/sci/ - Science & Math

>>12629540
There may be some small radiogenically-driven hydrothermal systems like Earth's Paralana Hotsprings but otherwise I don't think there have been active hydrothermal systems on Mars for quite some time (at least hundreds of millions of years). Furthermore a lot of the mineral diversity of Earth comes from the fact that it has an oxygen rich atmosphere - this means there are a lot of comparatively (relative to the rest of the solar system) exotic minerals that can form as a result. A good example is uranium which, under reducing conditions, doesn't form much beyond uraninite and pichblende - both boring dark minerals - but in an oxidising environment it can form all manner of colourful and pretty minerals like the Cuprosklodowskite I posted prior and the Torbenite in pic-related.
I do know that there has been a little work in determining the kinds of ore deposits that might be on Mars, the most interesting of which would contain shiny metal-sulfides, which are cool but restricted in mineralic diversity i.e probably little more than chalcopyrite, galena pyrite, nickeline and others. On earth, such deposits may be subjected to weathering which results in all kinds of pretty minerals like malachite, azurite, bornite, chrysocolla and dozens of others.