Economic Geology
According to a new study released in November 2008, peridotite may have potential economic value as a low-cost, safe and permanent method to capture and store atmospheric CO2 as part of climate change-related greenhouse gas sequestration. While it was already known that peridotite reacts with CO2 to form a solid carbonate-like limestone or marble mineral, the study concludes that this process can be sped up a million times or more with simple drilling and hydraulic fracturing to allow injection of the CO2 into the subsurface peridotite formation.
Peridotite is named for the gemstone peridot, a glassy green gem mined in Asia and Arizona (Peridot Cove). Some peridotite is mined for ornamental stone.
Peridotite that has been hydrated at low temperatures forms serpentinite, which may include chrysotile asbestos (a form of serpentine) and talc.
Layered intrusions with cumulate peridotite are typically associated with sulfide or chromite ores. Sulfides associated with peridotites form nickel ores and platinoid metals; most of the platinum used in the world today is mined from the Bushveld Igneous Complex in South Africa and the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe. The chromite bands commonly associated with peridotites are the world's major ores of chromium.
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