Known deposits

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• Occurrence, deposit, resource, reserve

  Five words that are used interchangeably and mean five different things. Only the first two are geological, and the definition of the second contains the word "might".

• What one row of a deposit database means

  Before a dataset can be used it has to be read — not its data, its documentation. Four datasets were read for this phase. Two were accepted, and the two most interesting findings came from sentences nobody would query.

• What a deposit coordinate means

  A point on a deposit map is not the deposit. It is a position somebody placed, at a precision they wrote down, inside a zone that may be kilometres across — and the file it arrives in will happily give you thirteen decimal places.

• Known deposits are not a map of what exists

  A catalogue of found things is a record of finding. Where the dots cluster, people looked. Reading that as a map of endowment reverses the causation, and it is the single most tempting thing to do with this corpus.

Volcanogenic massive sulfide

Deposits the USGS compilation places in this class, spanning felsic, bimodal-mafic and mafic volcanic host successions across four continents.

• Deposit

  Ashele

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Xinjiang, China. The compilation classifies it as a bimodal-mafic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are chert, felsic tuff, reef limestone, spilite, spilitic tuff, tuff breccia. Minerals reported present include argentite, arsenopyrite, azurite, malachite, barite, bornite, carbonate, chalcocite.

• Deposit

  Beatson

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Alaska, United States. The compilation classifies it as a mafic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are black slate, chlorite schist. Minerals reported present include ankerite, apatite, arsenopyrite, barite, bismuthinite, brannerite, cassiterite, chalcopyrite.

• Deposit

  Bjurliden

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Sweden. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are andesite, keratophyre tuff. Minerals reported present include arsenopyrite, biotite, bismuth, bornite, boulangerite, bournonite, chalcopyrite, chlorite.

• Deposit

  Ellamar

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Alaska, United States. The compilation classifies it as a mafic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are argillite, graywacke. Minerals reported present include apatite, arsenopyrite, barite, bismuthinite, brannerite, cassiterite, chalcopyrite, chlorite.

• Deposit

  Estaçao

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Beja, Portugal. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are jasper, rhyolite tuff. Minerals reported present include aikinite, alloclasite, arsenopyrite, berthierite, betekhtinite, bismuth, bismuthinite, boulangerite.

• Deposit

  Gacun

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Sichuan, China. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are chert, dacite, dolomitic limestone, rhyodacite, rhyolite, rhyolitic tuff. Minerals reported present include albite, anglesite, argentite, arsenopyrite, azurite, malachite, Ba-adularia, balkanite.

• Deposit

  Khandiza

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Uzbekistan. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are andesite, andesitic dacite, chert, conglomerate, dolomite, rhyodacite. Minerals reported present include ankerite, argentite, arsenopyrite, bornite, bournonite, chalcopyrite, chlorite, dolomite.

• Deposit

  Kosaka (Uchinotai-Uwamuki)

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Akita, Japan. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are ferruginous chert, rhyolite tuff breccia. Minerals reported present include apatite, argentite, azurite, barite, bornite, boulangerite, bournonite, carrollite.

• Deposit

  Madneuli

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Georgia. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are rhyodacite subvolcanic, rhyodacitic tuff, rhyolitic tuff, tuffite. Minerals reported present include albite, alunite, anhydrite, apatite, argyrodite, barite, biotite, bismuthinite.

• Deposit

  Maleevskoe

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at East Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are basalt porphyry subvolcanic, calcareous shale, calcareous siltstone, rhyodacite porphyry subvolcanic, rhyolite porphyry eruptive breccia, rhyolite porphyry subvolcanic. Minerals reported present include acanthite, aikinite, albite, alloclasite, andalusite, arsenopyrite, Ba-muscovite, barite.

• Deposit

  Neves-Corvo

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Beja, Portugal. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are sandstone, shale, jasper, rhyolite-rhyodacite tuff. Minerals reported present include aikinite, alloclasite, ankerite, arsenopyrite, barite, berthierite, betekhtinite, bismuth.

• Deposit

  Novo-Berezovskoe

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at East Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are albitophyre, carbonaceous shale, felsic tuff, limestone, rhyolite porphyry subvolcanic, tuffaceous sandstone. Minerals reported present include actinolite, albite, altaite, ankerite, apatite, argentite, arsenopyrite, azurite.

• Deposit

  Ozernoe

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Buryatia, Russia. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are andesitic dacite, andesitic tuff, dacitic tuff, ignimbrite, limestone, phyllite. Minerals reported present include actinolite, albite, anatase, argentite, arsenopyrite, Ba-muscovite, barite, biotite.

• Deposit

  Ridder-Sokol’noe

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at East Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are carbonaceous shale, chert, felsic eruptive breccia, limestone, shale, rhyolitic tuff (350 m). Minerals reported present include actinolite, albite, aleksite, altaite, andalusite, anglesite, argentite, arsenopyrite.

• Deposit

  Rio Tinto

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Huelva, Spain. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are rhyolite tuff, rhyolite porphyry. Minerals reported present include arsenopyrite, barite, berthierite, bismuth, bismuthinite, bismuthinite, bornite, boulangerite.

• Deposit

  Tarnyerskoe

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Ekaterinburg, Russia. The compilation classifies it as a bimodal-mafic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are basalt, dacite, dacite porphyry subvolcanic, hornfels, rhyodacite, rhyolite (1500 m). Minerals reported present include actinolite, altaite, andalusite, anthophyllite, arsenopyrite, biotite, bornite, breithauptite.

• Deposit

  Tashiro

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Fukushima, Japan. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are rhyolite lapilli tuff, rhyolite flow. Minerals reported present include acanthite, adularia, aikinite, anhydrite, barite, bismuthinite, bornite, chalcocite.

• Deposit

  Vihanti

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Oulu, Finland. The compilation classifies it as a bimodal-mafic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are quartz-feldspathic schist, black schist, cordierite gneiss, dolomite, skarn. Minerals reported present include antimony, arsenopyrite, barite, berthierite, bismuth, boulangerite, bournonite, breithauptite.

• Deposit

  Vuonos

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at North Karelia, Finland. The compilation classifies it as a mafic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are quartzite, mica gneiss, black schist, skarn, serpentinite, talc schist. Minerals reported present include almandine, argentian pentlandite, bismuth, cassiterite, chalcopyrite, cobaltiferous pentlandite, cobaltite, cordierite.

• Deposit

  Whim Creek

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Western Australia, Australia. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are slate (tuffaceous in part), chert. Minerals reported present include alunite, arsenopyrite, atacamite, azurite, barite, bismuthinite, bornite, bournonite.

• Deposit

  Xiaorequanzi

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Xinjiang, China. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are albitophyre, andesite, felsic tuff, rhyolite, rhyolite porphyry, trachybasalt. Minerals reported present include albite, altaite, arsenopyrite, azurite, bornite, chalcanthite, chalcocite, chalcopyrite.

• Deposit

  Yokota (Motoyama-Hama)

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Fukushima, Japan. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are mudstone, rhyolite flow. Minerals reported present include acanthite, adularia, aikinite, anhydrite, barite, bismuthinite, bornite, chalcocite.

• Deposit

  Zolotushinskoe

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS volcanogenic massive sulfide database, at Russia. The compilation classifies it as a felsic volcanic host succession. Its reported host rocks are agglomerate, albitophyre porphyry subvolcanic, chert, diabase, explosive breccia, felsic tuff. Minerals reported present include altaite, antimony, apatite, arsenopyrite, azurite, malachite, barite, biotite.

Nickel-cobalt laterite

Residual deposits formed by deep weathering of ultramafic rock, from New Caledonia and the Philippines to Brazil, Greece and the Urals.

• Deposit

  Çalda?

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS Ni-Co laterite database, at Turkey. The compilation classifies it as the Fe oxide subtype. Minerals reported present include asbolane, chlorite, garnierite, goethite, hematite, illite, limonite, montmorillonite.

• Deposit

  Bhimatangar

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS Ni-Co laterite database, at Orissa, India. The compilation classifies it as the Fe oxide subtype. Minerals reported present include chlorite, hematite, goethite, kaolinite, limonite, nepouite, sepiolite, serpentinite.

• Deposit

  Bulong

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS Ni-Co laterite database, at Western Australia, Australia. The compilation classifies it as the Mg hydrous silicate subtype. Minerals reported present include asbolane, goethite, hematite, kaolinite, limonite, maghemite, nontronite, Mn-oxides.

• Deposit

  Buruktal

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS Ni-Co laterite database, at Orenburg, Russia. The compilation classifies it as the Mg hydrous silicate subtype. Minerals reported present include antigorite, chlorite, chrysotile, garnierite, goethite, halloysite, hematite, illite-smectite.

• Deposit

  Cawse

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS Ni-Co laterite database, at Western Australia, Australia. The compilation classifies it as the Fe oxide subtype. Minerals reported present include chlorite, goethite, hematite, kaolinite, limonite, lizardite, Mn-oxides, nontronite.

• Deposit

  Cerro Matoso

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS Ni-Co laterite database, at Córdoba, Colombia. The compilation classifies it as the clay silicate subtype. Minerals reported present include chamosite, gibbsite, goethite, kaolinite, limonite, maghemite, pimelite, sepiolite.

• Deposit

  Goro

  A nickel-cobalt laterite in southern New Caledonia, developed on an obducted ophiolite sheet. The USGS laterite model records nickel and cobalt concentrations by layer through its profile.

• Deposit

  Moa

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS Ni-Co laterite database, at Holguín, Cuba. The compilation classifies it as the Fe oxide subtype. Minerals reported present include asbolane, gibbsite, goethite, hematite, limonite, montmorillonite, nontronite, serpentine.

• Deposit

  Murrin Murrin

  A nickel-cobalt laterite in the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia, which the USGS laterite model calls a classic clay-ore deposit of that class — and notes has no garnierite, which it attributes to a fully serpentinised protolith and poor drainage.

• Deposit

  Nicaro

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS Ni-Co laterite database, at Oriente (Holguín), Cuba. The compilation classifies it as the Fe oxide subtype. Minerals reported present include garnierite, goethite, hematite, hydrargillite, hydrogoethite, halloysite, nontronite, montmorillonite.

• Deposit

  Nkamouna

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS Ni-Co laterite database, at Cameroon. The compilation classifies it as the Mg hydrous silicate subtype. Minerals reported present include asbolane, ernienickelite, garnierite, gibbsite, goethite, hematite, kaolinite, kerolite.

• Deposit

  Punta Gorda

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS Ni-Co laterite database, at Holguín, Cuba. The compilation classifies it as the Fe oxide subtype. Minerals reported present include asbolane, gibbsite, goethite, hematite, limonite, montmorillonite, nontronite, serpentine.

• Deposit

  Ržanovo

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS Ni-Co laterite database, at Macedonia. The compilation classifies it as the Fe oxide subtype. Minerals reported present include clinochlore, hematite, lizardite, maghemite, millerite, riebeckite, sepiolite, talc.

• Deposit

  Serovskoe

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS Ni-Co laterite database, at Ekaterinburg, Russia. The compilation classifies it as the Mg hydrous silicate subtype. Minerals reported present include antigorite, chrysotile, hydrochlorite, gibbsite, goethite, hematite, kerolite, maghemite.

• Deposit

  Soroako

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS Ni-Co laterite database, at Sulawesi, Indonesia. The compilation classifies it as the Mg hydrous silicate subtype. Minerals reported present include asbolane, garnierite, gibbsite, hematite, kaolinite, limonite, lithiophorite, goethite.

Porphyry copper

The Phase 5 exemplars, recognised through the USGS porphyry database.

• Deposit

  Bingham Canyon

  A porphyry copper deposit in Utah, discovered in 1863 and used by the USGS porphyry copper model as one of its named global examples. The USGS database records it as a porphyry copper deposit of Cox and Singer model 17, about 37 million years old.

• Deposit

  Chuquicamata

  A porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit in northern Chile, discovered in 1911. The USGS database merges Chuqui Norte, Exotica and other named bodies into this record under its two-kilometre rule, so the object it names is larger than any one pit.

• Deposit

  El Teniente

  A porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit in the central Chilean Andes, known since 1706 and among the largest bodies of porphyry-style mineralisation recorded anywhere.

• Deposit

  Escondida

  A porphyry copper-gold deposit in the Atacama of northern Chile, discovered in 1981 beneath cover — one of the last very large porphyry systems found at surface-blind depth in that belt.

• Deposit

  Grasberg

  A porphyry copper-gold deposit in the highlands of Papua, Indonesia, discovered in 1988 and merged in the USGS database with Ertsberg and other named bodies. Its position is recorded only to the nearest minute of arc.

• Deposit

  Oyu Tolgoi

  A porphyry copper-gold deposit in the South Gobi of Mongolia, discovered in 1996 and about 367 million years old — far older than the Cenozoic porphyry deposits of the Andes and the western United States.

Mississippi Valley-type

Carbonate-hosted zinc-lead deposits.

• Deposit

  Navan

  A carbonate-hosted zinc-lead deposit in County Meath, Ireland, named by the USGS Mississippi Valley-type model among its important deposits and classed in the USGS database as carbonate-hosted amagmatic.

• Deposit

  Pine Point

  A carbonate-hosted zinc-lead deposit on the south shore of Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, classed by the USGS as carbonate-hosted amagmatic and cited by the USGS Mississippi Valley-type model as a district of that class.

Magmatic nickel-copper-PGE

Sulfide deposits of mafic-ultramafic conduits and intrusions.

• Deposit

  Jinchuan

  A magmatic nickel-copper sulfide deposit in an ultramafic intrusion of the Sino-Korean craton, Gansu Province, China, discovered in 1958 and dated at 831.8 ± 0.6 million years.

• Deposit

  Kabanga

  A magmatic nickel sulfide deposit in the Kibaran orogenic belt of Tanzania, discovered in 1975 and the highest-grade nickel deposit in the USGS model’s example table.

• Deposit

  Noril’sk–Talnakh

  Magmatic nickel-copper-PGE sulfide deposits in subvolcanic mafic intrusions of the Siberian Platform, related to the Siberian Traps flood basalts. One of two districts the USGS magmatic sulfide model identifies as dominating world nickel sulfide resources.

• Deposit

  Pechenga

  Magmatic nickel-copper sulfide deposits in the Baltic Shield of the Kola Peninsula, Russia, discovered in 1912 and dated at 1,977 ± 55 million years.

• Deposit

  Voisey’s Bay

  A magmatic nickel-copper-cobalt sulfide deposit in the Torngat orogen of Labrador, Canada, discovered in 1993 and dated by the USGS model at 1,333 ± 1 million years.

Sediment-hosted copper and others

Deposits Lithoen holds without a mineral-system interpretation, because the corpus models six systems and sediment-hosted copper is not among them. Each carries a claim saying so rather than being forced into the nearest class.

• Deposit

  Aitik

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS sediment-hosted copper database, at Sweden. Its reported host rocks are Biotite schist, amphibolite. Minerals reported present include chalcopyrite, pyrite, magnetite, pyrrhoyite, barite, calcite, fluorite, scapolite.

• Deposit

  Caleta Coloso

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS sediment-hosted copper database, at Chile. The compilation classifies it as a redbed copper deposit. Its reported host rocks are Conglomerate, sandstone. Minerals reported present include chalcocite, covellite, bornite, chalcopyrite, atacamite, hematite, albite, analcite.

• Deposit

  Corocoro

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS sediment-hosted copper database, at Bolivia. The compilation classifies it as a redbed copper deposit. Its reported host rocks are Red sandstone and mudstone. Minerals reported present include chalcocite, native copper, domeykite, native silver, gypsum, anhydrite, barite, aragonite.

• Deposit

  Dzhezkazgan

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS sediment-hosted copper database, at Kazakstan. The compilation classifies it as a Revett-type copper deposit. Its reported host rocks are Sandstone, siltstone, conglomerate. Minerals reported present include chalcocite, bornite, chalcopyrite, galena sphalerite, native silver, calcite, barite.

• Deposit

  Kennecott

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS sediment-hosted copper database, at Alaska, United States. Its reported host rocks are Stromatolitic limestone, dolomite, microbial mats.. Minerals reported present include chalcocite, djurleite, covellite, bornite, chalcopyrite, digenite, anilite, luzonite.

• Deposit

  Kipushi

  A carbonate-hosted zinc-copper deposit in Haut-Katanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo, unusual enough that the USGS sediment-hosted classification names a whole class after it.

• Deposit

  Konrad

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS sediment-hosted copper database, at Poland. The compilation classifies it as a reduced-facies copper deposit. Its reported host rocks are Shale, siltstone. Minerals reported present include chalcocite, covellite, bornite, chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite, hematite.

• Deposit

  Las Vigas

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS sediment-hosted copper database, at Chihuahua, Mexico. The compilation classifies it as a redbed copper deposit. Its reported host rocks are Sandstone, shale, limestone. Minerals reported present include chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite, covellite, pyrite, marcasite, sphalerite, barite.

• Deposit

  Lubin

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS sediment-hosted copper database, at Poland. The compilation classifies it as a reduced-facies copper deposit. Its reported host rocks are Shale, siltstone, sandstone. Minerals reported present include chalcocite, covellite, bornite, chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite, hematite.

• Deposit

  Red Dog

  A shale-hosted zinc-lead deposit in the western Brooks Range of Alaska. The USGS database classes it as shale-hosted amagmatic and merges four further named bodies into this record.

• Deposit

  Richelsdorf

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS sediment-hosted copper database, at Germany. The compilation classifies it as a reduced-facies copper deposit. Its reported host rocks are Sandstone and slate. Minerals reported present include bornite, chalcocite, chalcopyrite, pyrite, galena, sphalerite, barite.

• Deposit

  Rock Creek

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS sediment-hosted copper database, at Montana, United States. The compilation classifies it as a Revett-type copper deposit. Its reported host rocks are Quartzite. Minerals reported present include chalcocite, chalcopyrite, bornite, galena, native siver, pyrite, pyrrhotite.

• Deposit

  San Romeleo

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS sediment-hosted copper database, at Mendoza, Argentina. The compilation classifies it as a redbed copper deposit. Its reported host rocks are Feldspathic sandstone, calcareous, gypsiferous, bituminous. Minerals reported present include chalcanthite, malachite, azurite, brochanthite, antlerite, chalcocite, cuprite, bitumen.

• Deposit

  Spar Lake

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS sediment-hosted copper database, at Montana, United States. The compilation classifies it as a Revett-type copper deposit. Its reported host rocks are Quartzite. Minerals reported present include chalcopyrite, bornite, pyrite, galena, sphalerite, hematite, barite, chlorite.

• Deposit

  Witvlei

  A mineral deposit recorded by the USGS sediment-hosted copper database, at Namibia. The compilation classifies it as a reduced-facies copper deposit. Its reported host rocks are Argillite, greenish gray to dull red, calcareous silty shale. Minerals reported present include chalcocite, bornite, chalcopyrite, covellite, digenite, hematite, calcite, anatase.