Tectonic-diffusion estimates of global mineral resources: extending the method granitic tin deposits
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Published:January 01, 2015
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CiteCitation
Stephen E. Kesler, Bruce H. Wilkinson, 2015. "Tectonic-diffusion estimates of global mineral resources: extending the method granitic tin deposits", Ore Deposits in an Evolving Earth, G. R. T. Jenkin, P. A. J. Lusty, I. Mcdonald, M. P. Smith, A. J. Boyce, J. J. Wilkinson
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Abstract
In this study, we have used tectonic-diffusion model calculations to estimate resources of bedrock-hosted granitic tin deposits of Phanerozoic age. These deposits range from proximal skarns, greisens and pegmatites in or near plutonic granites, to distal veins and disseminations, many of which are associated with subvolcanic rhyolites. Tin is also found in residual and placer deposits, some of which are associated with bedrock deposits. Most of the bedrock deposits formed at temperatures of 200–500 °C from fluids with a wide range of salinities and CO2 contents. Limited information suggests that they formed over a relatively continuous range of...
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Contents
Ore Deposits in an Evolving Earth

Ore deposits form by a variety of natural processes that concentrate elements into a volume that can be economically mined. Their type, character and abundance reflect the environment in which they formed and thus they preserve key evidence for the evolution of magmatic and tectonic processes, the state of the atmosphere and hydrosphere, and the evolution of life over geological time. This volume presents 13 papers on topical subjects in ore deposit research viewed in the context of Earth evolution. These diverse, yet interlinked, papers cover topics including: controls on the temporal and spatial distribution of ore deposits; the sources of fluid, gold and other components of orogenic gold deposits; the degree of oxygenation in the Neoproterozoic ocean; bacterial immobilization of gold in the semi-arid near-surface environment; and mineral resources for the future, including issues of resource estimation, sustainability of supply and the criticality of certain elements to society.