Borate deposits: An overview and future forecast with regard to mineral deposits

The element boron does not exist freely by itself in nature, it occurs in combination with oxygen and other elements in salts, commonly called “borates”. Over 250 boron-bearing minerals have been identified, the most common being sodium, calcium, or magnesium salts. Boron is a rare element in the nature (average content in the Earth’s crust is 10 ppm), but extraordinary concentrations can be found in certain places. The formation of borate deposits can be summarized as follows; (1) a skarn group associated with intrusive and consisting of silicates and iron oxides; (2) a magnesium oxide group hosted by marine evaporitic sediments; (3) a sodium– and calcium–borate hydrates group associated with lacustrine (playa lake) sediments and explosive volcanic activity. Borate is defined as any compound that contains or supplies boric oxide (B2 O3 ). A large number of minerals contain boric oxide, but the four that are most important from a worldwide commercial standpoint which are borax, kernite, ulexite, and colemanite. These are produced in a limited number of countries, and Turkey has largest borax, ulexite and colemanite reserves in the world. All the countries are dependent upon colemanite and ulexite reserves of Turkey. Borate exploration consists of detailed prospecting of favorable areas followed by drilling, and uses all the tools available to the exploration geologist. Most of the world’s commercial borate deposits are mined by open pit methods. Brines from Searles Lake, and presumably the Chinese sources, are recovered by either controlled evaporation or carbonation. Boric acid is one of the final products produced from most of the processes. Detail mineralogical and advanced chemical data on the individual borate minerals and associated minerals (such as clay and lithium minerals) will increase the knowledge of borate end-products and their incomes as well as creating new gateways to the high technology and research on the borate minerals. These types studies will be extremely important for borate and related mineral industry. Very few modern industries can get by without borates, and very few people can get by without their products. When you consider the role boron plays in plant life, and by extension, all life, it’s hard to imagine our world without it. Therefore, borates and their products could be one of the main topics for sustainable development in whole world.

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