accessory mineral

American

noun

Petrography.

a mineral that is present in small amounts in a rock and has no bearing on the classification of the rock, as zircon in granite.

accessory mineral Scientific

A mineral that is present in a minor amount in rocks and is not considered an essential constituent of the rock.

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accessory mineral

It is frequently present as an accessory mineral in sulphide deposits containing ores of gold, copper, silver, lead, and zinc.

From The Economic Aspect of Geology by Leith, C. K. (Charles Kenneth)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023