BASICS OF ECONOMIC GEOLOGY AND MINING PRACTICES: A Course Book for Universities and Polytechnics ( With Emphasis on Africa)

Mineral resources are Nature’s endowment to humanity; they are to be discovered, extracted and used for our economic benefit. However, economic minerals are very ‘scarce’ and non-renewable resources that require the training and expertise of geoscientists to find, explore and exploit. The insatiable demand for mineral raw materials to meet the needs of a growing world population, and rising standard of living has created the urgent need to train more economic geologists who understand the complex processes responsible for the occurrence, distribution and origin of mineral deposits, and know how to apply the acquired knowledge in the search for new mineral deposits. Economic geology is the scientific study of mineral resources and the application of such knowledge in mineral exploration and mining. This book is an introductory text on the geology of mineral deposits for undergraduate and postgraduate geology and mining students, particularly in Africa. This book “goes back to the basics” of a rapidly-growing applied geoscience, and systematically describes the essential aspects of the distribution, mode of occurrence, characteristics and origin of the major mineral deposit types, including metallic and industrial minerals and rocks, and gemstones, with examples from world-wide, but mainly from Africa – the world’s most mineral-rich continent. For the benefit of Mining students, this work integrates mineral deposits geology into a continuum with mineral exploration and mining geology. The book is adequately illustrated with maps and pictures, and written in a simple and concise language that is easily understood, and adapted to the needs students from developing countries where textbooks are scarce, and if available are too expensive to be affordable. The book content is organized into two parts with eight chapters: Part One is focused on the Principles of Economic Geology with five chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction to Economic Geology; Chapter 2: Nature of Mineral Deposits; Chapter 3: Ore Forming Processes and Associated Deposits; Chapter 4: Economic Geology of Metals; and Chapter 5: Industrial Minerals and Rocks, Part Two of the book is dedicated to Applied Economic Geology with three chapters: Chapter 6: Mineral Exploration; Chapter 7: Elements of Mining Geology; and Chapter 8: Environmental Geology in Mining Operations. A Glossary of Common Terms in Economic and Mining Geology is included at the end of the book. The book is intended for Geology and Mining students at “upper” undergraduate and postgraduate levels at Universities and Polytechnics (HND). Also, practicing geoscientists and mining professionals who need to “brush up” their knowledge in economic geology, will find the book very useful. The format of the book is topical and well organized for teaching courses on Mineral Deposits and Mining Geology at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It is an expanded version of lecture notes used over the years in teaching Economic and Mining Geology at Universities and Community Colleges, augmented by extensive field experience and literature research.