The papers in this volume are dedicated to Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. G. Christian Amstutz by his colleagues friends and students on the occasion of his 60th anniversary. The authors of this book - the theme was restricted to syngenesis and epigenesis in the formation of mineral deposits - wish to honour with their articles a scientist who has contributed to and substantially promoted the understanding of the genesis of mineral deposits in the last decades. The majority of the articles deal with strata-bound depos- its thus reflecting one of his main scientific interests. In the tradition of his professors Paul Niggli and Paul Ramdohr G.C. Amstutz has maintained an open and active interest in many fields of earth science. His numerous papers have triggered a remarkable number of new ideas and investigations in a variety of fields and the happy marriage of economic geology with sedimentology is cer- tainly one of his main successes starting with the first Symposium on Sedimentology and Ore Genesis at the Sixth International Sedimentological Congress at Delft in 1963.