COMMON MINERAL DEPOSITS

Prepared by : Jef Michael L. Dahuyla

Date: Oct.23,2023
 Mineral deposits are natural
build ups of minerals in the
earth crust, in form of one
or several mineral bodies
which can be extracted at
the present time or in an
immediate future.

Mineral Deposits
Types of Mineral Deposits
● Vein Deposits

● Porphyry Deposits

● Skarn Deposits

● Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) Deposits

1. Vein Deposits
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.
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 crystals 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.
How vein deposits are formed?

Hydrothermal fluids rise towards the

surface from cooling intrusive rocks,
they cool or react chemically with the
These are mineral
country rock. Some form ore deposits
if the fluids are directed through a deposits formed at
structure where the temperature, temperatures ranging
pressure and other chemical conditions mostly between 300°
are favourable for the precipitation
and 575°C., but in
and deposition of ore minerals. The
fluids also react with the rocks they some cases as high as
are passing through to produce an 1400°C.
alteration zone with distinctive, new
minerals.
Vein Deposits Location
These minerals are often
found in or near fault zones,
where rocks have been
fractured and deformed.

The fault zones in the

Philippines include the West
Panay Fault, the West Valley
Fault Line, the East Valley
Fault Line, the Surigao Fault
Line, and the Bangui Fault.
 🟤TYPES OF VEIN DEPOSITS
Hydrothermal Veins
These veins are formed
when hot fluids (usually
from magmatic sources)
flow through rocks, and
the minerals within the
fluids crystallize in the
fractures and cavities in
the host rock.
Hydrothermal veins can
be subdivided into
several subtypes based
on their composition,
such as quartz veins,
carbonate veins, and
sulfide veins.
Pegmative Veins Shear Zone Veins
These veins are These veins are
composed of formed by the
extremely coarse- movement of rocks
grained minerals along fault planes or
and are formed from shear zones. The
highly fluid, water- intense pressure
rich magmas. and friction during
Pegmatite veins can the movement of the
be a source of rare rocks can cause
and valuable fluids to flow along
minerals such as the zone, leading to
lithium, tantalum, the formation of
and beryllium. veins.
Contact Metamorphic Veins Fault-related Veins
These veins are formed
when a body of magma These veins are formed
intrudes into a pre- by the movement of
existing rock, causing rocks along faults. The
the rock to be heated fluids that flow through
and recrystallized. As
the rock recrystallizes, the fault can deposit
minerals can be minerals in fractures or
concentrated in veins void spaces in the rocks
along the contact zone adjacent to the fault.
between the magma
and the host rock.
Mineral Associations of Vein - gold with minor sulphides - classic
'free gold', Bridge River, Toodoggone
and Blackdome

- silver with galena and galena-

sphalerite, e.g. Slocan District
-silver with tetrahedrite or other
copper

- antimony or copper-arsenic
sulphides, e.g. Equity Silver

- chalcopyrite, e.g. Churchill Copper,

Davis Keays

gold with pyrrhotite,

example: Scottie Gold

minerals associated with

- gold with arsenopyrite
example: Rossland

vein deposit are gold, as well - gold with pyrite,

as other metals such as example: Surf Inlet

silver, copper, and lead. - gold with chalcopyrite,

example: Willa
2. Porphyry Deposits

a rock consisting of
feldspar crystals set The term porphyry is from the
firmly in a compact dark Ancient Greek , meaning "purple".
red or purple base.
Purple was the colour of royalty,
and the Roman "imperial
porphyry" was a deep purple
igneous rock with large crystals of
plagioclase. Some authors
claimed the rock was the hardest
known in antiquity.
 How Porphyry Deposits are formed?

Porphyry deposits are

formed in arc-related
settings and are associated
with subduction zone
magmas. Porphyry
deposits are clustered in
discrete mineral provinces,
which implies that there is
some form of geodynamic
control or crustal influence
affecting the location of
porphyry formation.
Porphyry Deposits Locations
some of the largest porphyry deposits
in the world:

Escondida mine, Chile

Grasberg mine, Indonesia
Cadia mine, Australia
Piedra Buena mine, Argentina
Bingham Canyon mine, United States
Morenci mine, United States
Cerro Verde mine, Peru
El Teniente mine, Chile
Ok Tedi mine, Papua New Guinea
Freeport-McMoRan Sierrita mine,
United States.
Grasberg mine open pit Alkalic Porphyry Deposits
in Papua, Indonesia. of British Columbia, Canada
 ✓ Types of Phorphyry Deposits

1.PLUTONIC
Plutonic porphyry copper
deposits occur in
batholithic settings with
mineralization principally
occurring in one or more
phases of plutonic host
rock. Intrusions Associated
with PorphyryCopper
Deposits Intrusions
associated with, porphyry
copper deposits arediverse
but generally felsic and
differentiated
 2. VOLCANIC
occur in the
roots of
volcanoes, with
mineralization
both in the
volcanic rocks
and in
associated
comagmatic
plutons.
3. 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.
Minerals associated with Phorphyry Deposits
Brassy chalcopyrite is
one of the common ● Associated
ore minerals in
porphyry deposits. minerals
include
● pyrite
● magnetite
● quartz
● biotite
● K- feldspar
● muscovite
● clay minerals epidote
● and chlorite .
A porphyry statue
of the first Roman
Tetrarchy stolen
from
Constantinople
during the Fourth
Crusade, and now
embedded in an
external wall of the
Basilica di San
Marco, Venice, Italy
3. Skarn Deposits

these deposits are the

gangue, a coarse. grained,
generally dark-weathering
mixture of calcium and
magnesium silicates, which
has variously been termed
skarn or tactite. Skarn
deposits mOSt typicaliy are
found replacing limestone or
dolomite beds adjacent to
and above granitic
intrusives.
Importance:
Skarn deposits are
economically valuable
as sources of metals
such as tin, tungsten,
manganese, copper,
gold, zinc, lead, nickel,
molybdenum and iron.
 How it’s formed? (Skarns)
Skarn deposits are a
type of ore deposit
formed by metasomatic
replacement in
carbonate rocks,
typically limestone or
dolomite. They are
characterized by their
association with skarn, a
coarse-grained, silicate-
rich metamorphic rock
that is formed by the
interaction of hot,
magmatic fluids with
carbonate rocks.
 Skarn Deposit Locations

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.

Some of the skarn mining sites includes Pine Creek tungsten,

California, Twin Buttes copper, Arizona, and Bingham Canyon
copper, Utah, USA, OK Tedi gold-copper, Papua New Guinea,
Avebury nickel, Tasmania, and Tosam tin-copper, India
 TYPES OF SKARN DEPOSITS

Calc-silicate Skarns

These are the most common

type of skarn deposit and are
associated with calc-alkaline
igneous rocks such as
diorite, quartz diorite, and
granodiorite. They typically
contain minerals such as
garnet, pyroxene, and
wollastonite.
Magnetite Skarns Chlorite Skarns
These skarns are associated
These are skarns that are associated with
with rocks that are rich in
magnetite-rich rocks such as mafic or
chlorite, such as
ultramafic intrusions. They are typically
serpentinized ultramafic
characterized by the presence of magnetite
rocks. They typically contain
and pyroxene, as well as other minerals such
minerals such as garnet,
as garnet and amphibole.
epidote, and actinolite.
Tungsten
These are skarns that are enriched in tungsten and
are typically associated with granitic rocks. They
are characterized by the presence of minerals such
as scheelite, wolframite, and molybdenite.
Gold Skarns
These are skarns that are associated with
gold mineralization and are typically
associated with granitic rocks. They are
characterized by the presence of minerals
such as pyrrhotite, pyrite, and arsenopyrite.
Minerals associated with Skarn Deposits
● iron oxides,

● calc-silicates
(wollastonite,
diopside, forsterite)

● andradite and
grossularite garnet

● epidote, and calcite.

4. Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS)
Deposits

Accumulations of dominantly sulfide

minerals that form at sites of focused
hydrothermal discharge on the
seafloor. Also refers to a class of ore
deposit mined from ancient oceanic
crust that is now exposed on land.
How it’s formed? (VMS deposits)
form from hydrothermal fluids
that originate from volcanic
activity. The fluids are rich in
sulfur and metals, and they are
often expelled from volcanic
vents on the seafloor. When the
hot fluids encounter cold
seawater, they cool rapidly,
causing the metals and sulfur to
precipitate and form mineral
deposits.
Where can we find VMS deposits?

The typical location for VMS

deposits is at the top of the felsic
volcanic sequence, within a
sequence of volcaniclastic
tuffaceous epiclastics, cherts,
sediments or perhaps fine tuffs
Examples of notable VMS deposits which are usually related to the
include the Kidd Creek deposit in Canada, underlying volcanics.
the Iberian Pyrite Belt in Spain and
Portugal, and the Kuroko deposit in Japan.
Environmental issues associated with
VMS mining can include acid mine
drainage and the release of heavy metals
into the environment.
 >> TYPES OF VMS Deposits <<
Bimodal VMS Felsic VMS Deposits
Deposits
These deposits are formed in
These deposits are formed
volcanic environments that
in volcanic environments
are characterized by the
presence of both mafic and
that are dominated by felsic
felsic rocks. The mafic rocks rocks, such as rhyolite and
are usually basaltic and the dacite.
felsic rocks are usually
rhyolitic or dacitic.
Mafic VMS Sedimentary ExhalativeCyprus Type VMS Deposits
Deposits (SEDEX)
These
named after the
These
deposits are massive sulfide
deposits are
formed in
formed in deposits in Cyprus,
sedimentary which are formed in
volcanic basins and
environment are associated submarine volcanic
s that are with the environments and are
dominated discharge of associated with
by mafic hydrothermal
fluids through
ophiolites (segments of
rocks, such oceanic crust).
sedimentary
as basalt.
rocks.
Kuroko Type VMS deposits Algoma Type VMS Deposits
These deposits are
named after the
massive sulfide
deposits in Japan’s
Kuroko mine, which
are formed in
submarine volcanic
environments and
are characterized by
their high content of
zinc, lead, and
copper.
These deposits are
named after the
massive sulfide
deposits in Canada’s
Algoma district, which
are formed in
submarine volcanic
environments and are
characterized by their
high content of
copper.
MINERALS ASSOCIATED in VMS deposits

metals such as
copper, lead, and
zinc globally. VMS
deposits can also
produce economic
amounts of gold
and silver as
byproducts of
mining these
deposits.
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