COMPONENTS AND FACTORS OF ORE

FORMING PROCESS

All the common ore forming elements are present in magmas

and ordinary rocks, in amounts ranging from a few parts per
billion to several thousands of parts per million. The formation
of a mineral deposit represents the convergence of a set of
favorable circumstances leading to a significantly higher
concentration of one or more elements in a limited portion of
the earth’s crust. The required concentration factor, which is
defined as the ratio of the average concentration of an element
in a mineable mineral deposit to its average crustal abundance,
is highly variable and depends not only on the particular
elements but also on the type of deposits. The concentration
factors range from about 5-10 for geochemically abundant
elements (example aluminum and iron) to about 100-1000 for
less abundant elements (example copper, zinc and uranium). It
is indeed remarkable that geologic processes, which normally
result in further dispersal of trace elements, have been able to
produce mineable deposits of geochemically scarce elements,
such as gold and mercury, involving concentration factors in the
thousands.
Various theories of ore genesis explain how the various types of
mineral deposits are formed within the Earth’s crust. Ore-
genesis theories vary depending on the mineral or commodity
examined.
Ore-genesis theories generally involve three components:
source, transport or conduit and trap.
a) Source is required for the extraction of the constituents
from magmas, rocks and oceans.
b) Transport or conduit is required for the transportation
of the constituents in a fluid medium from the source
region to the site of deposition.
c) Trap is required for the localization of the constituents
at certain favorable sites where mineable ores are
formed.
The mechanism, duration, and relative importance of these
steps vary among the different ore forming processes, but they
all are controlled essentially by a similar set of physico-chemical
principles.
The ore- forming processes maybe grouped into the following
broad categories:
1) Magmatic Processes
2) Hydrothermal Processes
3) Sedimentary Processes
4) Placer Processes
5) Residual Processes
6) Others- Contact Metamorphism etc.
These processes depends mainly on
1)Temperature and Pressure
The most important factors that determine ore deposition are
the temperature and pressure of the fluid. For example, in
magmatic ore process, if they drop, the solubility of the metal
decreases. Moreover, the two factors also influence how brittle
the rock is, which in turn governs the formation of veins and its
permeability.
2)Interaction between rock and fluid
The interaction between rock behavior and fluid dynamics
determines the permeability of the rock which strongly
influences fluid flow and thus determines whether there will be
a chemical enrichment to substantial economic ore grades at a
particular point.
3) Tectonic Plates
Ore genesis is indirectly related to plate tectonics. Certain rock
types or structural settings favor certain types of ore deposits,
and these are often found associated with certain plate tectonic
settings.
Examples:
Copper is often associated with basalt, regardless of how it
occurs. Tin-tungsten, lead-zinc, silver, gold, molybdenum etc.
are associated with Granites.
Divergent Plate Tectonics:
Eg: Deposition of massive Cu, Zn sulphides
Intra Cratonic Setting:

Eg: PGE deposits in layered intrusions, diamond deposits in

alkaline pipes and iron–oxide Cu–Au (IOCG)
Convergent Plate Tectonics:

Eg: Mineralisation of Cu, Mo, Zn, Pb, Au and Ag