granitic rocks with

related porphyry deposits. If the alkali to hydrogen ratio is low,
feldspars, micas and other silicates become unstable and hydrolysis
occurs, releasing cations and driving the hydrothermal system toward
equilibrium.

Four alteration types are common

1. Propylitic

Weak hydrolysis. Quartz and alkali feldspar are stable, but

plagioclase and mafic minerals react with the fluid to form albatised
(Na) plagioclase, chlorite, epidote, carbonate and montmorillonite.

2. Argillic
More intense hydrolysis. Characterized by quartz, kaolinite and
chlorite.

3. Phyllic

Quartz and sericite, commonly accompanied by pyrite.

4. Potassic

High temperature alteration by concentrated hydrothermal fluids. All

rocks constituents are unstable. Alteration assemblages of quartz, K-
feldspar, biotite and intermediate plagioclase.

As a generalized model, these alteration assemblages form distinct

zones around the intrusion, with a shell of potassic alteration grading
outward through a shell of cream or green quartz and sericite
(phyllic), white, chalky clay, (argillic) and then greenish chlorite,
epidote, sodic plagioclase and carbonate (propylitic) alteration zones
into unaltered country rock. In reality, the complete sequence is rarely
developed or preserved, and assemblages are strongly influenced by
the composition of the host rocks. Often there is early development of
a wide area of secondary biotite that gives the rock a distinctive
brownish colour.

Stockworks veins with many cross-cutting relationships demonstrate

that multiple episodes of fracturing and sealing occur. In general,
alteration types are potassic and propylitic, then phyllic and finally
argillic.

MINERALIZATION

Original sulphide minerals in these deposits are pyrite, chalcopyrite,

bornite and molybdenite. Gold is often in native found as tiny blobs
along borders of sulphide crystals. Most of the sulphides occur in
veins or plastered on fractures; most are intergrown with quartz or
sericite. In many cases, the deposits have a central very low grade
zone enclosed by “shells” dominated by bornite, then chalcopyrite,
and finally pyrite, which may be up to 15% of the rock. Molybdenite
distributon is variable, radial fracture zones outside the pyrite halo
may contain lead-zinc veins with gold and silver values.
4. Epithermal Deposits

Epithermal gold deposits form in hydrothermal systems related to

volcanic activity. These systems while active discharge to the surface
as hot springs or fumaroles. Thus, the study of active hydrothermal
systems provides information on hydrothermal processes that are
related to metal transport and deposition. In turn, this information can
be used to predict how gold deposits form, and where to find them

Epithermal gold deposits occur largely in volcano-plutonic arcs with

subduction zones, with ages similar to those of volcanism. The
deposits form at shallow depth, of <1km- 2km, and are hosted mainly
by volcanic rocks. Epithermal deposits occur as small vein systems,
but with good grades.

CHARACTERISTICS

 Mineralization is near the surface, to a maximum depth of

around 2 km. The vertical range of ore is about 350m.
 Veins are the most common ore host, with breccia zones,
stockwork and fine grained bedding replacement also
occurring.
 Fracture systems are commonly, but not necessarily,
associated with large scale volcanic collapse structures.
 Close association with subaerial pyroclastic rocks and sub –
volcanic intrusions. Hot springs and fumarole deposits may be
present in deposits that are not deeply eroded.
 Ore associated minerals are deposited mainly in open space
filling with banded, crustiform, drusy, colloform and cockscomb
textures.
 Gold and silver are the main economic minerals with lesser Hg,
As and Sb.
 Gangue minerals are mainly quartz and calcite with lesser
fluorite, barite and pyrite.
 Hydrothermal alteration is pronounced, with argillic – phyllic
alteration with a larger propylitic envelope.
5. Skarns

Skarns are generally thought as being the result of contact

metamorphism of impure limestone.

However, although the majority contain at least some limestone,

skarns can form during regional or contact metamorphism and from a
variety of metasomatic processes involving fluids of magmatic,
metamorphic, meteoric, and/or marine origin. They are found
adjacent to plutons, along faults and major shear zones, in shallow
geothermal systems, on the bottom of the seafloor, and at lower
crustal depths in deeply buried metamorphic terrains.

Skarns can be subdivided according to several criteria, the most

common being their mineralogy and their enclosing rock types.
Exoskarns are skarns developed in the sedimentary rocks
surrounding the thermal source (pluton). Endoskarns are those
developed with the igneous intrusion.

The vast majority of skarn deposits are associated with magmatic

arcs related to subduction beneath continental crust.

SKARN DEPOSITS

A descriptive skarn classification can be based on the dominant

economic minerals.

1. Iron skarns

The largest skarn deposits, with many over 500 million tones. They
are mined for their magnetite. Minor amounts of Ni, Cu, Co and Au
may be present, but typically only Fe is recovered. They are
dominantly magnetite, with only minor silicate gangue.

2. Gold skarns

Most gold skarns are associated with relatively mafic diorite –

granodiorite plutons and dyke/sill complexes. Some large Fe or Cu
skarns have Au in the distal zones. There is the potential that other
skarn types have undiscovered precious metals if the entire systems
has not been explored.

3. Tungsten skarns

These are found in association with calc-alkaline plutons in major

orogenic belts. They are associated with coarse-grained,
equigranular batholiths surrounded by high temperature metamorphic
aureoles. This is indicative of a deep environment.

4. Copper skarns

These are the world’s most abundant type and are particularly
common in orogenic zones related to subduction both in continental
and oceanic settings. Most are associated with porphyritic plutons
with co-genetic volcanic rocks, stockwork veining, brittle fracturing,
brecciation and intense hydrothermal alteration. These features are
all indicative of a relatively shallow environment. The largest copper
skarns can exceed 1 billion tones and are associated with porphyry
copper deposits.

5. Zinc skarns

Most occur in continental settings associated either with subduction

or rifting. They are also mined for lead and silver, and are high grade.
They form in the distal zone to associated igneous rocks.

6. Molybdenum skarns

Most are associated with leucocratic granites and form high grade,
small deposits, other metals are also commonly associated, the most
common being Mo-W-Cu skarns.

7. Tin skarns

These are almost exclusively associated with high silica granites

generated by partial melting of continental crust. Greisen alteration by
fluorine produces characteristic yellowish mica.
COAL AND ENERGY

How coal is formed?

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock

composed mostly of carbon and hydrocarbons. It is most abundant
fossil fuel produced in the United States.

Coal is a non-renewable energy source because it takes million of

years to create. The energy in coal comes from the energy stored by
plants that lived hundreds of million of years ago, when the earth was
partly covered with swampy forest. For million of years, a layer of
dead plants at the bottom of the swamps was covered by layers of
water and dirt, trapping the energy of the dead plants. The heat and
pressure from the top layers helped the plant remains turn into what
we today call coal.

How we get coal?

Mining the coal

Cola miners use giant machines to remove coal from the ground.
They used two methods: surface or underground mining. Many U.S.
coal beds are very near the ground surface and about two-thirds of
coal production comes from the surface mines. Modern mining
methods allow us to easily reach most of our coal reserves. Due to
growth in surface mining and improved mining technology, the mount
of coal produced by one miner in one hour has more than tripled
since 1978.

Surface Mining is used to produce most of the coal in the U.S.

because it is less expensive than underground mining. Surface
mining can be used when the coal is buried less than 200 ft.
underground. In surface mining, giant machines remove the top soil
and layers of rock to expose large beds of coal. Once the mining is
finished, the dirt and rock are returned to the pit, the top soil is
replaced and the area is replanted. The land can then be used for
croplands, wildlife habitats, recreation, or offices or stores.
Underground Mining, sometimes called deep mining, is used when
the coal is buried several hundred feet below the surface. Some
underground mines are 1000 feet deep. To remove coal in these
underground mines, miners ride elevators down deep mine shafts
where they run machines that dig out the coal.

Processing the coal

After coal comes out of the ground, it typically goes on a conveyor

belt to a preparation plant that is located at the mining site. The plant
cleans and processes coal to remove dirt, rock, ash, sulfur, and other
unwanted materials, increasing the heating value of the coal.

Transporting coal

After coal is mined and processed, it is ready to be shipped to

market. The cost of shipping coal can coast more than the cost of
mining it.

Most coal is transported by train, but coal can also be transported by

barge, ship, truck and even pipeline. About 68% of coal in the U.S. is
transported, for at least part of its trip to market by train. It is cheaper
to transport coal on river barges, but barges cannot take coal
everywhere that it needs to go. If the coal will be used near the coal
mine, it can be moved by trucks and conveyors. Coal can also be
crushed, mixed with water and sent through a “slurry” pipeline.
Sometimes, coal-fired electric power plants are built near coal mines
to lower transportation cost.

Types of Coal

Coal is classified into four main types or ranks depending on the

amounts and types of carbon it contains and on the amount of heat
energy it can produce. The rank of a deposit of coal depends on the
pressure and heat acting on the plant debris as it sank deeper and
deeper over millions of years. For the most part, the higher the rank
of coal contains more heat producing energy.

Lignite is the lowest rank of coal with the lowest energy content.
Lignite coal deposits tend to be relatively young coal deposits that
were not subjected to extreme heat or pressure. Lignite is crumbly
and has high moisture content. There are 20 lignite mines in the
United States producing about seven percent of U.S. coal. Most
lignite is mined in Texas and North Dakota. Lignite is mainly burned
at power plants to generate electricity.

Subbituminous coal has a higher heating value than lignite.

Subbituminous coal typically contains 35-45% percent carbon,
compared to 25-35% for lignite. Most subbituminous coal in the U.S.
is at least 100 million years old. About 44% of the coal produced in
the U.S. is subbitumionous. Wyoming is the leading source of
subbituminous coal.

Bituminous coal contains 45-86% carbon and has two or three

times the heating value of lignite. Bituminous coal was formed under
high heat and pressure. Bituminous coal in the U.S. is between 100-
300 million years old. It is the most abundant rank of coal found in the
U.S., accounting for about half of the U.S. coal production.
Bituminous coal is used to generate electricity and is an important
fuel and raw material for the steel and iron industries. West Virginia,
Kentucky and Pennsylvania are the largest producers of Bituminous
coal.

Anthracite contains 86-97% carbon, and has a heating value slightly

lower than bituminous coal. It is very rare in the U.S., accounting for
less than one-half of a percent of the coal mined in the U.S. All of the
Anthracite mines in the U.S. are located in northeastern
Pennsylvania.

How coal is used?

About 92% of the coal used in the U.S., is for generating electricity.
Except for a small amount of net exports, the rest of the coal is used,
as a basic source in many industries including steel, cement and
paper. The four major use of coal are:
For Electric Power
Coal is used to generate almost half of all electricity produced in the
United State. Besides electric utility companies, industries and
businesses with their own power plants use coal to generate
electricity. Power plants burn coal to make steam. The steam turns
turbines which generate electricity.

For Industry
A variety of industries use coal’s heat and by-products. Separated
ingredients of coal (such as methanol and ethylene) are used in
making plastics, tar, synthetic fibers, fertilizers and medicines. The
concrete and paper industries also burn large amounts of coal.

For Making Steel

Coal is baked in hot furnaces to make coke, which is used to smelt

iron ore into iron needed for making steel. It is very high temperatures
created from the used of coke that gives steel the strength and
flexibility for products such as bridges, buildings, and automobiles.

For Export
In 2006, 49.6 million short tons, or about four percent of the coal
mined, were exported to other countries from the United States. Coal
is exported to many different countries, but most trade is with
Canada, Brazil, the Netherlands and Italy. More than half of coal is
exports are used for making steel.

Coal exports have been generally shrinking in the past years, while
the amount of coal imported from other countries has been growing.
In 2006, about 36.2 million short tons of coal were imported from
other countries. Most of these imports were shipped to electric power
producers along the U.S. coastlines.

PETROLEUM GEOLOGY refers to the specific set of geological

disciplines that are applied to the search for hydrocarbons.

Petroleum Geology is principally concerned with the evaluation of

seven key elements in sedimentary basins:
 Source
Reservoir
Seal
Trap
Timing
Maturation
Migration

In general, all these elements must be assessed via limited window

into the subsurface world, provided by one exploration wells. These
wells present only a 1-dimensional segment through the Earth and
the skill of inferring 3-dimensional characteristics from them is one of
the most fundamental in petroleum geology. Recently, the availability
of cheap and high quality 3D seismic data has greatly aided the
accuracy of such interpretation. The following section discusses
these elements in brief.

Evaluation of the source uses the methods of geochemistry to

quantify the nature of organic-rich rocks which contain the precursors
to hydrocarbons, such that the type and quality of expelled
hydrocarbon can be assessed.

The reservoir is a porous and permeable lithological unit or set of

units that holds the hydrocarbon reserves. Analysis of reservoirs at
the simplest level requires an assessment of their porosity and their
permeability. Some of the key disciplines used in reservoir analysis
are the fields of stratigraphy, sedimentology and reservoir
engineering.

The seal or cap rock is a unit with low permeability that impedes the
escape of hydrocarbons from the reservoir rock. Common seals
include evaporates, chalks and shales. Analysis of seals involves
assessment of their thickness and extent, such that their
effectiveness can be quantified.

The trap is the stratigraphic or structural feature that ensures the

juxtaposition of reservoir and seal such that hydrocarbons remain
trapped in the subsurface, rather than escaping and being lost.
Analysis of maturation involves assessing the thermal history of the
source rock in order to make predictions of the amount and timing of
hydrocarbon generation and expulsion.

Finally careful studies of migration reveal information on how

hydrocarbons move from source to reservoir and help quantify the
source of hydrocarbons in a particular area.

CERAMIC MATERIALS are inorganic and non-metallic and formed

by the action of heat.

Ceramics is the art and science of making things from inorganic, non-
metallic materials by the action of heat. The term includes the
purification of raw materials, the study and production of the chemical
compounds concerned, their formation into components and the
study of their structures, composition and properties as well as a term
for products made from ceramics. Ceramic materials may have a
crystalline or partly crystalline structure or may be of glass. They are
either formed from a molten mass that solidifies on cooling or formed
and matured by the action of heat.

The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word keramikos meaning
pottery. It is related to the older Sanskrit root “to burn”.

Types of Ceramic Materials

A ceramic material may be defined as any inorganic crystalline oxide

material. It is solid and inert. Ceramic materials are brittle, hard, and
strong in compression, weak in shearing and tension. They withstand
chemical erosion that occurs in acidic or caustic environment.
Ceramics generally can withstand very high temperatures such as
1000oC to 1600oC (1800 to 3000oF). Exceptions include inorganic
materials that do not have oxygen such as silicon carbide. Glass by
definition is not a ceramic because it is an amorphous solid (non-
crystalline). However, glass involves several steps of the ceramic
process and its mechanical properties behave similarly to ceramic
materials.

Crystalline ceramics
Crystalline ceramic materials are not amenable to a great range of
processing. Methods for dealing with them tend to fall into one of two
categories – either makes the ceramic in the desired shape, by
reaction in situ, or by forming powders into the desired shape, and
then sintering to form a solid body. Ceramic forming techniques
include shaping by hand, slip casting, tape casting, injection
moulding, dry pressing and other variations.

Non-crystalline ceramics

Non-crystalline ceramics, being glasses tend to be formed from

melts. The glass is shaped when either fully molten, by casting, or
when in a state of toffee-like viscosity, by methods such as blowing to
a mold. If later heat treatments cause this class to become partly
crystalline, the resulting material is known as a glass ceramic.

BUILDING MATERIAL is any material which is used for construction

purpose. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, sand,
wood and rocks, even twigs and leaves have been used to construct
buildings. Apart from naturally occurring materials, many man made
products are in use, some more and some less synthetic. The
manufacture of building materials is an established industry in many
countries and the use of plumbing, roofing and insulation work.

Natural Materials

Building materials can be generally categorized into two sources,

natural and synthetic. Natural building materials are those that are
unprocessed or minimally processed by industry, such as lumber or
glass. Whereas synthetic materials are made in industrial settings
after much human manipulations, such as plastics and petroleum
based paints. Both have their uses.

Mud, stone, and fibrous plants are the most basic building materials,
aside from tents made of flexible materials such as cloth or skins.

Fabric
The tent used to be the home of choice among nomadic groups the
world over. Two well known types include the conical teepee and the
circular yurt. It has been revived as a major construction technique
with the development of tensile architecture and synthetic fabrics.
Modern buildings can be made of flexible material such as fabric
membranes, and supported by a system of steel cables or internal air
pressure.

Mud and Clay

Soil and especially clay is good thermal mass; it is very good at

keeping temperatures at a constant level. Homes built with earth tend
to be naturally cool in the summer heat and warm in cold weather.
Clay holds heat or cold, releasing it over a period of time like stone.
Earthen walls change temperature slowly, so artificially rising or
lowering the temperature can use more resources then in say a wood
built house, but the heat/coolness stays longer.

People building with mostly dirt and clay such as cob, sod, and adobe
resulted in homes that have been built for centuries in western and
northern Europe as well as the rest of the world, and continue to be
built, though on a smaller scale. Some of these buildings have
remained habitable for hundred of years.

Rock

Rock structures have existed for as long as history can recall. It is the
longest lasting building material available, and is usually readily
available. There are many types of rock through out the world all with
differeng attributes that make them better or worse for particular
uses. Rock is a very dense material so it gives a lot of protection too,
its main draw-back as a material is its weight and awkwardness. Its
energy density is also considered a big draw-break, as stone is hard
to keep warm without using large amounts of heating resources.

Dry-stone walls have been built for as long as humans have put one
stone on top of another. Eventually different forms of mortar were
used to hold the stones together, cement being the most
commonplace now.
Thatch

Thatch is one of the oldest of building materials known; grass is a

good insulator and easily harvested. Many African tribes have lived in
homes made completely of grasses year round. In Europe, thatch
roofs on homes were once prevalent but the material fell out of favour
as industrialization and improved transport increased the availability
of other materials. Today, though, the particle is undergoing a revival.
In the Netherlands, for instance, many of new builds too have
thatched roofs with special ridge tiles on top.

Brush

Brush structures are built entirely from plant parts and are generally
found in tropical and subtropical areas, such as rainforests, where
very large leaves can be used in the building. Native Americans often
built brush structures for resting and living in, too. These are built
mostly with branches, twigs and leaves, and bark, similar to a
beaver’s lodge. These were variously named wikiups, lean-tons, and
so forth.

Ice

Ice was used by the Inuit for igloos, but has also been used for ice
hotels as a tourist attraction in northern areas that might not
otherwise see many winter tourists.

Wood

Wood is a product of trees, and sometimes other fibrous plants, used

for construction purposes when cut or pressed into lumber or timber,
such as boards, planks and similar materials. It is a generic building
material and is used in building just about any type of structure in
most climates. Wood can be very flexible under loads, keeping
strength while qualities to the different types of wood, even among
same tree species. This means specific species are better for various
uses than others. And growing conditions are important for deciding
quality.
Historically, wood for building large structures was used in its
unprocessed form as logs. The trees were just cut to the needed
length, sometimes stripped of bark, and then notched or lashed in to
place.

In earlier times, and in some parts of the world, many country homes
or communities had a personal wood-lot from which the family or
community would grow and harvest trees to build with. Those lots
would be tended to like a garden.

With the invention of mechanizing saws came the mass production of

dimensional lumber. This made buildings quicker to put up and more
uniform. Thus the modern western style home was made.
Brick and Block

A brick is a block made of kiln-fired material, usually clay or shale, but

also may be of lower quality mud, etc. Clay bricks are formed in a
moulding (the soft mud method), or in commercial manufacture more
frequently by extruding clay through a die and then wire-cutting them
to the proper size (the stiff mud process).

Bricks were widely used as a building material in the 1700, 1800 and
1990’s. This was probably due to the fact that it was much more
flame retardant than wood in the ever crowding cities, and fairly
cheap to produce.

Another type of block replaced clay bricks in the late 20 th century. It

was the Cinder block. Made mostly with concrete.

Concrete

Concrete is the composite building material made from the

combination of aggregate (composite) and a binder such as cement.
The most common form of concrete is Portland cement concrete,
which consists of mineral aggregate (generally gravel and sand),
portland, cement and water. After mixing, the cement hydrates and
eventually hardens into a stone-like material. When used in the
generic sense, this is the material referred by the term concrete.
For a concrete construction of any size, as concrete has a rather low
tensile strength, it is generally strengthened using steel rods or bars
(known as rebars). This strengthened concrete is then referred to as
reinforcement concrete. In order to minimize any air bubbles, that
would weaken the structure, a vibrator is used to eliminate any air
that has been entrained when the liquid concrete mix is poured
around the ironwork. Concrete has been the predominant building
material in this modern age due to its longevity, formability, and ease
of transport.

Metal

Metal is used as structure framework for larger buildings such as

skyscrapers, or as an external surface covering. There are many
types of metals used for building. Steel is a metal alloy whose major
component is iron, and is the usual choice for metal structural
building materials. It is strong, flexible, and if refined well/or treated
lasts a long time. Corrosion is metal’s prime enemy when it comes to
longevity.

The lower density and better corrosion resistance of aluminum alloys

and tin sometimes overcome their greater cost. Brass was more
common in the past, but is usually restricted to specific uses or
specialty items today.

Metal figures quite prominently in prefabricated structures such as the

Quonset hut, and can be seen used in most cosmopolitan cities. It
requires a great deal of human labor to produce metal, especially in
the large amounts needed for the building industries.

Other metals used include titanium, chrome, gold, silver. Titanium

can be used for structural purposes, but it is much more expensive
than steel. Chrome, gold, and silver are used as decoration, because
these materials are expensive and lack structural qualities such as
tensile strength or hardness.

Glass

Clear windows have been used since the invention of glass to cover
small openings in a building. They provided humans with the ability to
both let light into rooms while at the same time keeping inclement
weather outside. Glass is generally made from made from mixtures of
sand and silicates, and is very brittle.

Modern glass “curtain walls” can be used to cover the entire façade of
a building. Glass can be also be used to span over a wide roof
structure in a “space frame”.

Ceramics

Ceramics are such things as tiles, fixture, etc. Ceramics are mostly
used as fixtures or coverings in buildings. Ceramic floors, walls,
counter-tops, even ceilings. Many countries use ceramic roofing tiles
to cover many buildings.

Ceramics used to be just a specialized form of clay-pottery firing in

kilns, but it has evolved into more technical areas.

Plastic

The term plastics covers a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic

organic condensation or polymerization products that can be molded
or extruded into objects or films or fibers. Their name is derived from
the fact that in their semi-liquid state they are malleable, or have the
property of plasticity. Plastics vary immensely in heat tolerance,
hardness, and resiliency. Combined with this adaptability, the general
uniformity of composition and lightness of plastics ensures their use
in almost all industrial applications today.

Foam

More recently synthetic polystyrene or polyurethane foam has been

used on a limited scale. It is light weight, easily shaped and an
excellent insulator. It is usually used as a part of a structural insulated
panel where the foam is sandwiched between wood or cement.

Structural Materials
Construction materials which, because of their ability to withstand
external forces, are considered in the design of a structural
framework.

Brick is the oldest of all artificial building materials. It is classified as

face brick, common brick, and glazed brick. Face brick is used on the
exterior of a wall and varies in color, texture, and mechanical
perfection. Common brick consists of the kiln run of brick and is used
behind whatever facing material is employed providing necessary
wall thickness and additional structural strength. Glazed brick is
employed largely for interiors where beauty, ease of cleaning, and
sanitation are primary considerations.

Structural clay tiles are burned-clay masonry units having interior

hollow spaces termed cells. Such tile is widely used because of its
strength, light weight, and insulating free-protection qualities.

Architectural terra-cotta is a burned-clay material used for decorative

purposes. The shapes are molded either by hand in plaster-of-paris
molds or by machine, using the stiff-mud process.

Building stones generally used are limestone, sandstone, granite, and

marble. Until the advent of steel and concrete, stone was the most
important building material. Its principal use now is as a decorative
material because of its beauty, dignity, and durability.

Concrete is a mixture of cement, mineral aggregate, and water,

which, if combined in proper proportions, form a plastic mixture
capable of being placed in forms and of hardening through the
hydration of the cement.

The cellular structure of wood is largely responsible for its basic

characteristics, unique among the common structural materials.
When cut into lumber, a tree provides a wide range of material which
is classified according to use as yard lumber, factory or shop lumber,
and structural lumber. Laminated lumber is used for beams, columns,
arch ribs, chord members, and other structural members. Plywood is
generally used as a replacement for sheathing, or as form lumber for
reinforced concrete structures.
Important structural metals are the structural steels, steel casting,
aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, and cast and wrought iron. Steel
castings are used for rocker bearings under the ends of large bridges.
Shoes and bearing plates are usually cast in carbon steel, but rollers
are often cast in stainless steel. Aluminum alloys are strong,
lightweight, and resistant to corrosion. The alloys most frequently
used are comparable with the structural steels in strength.
Magnesium alloys are produced as extruded shapes, rolled plate, and
forgings. The principal structural applications are in aircraft, truck
bodies, and portable scaffolding. Gray cast iron is used as a
structural material for columns and column bases, bearing plates,
stairs treads, and railings. Malleable cast iron has structural
applications. Wrought iron is used extensively because of its ability to
resists corrosion. It is used for blast plates to protect bridges, for solid
decks to support ballasted roadways, and for trash racks for dams.

Composite materials are engineered materials that contain a load-

bearing material housed in a relatively weak protective matrix. A
composite material results when two or more materials, each having
its own, usually different characteristics, are combined, producing a
material with properties superior to its components. The matrix
material (metallic, ceramic, or polymeric) bonds together the
reinforcing materials (whiskers, laminated fibers, or woven fabric) and
distributes the loading between them.

Fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) are a broad group of composite

materials made of fibers embedded in a polymeric matrix. Compared
to metals, they generally have relatively high strength-to-weight ratios
and excellent corrosion resistance. They can be formed into virtually
any shape and size. Glass is by far the most used fiber in FRP
(glass-FRP), although carbon fiber (carbon-FRP) is finding greater
application. Although complete FRP shapes and structures are
possible, the most promising application of FRP in civil engineering is
for repairing structures or infrastructure. FRP can be used to repair
beams, walls, slabs, and columns.

MINERAL DEPOSITS:
The subject of mining can only be properly understood after the
general features of mineral deposits have been elucidated. In this
article deposits of all kinds of useful minerals are included, whether
they are metalliferous or earthy. In general practice it is customary to
terat the former under the name “ore deposits” and the latter as the
“non-metallic”. This is warranted because in a large degree different
geological problems are presented and different methods of mining
are pursued. Nevertheless there are other important similar or
common features and they may be classed together without great
disadvantages.

The word “ore” is used in several meanings, each of which depends

for its special significance upon the connection. In ore purely scientific
applications “ore” implies simply a metalliferous mineral, and in this
sense it appears in works on mineralogy and petrology. In former
years and in connection with practical mining an ore was defined as a
compound of metal or of metals with one or more metallic elements,
called mineralizers of which oxygen and sulfur were the chief. The
ore must, in addition be sufficiently rich to be mined at a profit. Native
metals not being compound were not considered ores. The product of
copper mines on Keweenaw Point, Lake Superior, was, and to a
great extent is still, called copper rock rather than copper ore, and
native gold in quartz is often described as gold quartz rather than
gold ore, but these restrictions are gradually disappearing. An ore
may therefore be defined as a metalliferous mineral or aggregate of
metalliferous mineral mingled with a greater or less amount of barren
materials called the “gangue” and yet rich enough to be mined at a
profit. When not proved to be sufficiently rich to be remunerative, the
aggregate is called “mineral”. The mineral of today may be changed
by the advent of a railway or the rise in the price of metal into the ore
of tomorrow. The question has repeatedly appeared in litigation
involving contracts or property rights.

Since the greater number of ores are believed to have been

precipitated from aqueous solution, or to have been otherwise formed
through the agency of water, the term “ore-deposit” has resulted; and
in as much as nearly all the other useful minerals owe their origin to
the same agent, the term “mineral deposit” is equally well justified. A
few, however, have been produced in a different way, such as certain
iron ores of igneous origin; certain igneous rocks used for building
stone, as in the case of granite, and the accumulations of vegetable
material in coal beds. These latter, the igneous masses and the
vegetable accumulations, being placed in two divisions by
themselves, we may group the larger number in two main classes,
depending on their precipitation from solution or from suspension. In
the case of solution we will further subdivide on the place, and
therefore in the large part of the cause of precipitation since these are
the questions chiefly involved in actual development.

Especially in connection with ore-deposits widening experience has

modified the older conceptions of relative values in the several types.
In the early days of geology, Cornwall and Saxony wee the two
regions where the most active and influential students of ore-deposits
were trained and where the principal books relating to mining
originated. The pronounced and characteristics fissure veins of
England and Germany became the standards to which phenomena
met elsewhere were referred, and by means of which they described.
This particular form, the fissure vein along a fault, assumed a
predominating importance, both in the thought and in the literature of
the day. Widening experience, however, especially in the Cordilleran
region of North America, in the Andes of South America, in Australia
and in South Africa, has brought other types into equally great and
deserved prominence. Comprehensive treatment today therefore
departs somewhat from earlier standards.

As far analyses and estimates permit, the common useful metals

occur in the earth’s crust in approximately the following percentages.
Apart from aluminum, iron, manganese and nickel, the figures show
how small the contribution is made by even the commoner metals to
that portion of the mass of the globe which is open to observation and
investigation.

As compared with the earth’s crust at large certain of the metals are
known to be locally present in favourable, usually igneous rocks in
richer amounts, according to the following determinations which have
been made upon large samples of carefully selected materials;
Copper 0.009%, Zinc 0.0048-0.009, Lead 0.0011-0.008, Silver
0.00007-0.00016, Gold 0.00002-0.00004. Iron and aluminum seldom
fail, and vary from r to 2% as a minimum, up to 25% as a minimum.
 Aluminum 30 Nickel 2-5
Copper 2-10 Platinum 0.00005
Gold 003-00016 Silver 003-016
Iron 35-656 Tin 1 5-3
Lead 2-25 Zinc 5-25
Manganese 40-50

In order that the several metals may constitutes ores, their

percentages must be the following – the percentages of each vary
with favourable or unfavourable conditions at the mine, and can
therefore be expreesed only in a general way; ores favourable to
milling and concentrations may go below these limits, and the
mingling of two metals of which one facilities the extraction of the
other may also reduce the percentages : Cobalt is a by-product in the
metallurgy of nickel and is usually in much inferior amount to the
latter.

When we compare the first and second tabulations with the third it is
at once apparent that with the possible although only occasional
exception of iron the production of an ore-body from the normal rocks
which constitutes the outer mass of the earth requires the local
concentration of each of the metals by one or several geological
processes, and to a degree that is only occasionally developed in the
ordinary course of nature. It is, therefore, an instance of somewhat
exceptionally good fortune when one is discovered, and it is only the
part of ordinary prudence to develop and utilize it as one would treat
a resource which is limited and subject to exhaustion.
The minerals which constitute ore-bodies are divided into two great
classes: the ores proper, which contain the mineral, metals; and the
barren minerals or gangue which reduce the yield.

The ores are generally and naturally subdivided into two groups: first,
sulfides and related compounds containing arsenic, antimony,
tellurium and selenium; and second, the oxidized compounds
embracing oxides, carbonates, sulphates, silicates, phosphates,
arsenates and chromates. With the oxides are placed because of
related geological occurrence, a few rare founds with chlorine,
bromine and iodine into which silver more than any other metals
enters, and to the same group we may add a few metals which occur
in the native state. Iron, manganese, aluminum and tin differ from the
rest of the metals in their original occurrence in the oxidized form,
whereas the others with the exception of gold, platinum, and possibly
copper in their first precipitation in ore-bodies are in the form of
sulfides or related compounds. Only by subsequent changes,
characteristics of the upper parts of the deposits, do they pass by
oxidation into the minerals of the second group.

With regard to the nature and source of the water which serves to
gather up the widely disseminated metals and concentrate them in
ore-bodies two contrasted views are now current, not necessarily
antagonistic but applied in different degrees by different observers.
The older view attributes the water primarily to the rainfall, and
therefore it is called meteoric water. After falling upon the surface the
meteoric water divides into three parts. The first and smallest
evaporates; the second, the largest portion, joins the surface
drainage and is called the run-off; while the third, intermediate in
amount, sinks into the ground and mingles with the ground waters.
The ground waters rise in springs, usually fed from no great depth,
and themselves pass into the surface drainage after a small
subterranean journey. While as a rule the ground-water level is fairly
definite, yet it sometimes displays even in the same mining district
great irregularity.

The section of active circulation and work of the descending meteoric

waters between the surface and the ground-water level was called by
Franz Posepny (1836-1895) the vadose or shallow region. It has
been long recognized by miners as the home of the oxidized ores,
and the place of the work of the descending waters. The deep waters
are relatively motionless and their movements as far as visible are
comparatively slow. But the really important feature of the ground-
water as regards the filling of veins is the depth to which it extends.
This remained a somewhat indefinite matter until L. M. Hoskins
showed mathematically that cavities in the firmest rocks became
impossibilities at about 10,000 metres. Down to some such limiting
depth as an extreme the groundwater was believed by many to
descend; to migrate laterally; to experience the normal increase of
temperature with depth; the affect of pressure; the increase of
efficiency as solvent peculiar to the conditions; and finally with a
burden of dissolved gangue and ore to rise again, urged on by the
head of the descending column. In its ascent it was supposed to fill
the veins. Mining experience has, however, indicated that the known
groundwaters are comparatively shallow and seldom extend lower
than 500-600 meters. It is conceivable that during faulting and the
formation of great dislocations this upper reservoir might be tapped
into greater depths and set in limited circulations through deeper-
seated rocks. But so far these objections have weight they have
greatly restricted the vertical range of the meteoric ground-waters as
they were formerly believed to exist.

In contrast with the meteoric waters outlined above, other waters are
believed by many geologists to be given off by the deep-seated
intrusive rocks, and are generally called magmatic. We are led to this
conclusion by observing the vast quantities of steam and minor
associated vapors which are emitted by volcanoes; by the difficulty of
accounting in any other way for the amount and composition of
certain hot springs; and by the eruptive rocks. Those igneous masses
have been connected with the formation of veins further brought out
by the following general consideration which has received too little
attention. Aside from pegmatites, veins rich enough to be mined and
even large veins of the barren gangue-minerals are exceptional
phenomena when we compare the regions containing them with the
vast areas of the earth which have been carefully searched for them
and which have failed to reveal them. As components of the earth’s
crust the useful metal except iron and aluminum are extremely rare.
Some sharply localized, exceptional, and briefly operative cause must
have brought the veins into being. The universal circulation of the
ground-water of meteoric origin fails to meet this test, since if it is
effective we ought at least to find the veins of quartz and calcite fairly
universal in older rocks. In North America, moreover, by far the
greater number of veins which have been studied date from the
Mesozoic and Tertiary times. The ore deposits of older date are
chiefly of iron and manganese and can be satisfactorily explained in
many cases by the reactions of the vadose region, or by
crystallization from molten masses.

In summary it may be stated that the meteoric waters are of great

importance and of unquestioned efficiency in the shallow vadose
region, or, as named by C.R. van Hise, “ the zone of weathering”. In
it the disintegration of rocks exposes them to the searching actions of
solutions, and the portions of ore-bodies already deposited undergo
great modifications. The deeper and far more immovable ground-
water probably extends to but moderate depth and is chiefly affected
as regards movements by the head of waters entering heights of land
and by local intrusions of igneous rocks. It is very doubtful if the
normal increase of temperature with depth produces much effect. The
meteoric waters are of altogether predominant importance in all
surface concentrations of a mechanical character. The magmatic
waters, on the other hand, seem to be of paramount importance and
of great efficiency in producing the deposits of ores in the contact
zones next eruptives, and in the formation of veins which are
reasonably to be attributed to uprising heated waters in regions of
expiring volcanism. They start with their burden of dissolved metals
and minerals under great heat and pressure, amid conditions
favouring solutions and migrate to the upper world into cooling and
greatly contrasted conditions which favour precipitation. Undoubtly
they are responsible for many low grade deposits which have later
been enriched by the action of descending meteoric waters. They are
more copiously yielded, so far as we may judge, by acidic magmas
than by basic ones.

The natural water ways are furnished by the cavities in rocks. They
vary in size from very minute pores, where movement is slow
because of friction, but where solution takes place through others of
all dimensions up to great fault zones. The smallest cavities are the
natural pores of minerals; cleavage rocks; the voids along the
contacts of different minerals; cracks from crushing during
dislocation; cellular lavas; volcanic necks; voids among grains,
pebbles, or boulders of fragmental rocks; joints; caves and faults. So
far as waters have deposited ores and yielded ore-bodies by
subterranean circulations the latter are guided by some such
controlling influence as these in all cases, and they will be selected
as the governing principle in a large part of the scheme of
classification. The types will be reviewed in the following order.

I. Of Igneous Origin

A. Eruptive masses of non-metalliferous rock.

B. Basic segregations from fused and cooling magmas.

C. Deposits produced in contact metamorphism, most commonly by
the action of intrusive masses on limestones.

D. Pegmatites.

II. Precipitated Form Solution

A. Surface deposits

B. Impregnations in naturally open textured rocks.

C. Impregnations and replacements of naturally soluble rock.

D. Deposits along broken anticlinal summits and in synclinal troughs.

E. Deposits in shear zones.

F. Deposits in faults.

G. Deposits in volcanic necks.

III. Deposited From Suspension

A. Placers

B. Residual deposits

IV. Carbonaceous Deposits from Vegetation.

I. Of Igneous Origin

A. Eruptive masses of Non-metalliferous Rock – Among the non-

metallic objects of mining and quarrying which are of igneous nature,
building stone is the chief. Granites, syenites and other light-coloured
rocks are the most important. These rocks occur as intrusive masses
called bosses when of limited extent and diameter, and bathyliths
when of vast, irregular area. The main point of importance is the
jointing and cleavage, which should in each case yield blocks as
nearly rectangular as possible so as to save tool treatment. Dark,
basic igneous rocks in dikes, sills and surface flows are employed for
macadam, and are often of excellent quality for this purpose.

B. Basic Segregations from Fused and Cooling Magmas – A few ore

bodies, of which the best known involve iron, are believed to result
directly in the igneous processes by which molten rock cools and
crystallizes. Thus magnetite, one of the common iron ores, is widely
contributed component in the eruptive rocks, rarely if ever failing in
any variety. It is one of the first minerals to crystallize and it
possesses a much higher specific gravity than the other constituents.
There is reason, therefore, to believe that, forming in some molten
magmas in relatively large quantity, it sinks to or forward the bottom
of the mass until the latter is at least greatly enriched with it, if not
actually changed to iron ore. If the molten rock, after passing through
a stage of partial crystallization, moves toward the surface of the
earth, the body of ore may occupy almost any position in it other than
the bottom. The flowing of the magma in original movements or from
pressure sustained in subsequent metamorphic process, or both,
may give the ore the lenticular shape which is quite characteristics of
magnate bodies the world over. Almost all iron ores of recognized
eruptive origin contain titanium oxide in amounts from few units to
over 40%. They are most frequently found in dark basic rocks. These
ore are not present of much commercial value because of the
difficulties of treating titaniferous varieties in the modern blast furnace
practice, but there is little doubt that in the near future they will be
extensively mined.

Non-titaniferous magnetites, which often form lenses in gneissoid

rocks of more acidic character than those with which the titaniferous
are associated, are like wise believed by some observers to be of
igneous origin, but there are equally positive believers in sedimentary
deposition followed by metamorphism.

Besides magnetite, chromite is a characteristically igneous mineral

and is always found in the richly magnesian rocks. Whether the
relatively large masses which appear in serpentine are direct
crystallizations from fusion, or whether they have segregated from a
finely disseminated condition during the change of the original
eruptive to serpentine, is a matter of dispute, but the general trend of
later opinion is toward an original igneous origin. Although not strictly
an ore, corundum is another mineral which is direct product of
igneous action.

A form of ore-body which marks a connecting and transitional

member between those just treated and those of the next group is
furnished by the sulphides of iron, nickel and copper which are found
in the outer borders of basic igneous intrusions. Observes differ
somewhat as to the relative importance to be attributed to reactions
purely of the nature of crystallization from fusion or those brought
about by the agency of gases or other highly heated solvents in the
cooling stages. The most important example is afforded by the
mingled ores of nickel and copper which are developed in their
largest form in the region of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada and are now
the principal source of nickel for the world. The ores are chalcopyrite
and pyrrhotite, the latter containing throughout its mass at Sudbury
the mineral pentlandite, a rich nickel-iron sulphide and the real source
of the nickel. With the base metal there are also found minute traces
of the metals of the platinum group. Wherever these ore-bodies have
been observed they invariably occur in the borders of intrusive
masses. The sulfides constitute an integral part of the rocky mass,
which shows almost no signs of alteration or vein production in the
ordinary sense. Only some slight rearrangements have subsequently
taken place through the agency of water, but all this is a small factor
in the total.

C. Ore bodies produced by Contact Metamorphism

Great bodies of igneous rock have often been forced in a molten and
highly heated condition through other rocks when at a distance below
the surface of the earth. After coming to rest they have remained
during the cooling stages for long periods in contact with the
surrounding walls. All molten igneous magmas are more or less richly
charged with aqueous vapour, doubtless in a dissociated state; which
carbonic acid and probably with other gases, especially those
involving sulphur. During the cooling stages the gases are emitted
and carry with them silica, iron, alumina, and metallic elements in less
amount, of which copper is the commonest, but among which are
also numbered lead, zinc, gold and silver. If the rock standing next
the intrusive mass is limestone, the silica and iron, and to a less
degree the alumina, combine with the lime to the elimination of the
carbonic acid and produce extensive zones of lime silicates, of which
garnet is the most abundant. Disseminated throughout these garnet-
zones are large and small masses of pyrite and chalcopyrite, often
times in amounts sufficient to yield large ore-bodies. Again in the
limestone outside the garnet-zones, but none the less closely
associated with them, are bodies of sulfides containing copper. The
copper ores of Bisbee and Morenci, Arizona, of Aranzazu near
Conception del Oro, Mexico and of many other parts of the world not
yet studied in detail are of this type. The eruptive which most
frequently produces contact zones is of a marked acidic or siliceous
character, since among eruptives these are the ones most richly
changed with gases. When the copper ores are of low-grade in their
original deposition it often happens that processes of secondary
enrichment, which are later described, are required to bring them up
to a richness which warrants mining. Less often than copper appear
lead, zinc or gold ores in the same relations.

D. Pegmatites

One other phase of eruptive activity needs also to be briefly

mentioned before passing to the discussion of the orebodies, which
have hitherto chiefly occupied students of the subject. In the regions
surrounding intrusive masses of granite we always have see dikes or
veins of coarsely crystalline quartz, feldspar and mica radiating
outward, it may be, for very long distances. They are believed to be
produced by emissions from the eruptive similar to those which yield
the garnet-zones just mentioned. The veins are technically called
pegmatites. They are characteristics carriers of tin and of minerals
containing the rare earths, and less commonly are known to yield
gold or copper.

II. Precipitated From Solution. –

A. Surface Deposits. – The chief ore-body under this type is furnished
by iron. The peculiar chemical property possessed by this metal of
having two oxides, a ferrous, which is relatively soluble, and a ferric,
which is insoluble, leads to its frequent precipitation from bodies of
standing or comparatively quiet waters. Ferruginous minerals of all
sorts, but more particularly pyrite and siderite, pass into solution in
the descending oxidizing or carbonated surface waters, either as
ferrous sulphate, or as salts of organic acids, or ferrous carbonate,
the last-named dissolved in an excess of carbonic acid. On being
exposed to the atmosphere when the solutions come to rest, or to the
breaking up of organic acids, or to alkaline reagents, or sometimes to
freshwater algae, the hydrated sesquioxide 2Fe 2 O 31 3H 2 O is
precipitated as the familiar beds of bog ore. The ore usually forms
earthy aggregates or crusts and cakes, but may also, as in the
interesting case of the Swedish lake deposits, yield small concretions.
Bog ores are not very rich in iron and are apt to have much sand and
clay intermingled. If subsequently buried under later sediments they
may become dehydrated and change to red hematite, as in the case
of some of the Clinton iron ores of the eastern United States. These
widely extended beds in the lower strata of the Upper Silurian are
often oolitic red hematites, consisting of concentric shells of iron
oxide and ‘ A. H. Barlow, “ On the Sudbury Deposits,” Geol. Survey of
Canada Ann. Rept., vol. xiv., part H; A.P. Coleman, Ann. Report of
the Ontario Bureau of Mines, vol. xiv., part iii. (1905).

Chalcedonic silica, deposited around grains of sand. The most

extensive of all ore-bodies of this type and the mainstay of the
German and Belgian smelting industry, are the Jurassic ores, locally
called minette, of Luxemburg and the neighbouring territories. Three
principal and several subordinate beds are distinguished, which
furnish a product ranging from 30% to 40% of iron and between 1 and
2% of phosphoric oxide (P 2 0 5). They are generally believed to
have been deposited on the bottoms of embayments of the Jurassic
sea. The iron was furnished by the drainage of the land and was
precipitated, according to Van Werweke, as silicate, carbonate,
sulphide and as several forms of oxide. More than two billions of tons
are believed to be available. Very similar deposits occur in the
Cleveland district, England, in the Middle Lias.

In the presence of much organic matter which creates reducing

conditions, concretions and even beds of spathic ore or black-hand
may result and afford the ores of this type extensively utilized in the
Scottish iron industry and formerly of some importance in the eastern
United States.
The brown hematites often have more or less manganese, and
manganese ores themselves may result by closely related reactions,
since manganese is very similar to iron in its chemical properties.
Aluminum is yielded by deposits of bauxite, the hydrated oxide, which
in the states of Georgia and Alabama, of the United States, are the
result of surface precipitations. In the depths it is believed the pyritous
shale exist. The oxidation of the pyrite supplies sulphuric acid which
takes into solution the alumina of the shales. Rising to the surface
along a marked series of faults, the aluminum sulphate meets
calcium carbonate in an overlying limestone, and the aluminum
hydrate is precipitated as concretions at the vents of the springs.

Of scientific importance but as yet not of commercial value are the

siliceous sinters deposited around the vents of hot springs which yield
appreciable amounts of both the precious and the base metals. While
surface precipitations in every particular, they are yet chiefly
important in casting light on the processes of vein formation in the
depths.

Non-metallic minerals which are deposited from solution on the

surface of the earth are the salines, rock-salt, related potassium salts,
gypsum and the rarer nitrates. The alkaline chlorides and gypsum are
derived, in nearly all cases, from impounded bodies of seawater,
which, exposed to evaporation with or without constant renewal,
finally yield beds of rock-salt and related minerals. Shallow estuaries
cut off from the sea, it may be by the sudden rising of a bar during a
heavy storm or brines impounded in deep bays with a shallow
connexion as in the “bar theory” of Ochsenius, have given rise to the
great stores of these minerals which are so extensively mined. The
potassium compounds have only been found as yet in large
quantities in the Stassfurt region of Germany, and seem to be due to
the fact that in this locality the mother-liquors of the rock-salt deposits
failed to escape, and were evaporated to dryness. The nitrates are
chiefly obtained in northern Chile and are the result of the reaction of
nitrogenous organic matter, upon alkaline minerals and under
conditions where there is enough but not too much water.

Another very important mineral found in surface deposits formed from

solution is asphalt. It has happened in various parts of the world, but
especially in the island of Trinidad, in the Carribean Sea, that
petroleum with an asphalt base has reached the surface, has
evaporated, and has become oxidized so as to leave a residuum of
asphalt suitable for street-paving or other purposes. So-called pitch-
lakes are afforded which may be of great commercial value.

Again, if large sheets, crusts, stalacities and stalagmites are

deposited from calcareous water by the escape of the solvent
carbonic acid, beautiful ornamental stones are afforded, generally
known as Mexican onyx.

B. Impregnations in Open-textured Rocks. – In a number of instances

in various parts of the world naturally open-textured rocks have been
discovered so richly impregnated with the metalliferous minerals as to
be ores. The enriching minerals have been introduced in solution,
and the solvent has found its way through the rock because of its
natural character, and not because geological movements have
opened it. Porous sandstones are one of the most common cases.
Deposits of silver ores have been extensively mined at St George in
southern Utah, consisting of films of argentine and cerargyrite, which
have been precipitated upon fossil leaves, sticks, and in the
sandstone itself. Over wide areas in the northern United States,
copper in various minerals has been discovered in sandstones of
Permian or Triassic age. At Silver Cliff, Colorado, silver ores have
impregnated a volcanic tuff, while at the Boleo mines in Lower
California tuffs yield copper ores. In at least two of the great copper
mines on Lake Superior the native metal impregnates a
conglomerate, and in a number of others it has enriched a cellular
basalt, filling the blowholes with shots and pellets. In the Commern
district between Bonn and Aachen, sandstones of the Triassic
Buntersandstein contain knots of galena, distributed over wide areas
as impregnations. Organic matter is believed to have precipitated the
galena by a reducing action upon percolating solutions of lead.

All these porous rocks have been fed by solutions which have
entered along waterways, clearly due to faults or some extensive
breaks which have provided introductory conduits. The solutions have
then been tapped off from the main passages by the porous rock.
They are, therefore, closely connected with faults.
Non-metallic minerals in the form of petroleum and asphalt may also
impregnate sedimentary beds or other rocks of open texture. Many oil
wells derive their supplies from lenticular beds of sandstone in the
midst of impervious shales, and others, as those in the Mexican fields
near Tampico, from volcanic tuffs. Asphalt may saturate both
sandstones and limestones in such richness as to furnish a natural
paving material when crushed, heated and laid. Brines are also
yielded by porous strata and supply much of the salt of the world.

C. Impregnations and Replacements of Naturally Soluble Rocks. –

Ore-deposits of great importance appear in different regions which
can only be interpreted as having been formed by the replacement of
some or all of a rock with the metallic minerals. The most common
rock to yield in this way is limestone, because of its soluble nature,
but important cases occur of others composed of silicates.
Replacement implies the precipitation of the ore and gangue,
molecule by molecule, in the position of the original minerals without,
as in pseudomorphs, the necessary reproduction of crystalline forms.
Some waterway must of course introduce the ore bearing solutions,
but it may be slight compared with the great size of the resulting ore-
bodies. Lead and zinc ores, often carrying some silver, are those
most widely distributed, as they were also the earliest recognized in
deposits of this character. More than any other metals their
association with limestone is pronounced. The replacements may be
found near the supply fissure as in the great zinc deposits near
Aachen, or the supply fissures may be obscure as at Leadville,
Colorado. While ores occur in the limestone, they are often close
along its contact with some relatively impervious stratum, which
seems partly to have directed the circulations, partly to have checked
or stagnated them, while precipitation took place. With the lead and
zinc sulphides , pyrites and chalcopyrite are commonly associated in
greater or less degree, the copper increasing locally. All the sulphides
are exposed to oxidation above the ground-waters and mining in the
upper levels has been often directed against the carbonate and
sulphate of lead, or the mingled carbonate and hydrated silicate of
zinc.

A non-metallic deposit formed by replacement and of much scientific

interest is furnished by sulphur when derived from gypsum, as in the
Sicilian and other localities of Europe.
D. Deposits along Anticlinal Summits and in Syclinal Troughs

When strata experience folding they are violently strained at the

bends and if stiff or brittle like limestone, often crack in limited
fissures, which in anticlines open upward and in synclines downward.
They thus yield joints in relatively great numbers. Softer rocks, such
as shales, are moulded by the strains withput fracturing. Very gentle
fold seems to have yielded such abundance of cracks in the lead and
zinc district of the Upper Mississippi Valley as to cause the so called
“gash-veins” which have been worked for many years. The crevices
are not all vertical, but often run horizontally and are due to the
parting and buckling of individual beds. The resulting ore bodies are
chiefly limited to a single great, stratum and are believed to have
been formed by the infiltration of galena, blende and pyite from
overlying formations.

When strata are stiff enough to buckle under violent folding and part
so as to produce openings of a cresentic cross-section which
afterwards become filled, there result the “saddle-reefs” so
remarkably illustrated in the gold Veins of Victoria, Australia and in
pitching anticlines of a much larger character in Nova Scotia.

Of the far greatest importance of all the ore-bodies in troughs are the
iron ores of Lake Superior region, now the most productive of all the
iron-Mining districts. In a series of sedimentary formations, generally
of Huronian age, and with associated eruptives, there occur strata
consisting of a cherty iron carbonate, which were probably originally
marine deposits akin to glauconite. They rest upon relatively
impervious rocks, and are often penetrated by basaltic dikes. The
entire series has been folded, so that the cherty carbonates,
shattered by the strains, have come to rest in troughs of relatively
tight, impervious rocks. the descending surface waters have next
altered them, have taken the iron into solution, and have redeposited
it in the troughs as a slighty hydrated red hematite. The silica has
usually been precipitated elsewhere.

The most important of the non-metallic which occur along anticline

summits are petroleum and natural gas, but it is true only in a very
limited sense that they are introduced in solution. The general cause
of accumulation is, however, the same as that of the metallic
minerals, i.e. that storage cavity are afforded. In the most productive
oil-fields it is the general experience to find the oil and gas
impounded in porous rocks, either sandstone or limestone, as the
crest of anticlines and beneath impervious shales which do not
shatter or crack with gentle folding.

E. Deposits in Shear Zones

It sometimes happens both in massive rocks and in sediments that

strains of compression have been eased by local crushing along
comparatively narrow belts without appreciable or measurable
displacements of the sides such as would be required by a
pronounced fault. The word shear-zone has become quite widely
used in recent years as a descriptive term applicable to these cases.

The gold-bearing reefs of the Transvaal present a good illustration.

Beds of conglomerate consisting chiefly of quartz and quartzite
pebbles have experience crushing and shattering, and have their
natural porosity much enhanced by these after effects. Solutions of
gold coming through have encountered pyrites and have the gold
precipitated upon the pyrites, which is itself often broken and
granulated. In other regions shearing has led to sheeting and opening
of the rocks by many parallel cracks but almost always with such
marked displacement that the next type most correctly describes
them. From any point of view the shearzone is a natural transition to
the fault and closely related to it.

F. Deposits in Faults

This type of ore-body was one of the earliest established, and has
always figured very prominently in the minds of students of the
subjects since the very first systematic formulations of our
knowledge. The dislocation of the earth’s crust by faults has furnished
either clean-cut fissures or else lines of closely set parallel fractures,
whose combined displacement has been comparatively great. The
faults go to relatively profound depths and they and they furnish
therefore waterways of extended character, which may reach from
regions of heat and pressure of depth to regions of cold and
diminishing pressure above; thus from conditions favourable to
solution below to conditions favouring precipitation toward the
surface. Faults often occur, moreover, in connection with eruptive
outbreaks, and therefore in circumstances especially favourable to
ore deposition. From all these reasons it is not suprising that the
“true fissure vein” based on a profound fault has been the ideal of
prospectors search in many parts of the world, and has often his
reward. The historic veins of Corn wall and of Saxony of this type,
also the great silver veins of Mexico, the gold veins of California , the
greater silver-gold deposits of the Comstock lode, and in many in
South America.

Faulting often leads 19 great shattering of the country rock, and

instead of being an-cut open cavity, these results a brecciated belt
which may then be cemented by infiltrating ore and gangue. In the
midst of this the richer ore occurs as bonanzes or chutes, which are
succeeded by leaner stretches. The movement of the walls produces
the polished surfaces specially called “slickensides”, parallel to which
the ore-chutes often run. The change in the character of the entering
solutions from time to time gives a banded character to the deposit,
so that from both walls toward the center corresponding layers
succeed one another. At the center the last layers may meet as
interlocking crystals in the familiar comb-in N comb structure or they
may leave cavities called vugs into which beautiful and perfectly
formed crystals project. Fault fissures swell and pinch affording wide
and narrow places in the resulting ore-body. They often intersect
each other and one may throw or heave another, according to the
mechanics of faulting as set forth under the article on Geology.

While fault-fissures have in no way failed in later years to be

appreciated by mining geologists, yet they do not hold that
predominant place which in the days of more limited experience was
theirs. On the contrary, other types such as contact zones,
replacements and impregnations are found to be scarcely inferior
importance. Nevertheless the last two, at least, must usually owe to
the fault-fissure the waterway which has brought in the solutions.
A very peculiar non-metallic deposit found in fault-fissures and
imitating the ordinary veins in all essentials is furnished by the
asphaltic minerals often described as asphaltic coals and known in
mineralogy as “grahamite” , “albartite”, “ unitaite”, “gilsonite”.
Petroleum with asphaltic bases have percolated into fault-fissures
and have there deposited on evaporation and oxidation their
dissolved burdens. The black coaly mineral presents all the
geological relations of a fissure vein and is mined like so much ore.

G. Volcanic Necks

A very un-usual orebody is furnished by this type, which is only

known in a few instances. In two mines, however, in Colorado, the
Bassick and the Bull-Domingo, there occur chimneys of elliptical
cross-section filled with rounded bourders and believed with much
reason to be the tubes of small explosives volcanoes. After brief
periods of activity they became waterways for uprising heated
solutions which filled the intertices with ore.

III. Deposited from Suspension – The ores which result from this
process are all formed upon the surface of the earth and through the
action of water. They are primarily the result of the weathering of
rocks and of the removal of the loose products thus afforded in the
ordinary processes of erosion.

A. Placers – Many useful minerals, including some of a metallic

character, are very resistant to the agents of decomposition which
cause the disintegration of the common rocks. Thus magnetite is a
mineral present in a minor capacity in all eruptives and in fairly large
percentage in many of the basic types. It is proof against protracted
exposure to natural reagents, and it is heavy. Becoming freed by the
disintegration of the containing rock it is mingled with the transported
materials of running streams, and settles with other heavy minerals
whenever the current slackens to a sufficient degree. Concentration
may thus ensue and beds of black sand result. If again deposits of
loose sand containing more or less magnetite are exposed to the surf
of the ocean, or even to the waves of lakes, a similar sorting action
takes place on the beach. The magnetite remains behind while the
undertow removes the lighter materials. Iron sands of either of these
varieties are usually too rich in titanium to be of commercial value, but
with the magnetite may be gold or platinum in sufficient amount to be
of value.

While magnetite is the commonest of the ores to be found in placers,

gold is the metal which usually gives them value. Wherever systems
of drainage have eroded gold-bearing rocks, the gold has passed into
the streams with the other detrital materials, and, even though in very
fine flakes, being yet very heavy has sunk to the bottom in the
slackened water and has there enriched the gravel. The gold tends to
work its way through the gravels even to the bed-rock, or to some
bed of interstratified and impervious clay, and there to be relatively
rich. It favours also the insides of bends and the heads of quiet
reaches. When a small tributary stream joins a larger one and is both
checked itself and checks the current of the large one, the gold, as in
the Klondike, tends to settle in relatively great abundance.

Pot-holes, strangely enough, or related rock-cavities, often fail to yield

the nuggets, apparently because the swirl of the water and grit has
ground them to impalpable powder. The particles have then been
washed elsewhere.

When the gold-bearing gravels are paned down a small residue is

obtained of all the heavy minerals in the gravel. Magnetite is the
commonest and gives the technical name of “black sand” to the
concentrate. With it, however, there are almost always found garnet
and other less familiar minerals. If the stream valley has been hunted
over by sportsmen with shot-guns or rifles, the lost shots and bullets
are commonly caught in the pan. Even diamonds have been rarely
noted and they may, indeed, be specially sought in gravels.

Along sea-beaches where great beds of auriferous gravel have been

attacked by the surf, concentrated bars carrying nuggets and flakes
of gold in workable quantity have not infrequently resulted. Cape
Nome, Alaska, is perhaps the most productive of all. The gold in the
beach-placers is usually worn by the constant attrition into extremely
fine particles, and the flakes or colours are more difficult to save than
in the case of stream-placers.
In some regions of gold-bearing rocks, as in the south-eastern United
States, the products of superficial decay of rocks may remain in situ
and be sufficiently charged with gold to be washed for the yellow
metal. They are different from the usual placer deposit although
hydraulicked in the same way. They might be properly considered
residual deposits under the next head.

Auriferous stream-gravels of ancient and long-abandoned systems of

drainage may remain beneath lava flows or later sedimentary
accumulations and be the objects of underground mining. Both in
Australia, where they are called “deep leads,” and in California, where
they are called “buried channels” or “deep gravels,” they have been
for many years the objects of mining. In California the bed-rock is
usually slate or schist and a series of technical terms have resulted
descriptive of the rich streaks. The bed-rock is called the rim-rock; the
pay-streaks which appear on its sides, bench-gravels, and the lowest
one the channel-gravel. Tunnels are often very skillfully driven
through the rim-rock to strike the channel-gravel and at the same time
preserve the proper slope for drainage and extraction. The buried
channels in California have proved of much scientific interest from the
remains of prehistoric man, skulls, mortars and pestles which
they have yielded.

Among the non-metallic minerals sought from placers, phosphates for

fertilizers hold a position of great importance.

B. Residual Deposits. – As contrasted with the placers whose

materials are derived by transport from a distance, we sometimes find
heavy and resistant minerals, once contained in the rock but freed by
the process of decay and disintegration. The lighter loose materials
are washed away and deposited elsewhere. The heavy remain
behind in a concentrated condition. Iron ores of this character are
known, and chromite is set free in the same way by the
decomposition of serpentine.

In the decay of ferruginous rocks like limestones the iron may be

changed to the insoluble ferric hydrate, brown hematite, and remain
as veinlets and crusts throughout a mantle of clay. The brown
hematite may be freed by artificial washing and used as an iron ore.
IV. Carbonaceous Deposits From Vegetation. – Far the most
important of the non-metallic minerals are those composing the coal
series. They yield entire strata analogous to other sedimentary rocks,
but in most cases from vegetation which has grown in situ. They are
found in all stages from nearly carbonized leaves and woody tissue in
peat, through much more altered materials in lignite and bituminous
coal to extremes in anthracite and graphite. The prime necessity for
their preservation from decay is furnished by water, in or near which
they must grow, and beneath which they must be deposited, so that
oxidation may be retarded. In instances they have been heaped
together by rivers, especially when at flood. The method of origin is
fully discussed under Coal and under Mining, but it may be remarked
here that once formed they undergo all the

Processes of Formation of Mineral Deposits

1. Magmatic concentration
2. Sublimation
3. Contact Metasomatism
4. Hydrothermal Process
5. Sedimentation
6. Bacteriogenic
7. Submarine Exhalative & Volcanogenic
8. Evaporation
9. Residual & Mechanical Concentration
10. Oxidation & Supergene Enrichment
11. Metamorphism

Definitions:
Magmatic concentration
- are the magmatic products that crystallize from magma. They are
also termed as magmatic
segregations, magmatic injections an igneous syngenetic deposit.

Sublimation
- a direct change of state from solid to gas
- a very minor process in the formation of mineral deposits
Contact Metasomatism
- is a process where there is a replacement of original mineral by
various authigenic minerals
without volume change

Hydrothermal
- involves hydrothermal mineralizing solutions. Through magmatic
differentiation, it gives rise
to an end product of magmatic fluids in which there may be
concentration of the metals originally present in the magma.

Sedimentation
- the process of sedimentation as distinct from evaporation has
resulted not only in the formation
of common sedimentary rocks but also valuable mineral deposit of
iron, manganese, copper, phosphate, coal, oil, shale, carbonates,
cement rocks, clay, diatomaceous earth, bentonite, magnesite,
sulphur & less directly uranium, vanadium deposits.

Evaporation
- has been important in producing many valuable types of non-
metallic deposits.

Residual & Mechanical concentration

- results in the accumulation of valuable minerals when undesired
constituents of rocks or
mineral deposits are removed during weathering.

Mechanical Concentration
- is the natural gravity separation of heavy from light minerals by
means of moving water or air
by which the heavier minerals become concentrated into deposits
called placer-deposits.

Oxidation & Supergene

Zone of Oxidation – is the zone where the surface waters oxidize
many ore minerals & yield solvents that dissolve other minerals.
Oxidation – a chemical reaction involving the loss of electrons from
an element. This usually
disrupts the crystalline structure of a mineral.
Oxidize – to rust
– to cause to undergo a chemical reaction with oxygen

Metamorphism
- is defined as the sum of processes that cause the mineralogical &
structural adjustments of
rocks to physical & chemical environments occurring below the zone
of weathering & cementation.

Bacteriogenic
- is the part played by micro-organisms. Bacteria particularly the
“thread bacteria” but also
protozoa, algae, and fungi are concerned in the precipitation of ferric
hydroxide.

Oolites – a sedimentary rocks usually a limestone covered principally

of cemented ooliths. Also
known as eggstone, roestone.