saddle reef

English

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Noun

saddle reef (plural saddle reefs) (mineralogy)

1. A mineral deposit associated with the crest of an anticlinal fold and following the bedding planes, usually found in vertical succession, especially the gold-bearing quartz veins of Australia.
2. An opening at the crest of a sharp fold in sedimentary rocks, occupied by ore.
3. (Australia) A saddle-shaped bedded mineral (usually gold-bearing quartz) vein occurring along the crest of an anticline or (less common) a syncline (an inverted saddle).

   Synonym: saddle

Synonyms

• saddle back reef
• saddle vein

References

• United States Bureau of Mines, Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms (1996).