MINERAL DEPOSITS IN THE PHILIPPINES

WHAT IS MINERAL DEPOSIT?

Mineral deposits are naturally occurring accumulations or concentrations of metals or minerals of

sufficient size and concentration that might, under favourable circumstances, have economic value

An accumulation of natural mineral raw material of industrial significance. Mineral deposits of sedi
mentary origin occur inlayers (for example, deposits of coal, salts, phosphorites, aluminum and ma
nganese ores, and limestone) that are oftenintensively deformedbent into folds and broken by fa
ults. Mineral deposits in the crust of weathering (iron and nickel oresand other residua) may have
a mantle-like, platelike, pocket, or vein form. Deposits of endogenous beds of copper, lead,zinc, tu
ngsten, tin, and gold usually occur in veins; they may also occur in the form of lenses, pipes, stock
s, and nestscomposed of massive ores or in the form of stock works formed by vein-impregnated
ores.

Deposits of petroleum and gas are divided into sheet and massive deposits. In sheet deposits the
accumulation ofpetroleum and gas is related to strictly defined stratathe collectors. Massive petr
oleum and gas deposits fill up protrusionsof permeable rock, which are enclosed
from above by impervious layers; they are subdivided into deposits in structural,reef, salt, and eros
ion protrusion.

an accumulation of mineral matter on the surface or in the earths interior that r

esults from geological processes and whosequantity, quality, and conditions of b
edding make it suitable for industrial use. Deposits may be gaseous (hydrocarbo
n fuelgases, as well as noncombustible gases, such as helium, neon, argon, and
krypton), liquid (petroleum and subterraneanwater), or solid (precious elements,
crystals, minerals, and rocks). Mineral deposits are divided into metalliferous,no
nmetalliferous, fuel (caustobioliths), and hydromineral types, according to indus
trial use. Deposits of subterranean waters(drinking, industrial, balneological, or
mineral waters, as well as waters in productive oil strata that contain bromine, i
odine,boron, radium, and other elements in sufficient quantity for extraction) di
ffer from other mineral deposits in that the reservesare replaceable. The minimu
m quantity of mineral and lowest grade of quality for exploitation are called the
industrialconditions.

Mineral deposits may emerge at the earths surface (open deposits) or be burie
d underground (closed, or concealed,deposits). Deposits are subdivided into seri
es according to conditions of formation (sedimentogenic, magmatogenic, andm
etamorphogenic), and the series in turn are broken down into groups, classes, a
nd subclasses.

Sedimentogenic (surface and exogenous) mineral deposits were formed at the s

urface or in the surface zone throughchemical, biochemical, and mechanical diff
erentiation of mineral substances caused by the earths external energy. Threeg
roups of mineral deposits are identified within the sedimentogenic series: (1) we
athering, (2) placer, and (3) sedimentary.

Magmatogenic (deep
seated and endogenous) mineral deposits were formed in the earths interior thr
ough geochemicaldifferentiation of mineral substances caused by the appearan
ce of magma and its effect on the environment owing tosources of energy withi
n the earth. Five basic groups are identified within this series: (1) magmatic, (2)
pegmatite, (3)carbonatite, (4) skarn, and (5) hydrothermal.

Metamorphogenic mineral deposits originated in the process of regional and loc

al metamorphism of rocks. In accordancewith the accepted division of geologica
l history, a distinction is made among mineral deposits of Archean, Proterozoic,R
iphean, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic age. A further distinction is made am
ong deposits whose matter comes fromsubcrustal (mantle or basalt) and crustal
(or granite) magma, as well as the earths sedimentary shell. According to place
offormation, deposits are subdivided into geosynclinal (folded regions) and platf
orm deposits. Four levels of formation ofmineral deposits below the earths surf
ace are known: ultraabyssal (more than 1015 km), abyssal (from 35 to 1015
km),hypabyssal (from 1.01.5 to 35 km), and near-surface (to depths of 1.01.5
km).

ORE -a naturally occurring solid material from which a metal or valuable

mineral can be profitably extracted

CLASSIFICATIONS OF MINERAL DEPOSITS

It is therefore useful to define a small number of terms used in the classification which have a
genetic connotation:

Hydrothermal

hydrothermal (literally meaning pertaining to hot water) mineral deposits. Hydrothermal activity occurs at
many levels in the Earth's crust, from deep-down (a kilometre or more) to the surface (fumarolic deposits
around geysers) with hydrothermal fluids generated by igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary processes or a
combination of these. All that is required is water and a heat-source which allow the fluids to perform one
important task to concentrate elements.
Hydrothermal mineral deposits may contain a vast range of different mineral's, including native elements,
sulphides, oxides, halides, carbonates, sulphates, phosphates and silicates. The mineralogy of any one deposit
reflects a variety of things, the two most important are:
 the chemistry of the fluid (which is controlled both by its source and the chemistry of the rocks
through which it has passed).

the physical conditions (temperature and pressure) at the time of mineralization.

any concentration of metallic minerals formed by the precipitation of solids from hot mineral-laden
water (hydrothermal solution). The solutions are thought to arise in most cases from the action of
deeply circulating water heated by magma. Other sources of heating that may be involved include
energy released by radioactive decay or by faulting of the Earths crust.

The mineral deposit may be precipitated from the solution with or without demonstrable association
with igneous processes. These waters may deposit their dissolved minerals in openings in the rock,
thus filling the cavities, or they may replace the rocks themselves to form so-called replacement
deposits. The two processes may occur simultaneously, the filling of an opening by precipitation
accompanying the replacement of the walls of the opening.
Conditions necessary for the formation of hydrothermal mineral deposits include (1) presence of hot
water to dissolve and transport minerals, (2) presence of interconnected openings in the rock to allow

the solutions to move, (3) availability of sites for the deposits, and (4) chemical reaction that will
result in deposition. Deposition can be caused by boiling, by a drop in temperature, by mixing with a
cooler solution, or by chemical reactions between the solution and a reactive rock. Although
hydrothermal mineral deposits may form in any host rock, deposition is preferentially influenced or
localized by certain kinds of rock. For example, lead-zinc-silver ores in some parts of Mexico occur
in dolomitic rather than pure limestone; the reverse is true at Santa Eulalia, where massive sulfide
deposits end abruptly at the limestone-dolomite contact.
Examples of hydrothermal mineral deposits;

Magmatic

deposits of minerals formed deep in the earths crust during the solidification and crystallization of basic or alk
aline magmacontaining high concentrations of valuable minerals. These deposits vary in shape and occur in i
gneous rocks that arerelated to them in origin.

The formation of valuable minerals in magma that is cooling is the result of three factors. First, when cooling,
magma mayseparate into two immiscible liquids, one of which consists of a mineral substance. This process i
s called liquation anddeposits that are formed in this way are called magmatic liquation deposits (for example,
sulfide copper-nickel orescontaining cobalt and platinoids in the deposits of Norilsk, Talnakh, and Pechenga i
n the USSR and Sudbury in Canada).Second, during the crystallization of magma valuable minerals may for
m earlier than others and sink to the bottom of themagma reservoir, forming early magmatic deposits. These
deposits are also called segregation or accumulative deposits(chromium, titanium, and iron deposits). The ki
mberlite diamond pipes of Eastern Siberia and South Africa are original earlymagmatic deposits. Third, when
gas-rich magma crystallizes the mineral substance may concentrate in the easily fusibleresidual melt and duri
ng the ensuing solidification form late magmatic or hysteromagmatic deposits (the titanomagnetitedeposits of
Mount Kachkanar in the Urals, chromites in the Southern Urals, apatites of the Kola Peninsula, tantalum,niobi
um, and rare earths). Much less frequently magmatic deposits may occur in the form of flows that issue from
volcanicvents (for example, volcanic sulfur flows).

The most important beds in magmatic deposits are those of iron, titanium, vanadium, chromium, platinum, co
pper, nickel,cobalt, apatite, diamonds, niobium-tantalum, zirconium, and hafnium

Syngenetic

a mineral deposit formed contemporaneously with the enclosing rocks. The deposits, which usually occu
r as beds or bedlikemasses, are conformable with the underlying and overlying strata. They include mai
nly sedimentary mineral deposits,including sands, clays, limestones, coals, oil shales, salts, phosphorite
s, bauxites, iron and manganese ores, and certaindeposits of copper, uranium, and vanadium. Magmati
c mineral deposits are rarely syngenetic; they are associated withchromite and titanomagnetite ores in ul
trabasic rocks, with niobium ores of stratified alkaline massifs, and with partiallyliquated sulfide niccolite

Epigenetic

a mineral deposit that formed later than the enclosing rocks. The mineral composition and chemical compositi
on ofepigenetic deposits differ markedly from the composition of the enclosing rocks.

Epigenetic deposits usually occur in the form of veins, lenses, stocks, and pipes that cut through the rocks; zo
nes ofmineralization accompanying epigenetic deposits form in the enclosing rocks through their action. Epig
enetic depositsinclude magmatic deposits of titanomagnetites, chromites, platinoids, diamonds, and apatite, a
s well as certain bodies ofsulfide copper-nickel ores. They also include pegmatite deposits of ceramic raw mat
erials, mica, precious stones, lithium,and beryllium and skarn deposits of iron, copper, lead, zinc, and other m
etallic ores. The broadest group of epigeneticdeposits includes hydrothermal vein and metasomatic deposits
of ores of the nonferrous, rare, noble, and radioactive metalsand deposits of quartz, barite, fluorite, and asbes
tos. Infiltration deposits of ores of iron, copper, and uranium are alsoclassified as epigenetic deposits.

Epigenetic deposits are contrasted to syngenetic deposits, which formed at the same time as the enclosing ro
cks