ore deposit
Underground metal source
An ore deposit is a naturally occurring concentration of minerals or metals in the earth's crust that is rich enough to be extracted profitably.
Geologists distinguish ore deposits from ordinary rock formations by their economic viability—the minerals must be sufficiently concentrated and accessible to justify mining costs.
The company discovered a significant copper ore deposit in the mountainous region.
Ore deposits form through various geological processes over millions of years, including volcanic activity, sedimentation, and hydrothermal circulation.
- mother lodePrincipal ore deposit
- galenaSulfide ore of lead
- pyriteBrass-yellow iron sulfide
- magnetiteMagnetic iron ore
- veinVessel toward heart
hematite · bauxite · precious metals · cassiterite · cinnabar · geochemistry · steel production · mineralogy · geology · mineral rights · open pit · pay dirt · struck gold · placer · mining · underground mining · pickaxe · sedimentary layer
- resource sitesmine, quarry, oil well, oil field, gas field
- undergroundunderground, subterranean, cave systems, tunnels, tunnel
- depositsCD, FDIC insurance
- geology termsfossils, rock layers, schist, core sample, gneiss
- geological formationslode, mineral vein, coal seam, coal bed, gold vein
- gold mininggold pan, pan, panning, nuggets, gold nugget