The work surveys the economic applications of geology, examining how common rocks, minerals, and mineral deposits are formed and utilized. It addresses the practical uses of various branches of geology in discovering and evaluating natural resources. The text details the composition and origins of common minerals and rocks, including igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic formations. It then explores specific classes of mineral deposits, emphasizing their genetic classification and structural features.
Substantial attention is dedicated to quantitative considerations of mineral resources, geographical distribution, and the role of water as a mineral resource. The study covers common rocks and soils as commercial materials, followed by an exhaustive analysis of the fertilizer group of minerals, such as nitrates, phosphates, pyrite, sulphur, and potash. The energy resources—coal, oil, gas, and asphalt—are examined in depth, detailing their origins, migration, and conservation. The economic geology of metallic minerals, including iron, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, and miscellaneous metallics, is thoroughly analyzed. Finally, the text addresses broader practical concerns such as mineral exploration, valuation, taxation, mining laws, conservation, international trade, the relation of geology to war, engineering construction, and the professional training and ethics of the economic geologist.
