EPSc 116: Resources of the Earth

Lecture 22 on Ch. 8: Geochemically Scarce Metals

Themes

Carefully read Focal Points, pp. 264-265.

Scarce metals (individually <0.1 wt. % of earth's crust)

35 scarce metals in TOTAL < 1 wt. % crust

Scarce metals enhance the efficiency of industry:

Alloys; special properties
"Enzymes" of industry
Elements most likely to run out
 Geochemically
scarce
Copper
Nickel
Cobalt
Lead
Zinc
Chromium
Tin
Mercury
Gold
Silver
Platinum
Rare-earth elements

CVS4, Fig. 8.1

Solid Solution = Atomic Substitution
Cobaltian calcite, (Ca,Co)CO3
Pure calcite, CaCO3
 Atomic Substitution in Al2O3, Corundum

Ruby Gemstones Sapphire

Cr3+ Al 3+

Fe2+ + Ti4+ 2Al3+

Structure of
corundum

Images from Wikipedia

“Abundant” elements
Natural Abundance
Makes a Difference
Abundant Scarce
Crustal
abundance

Enrichment
Current
mining
Mine
grade
Grade (%)
Logarithmic scale: 102 101 100 10-1
“Scarce” elements

Natural crustal abundance (top scale, in ppm) vs.

concentration needed for mining (bottom, in wt.%)
The more vertical the connecting line , the less
enrichment needed over the “natural” abundance: Al, Fe.
The more horizontal the line, the more enrichment
needed: lead, gold.
Current
mining
The most abundant elements form “their own minerals”
and occur in relatively large, rich deposits.
Grade (%) The more scarce elements “hop a ride” in minerals
dominated by other elements; they also occur in
smaller, less concentrated deposits.
Geochemistry Meets Economics
(from ore)

ppm

CVS4, Fig. 7.21

Crustal
abund.

Enrich-
CVS4, Table 8.2 ment

Minable
grade

CVS3, Fig. 8.2

 Typical Types of
Minerals that are
Base-
metal
Ores of
sulfides Geochemically
Scarce Metals

Alloy- and
specialty-metal
oxides
Dominated by sulfides,
oxides, and native metals

Native-element
Platinum- precious metals
group
metals

CVS4, Table 8.3

 Special Needs for Scarce-Metal Mines
Ore deposits tend to be small in tonnage cf. abundant elements:
require huge-scale mining
Special large-scale
Copper mine in Bisbee, Arizona mining equipment

Open-pit
mining

Surface

Primary ore
mineral oxidized &
dissolved here

Geologic process or combination of Water’s metal content

reprecipitated as
processes causes local secondary ore
minerals here
concentration and precipitation
Secondary processing:
Oxidation + Reprecipitation Primary ore
CVS4, Fig. 8.16
 Precipitation by Hot Waters
As in porphyry copper deposit

CVS4, Fig. 8.20

Groundwater heated by igneous intrusion. Local heat source

creates convection currents in the water. Leaching and pptn.
 Porphyry Copper Deposits of the World

CVS4,
Porphyry copper deposits are clustered along coasts,
Fig. 8.21 above subduction zones.
 More Hot Water

Black smoker on the sea Copper, iron, and zinc

floor near mid-ocean ridge sulfides precipitated in
and rift smoker “chimneys”

http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/vents/nemo/
education/curr_p1_11.html scienceblogs.com/highlyallochthonous/2
007/07/precambrian_black_smokers.php
 Cooler Waters (around 100°C)

CVS4, Fig. 8.24b

Waters compressed out of sediments in a basin can

move, leach metals, and precipitate minerals elsewhere.
 Lead-Zinc Deposits from Cool
Waters

CVS4, Fig. 8.24a

About 2 hrs. south of
St. Louis
 Even Colder
Water:
Ambient
Temperature

Density separation
and concentration of
minerals by the flow
of (river) water

Examples = gold, diamonds

CVS4, Fig. 8.32
South African Gold Deposits:
Ancient Streams and Deltas

Discovered by two
prospectors in 1886

CVS4, Fig. 8.34

 Classify Scarce Elements by Usage
Ferrous/ferro-alloy metals: lend specific properties,
especially to steels (Cr, V, Ni, Mo)

Nonferrous/base metals: Cu, Pb, Zn, Hg, Sn.

Not very high in price (which annoyed the alchemists!)

Precious metals : Au and Ag, Pt, Pd, Os, Ir, Rh.

"Noble metals”, meaning non-reactive (as well as”fit for a king”)

Specialty metals: Ta (electronics), Be (nuclear technology), Bi, Ga,

Ge, Zr. Industry uses.

Rare-earth metals: heavily used in high-tech magnets; great need

for these in alternative/green energy producers (hybrid engines, windmills)
Non-ferrous base metals
Ferrous metals

www.chemicalelements.com/ Rare-Earth Metals

Mineral chromite
 Copper: Example of a Base Metal

Cu or Au was first metal used by humans;

both occur in elemental (native) state

Malleable, electrical conductor, corrosion resistant

Uses: coins, wires, pipes, alloy.

Several kinds of ore deposits;

deposition frequently controlled
by plate tectonics

Magmatic segregation: immiscible liquids

(compare to lava light)

Hydrothermal veins near magma bodies;

porphyry Cu from subduction and melting of crust

Sedimentary fluids in normal sedimentary basins

transport & precipitate much copper
Main copper ore
Gold as a by-product of some copper mining mineral, chalcopyrite
CuFeS2
Growth in the copper industry
(and use of copper) was
spurred by the spread of
electrification (copper wire)

CVS4, Fig. 8.15

 Copper’s Environmentally Induced
Changes in Ore Processing
Need to get the copper out of the copper sulfide mineral, CuFeS2

Heat copper sulfide mineral

Smelting Drive off sulfur gas (leaving
metal behind)
Trap sulfur gas BEFORE it
reaches atmosphere.

Acid dissolution
(leaching)
Heap leaching
on a pad

Microbially mediated
dissolution
Learn from nature how microbes help
to break down sulfide minerals and
release metal
From De Re Metallica (1558). Ancient metallurgists attempting to
“win” various metals from their ore minerals by heating them.
 Lessons to Learn from
Geochemically Scarce Metals
What 6 countries account for most of the metal reserves of the world? Why?

Geologic specificity of the location of individual metals (ore deposits):

plate-tectonic localization of ores (broad scale),
structural geologic & geochemical control (at progressively finer scales)

Plate tectonic lectures

and text Figs. 8.4, 8.13, 8.21, 8.28.

Relations (over time) between:

production/use and reserves (text Fig. 8.23, page 291)
minable ore grades (text Fig. 8.2 on copper, p. 268, Fig. 8.31 on gold, p. 300)

Recycling: text Fig. 7.14 (page 249)

CVS4, Fig. 8.23
 Average grade (wt.% Cu) of copper ore mined in the U.S. over time.

CVS4, Fig. 8.2

 ~1
ppm

CVS4, Fig. 8.31 Average grade of gold ore mined in the US over time