Great Deposits
The world’s greatest ore deposits. These are the minerals deposits and mines that set the standard for a deposit type. In many cases they changed the their host countries and communities for good. They are the stuff of legend.
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Mountain Pass: America’s Once and Future Rare Earth King
Mountain Pass, California once produced the majority of the world’s Rare Earth Elements (REEs). The 2002 closure of the mine…
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Great Deposits of the World – Mount Isa Zn-Pb-Ag; Cu Deposits
Located in the Mount Isa inlier of Queensland, Australia, the Mt Isa deposits represent the largest accumulations of lead, zinc…
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Cigar Lake Mine: the World’s Largest Uranium Producer
Overview This synopsis highlights Cigar Lake, one of the world’s top uranium mines (Figure 1). With grades 100 times higher…
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Bathurst Mining Camp: One of the World’s Great Base Metal Districts
The Bathurst Mining Camp (BMC) is one of the world’s oldest base metal mining districts and one of Canada’s largest…
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Geology of the PGE Deposits in the Bushveld Complex, South Africa
Overview The Bushveld Complex (BC), located in northern South Africa, is a Paleoproterozoic Large Igneous Province ~2 Ga in age.…
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Great Deposits – Slovakia’s Banská Štiavnica Mining District
Built on the site of an ancient caldera, Banská Štiavnica in Slovakia is home to one of Europe’s great mineral…
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Cerro Rico Part 2: Geology
“I am the rich Potosi, the treasure of the world, the king of mountains, and the envy of kings” Charles V…
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Cerro Rico: The Greatest of the Great. Part 1
In this column on great deposits, I have discussed those that were rich, big, changed destinies, broke governments and accumulated…
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Great Deposits – The Comstock Lode
Introduction Flying over Nevada on a clear day is one of the great joys of being an economic geologist. The…
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Largest Gold Deposits in the World – Witwatersrand Gold Fields
Introduction The gold fields of the Witwatersrand Basin in South Africa are, by a landslide, the largest single gold producing…
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