SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY – LABORATORY SENIOR HIGH

SCHOOL
First Semester; A.Y. 2019 – 2020
MINERAL RESOURCES

MINERAL RESOURCES | IMPORTANCE TO THE SOCIETY

I. Minerals in Everyday Life
 HOUSEHOLD ITEMS AND MINERALS (from Chapter 3 of Ground Rules)
 Wallboard – gypsum, clay, perlite,
vermiculite, aluminum hydrate, borates
 Paint – titanium dioxide, kaolin, calcium
carbonate, mica, silica, wollastonite
 Glass – silica, quartz, lead, titanium,
sodium carbonate
 Door Knob – nickel
 Speakers – aluminum, cobalt, silver,
silica, iron, titanium, graphite, mica,
carbon, strontium, neodymium
 Plastic – calcium carbonate, talc,
wollastonite, barium sulfate, clay, mica
 Keys – nickel
 Table salt – halite, iodine
 Sugar – limestone, lime
 OTHERS
 Baby powder – talc
 Cement – limestone
 Insulation – vermiculite
 Matches – sulfur
 Toothpaste – calcium carbonate,
limestone, sodium carbonate, fluorite,
mica, zinc
 Cosmetics – calcite, hematite, kaolinite,
mica, silica, talc, titanium, zinc
 Carpet – Calcium carbonate, limestone
 Textiles –antimony, feldspar, tungsten
 Dish soap – halite, sodium carbonate
 Can opener – iron, nickel, chromium,
molybdenum
 Incandescent light bulbs – tungsten
 Window panes – silica, lime, sodium
carbonate, halite, feldspar
 Brick – kaolin, shale, barium, manganese
 Jewelry – gold, silver, platinum,
diamonds
 Soda cans – aluminum
 Sun block – zinc
 Thermometer – mercury
 Utensils – nickel, iron, silver

II. MINERAL DEPOSITS

A. DEFINITION OF TERMS:
 Mineral Occurrence – concentration of a mineral that is of scientific or technical interest
 Mineral Deposit – mineral occurrence of sufficient size and grade or concentration to enable
extraction under the most favorable conditions
 Ore Deposit – mineral deposit that has been tested and known to be economically profitable
to mine
 Aggregate – rock or mineral material used as filler in cement, asphalt, plaster, etc.; generally
used to describe nonmetallic deposits
 Ore – naturally-occurring material from which a mineral or minerals of economic value can be
extracted
B. TYPES OF MINERAL RESOURCES:
o Metallic mineral deposits: gold, silver, copper, platinum, iron
o Non-metallic resources: talc, fluorite, sulfur, sand, gravel

Occurrence of a mineral resource in relation to the rock cycle and plate tectonics
- The geologic processes in the rock cycle play a role in the accumulation and concentration of
valuable minerals.
C. Classification of mineral resources according to the mechanism responsible for concentrating
the valuable substance.
1. Magmatic Ore Deposits
 valuable substances are concentrated within an igneous body through magmatic processes
such as crystal fractionation, partial melting and crystal settling.
 magmatic processes can concentrate the ore minerals that were once widely dispersed and
in low concentrations within the magma.
 Examples:
 Crystal settling: as magma cools down, heavier minerals tend to crystallize early and settle at
the lower portion of the magma chamber. Ex. BASALTIC MAGMA - chromite (FeCr2O4),
magnetite (Fe3O4) and platinum (Pt)
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 Fractional crystallization: residual melt contains high percentage of water and volatile
substances that are favorable fornthe formation of pegmatites - enriched in Lithium, Gold,
Boron, rare elements and some other heavy metals
 Fractional crystallization: of granitic magmas can concentrate rare earth elements (such as
cesium and uranium) and heavy metals. This can also form pegmatites (large crystals of
quartz, feldspars and muscovite) which may contain semi - precious gems such as beryl,
topaz, and tourmaline

2. Hydrothermal Ore Deposits

 concentration of valuable substances by hot aqueous (water-rich) fluids flowing through
fractures and pore spaces in rocks (most numerous type of deposits)
hydrothermal solutions - are hot, residual watery fluids derived during the later stages of
magma crystallization and may contain large amount of dissolved metals. These can also
originate from the ground water circulating at depth that is being heated up by a cooling and
solidifying igneous body or along depths with known geothermal gradient.
 Examples:
 Vein type deposits a.k.a. (metalliferous) lode deposits: A fairly well defined zone of
mineralization, usually inclined and discordant and typically narrow. Most vein deposits occur
in fault or fissure openings or in shear zones within the country rock. Many of the most
productive deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, and mercury occur as hydrothermal
vein deposits
 Disseminated deposits: Deposits in which the ore minerals are distributed as minute masses
(very low concentration) through large volumes of rocks. This occurrence is common for
porphyry copper deposits
 Massive sulfide deposit (at oceanic spreading centers): Precipitation of metals as sulfide
minerals such as sphalerite(ZnS) and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) occurs when hot fluids that
circulated above magma chambers at oceanic ridges thatnmay contain sulfur, copper and
zinc come in contact with cold groundwater or seawater as it migrates towards the seafloor.
 Stratabound ore deposits (in lake or oceanic sediment): This deposit is formed when the
dissolved minerals in a hydrothermal fluid precipitate in the pore spaces of unconsolidated
sediments on the bottom of a lake or ocean. Such minerals may contain economic
concentrations of lead, zinc and copper, usually in sulfide form like galena (PbS), sphalerite
(ZnS) and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2).
 Skarn Deposits ( largest source of tungsten): Skarn is a relatively simple rock type formed when
a magma body intrudes into carbonate sedimentary rocks such as limestone or dolomite. At
the contact between the two rock types, a collection of course-grained calc-silicate minerals
mostly mineral garnet and pyroxene, form as a result of the heat and fluids released by the
cooling magma. Not all skarns contain economic mineralization but when they do contain
valuable ore minerals, they are called “ skarn deposits”
Classification:
 7 skarn deposit types based on the metal they dominantly contain: W, Sn, Cu,Mo,Fe,
Pb-Zn, Au
 When the host rock is limestone, it’s known as a calcic skarn and when it’s dolomite, it’s
called a magnesian skarn.
 According to location of mineralization: An exoskarn forms within the sediment, outside
of the intruding magma. An endoskarn forms within the igneous rock (usually a granite)
formed as the magma cools. Most of the world’s economic skarn deposits are exoskarn.

3. Sedimentary Ore Deposits

 some valuable substances are concentrated by chemical precipitation coming from lakes or
seawater
 Examples:
 Evaporite Deposits: This type of deposit typically occurs in a closed marine environment where
evaporation is greater than water inflow. As most of the water evaporates, the dissolved
substances become more concentrated in the residual water and would eventually
precipitate. Halite (NaCl), gypsum (CaSO4∙2H20), borax (used in soap) and sylvite (KCl, from
which K is extracted for fertilizers) are examples of minerals deposited through this process.
 Iron Formation: These deposits are made up of repetitive thin layers of iron-rich chert and
several other iron bearing minerals such as hematite and magnetite. Iron formations appear to
be of evaporite type deposits and are mostly formed in basins within continental crust during
the Proterozoic (2 billion years or older).

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4. Placer Ore Deposits
 Deposits formed by the concentration of valuable substances through gravity separation
during sedimentary processes.
 Usually aided by flowing surface waters either in streams or along coastlines.
 Concentration would be according to the specific gravity of substances - heavy minerals are
mechanically concentrated by water currents and the less-dense particles remain suspended
and are carried further downstream.
 Usually involves heavy minerals that are resistant to transportation and weathering.
 Common deposits are gold and other heavy minerals such as platinum, diamonds and tin;
 The source rock for a placer deposit may become an important ore body if located.

5. Residual Ore Deposits

 A type of deposit that results from the accumulation of valuable materials through chemical
weathering processes.
 During the process, the volume of the original rock is greatly reduced by leaching.
 Important factors for the formation of residual deposit include parent rock composition,
climate (tropical and sub-tropical: must be favorable for chemical decay) and relief (must not
be high to allow accumulation)
 Common deposits are bauxites and nickeliferous laterites.
 Bauxite, the principal ore of aluminum, is derived when aluminum-rich source rocks undergo
intense chemical weathering brought by prolonged rains in the tropics, leaching the common
elements that include silicon, sodium and calcium through leaching.
 Nickeliferous laterites or nickel laterites are residual ore deposits derived from the laterization of
olivine-rich ultramafic rocks such as dunite and peridotite. Like in the formation of bauxite, the
leaching of nickel-rich ultramafic rocks dissolves common elements, leaving the insoluble
nickel, magnesium and iron oxide mixed in the soil.
 Secondary Enrichment Deposits are derived when a certain mineral deposit becomes
enriched due to weathering

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