Earth Geologic Resources

resources

Materials found in the earth that people need and value

renewable

resources that can be replaced at the same rate at which they are consumed

non-renewable

resource that cannot be replaced once they are consumed

reserve

the known quantity of a resource that can be economically recovered

deposit

a natural concentration of minerals in the earths crust

ore

a rock containing a high enough concentration of a useful mineral to make it economic to mine

mining

the act of extracting ores of coal ect. from the earth

hydrothermal deposits

mineral deposits formed in association with magma and water

magmatic deposits

mineral deposits which have been concentrated in igneous rocks

solution

things that sedimentary mineral deposits are precipitated from.

placer

a type of mineral that is sorted and distributed by the flow of water or ice

residual deposits

mineral deposits that are formed by weathering reactions at the earth’s surface

terrance

Rock formation or group of formations with a different geologic origin to surrounding areas

magmatic segregation

when minerals crystallize and sink to the bottom of a cooling magma chamber, with different minerals deposited at different temperatures

hot spot

a mantle plume where rising magma can reach the surface, especially away from the edge of crustal plates

pegmatite

a coarse-grained igneous rock with interlocking crystals (often rich is feldspars, micas and quartz)

vein

a narrow deposit of a mineral that is sharply different from the surrounding rock

evaporites

minerals precipitated from the water in closed lakes or seas as they dry up

fossil fuels

any fuels formed from the decayed remains of ancient plants and animals

coal

a solid fossil fuel formed underground from buried, decomposed plant material

seam

a layer of coal usually thick enough to be profitably mined

coal seam gas

a form of natural gas (mainly methane) extracted from coal beds

rock core

a vertical, cylindrical-shaped boring used to determine composition and stratification of rocks underground

geophysical techniques

the type of techniques used in the scientific study of the physical characteristics of the earth

remote sensing

processes that collect data from the Earth at a distance

anomalous

abnormal, irregular, departing from the usual

drilling

the act of boring a hole in the earth in the hope of producing recourses

overburden

layer of soil and rock overlying a mineral deposit

open pit

mine in which ore is exposed at the surface in a large excavation

fracking

pumping of high pressure water to break rocks and release natural gas