mineralbearing

Mineralbearing is a geological descriptor applied to rocks, minerals, or materials that contain one or more minerals, especially minerals of economic interest. The standard form is mineral-bearing (with a hyphen); mineralbearing without the hyphen is seen in older field notes or typographical variants. The term connotes that minerals are present as discrete phases within a matrix rather than as a single mineral species.

In practice, mineral-bearing materials are common in ore geology and mineralogy. Examples include mineral-bearing quartz veins with sulfide minerals such as pyrite or chalcopyrite, mineral-bearing sedimentary rocks with disseminated clays or mica, or igneous rocks hosting accessory minerals. The descriptor is not a statement about abundance by weight but about the presence of identifiable mineral phases that may be of interest for study or extraction.

Formation and occurrence: Mineral-bearing assemblages arise through hydrothermal processes that precipitate minerals in fractures, metamorphic recrystallization that concentrates minerals in foliation or schistosity, magmatic differentiation that concentrates accessory minerals, or sedimentary concentration of detrital minerals. The specific mineralogy determines classification and potential economic value.

Identification and significance: Determining which minerals are present in a mineral-bearing specimen relies on petrographic microscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning or electron microscopy, and geochemical analyses. In exploration and mining, mineral-bearing intervals or veins are evaluated for ore content and metallurgy.

See also: ore deposit, vein, hydrothermal mineralization, mineralogy.