Laurence Robb on Where Our Minerals Come From
Laurence Robb is a Visiting Professor at the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford. He studies the processes by which mineral deposits form and the factors that control their distribution in space and time. He is pictured on a field trip in Myanmar to study its tin deposits.
Photo Courtesy of Mike Searle
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Podcast Illustrations
Diagram illustrating how hydrothermal vents form on mid-ocean spreading ridges.
Courtesy of Laurence Robb
Diagram of an idealized kimberlite intrusion.
Courtesy of the Colorado Geological Survey
Kimberlite pipe at Ontevreden, Botswana, being mined for diamonds.
Courtesy of the Mozambique Resources Post
Chromite seam in the Bushveld Complex in South Africa. Chromite is an iron chromium oxide, and is our principal source of chromium.
Courtesy of Laurence Robb
A hydrothermal vent (black smoker) in the East Pacific Rise, a mid-ocean spreading ridge that runs south from the Gulf of California.
Courtesy of the USGS
Lithium extraction in a shallow salt pan at Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia. Brine is pumped out of a nearby lake into a series of evaporation ponds. Over a period of 12-18 months, the water evaporates and salts precipitate, including lithium in the form of lithium carbonate.
Courtesy of Matjaž Krivic/INSTITUTE