Non-sulphide Base Metal Resources in Europe - a Geological Overview

摘要

Europe has a long history of exploitation and processing of the non-sulphide resources of zinc, and will be able to contribute technological expertise to the processing of the new deposits that are now being developed elsewhere in the world. New resources may be concealed beneath overburden or younger rocks, indeed the presence of the non-sulphide zinc mineralisation largely depends on preservation by overlying materials. The geological setting and controls to the lateritic nickel mineralisation in SE Europe is now reasonably well understood, and new discovery will depend on further methodical exploration of the favourable geology. Similar geology - namely uplifted ophiolite belts that were subjected to tropical weathering in the late Mesozoic - are unlikely to be found elsewhere in Europe. The laterites were developed during favourable climatic and tectonic conditions in the late Cretaceous or early Tertiary, and were then often preserved by overlying sediments and are thus often now concealed. Preservation of these styles of mineralisation has been emphasised, and this virtually ensures they are concealed - "blind". The challenge for the discovery of new deposits will be the recognition of favourable geological settings and the application of discriminatory exploration technologies (in particular geophysics).