The Economic Aspect of Geology Part 1

The Economic Aspect of Geology.

by C. K. Leith.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

SURVEY OF FIELD

In adapting ourselves to physical environment it has been necessary to learn something about the earth. Mainly within the last century has this knowledge been organized into the science of geology, and only within the last few decades have the complex and increasing demands of modern civilization required the applications of geology to practical uses, resulting in the development of the science generally known as _economic geology_. This science is not sharply marked off from the science of geology proper; almost any phase of geology may at some time or some place take on its economic aspect.

The usefulness of economic geology was first recognized in relation to mineral resources,--and particularly in relation to metallic resources, their discovery and development,--but the science has been found to have much wider practical application. The practice of the economic geologist in recent years has taken on many new phases.

The geologist is called upon to study the geologic features of mineral deposits, their occurrence, structure, and origin. The basic information thus acquired is useful in estimating reserves and life of mineral deposits. This leads naturally to considerations of valuation. Because valuation plays such a large part in any tax program, the geologist is being used by tax boards of the federal and state governments.

Both in the formulation of laws relating to mineral resources, and in the litigation growing out of the infraction of these laws, the economic geologist plays a part.

One cannot go very far with the study of mineral resources without consideration of the question of conservation. Geologists are called on not only for broad surveys of the mineral reserves, but for the formulation of general principles of conservation and their application to specific mines and minerals.

The geologist's familiarity with the distribution and nature of mineral resources has given him a part in coping with broad questions of international use of natural resources. War conditions made it necessary to use new sources of supply, new channels of distribution, and new methods of utilization. The economic geologist came into touch with questions of international trade, tariffs, and shipping.

But economic geology is not solely confined to mineral resources. In relation to engineering enterprises of the greatest variety--ca.n.a.ls, aqueducts, tunnels, dams, building excavations, foundations, etc.--geology now figures largely, both in war and in peace.

The nature, amount, and distribution of underground water supplies are so involved with geologic considerations that a considerable number of geologists give up their time wholly to this phase of the subject.

It might seem from this list of activities that geology is spreading too far into the fields of engineering and commerce, but there are equally rapid extensions of other fields of knowledge toward geology. The organization of these intermediate fields is required both in the interest of science and in the interest of better adaptation of the race to its environment. The geologist is required to do his part in these new fields, but not to abandon his traditional field.

It is proposed in this volume to discuss the economic aspects of geology without exhaustive discussion of the principles of geology which are involved. Practically the whole range of geologic science has some sort of economic application, and it would be futile to attempt in one volume even a survey of the science of geology as a whole. Our purpose is rather to indicate and ill.u.s.trate, in some perspective, the general nature of the application of geology to practical affairs.

In professional preparation for the practice of economic geology there is no easy short-cut. Students sometimes think that a smattering of geological principles, combined with a little business and economic information, may be sufficient. a.n.a.lysis of professional successes should make it clear that economic geologists are most effective and in most demand, not primarily because of business apt.i.tude, though this helps, but because of their proficiency in the science of geology itself. In short, to enter successfully the field of economic geology one should first become a scientist, if only in a limited field.

The traditional conception of the geologist as a musty and stooped individual, with a bag, hammer, and magnifying gla.s.s, collecting specimens to deposit in a dusty museum, will doubtless survive as a caricature, but will hardly serve to identify the economic geologist in his present-day work. In writing this book, it is hoped in some measure to convey an impression of the breadth and variety in this field. Few other sciences offer so wide a range of opportunity, from the purely scientific to the practical and commercial, coupled with travel, exploration, and even adventure.

ECONOMIC APPLICATIONS OF THE SEVERAL BRANCHES OF GEOLOGY AND OF OTHER SCIENCES

There is no phase of geology which at some time or place does not have its economic application. Many references to these applications are made in other chapters. It is proposed here to indicate briefly some of the phases of geologic science which are most necessary to the practice of economic geology. The student in his preparation cannot afford to eliminate any of them on the ground that they are merely "scientific" or "academic" or "theoretical."

MINERALOGY AND PETROLOGY

Mineralogy, the study of minerals, and petrology, the study of rocks (aggregations of minerals), are of course elementary requisites in preparation. There must be familiarity with the princ.i.p.al minerals and rocks, and especially with the methods and processes of their identification, with their nature, and with their origin. This involves a study of their crystallography, chemical composition, physical qualities, and optical properties as studied with the microscope. In recent years the microscopical study of polished and etched surfaces of ores has proved a valuable tool.

STRATIGRAPHY AND PALEONTOLOGY

Stratigraphy and paleontology are concerned with the sedimentary and life history of the earth. The determination of the ages of the earth's strata and of the conditions of their deposition is required in the practice of economic geology. For example, a detailed knowledge of the succession of rocks and their ages, as determined by fossils and other stratigraphic evidence, is vital to the interpretation of conditions in an oil or coal field, and to the successful exploration and development of its deposits. The success of certain paleontologists and stratigraphic specialists in oil exploration is an evidence of this situation. Certain iron ores, phosphates, salts, potash, and other minerals, as well as many of the common rocks used for economic purposes, are found in sedimentary deposits, and require for their successful exploration and development the application of stratigraphic and paleontologic knowledge.

Closely related to stratigraphy (as well as to physiography, see pp.

6-10) is the study of sedimentation,--_i. e._, the study of the physical, chemical, climatic, and topographic conditions of the deposition of sediments. This is coming to play an increasingly large part in geologic work, and is essential to the interpretation of many mineral deposits, particularly those in which stratigraphic and physiographic questions are involved.

Still another aspect of the problem of stratigraphy and sedimentation is covered by the study of _paleogeography_, or the areal distribution of the faunas and sediments of geologic periods caused by the alternating submergence and emergence of land areas. In the search for the treasures of sedimentary deposits, a knowledge of ancient geographies and of ancient faunas makes it possible to eliminate certain regions from consideration. From a study of the faunas of eastern Kansas and Missouri, and of those along the eastern part of the Rocky Mountains, it has been inferred that a ridge must have extended across eastern Kansas during early Pennsylvanian time,--a conclusion which is of considerable economic importance in relation to oil exploration.

STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY

Structural geology is the study of the physical forms and relations of rocks which result mainly from deformation by earth forces. If rocks remained in their original forms the structural problem would be a comparatively easy one, but usually they do not. Often they are faulted and folded and mashed to such an extent that it is difficult to go behind the superposed structural features to the original conditions in order to work out the geologic history. Not only is structural study necessary for the interpretation of geologic history, but it is often more directly applicable to economic problems,--as when, for instance, ore deposits have been formed in the cracks and joints of rocks, and the ore deposits themselves have been faulted and folded. Water resources are often located in the cracks and other openings of rocks, and are limited in their distribution and flow because of the complex att.i.tude of deformed rocks. Oil and gas deposits often bear a well-defined relation to structural features, the working out of which is almost essential to their discovery.

It is not desirable to stop with the merely descriptive aspects of structural geology, as is so often done; for much light can be thrown on the economic applications of this subject by consideration of the underlying principles of mechanics,--involving the relations of earth stresses to rock structures. The mere field mapping and description of faults and joints is useful, but in some cases it is necessary to go a step further and to ascertain the mechanical conditions of their origin in order to interpret them clearly. If, for ill.u.s.tration, there are successive groups of mineralized veins in a mining camp, the later ones cutting the earlier ones, these might be treated as separate structural units. But if it can be shown that the several sets of veins have formed from a single movement, that there is no sharp genetic separation between the different sets and that they are a part of a single system, this interpretation throws new light on exploration and development, and even on questions of ownership and extralateral rights (Chapter XVI).

PHYSIOGRAPHY

Physiography is a phase of geology which investigates the surface features of the earth. It has to do not only with the description and cla.s.sification of surface forms, present and past (physical geography or geomorphology), but with the processes and history of their development.

The subject is closely related to geography, climatology, sedimentation, and hydrology. As one of the latest phases of geology to be organized and taught, its economic applications have been comparatively recent and are not yet widely recognized. Because of this fact its economic applications may be summarized at somewhat greater length than those of the other branches of geology above mentioned, which are to be more or less taken for granted.

The central feature of physiography is the so-called erosion cycle or topographic cycle. Erosion, acting through the agencies of wind, water, and ice, is constantly at work on the earth's surface; the eroded materials are in large part carried off by streams, ultimately to be deposited in the ocean near the continental margins. The final result is the reduction of the land surface to an approximate plain, called a _peneplain_, somewhere near sea level. Geological history shows that such peneplains are often elevated again with reference to sea level, by earth forces or by subsidence of the sea, when erosion again begins its work,--first cutting narrow, steep gulches and valleys, and leaving broad intervening uplands, in which condition the erosion surface is described as that of _topographic youth_; then forming wider and more extensive valleys, leaving only points and ridges of the original peneplains, in which stage the surface is said to represent _topographic maturity_; then rounding off and reducing the elevations, leaving few or none of the original points on the peneplain, widening the valleys still further and tending to reduce the whole country to a nearly flat surface, resulting in the condition of _topographic old age_. The final stage is again the peneplain. This cycle of events is called the _erosion cycle_ or _topographic cycle_. Uplift may begin again before the surface is reduced to base level; in fact, there is a constant oscillation and contest between erosion and relative uplift of the land surface.

The action of the erosion cycle on rocks of differing resistance to erosion and of diverse structure gives rise to the great variety of surface forms. The physiographer sees these forms, not as heterogeneous units, but as parts of a definite system and as stages in an orderly series of events. He is able to see into the topographic conditions beyond the range of immediate and direct observation. He is able to determine what these forms were in the past and to predict their condition in the future. He is able to read from the topography the underground structure which has determined that topography. A given structure may in different stages of topographic development give quite diverse topographic forms. In such a case it is important to realize that the diversity is only superficial. On the other hand, a slight local divergence from the usual topographic forms in a given region may reflect a similar local divergence in the underground structure. Thus it is that an appreciation of the physiographic details may suggest important variations in the underground structure which would otherwise pa.s.s undiscovered.

Many mineral deposits owe their origin or enrichment to weathering and other related processes which are preliminary to erosion. These processes vary in intensity, distribution, and depth, with the stage of erosion, or in relation to the phase of the erosion cycle. They vary with the climatic conditions which obtain on the erosion surface.

Mineral deposits are therefore often closely related to the topographic features, present and past, in kind, shape, and distribution. A few ill.u.s.trative cases follow.

Many of the great copper deposits of the western United States owe their values to a secondary enrichment through the agency of waters working down from the surface. When this fact of secondary enrichment was discovered, it was naturally a.s.sumed that the process was related to the present erosion surface and to present climatic and hydrologic conditions. Certain inferences were drawn, therefore, as to depth and distribution of the enriched ores. This conception, however, proved to be too narrow; for evidences were found in many cases that the copper deposits had been concentrated in previous erosion cycles, and therefore in relation to erosion surfaces, now partly buried, different from the present surface. The importance of this knowledge from an exploring and development standpoint is clear. It has made it possible to find and follow rich ores, far from the present erosion surface, which would otherwise have been disclosed solely by chance. Studies of this kind in the copper camps are yet so recent that much remains to be learned. The economic geologist advising exploration and development in copper ores who does not in the future take physiographic factors into account is likely to go wrong in essential ways, as he has done in some cases in the past.

Not only is it necessary to relate the secondary enrichment of copper deposits to the erosion surface, present or past, but by a study of the conditions it must be ascertained how closely erosion has followed after the processes of enrichment. In some cases erosion has followed so slowly as to leave large zones of secondary enrichment. In other cases erosion has followed up so closely after the processes of secondary enrichment as to remove from the surface important parts of the secondarily enriched deposits.

The iron ores of the Lake Superior region are the result of the action of waters from the surface on so-called iron formations or jaspers. Here again it was at first supposed that the enrichment was related to the present erosion surface; but upon further studies the fact was disclosed that the concentration of the ores took place in the period between the deposition of Keweenawan and Cambrian rocks, and thus a new light was thrown on the possibilities as to depth and distribution of the ores.

The old pre-Cambrian surface, with reference to which the concentration took place, can be followed with some precision beneath the present surface. This makes it possible to forecast a quite different depth and distribution of the ores from that which might be inferred from present surface conditions. Present surface conditions, of low relief, considerable humidity, and with the water table usually not more than 100 feet from the surface, do not promise ore deposits at great depth.

The erosion which formed the old pre-Cambrian surface, however, started on a country of great relief and semi-arid climate, conditions which favored deep penetration of the surface waters which concentrated the ores.

The iron ores of eastern Cuba are formed by the weathering of a serpentine rock on an elevated plateau of low relief, where the sluggish streams are unable rapidly to carry off the products of weathering.

Where streams have cut into this plateau and where the plateau breaks down with sharp slopes to the ocean, erosion has removed the products of weathering, and therefore the iron ore. An important element, then, in iron ore exploration in this country is the location of regions of slight erosion in the serpentine area. One of the largest discoveries was made purely on a topographic basis. It was inferred merely from a study of topography that a certain large unexplored area ought to carry iron ore. Subsequent work in the thick and almost impenetrable jungle disclosed it.

Bauxite deposits in several parts of the world require somewhat similar conditions of concentration, and a study of the physiographic features is an important factor in their location and interpretation.

A physiographic problem of another sort is the determination of the conditions surrounding the origin of sedimentary ores. Certain mineral deposits, like the "Clinton" iron ores, the copper ores in the "Red Beds" of southwestern United States and in the Mansfield slates of Germany, many salt deposits, and almost the entire group of placer deposits of gold, tin, and other metals, are the result of sedimentation, from waters which derived their materials from the erosion of the land surface. It is sometimes possible from the study of these deposits to discover the position and configuration of the sh.o.r.e line, the depth of water, and the probable continuity and extent of the deposits. Similar questions are met in the study of coal and oil.

This general problem is one of the phases of geology which is now receiving a large amount of attention, not only from the standpoint of ore deposition, but from a broader geologic standpoint. In spite of the fact that sedimentary processes of great variety can be observed in operation today, it is yet extremely difficult to infer from a given sedimentary deposit the precise conditions which determined its deposition and limited its distribution. For instance, sedimentary iron formations furnish a large part of the world's iron ore. The surface distribution, the structure, the features of secondary enrichment, are all pretty well understood; likewise the general conditions of sedimentation are reasonably clear,--but the close interpretation of these conditions, to enable us to predict the extent of one of these deposits, or to explain its presence in one place and absence in another, is in an early and sketchy stage.

An understanding of the principles and methods of physiography is also vital to an intelligent application of geology to water resources, to soils, to dam and reservoir construction, and to a great variety of engineering undertakings, but as these subjects involve the application of many other phases of geology, they are considered in separate chapters. (Chapters V, VI, and XX.)

ROCK ALTERATIONS OR METAMORPHISM

This is one of the newer special phases of geology which for a long time was regarded as the plaything of the petrographer or student of rocks.

With the systematic development of the subject, however, it was found that the extremely numerous and complex alterations of rocks and minerals may be definitely grouped, and that they are controlled by broad principles. It became apparent also that these principles apply both to the economic and non-economic minerals and rocks,--in other words, that the segregation of economic minerals is a mere incident in pervasive cycles of the alterations which affect all rocks. Metamorphic geology, therefore, for some geologists becomes a convenient approach to the subject of economic geology. It has the great advantage that it tends to keep all minerals and all processes of ore deposition in proper perspective with relation to rocks and rock processes in general. It is not argued that this is the only approach or that it is the best for all purposes. A brief account of this phase of geology is given in Chapter II.