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Mining Geology and Exploration
Mining Geology and Exploration
Mining Geology
and
Exploration
MMPE 290
Plate Tectonics and mineral deposition.
MMPE 290
Mining Geology and Exploration
MMPE 290
Economically Important Metal
Concentrations in Earth’s Crust
Concentration
Metal (% by weight)
Aluminum 8.0 Note for comparison:
Iron 5.8 Silicon 28%
Copper 0.0058 Oxygen 46%
Nickel 0.0072
Zinc 0.0082
Uranium 0.00016
Lead 0.001
Silver 0.000008
Gold 0.0000002
What is a mineral?
A solid naturally-occurring compound
having a definite chemical composition
Examples:
quartz - SiO2 (an oxide)
hematite - Fe2O3 (another oxide)
chalcopyrite - CuFeS (a sulphide)
What is an orebody?
Copper
0
10 Nickel
Uranium
-1
y=x
10
-2
10 Silver
-3
10
Gold
-4
10
-7 -5 -3 -1 1 3
10 10 10 10 10 10
Crustal Concentration
Hydrothermal Ore Deposits
As magma cools, more abundant metals
(silicon, aluminum) deposit first
Solidification of magma releases water - a
hydrothermal solution
Minerals precipitate from hydrothermal
solution and deposit in cracks or veins in
rock
Metamorphic Ore Deposits
Concentration of minerals caused by high
temperatures and pressures near intrusions
Examples:
Lead-zinc deposits in southeast B.C.
Diamonds
Garnets
Hydrothermal and
Metamorphic Ore Deposits
Hydrothermal solutions
entering veins in rocks Ore deposit
zoning
Alteration of rocks by
heat and pressure
Intrusion
Sedimentary Ore Deposits
Deposition of dense, resistant minerals in
streams, lakes etc (Alluvial Deposits),
e.g. Placer gold
Precipitation of minerals from lakes-oceans
(Evaporite Deposits), e.g. Potash and Salt
Deposits
Accumulation, burial and petrification of
vegetation, e.g. Coal Deposits.
Exploration Methods
· Remote sensing
· Geological mapping
· Geophysical surveys
· Geochemical surveys
· Bulk sampling
· Drilling (core or destructive)
Airborne Geophysics
Helicopter
Bush
Cable
“Bird”
GEOPHYSICAL
METHODS
Geochemical Anomalies