Müller, D. & Groves, D. I. 2000. Potassic Igneous Rocks and Associated Gold–Copper Mineralization, 3rd ed.: xiii+252 pp. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong: Springer-Verlag. Price DM 129.00, Ös 942.00, SFr 117.50, £44.50, US $79.95 (hard covers). ISBN 3 540 66371 1.

This hardbound book is the third edition of a text that focuses on the petrology of potassic igneous rocks and the tectonic settings in which they occur, with particular reference to their associated economic mineralization. Originally published in the ‘Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences’ series, this updated and enlarged edition features, according to the outer cover, ‘several new sections, new geochemical data and additional references’. The main purpose of the book is to provide a review of the geochemical and petrological characteristics of potassic igneous rock complexes, their classification, and the tectonic settings in which they occur. Since many porphyry, epithermal and other types of gold deposits have spatial associations with, or are hosted by, such rocks, the authors also attempt to elucidate the relationships between magmatism and mineralization and identify chemical differences between barren and mineralized intrusions. The petrology and mineralization aspects essentially divide the book into two halves. The first half consists of four chapters, the first two providing a general introduction, a definition of potassic rocks and a summary of their nomenclature. This provides a useful summary for readers unfamiliar with this relatively unusual group of rocks. The third chapter summarizes the tectonic settings in which potassic rocks occur and a review of how such settings can be discriminated on the basis of major, minor and trace element data. This is a comprehensive …