Lecture 1 Flashcards
Quiz 1 coverage
______an applied science that combines the principles of ______ and _____ to the development of a defined mineral resource.
Mining geology, economic geology, mining engineering
Mine geologist study the relationships between 1, 2, 3
geology, ore formation and locate new mineral resources
responsibilities of a mine geologist
assessing and analyzing geological data in order to advise on short term and long term mine production plans
it is defined as a rock that contains one or more elements or minerals, sufficiently above crustal abundance with potential economic value
mineral deposit, or ore deposit
subeconomic materials in a mineral deposit materials that may be profitably mined in the future
mineral resource
two broad classification of mineral deposits
metallic and non-metallic mineral deposits
deposits of native elements or deposits of copper, zinc, lead , iron and gold which one or more metals can be extracted
metallic mineral deposits
deposits of clay, mica, fluorite, asbestos, garnet, etc.), which contain minerals useful on account of their specific physical or chemical properties
nonmetallic (or industrial) mineral deposits
minerals of economic interest in a deposit
ore minerals
waste materials
gangue
refers to a specific volume of material in a mineral deposit that can be mined and marketed at a reasonable profit under the prevailing conditions of the commodity prices, costs and technology
orebody
the average concentration of a valuable substance in a mineral deposit
grade or tenor
minimum concentration required to achieve the break even point for mine in terms of revenue and costs
cut-off grade
a critical step in the evaluation of a mineral deposit because the size of the reserves increases progressively, often exponentially, with decreasing cut-off grade
determination of cut-off grade
degree of geologic certainty of existence
measure, inferred, indicated
mineral resources can be divide into two categories on the basis of economic feasibility
paramarginal and submarginal categories on the basis of economic feasibility
mineral resources can be divide into two categories on the basis of economic feasibility
paramarginal and submarginal categories on the basis of economic feasibility
material in the orebody that also used to denote ore-like material (in terms of mineral assemblage) that cannot be mined because of lower grade or other reasons
ore
refers to the pattern of distribution of the minerals in a host rock, and it varies from being very subtle (even invisible to the naked eye as in some precious metal deposits) to quite pronounced (as in the case of massive sulfide deposits)
style of mineralization
seven commonly used terms for style of mineralization and morphology of mineral deposits
disseminated, stockworks, massive, tabular, vein-type, stratiform, strata-bound
seven commonly used terms for style of mineralization and morphology of mineral deposits
disseminated, stockworks, massive, tabular, vein-type, stratiform, strata-bound
Mode of occurrence of DISSEMINATED mineralization style
ore minerals dispersed through the host rock
Mode of occurrence of STOCKWORKS mineralization style
an interlacing network of small and narrow (cm), close-spaced ore-bearing veinlets traversing the host rock
Mode of occurrence of MASSIVE mineralization style
mineralization comprised >50% of the host rock
