An ore deposit model is a conceptual and/or empirical standard, ideally a population of natural
phenomena, embodying both the descriptive features of the deposit type, the larger ore-bearing
environment, and an explanation of these features in terms of geological, and hence of chemical
and physical, processes.
Hodgson, 1987
Genetic models have been developed in order to explain how deposits form. Because they
are the result of rationalisation of knowledge, they are a powerful means of organising
data in a form that enhances understanding, prediction and communication.
What type of deposit have we found and how did it form? Although the mechanisms of
deposit genesis rarely affect the exploitation of an ore body once its position, grade,
tonnage and mineralogy is known, these are questions that are asked in the exploration
industry and the minerals-extraction industries during exploration and deposit evaluation.
Ore deposit models are an important component of communication in the industry and
serve to aid exploration and deposit evaluation. For instance:
A full genetic model explains why a deposit forms in a specific geological and tectonic
setting, and the geochemical and structural processes involved in its formation. Models
guide where to search for a deposit type within the Earth as a whole and, when
combined with knowledge of local geology and geological history, on a much smaller
scale within an exploration lease.
A model describes and explains the shapes and forms of ore bodies. These are parameters
that guide efficient evaluation of a prospect, such as optimal positioning of drill holes.
A model considers the mineralogy of ore and guides the observations needed to
evaluate, for instance, what co-products may be present, what ore grades can be
expected, and what method of metal extraction may be best.
However, the answer to the question ‘what type of deposit have we found?’ may be
ambivalent and reflect a degree of doubt. Ore deposit genetic models are geological
interpretations and are thus uncertain in specifics or even as a whole. They are our best
interpretation at the current state of knowledge. This is true both of assignments of
deposits to a model and to our interpretation of the processes of genesis of an ore deposit
type. Our understanding of the genesis of ore deposits is subject to debate and revision
and improves with new data, new observations, new exposures, new geochemical analyt-
ical capabilities, and theoretical analysis. With better knowledge and the discovery of
more deposits, models become revised and better formulated.
Disputes about the genesis both of specific ore deposits and of ore deposit types are
common. In fact there are few ore deposit types for which there has not been some degree
of disagreement over some aspects of ore genesis. Ongoing development, discussion and
refinement of ore genetic models is an integral pursuit of ore deposit geology, and hence
also of discussion in this book.
We can observe and take direct measurements on ore formation in only a few cases
where the processes are in action at the Earth’s surface (for instance, on the sea floor, and
in mineral precipitates in volcanic fumaroles), but even in these cases we cannot observe
all the processes and events that lead to the formation of ore, and must make interpret-
ations of unseen processes that are taking place at depth. The complexities of the
geological record make interpretation of ancient ore deposits even more uncertain. Parts
of a deposit may become disrupted as a result of deformation, mineral textures may be
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17 1.5 The future of ore deposit geology
overgrown with no preservation of earlier textures. For these reasons, the most persistent
debates are generally over the genesis of deposits in deformed and metamorphosed rocks.
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18 What is an ore deposit?
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