Badania utworów osadowych- jedno z głównych zadań polskiej geologii

Abstract

THE STUDIES ON SEDIMENTARY FORMATIONS - ONE OF THE MAIN TASKS OF POLISH GEOLOGYSummaryThe author emphasizes the considerable rôle of the rocks and mineral deposits of sedimentary origin that occur within the area of Poland. During the formation of payable concentrations of chemical elements, the hypergenic conditions play the most important rôle on the world-wide scale, too. In Poland, the formations of sedimentary origin are highly heterogeneous as concerns both their age (there are known here sedimentary rocks of all periods, from Proterozoic to Quaternary), and their lithological development (clastic, clayey, carbonate and evaporate rocks).Their total thickness, estimated for the entire area, is thought to be about 6.2 km. The palaeogeographical conditions of these formations are also strongly differentiated: marine, fresh-water and continental deposits, as well as deposits of tropical and cool climate, humid and dry climate, and others. The greatest, known mineral deposits of Poland are of sedimentary origin (hard coal, brown coal, sulphur, copper, rock and potassium salts, numerous rocky mineral deposits). Taking into account the heterogeneity of sedimentary phenomena, and the fact of occurrence of deposits of sedimentary origin, the present author stresses a considerable perspectives of the sedimentary series, and suggests a necessity of conducting research works and prospections for mineral deposits in them. Since the mineral deposits, which occur at the depths so far regarded as payable, are not numerous, attention should be paid to the greater depths, which, for solid mineral raw materials, particularly for metal ores and chemical mineral raw materials might amount to 2000 m. Taking into account a fact that the research works and prospections, carried on at present, may lead to certain discoveries in the next future, and that the new deposits might be used already after 20-30 years or more, the author emphasizes that the economical estimations of these deposits (among others their depth and content of useful materials) should not take into account the present-day criteria, but the criteria that will be real in the relative remote future.