Minerals, Volume 16, Issue 1

This study aimed to design a new composite with promising antimicrobial and antioxidant properties by a simple modification process of natural bentonite (B) with polysaccharide chitosan isolated from edible mushrooms Agaricus bisporus—ChM (samp...

The South Sakhalin mud volcano (Sakhalin Island, Russia) emits HCO₃-Cl/Na-Mg water, emanates CO₂ prevailing over CH₄ in the gas phase, and extrudes mud bearing five carbonate mineral species. The study focuses on the distribution, diversity, and orig...

Illite, a clay mineral, is used in diverse fields such as agriculture, cosmetics, and the food-related industry due to its many advantages, including biocompatibility, UV protection, antibacterial activity, high adsorption capacity for hazardous subs...

Accurate characterization of ore grindability is essential for optimizing mill throughput, reducing energy consumption, and predicting mill performance under varying ore conditions. However, the standard Bond work index (BWI) test remains time-consum...

The Yawan gold deposit, located in the Western Qinling Orogen, contains gold mineralisation that is predominantly controlled by approximately east-west-trending fault systems. This study integrates field geology, petrography, cathodoluminescence imag...

Coal and its associated minerals are vital geological resources, holding significant value for both energy security and the supply of strategic materials [...]

In magnetic separation processes, the capture radius R_c of magnetic particles achieved by the magnetic matrix constitutes a critical parameter governing the separation efficiency and operational performance of magnetic separation equipment. Through a...

Microbial carbonates are globally known petroleum reservoirs. However, the complex interplay between deposition and diagenesis significantly influences the pore network distribution in these microbial carbonate reservoirs. The present study aims to d...

The Weishan rare earth element (REE) deposit, located in western Shandong, North China Block, is a typical carbonatite REE deposit and constitutes the third largest light REE resource in China. Its mineralization is closely related to the multi-stage...

Seepage–dissolution in carbonate rock fractures serves as the core driver governing the evolution of key engineering projects, including reservoir dam stability, CO₂ geological sequestration, and unstable rock collapse mitigation strategies. Wh...

The six platinum group elements (PGE) are among the rarest elements in the upper continental crust of the earth. Higher values of PGE have been detected in the upper mantle and in chondrite meteorites. The PGE are siderophile and chalcophile elements...

Siliceous rocks of various colors and types are extensively developed within the Middle–Lower Ordovician carbonate along the Northwest Tarim Basin. Their genesis provides important insights into the evolution of basinal fluids and the associate...

In multi-phase tectonic activity areas, complex stratigraphic uplift-subsidence cycles lead to multi-phase, superimposed diagenesis. This obscures the mechanisms of reservoir property evolution and makes predicting diagenetic sweet spots difficult. T...

Shale reservoirs have emerged as a pivotal pillar of global unconventional hydrocarbon resources, driving a paradigm shift in the energy industry over the past two decades [...]

The Tethys Ocean, a geodynamically pivotal transcontinental oceanic system sandwiched between the Laurasian and Gondwanan supercontinents, underwent successive evolutionary phases (Proto-Tethys, Palaeo-Tethys, Neo-Tethys) sculpted by continental drif...

The Huxu Au-dominated deposit is a representative intermediate sulfidation epithermal deposit in the middle section of the Gan-Hang belt. The formation of such deposits is commonly closely related to deep magmatism. However, the specific relationship...

Crushing is a critical step in the efficient utilization of quasi-brittle materials such as ores and solid wastes. During this process, materials undergo fracture, and the product particles are ejected, carrying significant kinetic energy. This study...

The Hadamengou gold deposit, hosted in the Precambrian metamorphic basement, is a super-large gold deposit occurring along the northern margin of the North China Craton. Despite extensive investigation, the genesis of the gold mineralization is poorl...

The aim of the study is to assess the effect of diagenesis on the reservoir properties of Carboniferous sandstones in Western Pomerania (NW Poland). The research focuses on Mississippian (Łobżonka Shale, Gozd Arkose, and Drzewiany Sandstone...

The Jianggang sand ridges (JSR) in the southwestern Yellow Sea are a radiating tidal sand ridge system that plays crucial roles in ecological preservation, coastal protection, and terrestrial resource supply. Clay and silt fractions constitute import...

Future shortages of minerals essential for green technologies have driven the search for new supply sources. In this context, deep-sea mining (DSM) has emerged as an innovative alternative for accessing strategic metals such as manganese and cobalt,...

The Paleoproterozoic Aravalli Supergroup in northwest India hosts one of the oldest phosphorite deposits on Earth, located in the Jhamarkotra Formation, which was deposited after ca. 1762 Ma. Secondary enrichment is identified in the eastern region,...

Ultrapotassic lamprophyre dykes are spatially closely related to gold deposits in collision tectonic belts. However, the potential implication of these lamprophyre dykes to gold deposits remains poorly constrained. Abundant ultrapotassic lamprophyre...

This study investigated lithium beneficiation from nepheline syenite ore containing 242.57 ppm Li, identifying biotite as the primary lithium-bearing mineral. A high-intensity dry magnetic separation produced a pre-concentrate assaying at approximate...

Topaz is one of the most economically important fluorine-rich nesosilicates, which are predominantly colorless in natural crystals. Hence, the trade relies almost entirely on irradiated blue topaz with an unstable color center, which has been shown t...

Soil contamination by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) is a growing environmental concern, particularly in agricultural regions where soil quality directly affects crop safety and human health. This study evaluates PTE concentrations and ecological...

This study systematically investigates the lithofacies, sedimentary microfacies, vertical evolution, and spatial distribution of the braided river delta–shallow lacustrine carbonate mixed sedimentary rocks of the Upper Ganchaigou Formation in t...

As a potential strategic resource of critical metals, deep-sea cobalt-rich crusts represent one of the most promising metal reservoirs within oceanic seamount systems, and their metallogenic mechanism constitutes a frontier topic in deep-sea geoscien...

Ataúro Island, located in the inner Banda Arc, provides a natural laboratory to investigate the interplay between magmatic evolution, hydrothermal circulation, and near-surface weathering in an active arc–continent collision setting. Thi...

Tungsten is one of the critical materials with important applications in many areas. Electrolysis of Na₂WO₄-based salt is a short and green process for the production of tungsten metal and alloys. The conventional process for producing Na₂WO₄ is expe...

Although mining activities are economically essential, they have led to significant environmental contamination, particularly in northern Chile. The discharge of untreated tailings has impacted coastal and soil ecosystems. This analysis investigates...

This study investigated the effect of mechanical activation on the physicochemical properties of lepidolite and the leaching behavior of mechanically activated samples in sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄). Lepidolite was mechanically activated using a high-energ...

In the original publication [...]

The Italian Peninsula and Islands are among the most geologically diverse and tectonically dynamic regions in Europe and in the Mediterranean area [...]

This Special Issue brings together nine studies that employ mineral-based investigations to advance the understanding of ore-forming processes [...]

This study focuses on the mineralogy and mineral chemistry of the accessory minerals occurring in the Kastoria pluton situated in NW Greece, which intrudes the Pelagonian nappe having crystallized during the Late Paleozoic (~300 Ma). The pluton consi...

Effective drillhole placement is critical to the success of mineral exploration, particularly in brownfield settings where subsurface information remains sparse despite the availability of data from adjacent, previously explored areas. To address the...

To evaluate the stability of fiber-reinforced cemented foamed backfill (FCFB) in complex underground mining environments, this study investigates the synergistic effects of fiber content and modified coal gangue (MCG) under acidic and high-temperatur...

With the rapid depletion of natural graphite, the synthesis of artificial graphite from high-carbon precursors has garnered growing interest. However, conventional artificial graphitization typically requires extremely high temperatures. This study d...

The peculiar high-pressure mineral assemblage omphacite, epidote, quartz, calcite, titanite, and opaque minerals, ±phengite, has been observed in the Riffelberg–Garten Unit (RGU), a heterogeneous metasedimentary rock assemblage of the Ze...

The Qulong–Jiama polymetallic ore concentration area, located in the eastern segment of the Gangdese metallogenic belt, is one of China’s most significant copper resource production zones. With the growing demand for copper resources, thi...

The Micangshan lead–zinc deposits, located in the northern margin of the Sichuan Basin, are classified as the Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) deposits. This study investigates the genetic linkage between Pb–Zn mineralization and paleo-oil r...

The northern part of the Naomugeng Sag in the Erlian Basin shows favorable sandstone-type uranium mineralization in the lower member of the Saihan Formation. The sandstone thickness ranges from 39.67 to 140.36 m, with an average sand content ratio of...

Rare earth elements (REEs) are not scarce in nature; however, they rarely occur in economically viable concentrations. Over recent decades, demand for REE has increased substantially due to advances in high-technology industries and the expansion of...

This article focuses on studying the phase transformation of bauxite iron minerals during electrolytic reduction processes in alkaline solutions (400 g/L Na₂O), with the aim of improving aluminum extraction in the subsequent Bayer process. The resear...

This study presents an integrated, cost-aware artificial intelligence (AI) meta-modelling framework for mine-to-mill optimisation that couples high-fidelity simulation with data-driven predictive modelling. Using over three million scenarios generate...

The Chang 7 shale oil reservoirs of the Yanchang Formation in the Heishui Area of the Ordos Basin display typical tight sandstone characteristics, marked by complex microscopic pore structures and limited flow capacity, which severely constrain effic...

The Chaijiagou Mo deposit (0.11 Mt Mo @ 0.07%) is located along the northern margin of the North China Craton. This study integrates ore geology, S–Pb–He–Ar–H–O isotopes, and fluid inclusion (FI) analyses to constrain th...

Infrared spectroscopic analysis of palygorskite clay from the Dashkovskoye and Borshchevskoye deposits yielded key insights into the sedimentation conditions prevailing in the study area. In this paper, the composition, structure, and adsorption prop...

Fluorite, a key accessory mineral associated with rare earth element (REE) deposits, exerts a significant influence on REE migration and precipitation through complexation, adsorption, and lattice substitution within fluorine-bearing fluid systems. I...