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On the very crest of the East Pacific rise, in equatorial latitudes--particularly 12 degrees to 16 degrees South, the sediments are enriched in Fe, Mn, Cu, Cr, Ni, and Pb. The correlation of these areas of enrichment to areas of high heat flow is marked. It is believed that these precipitates are caused by ascending solutions of deep-seated origin, which are probably related to magmatic processes at depth. The rise is considered to be a zone of exhalation from the mantle of the earth, and these emanations could serve as the original enrichment in certain ore-forming processes. Ba and Sr are enriched on the flanks of the rise.