Mineral Resources-Deposits

• Mineral Resources can be found throughout the world in the Earth’s Crust.
• Minerals can form deep along with the Earth’s Crust due to the pressure.
• Minerals Form in Two (2) Ways; 1: Crystallization of Magma (Cools inside the crust) or Lava (Cools & Hardens on the surface) 2: Crystallization of Materials dissolved in water – when these liquids cool to a solid state, they form crystals.
• Metallic Resources are those minerals that contain minerals in their Chemical Composition (obtained when the material is melted) and usually have a bright and metallic luster.
• Examples of Metallic Resources include: Chromite and Bauxite.
• Non-Metallic Resources are those materials that do not yield new products when melted and do not have metallic luster.
• Examples of Non-Metallic Resources are: Sand and Gravel.
• Magmatic Ore Deposits are deposits within Igneous Rocks or along their contacts in which ore minerals crystallized from a melt or transported in a melt.
• Crystal Settling is a process in a magma where minerals sink because of their greater density, sometimes aided by magmatic convection, resulting in crystal accumulation which develops layering.
• Examples of Crystal Settling include: Chromite and Platinum.
• Fractional Crystallization is a process by which a chemical compound is separated into components by crystallization.
• In Fractional Crystallization, the compound is mixed with solvent, heated, and then gradually cooled so that, as each of its constituent components crystallizes, it can be removed in its pure form from the solution.
• Hydrothermal Ore Deposits are accumulations of valuable minerals which formed from hot waters/aqueous fluids circulating Earth’s Crust through Fractures.
• These Hydrothermal Solutions can dissolve valuable substances (at low concentrations) from rocks.
• When the metal enriched hot waters move into cooler areas the dissolved substances precipitate into solid forms.
• Vein Type Deposits are deposits in fault or fissure openings or in shear zones, with most productive deposits of Gold, Copper, Lead, Zinc, and Mercury.
• Dissemented Deposits are large plumes of rocks for porphyry copper deposits.
• Massive Sulfide Mineral Deposits are accumulations of sulfides such as Sphalerite (ZnS) and Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) at oceanic spreading centers or ridges.
• Strata Bound Ore Deposits are deposits in lakes or oceanic sediment, forming minerals such as Galena (PbS), Sphalerite (ZnS), and Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2).
• Sedimentary Ore Deposits are deposits of valuable substances concentrated through chemical precipitation from lakes or seawater, with common deposits being Evaporite Deposits (in closed marine environment) that precipitate Halite (NaCl), Gypsum (CaSO4-2H20), Borax (used in soap), Sylvite (KCl), Hematite and Magnetite.
• Placer Ore Deposits are accumulations of valuable minerals formed by gravity separation from a specific source rock during sedimentary processes, with common deposits being Gold, Platinum, Diamonds and Tin.