Mineral resources

• a solid, naturally occurring inorganic substance with a definite chemical structure

• a source of supply or support

• a rock that has formed through the deposition and solidification of sediment, limestone and chalk

• started out as some other type of rock, but have been substantially changed from their original igneous, sedimentary or earlier metamorphic form

• types of rocks that are formed when molten rock cools to a solid state

• iron ions were present in oceans in solution • iron ions react with O2 to form iron oxides • iron oxides form deposits on ocean floors

• rivers with high energy and velocity of water and density of particulates carry lots of sediment • as energy and velocity decrease, sediments drop out of suspension and are deposited

• metal ores are exposed at the surface • exposed to oxygen and water • metal oxidises and goes into solution • water perculates downwards until it reaches the water table • metal reduces • metal precipitates • copper is concentrated just below the water table

• sea levels decrease • temporary lakes may also form • water contains salts • water evaporates • salt precipitates and deposits on land

• they are remains of living organisms • over time, remains lithify • e.g coal - formed from terrestrial vegetation

• large volume of magma that moves up through the earth’s crust, but doesn’t reach the surface • cools and solidifies in the crust to form granite • associated with tectonic plate movement

• via hydrothermal deposition • hot magma rises through lithosphere • water in surrounding rocks become superheated • metals and minerals go into solution • how water moves away from magma along fractures • water cools • metals and minerals precipitate out of solution at different temperatures

• formed from shale • undergoes heat and pressure • becomes slate by changing

• formed from limestone • undergoes heat and pressure • becomes marble by changing

• the amount of the resource that is economically viable and can be exploited with today’s existing technology and prices

• all of the material on the lithosphere that exists

• develop new technology • increase value • cost of labour decrease

• problems with equipment supple • increase labour, equipment and energy cost • decrease value

• as purity of a mineral decreases the amount of the mineral increases exponentially

• the grade of material that has been set by a mining company as the minimum grade that can be extracted to make a profit

• deeper deposits - harder to extract • decrease value - increase cut off grade • increase value - decrease cut off ore grade

• to see what is there and how much is present

• measures what materials emits what amounts of IR and at what wavelengths

• measures of gravity • high gravitational pull, then it’s very dense below the surface