In geology, mineralization is the deposition of economically important metals in the formation of ore bodies or " lodes" by various process.
The first scientific studies of this process took place in the English county of Cornwall by J.W.Henwood FRS and later by R.W. Fox, FRS. [1]
The term can also refer to the process by which waterborne minerals, such as calcium carbonate ( calcite), iron oxide ( hematite or limonite) or silica ( quartz), replace organic material within the body of an organism that has died and was buried by sediments. [2]
Mineralization may also refer to the product resulting from the process of mineralization. For example, mineralization (the process) may introduce metals (such as iron) into a rock. That rock may then be referred to as possessing iron mineralization.