Possible ways to decipher spatial distribution of mineral resources

Regularity of structural patterns can be connected to planetary disjunctive systems (paleosystems). A computerized universal model of these systems should be developed that may be helpful to predict unknown localities of mineral resources controlled by tectonic processes. The specific character of tectonic phenomena is to be respected in geomathematical models. Some suggestions for applications are given.     

Catalytic ozonation of phenol in water with natural brucite and magnesia

Catalytic ozonation has attracted much attention in treatment of wastewater for its mild conditions. Phenol and its ramifications are common components in a wide variety of wastewaters including those from coal conversion processes, coking plants, petroleum refineries and several chemical industries. In this paper, natural brucite and magnesia have been successfully used in catalytic ozonation of phenol. And the mechanisms of catalysis were also investigated. From Figs. 1 and 2, it can be found that both brucite and magnesia have remarkable catalysis on degradation of phenol and removal of Chemical Oxygen Demand （COD）. The pH of solutions on the process of ozonation alone, catalytic ozonation with brucites and with magnesia were 6.35-2.76, 10.18-8.52 and 10.58-10.83, respectively. It can be concluded that alkali environment plays a critical role for catalytic ozonation of phenol. We also found that the alkaline minerals reacted on the surface with oxalic acid and other low molecular-weight acids which are intermediate products in ozonation, but those intermediate products could be mineralized into carbon dioxide completely with enough ozonation time.     

四川盆地地下卤水资源优势及综合开发前景

四川盆地地下卤水自震旦系至白垩系各层系皆有分布。卤水具有分布广泛、资源丰富、品质优异、高承压及气卤同产等优势特点,是四川得天独厚的液态矿产资源。卤水中含有K+、Br-I、-、B3+、Li+、Sr2+、Rb+等多种有用组分,皆为国家紧缺和紧俏物质,其含量多数可达工业开采品位,为优质化工原料水,经济价值极高,综合开发利用前景广阔。     

Weathering characteristics of arctic islands in northern Norway

The arctic islands of the Lofoten-Vesterålen archipelago in northern Norway have a wide distribution of weathered land surfaces commonly located above 250 m with several apparent similarities. In order to investigate the characteristics of (deep) weathering in this region, northern Langøya and Hadseløya were chosen for in-depth analyses. Eight weathering profiles were excavated from various surfaces, and the stratigraphies were logged in detail. Material was collected throughout the weathering horizons, and all samples were subsequently analysed for clay mineralogy (< 63 μm fraction) and grain size distribution. The sampling strategy was complemented by samples from additional saprolites and other landforms such as moraines and rock glaciers. The XRD results indicate that the presence of secondary minerals, such as gibbsite (Al(OH)₃) and kaolinite (Al₂Si₂O₅(OH)₄), are very common throughout the profiles. Gibbsite is an extreme end product of silicate weathering and usually associated with a warmer and more humid climate, as found in Scandinavia during the Tertiary. The grain size analyses (< 63 μm) show that the finer silt fractions (< 8 μm) tend to be high in the profiles (20–40%), with significant amounts of clay (5–15%) demonstrating that the regolith itself is susceptible to frost sorting mechanisms.¹⁰Be exposure dates from in situ quartz knobs on tors and boulders of local origin suggest > 40,000 years of subaerial conditions. Considering the steady surface erosion, this figure should be viewed as an absolute minimum age estimate. Mapping of the superficial sediments and geomorphological features of the study areas has revealed several common morphological features, which indicate dominance of glacial and periglacial processes in the areas lying below the lower boundary of blockfields (c. 250 m). The weathering mantles are not a periglacial end product, but rather a relict tertiary landform that were modulated by permafrost processes as well as biological processes at later stages. The regolith cover constrain the vertical extension of warm-based Quaternary ice sheets challenging the notion of a parabolic ice mass consuming every mountain top of Lofoten and Vesterålen.     

Initiation and development of pull-apart basins with Riedel shear mechanism: insights from scaled clay experiments

Typical pull-apart structures were created in scaled clay experiments with a pure strike-slip geometry (Riedel type experiments). A clay slab represents the sedimentary cover above a strike-slip fault in the rigid basement. At an early stage of the development of the deformation zone, synthetic shear fractures (Riedel shears) within the clay slab display dilatational behaviour. With increasing basal displacement the Riedel shears rotate and open further, developing into long, narrow and deep troughs. The shear displacement and the low angle with the prescribed principal basal fault set them apart from tension gashes. At a more evolved stage, synthetic segments (Y-shears) parallel to the basal principal fault develop and accommodate progressive strike-slip deformation. The Y-shears connect the tips of adjacent troughs developed from the earlier Riedel shears, resulting in the typical rhomb-shaped structures characteristic for pull-apart basins. The Strait of Sicily rift zone, with major strike-slip systems being active from the Miocene to the Present, comprises pull-apart basins at different length scales, for which the structural record suggests development by a mechanism similar to that observed in our experiments.     

A highlight of environmental and engineering geology in Fargo, North Dakota, USA

Several unfavorable environmental and engineering geologic conditions exist in Fargo, North Dakota. Dominantly, the behavior of smectitic clays within the proglacial Lake Agassiz sediments of the Sherack and Brenna Formations creates subsoil instability beneath engineered structures in the Fargo area and slope instability within cutbank meanders of the Red River of the North. Unfavorable engineering geologic conditions encountered include: the elastic deformation of clayey glaciolacustrine soils, shrink-swell properties, inadequate bearing capacities, and mass movements. These conditions are responsible for structural failures including the Fargo Grain Elevator in 1955 and the Northern Pacific railroad grade. Bank failures along the Red River are common due to the inherent instability of Brenna Formation smectitic clays which are subject to plastic deformation in the subsurface, with resultant block failure of overlying Sherack Formation. Recent alluvial sediments due to typical fluvial action and the continued seasonal saturation of cutbank meanders within the floodplain also add to soil instability.     

秦皇岛市矿产开发引发的地质环境问题及对策

秦皇岛市矿产资源丰富,矿业已成为秦皇岛市特别是地方经济的支柱之一。伴随着矿业的发展,在矿产开发过程中引发的地质环境问题日益突出,如采空区地表变形(地面塌陷、地裂缝等)、岩溶塌陷、露天采矿边坡失稳、尾矿引发的泥石流、水土流失以及地貌景观的破坏等。这些地质环境问题主要分布在北部的山区和丘陵台地区。形成的原因复杂,主要有法制不健全、缺乏强制恢复机制、布局不合理、监管不到位、开采技术落后、不合理开采、资金缺乏以及从业者环保意识淡薄等方面的原因。对于矿山地质环境的保护,应采取加强立法、建立保证金制度、统一规划、加强监管、加大宣传力度以及建立责任追究制度等措施。     

Cyclicity in the Main and Upper Zones of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa: Crystallization from a Zoned Magma Sheet

The major element composition of plagioclase, pyroxene, olivine,and magnetite, and whole-rock ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr data are presented forthe uppermost 2·1 km of the layered mafic rocks (upperMain Zone and Upper Zone) at Bierkraal in the western BushveldComplex. Initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are near-constant (0·7073± 0·0001) for 24 samples and imply crystallizationfrom a homogeneous magma sheet without major magma rechargeor assimilation. The 2125 m thick section investigated in drillcore comprises 26 magnetitite and six nelsonite (magnetite–ilmenite–apatite)layers and changes up-section from gabbronorite (An₇₂ plagioclase;Mg# 74 clinopyroxene) to magnetite–ilmenite–apatite–fayaliteferrodiorite (An₄₃; Mg# 5 clinopyroxene; Fo₁ olivine). The overallfractionation trend is, however, interrupted by reversals characterizedby higher An% of plagioclase, higher Mg# of pyroxene and olivine,and higher V₂O₅ of magnetite. In the upper half of the successionthere is also the intermittent presence of cumulus olivine andapatite. These reversals in normal fractionation trends definethe bases of at least nine major cycles. We have calculateda plausible composition for the magma from which this entiresuccession formed. Forward fractional crystallization modelingof this composition predicts an initial increase in total iron,near-constant SiO₂ and an increasing density of the residualmagma before magnetite crystallizes. After magnetite beginsto crystallize the residual magma shows a near-constant totaliron, an increase in SiO₂ and decrease in density. We explainthe observed cyclicity by bottom crystallization. Initiallymagma stratification developed during crystallization of thebasal gabbronorites. Once magnetite began to crystallize, periodicdensity inversion led to mixing with the overlying magma layer,producing mineralogical breaks between fractionation cycles.The magnetitite and nelsonite layers mainly occur within fractionationcycles, not at their bases. In at least two cases, crystallizationof thick magnetitite layers may have lowered the density ofthe basal layer of melt dramatically, and triggered the proposeddensity inversion, resulting in close, but not perfect, coincidenceof mineralogical breaks and packages of magnetitite layers. KEY WORDS: layered intrusion; mineral chemistry; isotopes; magma; convection; differentiation     

基于体素模型的三维显示技术

针对矿产资源勘探数据的特点,研究了适合地质体信息三维可视化的体绘制模型和空间插值算法。基于IDL软件平台,开发了三维数据可视化软件;该软件能够快速、准确地将地质体的物性特征展示出来。最后,以内蒙古某金属矿床钻孔资料为例,对建立的三维可视化方法技术进行了应用检验,取得了较好的应用效果。     

矿业开发与环境保护关系综述

笔者介绍了我国矿业发展经历的3个阶段，归纳出我国矿业开发带来的矿山环境问题主要有：地面塌陷、占压破坏土地、改变地质构造、破坏水资源、污染水、污染土壤、污染大气、瓦斯爆炸及河床抬高等。分析了环境恶化的原因主要与区域地质环境条件、历史、经济技术、矿山企业和地方保护主义等因素有关。最后提出了防治矿山环境恶化的对策，对难以治理的地区以预防、避让为主，历史问题由政府和企业共同解决，落实“谁开发、谁保护；谁受益、谁治理；谁破坏、谁恢复”的生态环境保护新机制，加强监管，加强防治对策研究，走综合勘探、综合评价、综合开发、综合利用的发展道路。