Anatomy of an ore deposit

Part of Hall of Planet Earth.

Anatomy of an ore deposit_HERO

A major ore deposit that was formed by the flow of metal-laden seawater through hot rocks is at the Kidd Creek Mine in Ontario, Canada. These ores were deposited around deep-sea hot springs.

Ore Deposit Cross-Section_ILL

In This Section

Exhibit Peacock ore This massive ore is composed of the copper-rich sulfide minerals covellite (purple and blue) and bornite (blue-black). Exhibit Fragmented ore Underwater steam explosions and the collapse of the vent structures resulted in great piles of fragmented sulfides.