Lesson 1: General Concepts Flashcards
a subdiscipline of geology focused on the study of Earth’s natural resources, including their origin, exploration, extraction, and sustainable management
Resource Geology
refers to the ability of a project, business, or activity to generate sufficient financial benefits to justify its costs over time, ensuring long-term sustainability and a positive return on investment
Economic viability
rock volumes containing selected elements in sufficient concentration and quantity to be extracted economically, with most technically important metals (except Fe and Al) being scarce and comprising less than ~1% of the Earth’s crust
Ore deposits
a rock formation that is mined or intended to be mined for valuable materials that can be extracted
Ore deposits
both aluminum metal and feedstocks for Albearing abrasives and refractory products
Bauxite
both a gemstone and an industrial mineral
Diamond
a “naturally occurring, inorganic, homogeneous element or compound with a definite chemical composition and an ordered atomic arrangement.”
Mineral
a naturally found material composed of an aggregate of
grains or crystal of one or more minerals
Rock
a naturally occurring accumulation or deposit of one or more minerals of economic value (more or less mixed with gangue) that can be exploited at a profit
Ore
any valuable mass of ore
Mineral Deposit
A mineral deposit that has been tested is known to be of
sufficient size, grade, and accessibility to be mined at a profit.
Ore Deposit
any of a class of substances (such as gold, iron, and aluminum)
that typically are fusible, opaque, and are good conductors of electricity and show a metallic luster
Metal
malleable, ductile, comparatively heavy, and all are solid (except
mercury) at ordinary temperature
Metal
a metal made by the fusion of two or more metals (an inferior
metal mixed with a more valuable one) or a metal with a nonmetal
Alloy
an accumulation of a solid and fairly continuous mass of ore with gangue
Ore Body
molecules or ions that bind to metal ions to form a complex
Ligands
an intrinsic part of crustal evolution; coincidence of favorable combinations of processes and source parameters results in large and super large ore deposits
Ore formation
due to the interaction of several geological factors
Ore localization
Identifies the contained minerals or metals.
Composition of the Deposit
Describes size, shape, orientation, ore mineral distribution, and tectonic setting.
Form of the Deposit
Indicates the enclosing rocks and ore associations.
Host Rocks or Geological Setting
Explains geological processes and controls that formed the deposit.
Interpreted Genesis of the Deposit
Deposits that form simultaneously with the surrounding host rocks, typically during sedimentation or volcanic activity.
syngenetic
Deposits that form after the host rocks have already been formed, usually due to hydrothermal processes or fluid migration.
Epigenetic
