Economic Geology is an important branch of Geology which deals with different aspects of economic minerals being utilised by mankind to fulfill his various needs. The economic minerals are those which can be extracted profitably. The subject provides detailed knowledge of r'l these minerals, like their origin, process of formation, mutual relations and time sequence, control of localisation, metallogemc epoch and province, and classification, besides their mineralogy, uses, modes of occurrence, geological and geographical distribution, reserves, production and all other related facts. <...>

The consumption of primary raw materials has increased ever faster in recent decades, not least due to rapid economic growth in countries such as China, India, and Brazil. Petroleum and natural gas continue to be the most important energy sources driving engines and turbines worldwide, while petroleum is also the most important raw material for the production of plastics, various medicines, and other products of the chemical industry.

Our dependence on the minerals that underpin modern life has grown enormously over the last few decades. Figure 1.1 shows the price, the average grade and production of copper ore has changed dramatically from 1900 to the present. At the start of last century the price was 7000 US$ per ton (expressed in 1998 currency) to negate the effects of inflation; by 2002 it had decreased three-fold to about 1800 US $ per ton, then, in the three years to 2010 it rose sharply to about 9000 US$ per ton before declining again in the latest recession. Over the same period, the total amount of copper mined gradually increased, except in the early 20s and 30s when both price and production dropped. How do we explain these changes, and what do they tell us about how the metal is found and mined, and about how it is used by society? Understanding these concepts is the basis of economic geology <...>

We start this chapter with Fig. 1.1, which shows how the price, the average grade and production of copper ore changed from 1900 to the present. At the start of last century the price was about $7,000 per ton (expressed in today’s currency); by 2002 it had decreased threefold to about $1,800 per ton, then, in the past 3 years to 2010 (when this book was written), it rose sharply to about $9,000 per ton.

 Iran is positioned on the southwest of Asia forming a bridge connecting three continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa. It is bordered by Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, and the Caspian Sea on the north, Afghanistan and Pakistan on the east, Oman Sea and Persian Gulf on the south, and Turkey and Iraq on the west (Road Atlas of Iran 2004 ) . The country is part of the Iranian Plateau that constitutes a vast and high terrane, which is bordered by the Caspian Sea on the north, Amu Darya, Syr Darya, and Kora River plains on the northeast, Sindh and Punjab Rivers plain on the southeast, the Oman Sea and the Persian Gulf on the south, and the Tigris river plain on the southwest (Comprehensive Geography of Iran 1987 ) <...>

В отечественной литературе за последние 10—15 лет опубликован ряд статей и брошюр, посвященных вопросам экономической геологии, но обобщающей работы на эту тему до сих пор не было. Труд Б.С. Левоника «Вопросы экономической геологии» восполняет этот пробел.
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Economic geology is a mixtum compositum of all geoscientific disciplines focused on one goal, finding new mineral depsosits and enhancing their exploitation. The keystones of this mixtum compositum are geology and mineralogy whose studies are centered around the emplacement of the ore body and the developmentof its minerals and rocks. In the present study, mineralogy and geology act as x- and y-coordinates of a classification chart of mineral resources called the “chessboard” (or “s preadsheet”) classification scheme. Magmatic and sedimentary lithologies together with tectonic structures (1-D/pipes, 2-D/veins) are plotted along the x-axis in the header of the spreadsheet diagram representing the columns in this chart diagram. 63 commodity groups, encompassing minerals and elements are plotted along the y-axis, forming the lines of the spreadsheet. These commodities are subjected to a tripartite subdivision into ore minerals, industrial minerals/rocks and gemstones/ornamental stones. <...>

Why is economic geology essential to our progress? It has been said that agriculture is the most basic of man's activities, but in this time of overpopulation and indeed in the preceding centuries it would have been impossible to feed the world's teeming millions without recourse to mining and the use of minerals and metals for ploughing, fertilization, harvesting, food preparation and so on. Indeed, of these two basic industries— agriculture and mining—mining is the older. It started some 500000 years ago when man commenced exploring for tool-making materials — flint, obsidian, quartzite were chipped and ground to sharp cutting edges. Early man found that some localities were richer than others and began to search for these richer deposits, to mine them, establish axe factories and to trade in the finished products. He soon developed an appreciation of their geological occurrence. For example, by 3 000 B.C. large underground flint mines were in operation at Grime's Graves in Norfolk, U.K. and it is clear that the miners had noted that particular horizons in the chalk host rock carried the best and most numerous flints.

Wisely used, mineral resources create wealth, employment, a vital social and natural environment and peace. If the reverse of these conditions occurs only too often, illustrating the so-called “resource curse”, this should be attributed to the true perpetrators, namely irresponsible, weak or selfish leaders. This book, however, does not intend to provide rules for good governance. I wrote it as a broad overview on geoscientific aspects of mineral deposits, including their origin and geological characteristics, the principles of the search for ores and minerals, and the investigation of newly found deposits.