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http://eps.berkeley.edu/courses/eps50/documents/lecture31.mineralresources.pdf
Ore Deposits
A deposit contains an unusually high
concentration of particular element(s)
This means the element(s) have been
concentrated in a particular area due to
some process
What sort of processes might concentrate
these elements in one place?
Gold Au
Distribution of Au in the crust = 3.1 ppb by
weight 3.1 units gold / 1,000,000,000 units
of total crust = 0.00000031% Au
Concentration of Au needed to be
economically viable as a deposit = few g/t 3
g / 1000kg = 3g/ 1,000,000 g = 0.00031% Au
Need to concentrate Au at least 1000-fold to
be a viable deposit
Rare mines can be up to a few percent gold
(extremely high grade)!
Ore minerals
Minerals with economic value are ore
minerals
Minerals often associated with ore minerals
but which do not have economic value are
gangue minerals
Key to economic deposits are geochemical
traps metals are transported and
precipitated in a very concentrated fashion
Gold is almost 1,000,000 times less abundant
than is iron
Economic Geology
Understanding of how metalliferous minerals
become concentrated key to ore deposits
Getting them out at a profit determines
where/when they come out
http://eps.berkeley.edu/courses/eps50/documents/lecture31.mineralresources.pdf
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02fire/background/hirez/chemistry-hire
Geochemical Traps
Similar to chemical sedimentary rocks must leach
material into fluid, transport and deposit ions as
minerals
pH, redox, T changes and mixing of different fluids
results in ore mineralization
Cause metals to go from soluble to insoluble
Sulfides (reduced form of S) strongly binds metals
many important metal ore minerals are sulfides!
Oxides Oxidizing environments form
(hydroxy)oxide minerals, very insoluble metal
concentrations (especially Fe, Mn, Al)
Vermont Copperbelt
Besshi-type massive sulfide deposits
Key Units:
Giles Mountain formation More
siliciclastic, including graphitic pelite,
quartoze granofels (metamorphosed
greywacke), hornblende schist,
amphibolite
Standing Pond Volcanics mostly a fine
grained hormblende-plagioclase
amphibolite, likely formed from extrusive
basaltic rocks (local evidence of pillow
structures in St. Johnsbury). Felsic dike
near Springfiled VT yielded a U-Pb age
of 423 4 Ma.
Waits River formation Calcareous
pelite (metamorphosed mudstone),
metalimestone, metadolostone,
quartzite.