Lithification

Lithification (from the Ancient Greek word lithos meaning 'rock' and the Latin-derived suffix -ific) is the process in which sediments compact under pressure, expel connate fluids, and gradually become solid rock. Essentially, lithification is a process of porosity destruction through compaction and cementation. Lithification includes all the processes which convert unconsolidated sediments into sedimentary rocks. Petrifaction, though often used as a synonym, is more specifically used to describe the replacement of organic material by silica in the formation of fossils. 

 

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What are the geological processes of lithification and mineralization？

Source : .moeacgs.gov.tw

Lithification: It refers to the process that loose and underconsolidated Sediment particles transform into hard and solid rocks. This process includes a number of geological processes, such as consolidation, deep bury, cementation, recrystallization and dehydration.

Mineralization: As some rock minerals can concentrate and become ore bodies with mining value , mineralization is usually caused by the circulation and rising of hot groundwater. That is, specific minerals will deposit along the rock cracks as the temperature and pressure decrease.