lode
Geological deposit rich in certain minerals, generally consisting of a large vein or set of veins containing ore minerals. A system of veins that can be mined directly forms a lode, for example the mother lode of the California gold rush.
Lodes form because hot hydrothermal liquids and gases from magmas penetrate surrounding rocks, especially when these are limestones; on cooling, veins of ores formed from the magma then extend from the igneous mass into the local rock.
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