Mineralization

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Mineralization is the process where a substance is converted from an organic substance to an inorganic substance.

This may also be a normal biological process which takes place during the life of an organism such as the formation of bone tissue or egg shells. Alternatively, it may be a process which begins after death and burial within sediments by the total replacement of the organic material with various minerals known as fossilization. Frequently this involves either calcite or quartz, but many other minerals such as pyrite may be involved.

Mineralization is also used to describe the hydrothermal deposition of economically important metals in the formation of orebodies.

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