Knowra Hydrothermal mineral deposit Hydrothermal mineral deposit A concentration of valuable or distinctive minerals formed when hot, chemically active fluids move through rock and precipitate minerals as conditions change.
Hydrothermal fluid : Hot water containing dissolved ions and gases that circulates through rock and transports chemical elements. It carries the elements that later precipitate into a deposit.
Magmatism : The generation, movement, and emplacement of molten rock within or at Earth's surface. Cooling magma can provide heat, fluids, and metals to hydrothermal systems.
Porphyry copper deposit : A large, low- to moderate-grade copper deposit associated with shallow intrusive igneous rocks. It is a major hydrothermal deposit type and a principal source of mined copper.
Magmatic ore deposit : A mineral deposit formed mainly by processes within crystallizing or differentiating magma. Unlike hydrothermal deposits, its minerals concentrate primarily as magma evolves and crystallizes.
Fluid-rock interaction : Chemical and physical exchange between a moving fluid and the rocks it passes through. Reactions with surrounding rock can change fluid chemistry and trigger mineral precipitation.
Metamorphism : The transformation of rock minerals and textures under changing temperature, pressure, and chemical conditions. Metamorphic reactions can release fluids that transport metals.
Epithermal gold deposit : A gold- and silver-bearing hydrothermal deposit formed at relatively shallow crustal depths. Its mineral patterns and alteration zones help identify shallow precious-metal systems.
Placer deposit : A concentration of dense, durable minerals formed by sediment transport and sorting. Mechanical sorting, rather than precipitation from hot fluids, creates its mineral concentration.
Ore precipitation : The formation of solid ore minerals from dissolved components in a fluid. It concentrates metals when changing conditions make dissolved elements form minerals.
Groundwater : Water stored beneath Earth's surface in pores and fractures. Circulating groundwater can become heated and chemically enriched.
Show all 22