Topography and Climate As Aids in Searching for Mineral Outcrops
The topographic expression of a mineral deposit depends upon its hardness and resistance to erosion as compared with the adjacent rocks.
If more resistant it will stand out at the surface; if less resistant, it will form a depression.
The conditions determining resistance are exceedingly variable, and no broad generalization can be made; but within a local province a given group of mineral deposits may characteristically form depressions or ridges, and thus topographic criteria may be very useful in exploration.
Even with such limitations, the variations of the topographic factor may be so great as to require much care in its use.
Sulphide ores in quartzites are likely to develop depressions under erosion.
In limestones they are more likely to stand out in relief, because of the softer character of the limestone, though this does not always work out.
Crystalline magnetite and hematite are more resistant to erosion than almost any other type of rock, and stand out at the surface with proportional frequency.
Climatic conditions may determine the locus of search for certain surface minerals. Bauxite and lateritic iron ores, for instance, are known to favor tropical climates. In exploration for these minerals, the climatic factor must be applied in connection with the topographic considerations already mentioned, and both, in turn, in connection with the character of the country rock as determined by general geologic surveys. A combination of climatic, topographic, and other physiographic conditions may be used also in exploration for certain types of residual clays.
Size and Depth of Ore Bodies As Determined From Outcrop
Where the ore body is harder than the surrounding rock, it stands out in conspicuous outcrops and is likely to show a narrowing below. Where it is softer than the surrounding rocks, and outcrops in a topographic depression, it is perhaps more