LATERAL SECRETION

geological process by which ore minerals dissolved from wall rocks by percolating waters are redeposited in nearby openings. Put forth in 1847, the theory was vigorously attacked in the late 1800s by geologists who contended that the deposits were formed by hot water ascending from deep-seated sources; it was generally dismissed about the beginning of the 20th century, but modern studies have attributed some deposits to lateral secretion.