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Earth and Space Sciences · Glossary

What is Ore deposit?

Definition 29.4 University Earth and Space Sciences — Year 2 · Chapter 29 — Ore Deposits

An ore deposit is a body of rock in which natural processes have concentrated an element or a mineral to a grade above the cut-off, over a tonnage large enough for it to be extracted at a profit. It is both a geological object, defined by the processes that made it, and an economic one, defined by prices, costs and technology.

The Bingham Canyon open pit, Utah, from the International Space Station (2007): more than 4\, km wide and 1200\, m deep, cut in benches 16 to 25\, m high into a porphyry copper deposit; the flat-topped hills around it are waste rock. Photograph: NASA, Expedition 15 crew (public domain).
The Bingham Canyon open pit, Utah, from the International Space Station (2007): more than 4 km4\,\mathrm{km} wide and 1200 m1200\,\mathrm{m} deep, cut in benches 16 to 25 m25\,\mathrm{m} high into a porphyry copper deposit; the flat-topped hills around it are waste rock. Photograph: NASA, Expedition 15 crew (public domain).
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