Metallic and non-metallic deposit types formed in sedimentary and weathering environments are reviewed. The deposits formed in sedimentary environment are divided into those formed by 1) mechanical deposition, 2) chemical deposition and 3) biogenic deposition. The deposits formed by mechanical deposition further subdivided into jewel stone deposits, quartz-pebble conglomerate deposits, heavy sand deposits, silica sand deposits and clay deposits. The deposits formed by chemical deposition include caliche, brine, evaporite, carbonate deposits, bedded manganese deposits, banded iron formation and manganese nodule/crust. The deposits formed by biogenic deposition include limonite, phosphate, limestone, diatomite and chert. The phosphate deposits are quite variable, including guano, shallow-marine sediments and deep-marine mud.

The deposits formed in weathering environment are separated into residual deposits in a broad sense and deposits formed by the weathering of specific host rocks and minerals. The broad sense residual deposits are classified into 1） the residual deposits in a narrow sense in which minerals are derived directly from the host rocks, and 2） those in which minerals are formed in supergene weathering environment, such as iron and manganese deposits, bauxite deposits and kaolinite deposits. The deposits formed by weathering of specific host rocks and minerals include weathered carbonatite deposits, laterite nickel deposits from mafic-ultra mafic rocks, ion-adsorption deposits from granite, syenite and felsic volcanic rocks, kaolinite deposits from anorthothite, vermiculite deposits from biotite- and chlorite-bearing rocks, and supergene and/or exotic copper deposits from hypogene sulfide copper orebodies.

However, it is very common that these deposits in these environments formed by overprinting of multiple different processes, and exact appraisal of the involved processes will help the exploration and evaluation of the mineral resources.

The discovery of ore deposits that can be economically viable is a prime task for geologists. However, their technical contribution is also fundamentally important for mine development projects to lead them to success, and essential for the subsequent operation stages to work efficiently as well. Some studies show that, once in operation, about 70% of mines perform below the levels of feasibility studies chiefly due to deficiencies of the geology related data useful for designing and planning. The deficiencies can probably be attributed to inadequate understanding by geologists on what kind of geologic data are needed in major technical groups including metallurgy, geotechnical and mining engineering. Enhanced understanding of mining and metallurgy by geologists and close communication among the four technical groups are required for development and operation. Some discussion is given below how geologists could contribute to an initial stage of the project by providing the necessary geologic data for other three groups to work on, and to an operation stage as well. In a mine development project after exploration work, firstly geologists evaluate and classify the calculated ore into several categories using a reliability level of estimate. Secondly, the scale and life of the operation are determined based on the ore quantity to be mined, the project feasibility is assessed and both construction and operation costs are figured out based on designs of mining, metallurgy, tailings storage facility (TSF) and an optimum selection of equipment and machinery. For an open pit excavation, an important part of the mining plan is a design of bench slope based on the study of rock mechanics. It is essential for the slope design to determine dynamical bedrock properties including rock strength, fractures and alteration zones in the target area, and also important to investigate precipitation, runoff water and groundwater seepage that could impact on slope stabilities. Consequently some knowledges and experiences of geology, clay mineralogy, hydrology, and hydrogeology are required in addition to rock mechanics to prepare a mining plan. It is necessary for a design of grinding circuit of metallurgy to grasp the mineral assemblage and size distribution of ore minerals for the efficient separation and recovery of minerals in the flotation circuit. Reagents and chemicals need to be selected according to the clay mineral characteristics and the degree and extent of ore oxidation. It is necessary for TSF in case of the conventional method to establish the static and seismic stability of the containment structure using the existing historical seismicity data, to estimate water balance run-off analysis using the past meteorological records, and to determine geotechnical characteristic of the planned site. Furthermore, it is the most important to build an effective system to cope with accidents and environmental problems by monitoring a pit wall movement as slope failures may lead to injuries and the loss of heavy machinery. A regular measurement for the pore pressure of TSF embankment using piezometers is a must practice. In this way, mine development and operation require a wide range of technologies, some of which are closely correlated to geology and mineralogy.

Not high but extreme temperatures, wildfires, and heavy floods characterized the last two months of this one year from September 2022 to August 2023. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has continued still, and the end of the invasion cannot be predicted. Compared with these topics, topics of our fields are limited as follows: 1) Canadian exploration companies drilled high-grade gold ores at prospecting sites such as Hokuryu, Omui, Ryuo, Ikutahara,in northeastern Hokkaido, 2) the Abra project partly participated by a Japanese mining company commenced to mine lead ores, 3) JOGMEC joined an exploration project of awaruite Ni_2-3Fe mineralization, 4) two geothermal power stations commenced commercial operation at Nakao in Gifu and at Onikobe in Miyagi, and 5) some of oil companies started studies of CCS/CCUS in oil and gas fields.