Geological and Environmental Sustainability

Economic Geology

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Economic geology is a scientific discipline concerned with the distribution of mineral deposits, the economic considerations involved in their recovery, and an assessment of the reserves available. It deals with materials such as precious and base metals, fossil fuels and other materials like gypsum, building stones. Metallic resources include ferrous metals (iron and steel) and nonferrous metals (all other metals). Energy resources include fossil fuels, uranium, and geothermal energy. Mineral deposits are often economically viable only because geologic processes concentrate materials above their average concentration in the Earth's crust.