The buildup of sediments on or close to the Earth’s surface results in sedimentary deposits, which are mineral deposits.
Coal, industrial minerals including gypsum, limestone, and salt, as well as metal ores, can all be found in these deposits.
Based on their mineralogy and depositional environment, sedimentary deposits can be divided into a number of general types after a variety of processes.
Thus, what are the various sedimentary models of mineral deposits? Altayeb Saad provide us an insightful answer to that question. The various models related to sedimentary deposits are:
Placer deposits: mechanical concentration of heavy minerals (e.g., Au, diamonds, Ti sands).
Banded Iron Formations (BIF): Fe-rich layers from Precambrian seawater chemistry (e.g., Hamersley, Superior Province).
Evaporites: precipitation of salts (e.g., halite, gypsum, potash) from evaporating water bodies.
Phosphorites: marine phosphate accumulation (e.g., Florida, Morocco).
Black Shales: organic-rich sedimentary deposits with metals (e.g., Kupferschiefer Cu-Ag).
In your opinion, what’s the most critical process in the formation of sedimentary mineral deposits—weathering, transport, or deposition?
Author: Altayeb Saad.
