The unique tectonic features have resulted in diverse metallic and non-metallic mineralization in Afghanistan. Hence, this paper focused on the development of exploration and mining geology data in Afghanistan. The study area is located in the western Hindu Kush tract and on the northern verge of the Harirud-Panjshir fault, Afghanistan, that mainly associates with the western Hindu Kush and Badakhshan plutonic belts. The rock units include crystalline limestones and diabase formed during the Paleozoic era and Triassic period. The aim of this study was to employ Remote Sensing (RS) methods by using the Landsat-8 satellite and ASTER sensor to spot iron and copper mineralization zones in the Parwan-Panjshir area. Therefore, Band Composition, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Band Ratio were applied to the identification of iron oxide minerals. The detected area provided by satellite images analysis had very good compliance with the results of field studies. Furthermore, the Fe – Cu – (Au) skarn mineralization was observed during field surveys. Magnetite (Hematite), Chalcopyrite (Malachite and Azurite), and pyrite mineralization have resulted from the injection of various diabase subvolcanic into carbonate units. Also, high heat flow has caused widespread marble formation in the area. The results were supported by microscopic and geochemical studies.

Chile has developed its mining industry for decades, mainly in the north of the country, where arid climates dominate. Many of these tailings have been abandoned to the weather. The evaluation of what happens at the surface of abandoned tailings, depending on the dominant mineralogy and climate, will be critical in assessing potential impacts from wind erosion or reworking of these deposits.

Two areas of study with different climates ranging from arid to semi-arid were evaluated by mineralogy, chemistry and particle size. Using statistical analysis it was possible to establish different types of sediments, which mainly differed in secondary mineralogy, giving rise 3 clusters. When observing these clusters in the field, different surfaces can be observed, in terms of their cohesion and wind erodibility potential. On mineralogical analysis of each cluster in both climates, we observe that although the surfaces of the deposits are similar, the particle size, amount of pyrite and other phases vary from one site to another.

From the characterization of these sites, it is evident that pyrite alone will not generate acidic solutions that lead to the precipitation of secondary phases. These secondary phases will be linked to the climate (meaning available humidity), particle size and quantity of pyrite present and neutralising phases. Depending on these variables, different potentially erodible surfaces will be generated, which will lead to a greater or lesser cohesion of particles and different metal contents which is, in turn, the reason for these tailings to become a public health issue.

Virtual Dimension (VD) procedure is used to analyze Hyperspectral Image (HIS) treatment-data in order to estimate the abundance of mineral components of a powder sample from a mine. Hiperspectral images coming from reflectance spectra (NIR region) are pre-treated using Standard Normal Variance (SNV) and Minimum Noise Fraction (MNF) methodologies. The endmember components are identified by the simplex growing algorithm (SVG) and after adjusted to the reflectance spectra of reference-databases using Simulated Annealing (SA) methodology. The obtained abundance of minerals of the sample studied is very near to the ones obtained using XRD with a total relative error of 2%.

A relevant discovery of the last decade is the identification of the photochemical activity of the kaolinite-type minerals. The activity depends on several surface properties, such as mineral composition, morphology, lattice impurities and structural order.

Preparation of the activated surface can be made by intercalation, exfoliation, mechanochemical activation, acid treatment, thermal treatment. The process of intercalation is a well-known way for a long while to produce delaminated and finally exfoliated structure from double-layered minerals. Coordination of octahedral Al atoms can be reduced by means of mechanochemical activation (i. e. dry grinding) and/or thermal treatment. The (hydrochloric) acid treatment alters not only the acid-base properties of the surface, but has effect on the mineral composition also.

In this study the influence of the mentioned surface modification methods is shown on kaolins from different deposits with varying structural order, mineral and lattice impurities. The modified surface is investigated with thermal analysis (TG-DTG, CRTA), XRD, solid phase NMR and IR spectroscopic techniques. Photocatalytic activity is tested in liquid phase with oxalic acid test molecule during 365nm irradiation.

Applying and combining various surface modification methods it is possible to enhance the natural kaolin-based materials in order to develop photocatalysts.

The San Finx W–Sn ore deposit is located in the Spanish province of A Coruña (Galicia, NW Spain). Geologically, it occurs in the Galicia-Trás-os-Montes Zone which is one of the innermost zones of the Iberian Variscan collisional belt. This ore deposit is characterized by NE-SW trending quartz-dominated veins with centimeter size hübnerite and cassiterite. This research focuses on one sector of this deposit known as Buenaventura. The aim of this work is to present a mineralogical and petrological characterization of the ore-bearing veins, their host-rocks and associated hydrothermal alteration. The vein mineralogy is mainly quartz, muscovite, K-feldspar, apatite and scarce fluorite. The ore minerals are hübnerite, scheelite and cassiterite with columbite and ilmenorutile-struverite inclusions, together with sulfides, mainly chalcopyrite and arsenopyrite, and in less abundance, molybdenite, löllingite, pyrrhotite, sphalerite, stannite, pyrite, Bi-Pb-Ag sulfosalts and native bismuth. The main host-rocks are micaschist and paragneiss, and two types of pegmatite, homogeneous pegmatite and banded pegmatite with columbite. The host rocks are affected by four types of hydrothermal alteration: tourmalinization, greissenization, feldspathization and silicification. The more widespread alteration is the feldspathization in which the protolith is replaced by massive albite and K-feldspar with fibrous habit, accompanied by apatite, chlorite, rutile, magnetite, hematite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite. In addition, there are highly deformed areas with a complex alteration rich in K-feldspar and sulfides, mainly chalcopyrite, minerals of the stannite group, and sphalerite, and in less abundance, bismuthinite, native bismuth, galena and pyrite. This deposit shares features in terms of geological setting, hydrothermal alteration and ore assemblages with exogreisen systems formed in the cupolas of highly fractionated granites in collisional settings.

Fly Ash is a coal combustion product partly disposed of in landfills since it finds no other application. Recycling this solid is of great benefit in terms of quality, cost effectiveness and environment. The chemical and mineralogical composition of siliceous fly ash makes it an attractive and economic raw material for the synthesis of zeolites. Zeolites are microporous, aluminosilicate minerals characterized by a three-dimensional network of tetrahedral units produced industrially on a large scale. In this work synthetic zeolite X and zeolite A with a high crystallinity and high value of surface area were synthesized by pre-fusion method followed by hydrothermal treatment at various conditions. The data indicate that zeolitic products were obtained using NaOH while no zeolitic material was crystallized using KOH and LiOH. Pre-treatment of fly ash with acid before being used in the synthesis of artificial zeolites is considered an important parameter for the purity phase of zeolites. Without sodium aluminate additions, synthetic zeolite A was not formed. The results confirm that temperature, crystallization time, SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratio, type of water (distilled water and seawater), are also important parameters influencing type of zeolite synthesized. Zeolite X was used as novel catalyst for alkylation of phenol using diethyl carbonate.

The Bayankhongor Metal Belt, south-central Mongolia, is a narrow metallogenic belt that extends for more than 100 km. It is an economically significant zone that includes important sources of gold and copper. Unfortunately, the crustal architecture is poorly understood throughout this region, although it is known that crustal architecture strongly influences the development and emplacement of mineral zones. Electrical resistivity is a key physical parameter for mineral exploration that can help to locate mineral deposits and can also determine the crustal structure. We use natural-source magnetotelluric data to generate three-dimensional electrical resistivity models of the shallow crustal structure. The results show that anomalous, low-resistivity (conductive) zones in the upper crust are spatially associated with the surface expressions of known mineral occurences, deposits, and mining projects. We thus infer that the location of the economic mineralization, and its development, is closely linked to the low-resistivity (conductive) signatures and, therefore, to crustal structures due primarily to their influence on fluid flow (for example, structurally enhanced permeability). The low-resistivity (conductive) signatures are possibly related to associated sulfide minerology within the host metamorphic complex and to fault structures and pre-existing weaknesses that facilitated fluid movement and left traces of hydrothermal alteration. Thus the crustal architecture, including crustal boundaries and faults that influence fluid distribution, exerts a first‐order control on the location of the metallogenic belt. By combining our electrical resistivity results with other geological and petrological data we attempt to gain insights into the emplacement and origin of mineral resources.

The phase relations in the Si-Al-Na-K-Li-F-H-O model granite system were studied experimentally at T=800, 700°C and P=1 and 2 kbar, as well as at T=600, 550, 500 and 400°C and P=1 kbar and different water content from 2 to 50 wt.%. It is shown that two immiscible melts are formed in the system – aluminosilicate (L) and salt alkali-aluminofluoride (LF) in the presence of Li in liquidus conditions. The experiments were carried out on a high gas pressure unit in the IEM RAS. It is shown that at T=800°C, P=1 and 2 kbar and water content >10 wt.% equilibrium in the system are three phases: L, LF and fluid (Fl). At 700°C, cryolite (Crl), begins to crystallize from the salt melt. At 600°C, quartz (Qtz) crystallizes from the aluminosilicate melt, the equilibrium phases are: L, LF, Crl, Qtz. At T=500°C from L crystallizes Qtz, Na and K aluminofluorides and polylithionite. Сrystals of cryolite and elpasolite are formed in the salt melt. In this case, the residual salt melt enriched with Li and REE is preserved. At 400°C, LF completely crystallizes, and L is in a metastable state in the form of glass. It is found that REE, Sc, Y and Li accumulate in the salt melt up to 500°C with separation coefficients >>1. At T=500 and 400°C, REE and Sc are part of the crystal phases. Sc partially replaces Al in fluorides and micas. REE most often forms its own fluoride phases of the LnF₃ type.

The problems of prospecting for deposits in covered by surface sediments territories that arose in the 20th century contributed to the development of ideas about the migration and concentration of chemical elements and their forms in the supergene zone. The theory of "jet-like" migration of chemical elements appears. All this contributed to the development of geochemical methods of prospecting for deposits by secondary dispersion halos, in particular, gold deposits. However, information on the migration and concentration of gold in loose sediments is insufficient to this day.

Forms of gold and arsenic, as one of the main pathfinder, were researched in eluvial, illuvial and parent material horizons of podzol soil at the Novye Peski gold deposit. Forms of gold and arsenic were studied with sequential extraction method. Results of this study showed that main forms of gold are water-soluble, bound to organic matter and “insoluble”, for arsenic: bound to Fe and Mn-(oxy)hydroxides and bound to organic matter. The form bound to organic matter was considered in detail and gold and arsenic were analyzed in humic and fulvic acids solutions extracted from podzolic soil. It was determined that gold is mainly bound to humic acid (HA), arsenic – to fulvic acid. Due to the prevalence of form of gold bound to humic acid, the modelling process of different gold and arsenic (III) contents sorption on solid humic acid were observed and data on quantity of adsorbed ions per unit mass of HA and recovery ratio were obtained. More than 90 % gold recovery rate was observed for concentrations less 10 µg/cm³ and for arsenic it was in a range 8 – 15 %.

The SW Sardinian basement hosts various ore deposits linked to geological processes active from Cambrian to post-Variscan times. In particular, the Southern Arburèse district hosts several granite-related W-Sn-Mo deposits and a 10 km-long system of Ni-Co-As-Bi-Ag±Au-bearing five-element veins. New investigations in the eastern and central parts of the district (Pira Inferida and Acqua Is Prunas mines) were performed to understand the poorly documented spatial and metallogenic relationships between these systems. The granite-related deposits consist of massive wolframite-quartz (W-Bi-Te-Au) and molybdenite-quartz veins, linked to the early Permian (289±1 Ma) Mt. Linas granite, that are cross-cut by the five-element veins. The wolframite-quartz veins, observed by optical and electron (SEM-EDS) microscopy, show abundant native Bi, Bi-Te phases and native Au suggesting a W-Bi-Te-Au hydrothermal system. The five-elements veins exhibit breccia and cockade textures enveloping clasts of the Ordovician host-rocks and locally small fragments of the earlier W-Mo-quartz veins. The five-element vein paragenesis includes three main stages, from older to younger: 1) native elements (Bi±Au); 2) Ni-Co arsenides-sulfarsenides in quartz gangue; and 3) Pb-Zn-Cu±Ag sulfides in siderite gangue. The mineralogical, geochemical and isotopic features of the five-element vein swarm are closely comparable to five-element deposits elsewhere in Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Italian Alps). While the source of Ni and Co is still unknown, the high Bi contents as well as Au enrichment in the five-element veins suggest selective remobilization of these elements, and perhaps others, from the granite-related W-Bi-Te-Au veins. The five-element vein system was likely formed during a post-289±1 Ma and post-Variscan metallogenic event.