ME551/GEO551 Introduction to Geology of Industrial Minerals Spring 2007 Geology A mineral occurrence is any locality where a useful mineral or material is found.
A mineral prospect is any occurrence that has been developed by underground or by above ground techniques, or by subsurface drilling to determine the extent of mineralization.
The terms mineral occurrence and mineral prospect do not have any resource or economic implications. A mineral deposit is any
occurrence of a valuable commodity or mineral that is of sufficient size and grade (concentration) that has potential for economic development under past, present, or future favorable conditions.
An ore deposit is a well-defined mineral deposit that has been tested and found to be of sufficient size, grade, and accessibility to be extracted (i.e. mined) and processed at a profit at a specific time. Thus,
the size and grade of an ore deposit changes as the economic conditions change. Ore refers to industrial minerals as well as metals. Generally, industrial minerals are any rock, mineral, or naturally
occurring substance or closely related man-made material of economic value, generally excluding metals, fuels, and gemstones. Without a market, an industrial mineral deposit
is merely a geological curiosity Demand feeds back from the end-use market, to the end product, to the intermediate end product, and finally back to the mineral supplier. Customer specifications include physical and
chemical and other criteria Locatable Minerals are whatever is recognized as a valuable mineral by standard authorities, whether metallic or other substance, when found on public land open to mineral entry in quality and
quantity sufficient to render a claim valuable on account of the mineral content, under the United States Mining Law of 1872. Specifically excluded from location are the leasable minerals, common varieties, and salable minerals.
Leasable Minerals The passage of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended from time to time, places the following minerals under the leasing law: oil, gas, coal, oil shale, sodium, potassium, phosphate, native asphalt, solid or semisolid
bitumen, bituminous rock, oilimpregnated rock or sand, and sulfur in Louisiana and New Mexico. Salable Minerals The Materials Act of 1947, as amended, removes petrified wood, common varieties of sand, stone, gravel,
pumice, pumicite, cinders, and some clay from location and leasing. These materials may be acquired by purchase only. Epigenetic mineral deposit formed much later than the rocks which
enclose it Syngenetic mineral deposit formed at the same time as the rocks that enclose it RESERVES
Inferred: That part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a low level of confidence. Indicated: That part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a reasonable level of confidence.
Measured: That part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a high level of confidence. RESERVES Probable: The economically mineable part
of an Indicated and, in some circumstances, Measured Mineral Resource. Proven: The economically mineable part of a Measured Mineral Resource. A mineral is where you find it. It may not be the most suitable
place in the world. U.S. Senator Larry Craig, explaining why he is seeking to lift limits on mine waste dumping on public lands Geology of industrial minerals
deposits Geology provides the framework in which mineral exploration and the integrated procedures of remote sensing, geophysics, and geochemistry are planned and interpreted.
Factors important in evaluating an industrial minerals deposit Customer specifications Distance to customer (transportation) Ore grade--concentration of the commodity in the deposit
By-products Commodity prices Mineralogical form Grain size and shape Factors--continued
Undesirable substances Size and shape of deposit Ore character Cost of capital Location
Environmental consequences/ reclamation/bonding Land status Taxation Political factors Why do we classify mineral deposits?
Why do we classify mineral deposits?
geological conditions of formation how they formed where they formed exploration Simple classification
magmatic sedimentary
supergene metamorphic Classification of industrial minerals End-use and genesis (Bates, 1960) By unit price and bulk (Burnett, 1962) Unit value, place value, representative value
(Fisher, 1969) Chemical and physical properties (Kline, 1970) Geologic occurrence and end-use (Dunn, 1973) Geology of origin (Harben and Bates, 1984) Alphabetical (Harben and Bates, 1990, Carr, 1994) Some deposits are formed by more
than one process (placers, some nepheline syenites) Genetic processes that lead to the concentration of minerals Hydrothermal mineral deposits formed in association with magma and water
Magmatic mineral deposits concentrated in igneous rocks (crystallization verses segregation) Sedimentary mineral deposits precipitated from a solution, typically sea water Placer deposits sorted and distributed by flow of water (or ice) and concentrated by gravity Residual mineral deposits formed by weathering reactions
at the earth's surface Genetic processes--continued Lateral secretion or diffusion of minerals from country rocks into faults and other structures Metamorphic processes, both contact and regional
Secondary or supergene enrichment where leaching of materials occurs and precipitation at depth produces higher concentrations Volcanic exhalative Hydrothermal mineral deposits formed in association with magma and water
Magmatic mineral deposits concentrated in igneous rocks (crystallization verses segregation) http://jove.geol.niu.edu/faculty/fischer/105_info/105_E_notes/lecture_notes/ Mineral_Resources/MR_images/pegmatite.jpeg
http://jove.geol.niu.edu/faculty/ fischer/105_info/105_E_notes/ lecture_notes/Mineral_Resources/ MR_images/kimberlite_pipe.jpeg http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/b2156/b2156.pdf
Sedimentary mineral deposits precipitated from a solution, typically sea water http://jove.geol.niu.edu/faculty/fischer/105_info/105_E_notes/lecture_notes/ Mineral_Resources/MR_images/death_valley_salt_flats.jpg Placer deposits sorted and distributed by flow of water (or ice)
and concentrated by gravity Beach placer sandstone deposits are tabular, stratabound REE-Ti-Nb-ZrTh (U) deposits. Residual mineral deposits formed by weathering reactions at the earth's surface--bauxite from Australia
Lateral secretion or diffusion of minerals from country rocks into faults and other structures Metamorphic processes, both contact and regional
Skarns http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~meinert/Hedley.gif Secondary or supergene enrichment where leaching of materials occurs and precipitation at depth produces higher concentrations
Volcanic massive sulfide deposits http://joides.rsmas.miami.edu/files/AandO/Humphris_ODPLegacy.pdf http://joides.rsmas.miami.edu/files/AandO/Humphris_ODPLegacy.pdf Shape of ore deposits
Tabular Tubular Disseminated Irregular replacement Stratabound Open-space filling
Required geologic data
size, shape, and variability of the ore deposit location information lithology mineralogy--abundance and morphology alteration
structural rock competency data Report on reserves Data Density Integration of Geological Information Listing/Recording of Data Set
Data Analysis Sample Support Economic Parameters Mineral resource Model Interpolation Method Mineral Resource Validation Evaluation of potential orebody
Ore grade: lots of different units, cut-off grade, homogeneity By-products: commonly critical to success; Au, Ag, W Commodity prices: forcasting the future Mineralogical form: native vs sulfide vs oxide vs silicate
Evaluation of potential orebody Grain size and shape: McArthur River 200Mt, 10%Zn, 4%Pb, 0.2%Cu, 45ppmAg Undesirable substances: As, Sb; calcite in acid leachable U ores Size and shape of deposits: underground vs
open pit; Fig 1.16 Ore character: hard vs soft (blasting, wall support) cost and safety Evaluation of potential orebody Cost of capital Location: infrastructure and transportation
Environmental considerations: VERY important Taxation: involved subject: depreciation, Political factors: nationalization, foreign exchange Estimation of reserves
Industrial mineral deposits differ significantly from other, more typical metallic mineral deposits and even amongst themselves. Customer specifications for industrial mineral products are
frequently based solely on physical properties rather than, or in addition to, chemical characteristics. An industrial mineral may have multiple market applications or it may be
included in multiple end-products. It is essential to determine the physical and chemical characteristics of the industrial mineral in sufficient detail that its appropriateness for each intended market can be assessed.
Determination of the chemical and physical characteristics of an industrial mineral often involves procedures and tests that are not part of the normal activity of an analytical laboratory.
The properties of an industrial mineral occurrence can vary markedly from location to location and even within the same deposit. In particular, many industrial minerals deposits are subject to a nugget effect.
Published specifications and standards for industrial minerals should be used primarily as a screening mechanism to establish the marketability of an industrial mineral. The suitability of an industrial mineral for use in specific applications can only be determined
through detailed market investigations and discussions with potential consumers. Make sure that laboratory test procedures adequately duplicate the proposed production
process. In many cases, bulk samples as large as 500 tonnes may be required. Identification of the market and the factors that influence market demand and the potential for success in the market
are critical to determining value for an industrial mineral and therefore the classification of the mineral deposit as either a Mineral Resource or Mineral Reserve. Read Aggregate Handbook,
chapter 16 Sampling and testing Industrial minerals begin reading the commodities. Commodities outline
Introduction (definition) Uses (properties) Production
Geologic descriptions and distribution Processing, marketing
