Giant Metallic Deposits: Future Sources of Industrial Metals

Description

Metals in the earth's crust are very unevenly distributed and, traditionally, a small number of ore deposits, districts or countries have dominated the world supply and have influenced commodity prices. The importance of exceptionally large, or rich, deposits has greatly increased in the age of globalization when a small number of international corporations dominate the metals market, based on few very large ore deposits, practically anywhere in the world. Search for giant orebodies thus drives the exploration industry: not only the in-house teams of large internationals, but also hundreds of junior companies hoping to sell their significant discoveries to the "big boys". Geological characteristics of giant metallic deposits and their setting and the politico-economic constraints of access to and exploitation in prospective areas have been a "hot topic" in the past fifteen years, but the knowledge generated and published has been one-sided, scattered and fragmented. This is the first comprehensive book on the subject that provides body of solid facts rather than rapidly changing theories, written by author of the Empirical Metallogeny book series and founder of the Data Metallogenica visual knowledge system on mineral deposits of the world, who has had an almost 40 years long international academic and industrial experience. The book will provide abundant material for comparative research in metallogeny, practical information for the explorationists as to where to look for the "elephants", and some inspiration for commodity investors. Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Civilization based on metals....Pages 5-36 Data on metallic deposits and magnitude categories: the giant and world class deposits....Pages 37-58 From trace metals to giant deposits....Pages 59-68 Geological divisions that contain ore giants: introduction and the role of mantle....Pages 69-80 Oceans and young island arc systems....Pages 81-108 Andean-type convergent continental margins (upper volcanic-sedimentary level)....Pages 109-168 Cordilleran granitoids in convergent continental margins (lower, plutonic levels)....Pages 169-262 Intracratonic (intraplate) orogens granites hydrothermal deposits....Pages 263-340 Volcano-sedimentary orogens....Pages 341-374 Precambrian greenstone-granite terrains....Pages 375-424 Proterozoic-style intracratonic orogens and basins: extension, sedimentation, magmatism....Pages 425-492 Rifts, paleorifts, rifted margins, anorogenic and alkaline magmatism....Pages 493-550 Sedimentary associations and regolith....Pages 551-640 Higher-grade metamorphic associations....Pages 641-676 Giant deposits in geological context....Pages 677-702 Giant deposits: industry, economics, politics....Pages 703-724 Finding or acquiring giant deposits....Pages 725-748 Epilogue....Pages 749-754 References....Pages 755-826 Index of mineral deposits....Pages 827-834 Subject Index....Pages 835-847 Appendix: Database of significant metal accumulations....Pages 849-949