Publisher's Synopsis
The following Special Issue compiles original research on the mineralogical, geochemical, and microstructural characterisation of natural and anthropogenic materials. Topics span the weathering and long-term durability of sedimentary rocks, copper mineralisation processes, and archaeometric provenance studies to advanced analytical methods for mortar characterisation, heavy mineral analysis, and polymetallic ore exploration. Contributions highlight innovations in neutron imaging, SEM-based fast elemental mapping, quantitative XRD, and adsorption studies on clay minerals. Emphasis is placed on the scientific understanding of mineral transformations, the sustainable use of geological resources, heritage conservation, and the recycling potential of mining waste. By combining traditional petrography with emerging machine learning and supervised classification approaches, the papers demonstrate how mineralogical research is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary, supporting geology, archaeology, environmental sciences, and resource management. This reprint provides a valuable reference for researchers across Earth and material sciences.
