LECTURE_02

MINERAL DEPOSIT
Definition of Terms
Syngenetic ore ore formed as the same time as the host rock

Epigenetic ore ore formed after the host rock

Hypogene ore ore formed within the earth

Supergene ore ore formed at the earth surface

Primary ore ore formed from either magmas or fluids

Secondary ore ore formed as a consequence of alteration of pre-existing

minerals
Definition of Terms
Ore Deposit - an occurrence of minerals or
metals in sufficiently high concentration to be
profitable to mine and process using current
technology and under current economic
conditions
DIFFERENTIATING FACTOR

All ores are mineral deposits but not all mineral deposits are ores.
Ore is the economic term and mineral deposit is the geologic term.
The trick is .a mineral deposit is formed as a result of one or more
geologic processes, but whether or not a given mineral deposit is an
ore is determined by how much humans are prepared to pay for its
content.
Role of Mineral Resources

Fundamental in modern society When it cant be grown, it must be

mined

National development self-sufficiency in resources is a key strategy of

governments

In the 1980s, Philippines was in the top 10 countries in Au, Cu, Cr and Ni
production

Today, Philippines is no longer a strong mineral producer

 History and Development of Ore Deposit

Pre-historic times, early humans used cinnabar and hematite as

pigments, acquired gemstones and native Au, Ag & Cu as ornaments
& simple implements

Early Greek-Roman to Medieval times (750 BC to 16th century)

theories postulated by philosophers, naturalists, alchemists and
religious people
 History and Development of Ore Deposit

Georgius Agricola (De Re Metallica, 1556) father of the science of

the study of ore deposits(economic geology)

Classification of ore deposits, ore channel are secondary features &

ores have been deposited from solutions circulating in these
channels.

He argued against the use of divining rods (forked hazel twig) in

prospecting
 History and Development of Ore Deposit
Nicolas Steno (1669) ores are a product of condensation from vapors ascending
through fissures

Henkel (1725,1727) & Zimmermann (1746) importance of hydrothermal solutions or

vapors of deep-seated origin, recognized metasomatic replacement

Von Oppel (1749) distinguished discordant veins from concordant bedded deposits

Charpentier (1778, 1799) metals & minerals in the veins were the result of alteration
reactions between country rocks and water that had passed through them.

Gerhard (1781) veins are open fissures filled w/ minerals leached from the adjacent
country rock
 History and Development of Ore Deposit

Plutonists vs. Neptunists in the 18th Century

James Hutton (1788, 1795), Brunner (1801), S. Breislak (1811) ores
are direct magmatic products or are formed as products of
differentiation
Neptunist theory Abraham Werner (1791), C. Anderson (1809)
basalts, sandstone, limestone & ore deposits were formed from
sediments in a primeval ocean
19th Century
Chemical principles began to influence geologists ideas about ore genesis, mining methods improved
enabling bigger and deeper mines, universities and scientific societies flourished

Ore deposits of igneous and sedimentary origins were accepted

Realized that large ore deposits are localized in orogenic belts

Certain ores found in & around igneous masses of particular composition, eg. Ni ores w/ norites and
peridotites, diss. Cu in monzonitic rocks, Sn in granite

Magmatic segregation & replacement ores at contact metamorphic zones of igneous intrusives were
theorized

Ore zoning recognized

Theories of ore transportation & deposition started

20th Century
Many of modern theories were formulated

RAF Penrose created Society of Economic Geology in 1905

W. Lindgren (1884-1933) published Mineral Deposits introduced

pyrometasomatic deposits (hi-T replacement near igneous intrusives) &
classification of hydrothermal deposits to epithermal (50-200oC),
mesothermal (200-300oC) & hypothermal (300-500oC)

Graton (1933) telethermal deposits at shallow depths from nearly

spent solutions

Buddington (1935) introduced xenothermal high T at very shallow

depths
20th Century (cont)
1960-70s almost complete relinquishment of Lindgrens classification due to
Explosion of fluid inclusion work blurred the P-T distinctions between groupings
Advent of plate tectonics & advances in lithotectonics
Improved knowledge of role of volcanism, especially submarine type, has wrestled scores of
Lindgrens hypothermal & mesothermal classifications into generally lower temperature ones
Only epithermal classification is retained

Classification evolved to occurrence categories & no longer P-T conditions, eg. porphyry Cu,
VMS

Advances in fluid inclusion work, isotope and theoretical studies -hydrothermal fluids are brines
and not pure water, metals transported by Cl or S ions

Currently into thermodynamics, computer simulation of ore-forming processes and computer

management of exploration- & occurrence-evaluation databases
 PMRC Code of 2007 Philippine Mineral Reporting Code for
Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves

An initiative of the Philippine Minerals Development Institute Foundation

(PMDIF) together with The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE), Mines
and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP),
Philippines-Australia Business Council (PABC) and the Board of
Investments (BOI) of the Department of Trade and Industry. The
formulation of the technical provisions of the code was undertaken by
the Professional Regulation Commissions (PRC) accredited professional
organizations of the minerals industry which are the Philippine Society of
Mining Engineers (PSEM), Geological Society of the Philippines (GSP),
Society of Metallurgical Engineers of the Philippines (SMEP) and chaired
by the PMDIF
 Provides the guidelines on the Reporting for all deposit types except
petroleum & gas to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE)

Main principles
Transparency sufficient information, clear & unambiguous
presentation of data, not misleading to the readers of the Public
Report
Materiality Report contains all relevant info for the readers to
make reasoned & balanced judgement of the Public Report
Competence Public Report is based on work of Competent
Persons
 Exploration Results data, information & reports generated by
exploration programmes that may be of use to investors &/or their
financial advisers

Mineral Resource a concentration or occurrence of material of intrinsic

economic interest in or on the Earths crust in such form, quality and
quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic
extraction
The location, quantity, grade, geological characteristics and continuity of
a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific
geological evidence, sampling and knowledge
3 Categories in order of increasing geological confidence Inferred,
Indicated & Measured categories
RESOURCE/RESERVE CATEGORIES
 Inferred Mineral Resource - tonnage, grade and mineral content can
be estimated with a low level of confidence

It is inferred from geological evidence, sampling and assumed but

not verified geological and/or grade continuity

It is based on information gathered through appropriate techniques

from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill
holes which may be limited or of uncertain quality and reliability
 Indicated Mineral Resource - tonnage, densities, shape, physical
characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a
reasonable level of confidence

It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered

through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops,
trenches, pits, workings and drill holes

The locations are too widely or inappropriately spaced to confirm

geological and/or grade continuity but are spaced closely enough for
continuity to be assumed
 Measured Mineral Resource - tonnage, densities, shape, physical
characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a high
level of confidence

It is based on detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing

information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations
such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes

The locations are spaced closely enough to confirm geological and grade
continuity.
 Ore Reserve - economically mineable part of a Measured and/or Indicated Mineral Resource

It includes diluting materials and allowances for losses, which may occur when the material is
mined

Appropriate assessments to a minimum of a pre-feasibility study have been carried out, and
include consideration of, and modification by, realistically assumed mining, metallurgical,
economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental factors

In the case of integrated mining operations, the pre-feasibility study will have determined an
ore treatment plan that is technically and commercially viable and from which the mineral
recovery factors are estimated. These assessments demonstrate at the time of reporting that
extraction could reasonably be justified

2 Categories in order of increasing confidence (1) Probable Ore Reserves & (2) Proved Ore
Reserves.
 Probable Ore Reserve - the economically mineable part of an
Indicated, and in some circumstances, a Measured Mineral Resource

Includes diluting materials and allowances for losses which may

occur when the material is mined

Appropriate assessments to a minimum of pre-feasibility study have

been carried out, and include consideration of and modification by
realistically assumed mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing,
legal, environmental, social and governmental factors
 Proved Ore Reserve - economically mineable part of a Measured Mineral
Resource

Includes diluting materials and allowances for losses which may occur
when the material is mined

Appropriate assessments to a minimum of pre-feasibility study have been

carried out, and include consideration of, and modification by,
realistically assumed mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal,
environmental, social and governmental factors
 Geological Modelling data consolidation & interpretation to
explain the geology and mineralization controls

Production of cross sections and level plans

Production of schematic sections showing the geology-

mineralization w/ respect to time
Estimation Methods
Polygonal estimation polygons drawn around individual data points
By plan or levels
By cross sections

Block modeling dividing the deposit into series of rectilinear blocks

Averaging of data points inside a block
Rolling mean approach
Inverse distance weighting
Estimation Methods (Cont)
Geostatistics branch of statistics focusing on spatiotemporal data sets

Variograms basic tool providing a statistical measure of maximum

distance that can be used in inverse distance weighting at any given
direction

Kriging elegant class of inverse-distance weighting

Using weighing factors determined from the mathematical expression of

the variogram model equations

Provides a value for the estimation variance which conventional

estimation can not do Standard Error