gangue
/ɡaŋ
/noun [mass noun]
The commercially valueless material in which ore is found: good ore with some gangue or rock adhering...
- Specifically, gangue formed by both metasomatic alteration and precipitation during ore formation can yield a wealth of information about the origins and physical conditions of the ore-forming fluids.
- Here, too, the veins may be monomineralic, commonly quartz or calcite, but more usually are polymineralic with a mixture of metalliferous sulphide or oxide minerals and gangue minerals.
- The major ore and gangue minerals are given in the table, but only those of interest to collectors are discussed in detail below.
Origin
Early 19th century: from French, from German Gang 'course, lode'; related to gang1.