Mineral deposits: a global survey -- The tectonopsheric earth model: a new concept -- The geometrical, mechanical, thermal, and chemical behavior of the earth during the past 4.6 billion years: a summary -- Intrusive and extrusive activity: a long-lived deep-seated basis for the origin and evolution of mineral deposits -- Mineral deposits: origin and distribution 4.6 billion years ago -- Mineral deposits: evolution during the past 4.6 billion years -- Mineral deposits: present distribution as a function of the earth's behavior during the past 4.6 billion years.