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Science 22 March 1985:
Vol. 227. no. 4693, pp. 1421 - 1428
DOI: 10.1126/science.227.4693.1421
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Articles

Ore Metals Through Geologic History

Charles Meyer 1

1 Emeritus professor of geology at the University of California, Berkeley, and adjunct professor of economic geology at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

The ores of chromite, nickel, copper, and zinc show a wide distribution over geologic time, but those of iron, titanium, lead, uranium, gold, silver, molybdenum, tungsten, and tin are more restricted. Many of the limitations to specific time intervals are probably imposed by the evolving tectonic history of Earth interacting with the effects of the biomass on the evolution of the earth's s surface chemistry. Photosynthetic generation of free oxygen and "carbon" contributes significantlly to the diversity of redox potentials in both sedimentary and igneous-related processes of ore formation, influencing the selection of metals at the source, during transport, and at the site of ore deposition.


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