Ores

Principally we discuss ores as sources of

metals
However, there are many other resources
bound in minerals which we find useful
How many can we think of?
 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
 Ore deposit environments
Magmatic
Cumulate deposits fractional crystallization processes can
concentrate metals (Cr, Fe, Pt)
Pegmatites late staged crystallization forms pegmatites
and many residual elements are concentrated (Li, Ce, Be,
Sn, and U)
Hydrothermal
Magmatic fluid - directly associated with magma
Porphyries - Hot water heated by pluton
Skarn hot water associated with contact metamorphisms
Exhalatives hot water flowing to surface
Epigenetic hot water not directly associated with pluton
 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
Sulfide (reduced form of S) strongly binds
metals many important metal ore minerals
are sulfides!
 Hydrothermal Ore Deposits
Thermal gradients induce convection of
water leaching, redox rxns, and cooling
create economic mineralization
 Ore deposit environments
Sedimentary
Placer weathering of primary mineralization
and transport by streams (Gold, diamonds,
other)
Banded Iron Formations 90%+ of worldsiron
tied up in these (more later)
Evaporite deposits minerals like gypsum, halite
deposited this way
Laterites leaching of rock leaves residual
materials behind (Al, Ni, Fe)
Supergene reworking of primary ore deposits
remobilizes metals (often over short distances)
 Ore Deposit Types I
Placer uranium gold
Stratiform phosphate
Stratiform iron
Residually enriched deposit
Evaporites
Exhalative base metal sulphides
Unconfornity-associated uranium
Stratabound clastic-hosted uranium, lead, copper
Volcanic redbed copper
Mississippi Valley-type lead-zinc
Ultramafic-hosted asbestos
Vein uranium
Arsenide vein silver, uranium
Lode Gold
 Ore Deposit Types II
Clastic metasediment-hosted vein silver-lead-zinc
Vein Copper
Vein-stockwork tin, tungsten
Porphyry copper, gold, molybdenum, tungsten, tin, silver
Skarn deposits
Granitic pegmatites
Kiruna/Olympic Dam-type iron, copper, uranium, gold, silver
Peralkaline rock-associated rare metals
Carbonatite-associated deposits
Primary diamond deposits
Mafic intrusion-hosted titanium-iron
Magmatic nickel-copper-platinum group elements
Mafic/ultramafic-hosted chromite