Mineral exploration has long been an active pursuit of both individuals and mining companies in Ontario. In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in prospecting by individuals as a full time occupation, but more especially as “weekend prospectors’’. Accordingly, it was thought appropriate to collect together the reported instances of mineralized fragments dislodged from their bedrock source so that the techniques of tracing such fragments to their source as well as the locations of known fragments would be available to those interested in mineral exploration. 

Heavy mineral studies have been enriching earth sciences with informative data for well over a century. The methods employed are well-proven, and have stood the test of time, being both flexible and adaptable, with the potential for integration with applied geology and interdisciplinary research. The use of heavy minerals for constraining sediment provenance, source lithology and palaeotransport was recognised early on, while the range of heavy mineral applications increased progressively through the 20th century and up to the present day, in parallel with the growth of modern technology.

This report provides a descriptive model of heavy-mineral sands, which are sedimentary deposits of dense minerals that accumulate with sand, silt, and clay in coastal environments, locally forming economic concentrations of the heavy minerals. This deposit type is the main source of titanium feedstock for the titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigments industry, through recovery of the minerals ilmenite (Fe2+TiO3), rutile (TiO2), and leucoxene (an alteration product of ilmenite). Heavy-mineral sands are also the principal source of zircon (ZrSiO4) and its zirconium oxide; zircon is often recovered as a coproduct.

В связи с открытием ряда месторождений в древних толщах, Узбекистан и особенно Кызылкумы, представляется как золоторудная провинция, являющаяся, кроме того, носителем многих ценных минералов.
В связи с этим большое значение приобретают исследования мезозойских и кайнозойских, в частности меловых, осадочных образований и, связанных с ними, россыпных концентраций.
Работа по изучению возможности образования россыпей мелового возраста на территории Кызылкумов была начата автором в 1963 г. в составе Палеогеографической партии Министерства геологии УзССР, а с 1971 г. продолжена в составе Проблемной лаборатории осадочных формаций и осадочных руд ТашГУ им. В. И. Ленина.