| Abstract: | Heavy mineral concentrates (SG 3.3) from the Huai Hin Laep, a tributary of the Huai Kho Lo River in northern Thailand, contain strongly anomalous concentrations of gold. In contrast, the gold content of the associated < 149 μm and <53 μm fractions of the sediment is generally less than the 5 ppb detection limit obtained by a conventional fire assay-atomic absorption spectrometry method. To test for the presence of a gold anomaly at concentrations < 5 ppb, we have used an aqua-regia digestion followed by an Amberlite XAD-8 column preconcentration technique that, when used with a spectrometer that enables full display of the analytical spectrum to optimize baseline analysis, gives a detection limit of 0.1 ppb Au.Gold content of the < 53 μm sediment fraction ranges from 1.0 to 3.1 ppb compared to concentrations that typically range from 1000 to more than 100,000 ppb in the heavy mineral concentrates. However, despite gold concentrations in the sediment being several orders of magnitude lower than those in the heavy mineral concentrates, the downstream dispersion patterns are similar, with gold concentrations increasing at high energy sites and downstream away from the assumed source. These results identify the presence of a greatly diluted gold anomaly in the < 53 μm fraction of the sediments and suggest that transport and deposition of this fine grained gold is controlled by the same sedimentological factors that control the behavior of gold in the sand-size range, between 53 μm and 425 μm. Most important from an exploration standpoint, is that by using a sufficiently sensitive analytical method, meaningful gold dispersion patterns can be recognized at concentrations below 5 ppb. |
