Metals and elements coexisting in ores and in other raw materials

This group of mineral raw materials mainly comprises metals, which are co-occurring elements mainly in sulfides ore deposits. This is the case of Polish copper and zinc-lead deposits with fairly long records of various co-occurring elements. The elements, often of a high market value, are already recovered or may become recoverable in the course of processing of these ores. Accumulations of some of these elements were covered by the prospecting and exploration which resulted often in evaluations of their indicated/inferred resources. Sometimes their resources are documented.

Rare earth elements and those named as dispersed elements were also found to occur in beach sands of: Ławica Słupska (estimated resources: zirconium – 2 thousand tonnes of ZrSiO₄; titanium – 12 thousand tonnes TiO₂) and Ławica-Odrzana deposit (geological resources approved in 2014: zirconium – 25.28 thousand tonnes of ZrSiO₄, titanium – 156.78 thousand tonnes of FeTiO₃, 20.23 thousand tonnes of TiO₂), potassium-magnesium salts (boron – 6 thousand tonnes; bromine – 7.2 thousand tonnes) and saline waters and brines (32.16 million m³ of brines in Łapczyca deposit). The data on boron, bromine, zirconium and titanium (except for Ławica Odrzana area) come from the evaluations made in 1960s and any new calculations has not been made since then.

Table 1 shows a summary of estimations of resources of major co-occurring elements (thousand tonnes).

Table 1. Elements co-occurring in ores and other mineral raw materials - thousand tonnes

Table 2 and 3. List of deposits of elements co-occurring in ores and other mineral raw materials - thousand tonnes

Prepared by: Stanisław Z. Mikulski