Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to Good point SM...

Mars Geology and Minerals
Nick Hoffman — (archived)

be cautious about what you expect of Mars. It has never had plate tectonics. On Earth, this has involved repeated recycling and reprocessing of the crust, concentrating a wide variety of minerals in a range of geologic contexts.

On Mars we have essentially no recycling - only basaltic volcanoes, some rudimentary interactions with liquid water, and a bunch of impacts.

On Mars you could access those minerals found on Earth in Basic and Ultrabasic terrains - these include chromium, titanium & platinum group minerals (although perhaps less concentrated). Also saphires and rubies, but low water content of Martian magmas may limit the degree of fractional crystallisation (but a thick, deep sill or pluton might get that far, eventually, and be exposed by a lucky impact)

The principal iron ores of Earth are biogenic, and therefore unlikely on Mars. Diamonds would be very hard to find, due to lower gravity (diamonds need pressure, and would form at greater depoths on Mars, so would be harder to bring to the surface).

No granites on Mars so no Tin or Gold. No oceanic crust, so the main Cu, Zn, Pb associations are missing.

Plenty of roadstone and gravel. Lots of olivine (!).

Plusses on Mars are the many huge impacts that have exposed deep crustal levels, but this is a bit random, and the views we have of Mars are that the uppermost few km of the crust are heavily layered - perhaps basalts, or layers of impact breccia - neither is very useful for minerals.

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