ORE-MINERAL TEXTURES AND THE TALES THEY TELL*

Ore minerals have been the resource base for all metal used by humankind since the dawn of history. Total world production of refined metals has been approximately 62 billion tonnes, and today, annual production exceeds 1.3 billion tonnes. Ore miner-als, whether concentrated in ore deposits or dispersed as accessory minerals, can provide valuable information on the origins, histories and, in some case, futures of the metals. The same metals that serve society in myriad uses also have the potential to become major pollutants if released into the environment by combustion or weathering. The textures preserve a record of the means by which the minerals formed, provide insights as to the effective means of extracting the metals, and yield clues as to the future release of some metals. Each texture tells a tale with regard to origin, use, and future of the metal-bearing phases. Under-standing these tales requires careful sampling, preparation, analysis, and interpretation. The techniques of analysis and interpre-tation of ore minerals may also be applied to such anthropogenic materials as artifacts and potential pollutants