What Are Load Deposits?

Formation

• A lode doesn't have to be gold. It can be any ore found between layers of rocks, but it is most commonly associated with gold and prospecting. Lode deposits are formed in several ways including the natural oxidation of surrounding minerals. Water enters the ground, and pressure from hotter areas pushes the water back up through the rock, dissolving much of the rocks around it. The ore that is left precipitates in cracks creating veins.

Importance In Prospecting

• There are two primary ways gold and other mined metals are found. They are discovered as placer deposits, such as gold dust in rivers and small nuggets formed by running water, and large veins. These lode deposits are larger than placer deposits. Where there is one vein, there are likely more, which is not the case with placer deposits. Lode deposits are mined in rock formations and mines around the world.

Lode Deposit Locations

• Lode deposits are found all around the Earth, both above ground in mountains and underground. Many different types of lode deposits are mined, including copper and platinum, and used for everything from electrical wiring to soda cans. Almost half of all gold is mined in South Africa where the gold was formed in the Precambrian era.

Lode Deposit Removal

• Lode deposits are removed by hard rock mining, using drills and explosives. Miners drill and detonate explosives to break up the rock and send it to a mill or processing plant. The larger rocks are crushed into smaller ones and finally ground into a powder. Machinery extracts the gold and other ores from the powder.