HOME MINERALS
PAGE
LAST
DRAWER
LAST
IMAGE
NEXT
IMAGE
NEXT
DRAWER
MORE
TEXT
IMAGE
INFO
LINKS


......
set: minerals // series: // picture: E


The accumulation of large concentrations of minerals in Mineral Deposits, can take place either by physical or chemical processes. Physical processes leave the original mineral unchanged, and concentration is by gravity (for example, wave or river current action). In contrast, chemical processes transport the metal in solution, and deposition occurs from changes in the chemical or physical (pressure, temperature) state of the environment. One of the most important means of transporting and concentrating metals is by hot waters (hydrothermal fluids). In some parts of the world such fluids are issuing on to the surface of the Earth and are still precipitating minerals. In this example at Steamboat Springs in Nevada (western United Sates), steam is coming out of fractures in the rocks.