A Review of the Non-metallic Industrial Minerals of Mongolia: The Impact of Geological and Geographical Factors on their Formation and Use

Abstract

Mongolia is one of the countries of the Asian continental interior rich in ore and non-metallic deposits. Non-metallic commodities of high-unit and high-place value commodities are found throughout the country. Some reference types are discussed in this paper: (1) feldspar-quartz pegmatites; (2) graphite-bearing skarns; (3) contact-metamorphic marbles; (4) igneous and sedimentary gemstone deposits; (5) coarse-grained aggregates (alluvial-fluvial); (6) fine-grained aggregates (fluvial-aeolian); (7) arenaceous-argillaceous byproducts of coal mining; (8) and argillaceous deposits. (Paleo)geography and climate were decisive for the accumulation (e.g., clay and sand deposits) and alteration (e.g., calcareous and gemstone deposits) of many of the non-metallic deposits. The recent geographical and climatic situation is responsible for the poorly developed infrastructure and especially affect the high-value commodities. Acquisition of digital data in the field is a must in a country of the continental interior of Eurasia, in order to save time and space for the transport of samples to accelerate data acquisition. A portable IR mineral analyzer (PIMA) is essential in exploration for industrial minerals and its applicability may be rated as follows, in order of decreasing applicability for different commodities: (1) carbonates, (2) sulfate-bearing rocks, (3) argillaceous rocks, (4) claybearing arenaceous rocks, and (5) rocks abundant in alumosilicates/framework silicates.