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NSWEarth and Environmental ScienceQuick questions
Module 5: Earth's Processes
Quick questions on Formation of mineral and ore deposits: HSC Earth and Environmental Science Module 5
3short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What are weathering processes?Show answer
Prolonged chemical weathering in warm, wet climates strips soluble elements out of rock and leaves insoluble metals behind in the soil profile, a process called residual concentration. Australia's deep, ancient weathering profiles have produced extensive bauxite (the ore of aluminium) at Weipa in Queensland and at Gove in the Northern Territory, where leaching removed silica and concentrated aluminium oxides. Weathering can also enrich existing deposits: in supergene enrichment, descending groundwater leaches copper from near the surface and re-deposits it at depth, raising the grade.
What is q1?Show answer
Explain why the same body of rock might be classified as ore in 2025 but as waste in 2005. [3 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Compare the processes that concentrated the Pilbara iron ores with those that concentrated the Weipa bauxite. [4 marks]
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