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Ore Deposits

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Geochemistry

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Synonyms

Mineral deposits; Mineral resources

Definition

Strictly speaking, an ore (“mine” in Latin) is a natural rock containing one or more useful substances that can possibly be extracted (mined) and processed to meet the demand of the society. Even if an economic connotation is generally associated with this term, there are many examples of ore mining driven by the imperative need of the substance without economic considerations. A typical example is uranium production during the 1950s which was dictated by the military programs. Moreover, the profitability of a given ore deposit may vary largely through time according to economic conditions and improvements in extractive metallurgy. Concentrations that are of too small volume or too low grade to be mined are called mineral occurrences or showings. The term ore deposit is most commonly applied to rocks containing metallic ore minerals in the native state (e.g., Au, Ag, Cu) or combined with other elements to form more complex...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. GeoRessources, University of Lorraine, CNRS, CREGU, 54506, Vandoeuvre les Nancy, France

    Michel Cuney

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  1. Michel Cuney
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michel Cuney .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth, Cornell University Department of Earth, Ithaca, New York, USA

    William M. White

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Cuney, M. (2016). Ore Deposits. In: White, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_126-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_126-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-39193-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-39193-9

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