Styles of lode gold mineralization contributing to the placers of the Indian River and Black Hills Creek,Yukon Territory,Canada as deduced from microchemical characterization of placer gold grains

Between 1978 and 2009, approximately 430,000 oz of placer gold were obtained from the Indian River and Black Hills Creek, which equates to roughly 20% of the production for the entire Yukon Territory during that period. The area is unglaciated, exposure is poor, and there are few known lode gold occurrences present. The technique of microchemical characterization of placer gold grains has been applied to illuminate the style(s) of source mineralization and their relationship to placer gold from the Klondike gold district immediately to the north. A total of 2,613 placer gold grains from 22 localities were characterised in terms of the Au, Ag, Cu, and Hg content of their alloy and associated suite of opaque mineral inclusions. A combination of alloy and inclusion mineralogy was used to define gold signatures which augmented the previous classification of orogenic gold in the Klondike. Gold type 3b (8–25% Ag) is the main component of the placers in lower Dominion Creek but is augmented and eventually replaced by type 3a gold (10–40% Ag) in placers in the main Indian River valley, probably through erosion of gold-bearing veins in the valley floor. Type 4 gold exhibits highly variable Ag which may contain Hg to a maximum of 11 wt.%. This gold type also hosts a distinctive inclusion assemblage of complex polymetallic sulphides, tellurides, sulfotellurides, and sulfosalts and has previously been ascribed to local low sulfidation epithermal mineralization. Placer gold in drainages radiating from Eureka Dome exhibits various proportions of types 3 and 4 gold depending on location, but type 3 gold forms the major component in Black Hills Creek and northerly flowing tributaries of the Indian River with the exception of Eureka and Montana creeks. Type 5 gold is found only in placers in the middle and lower Indian River. It is distinguished by slightly elevated (0.05–0.17%) Cu in the gold alloy, together with low (5–9%) Ag contents. Inclusions of Bi minerals, Cr-bearing magnetite and molybdenite within type 5 gold suggest derivation from an intrusion-related source. Candidates for such a source include undiscovered lode occurrences associated with Cretaceous age intrusions to the south of the Indian River, or deformed Cu-Au (−Mo) porphyry occurrences which are known to be present in the same area. This analysis of placer gold has indicated that the contribution of low sulfidation epithermal gold from Eureka Creek to the larger placers of the Indian River is minor. Consequently, the placer gold inventory of the Indian River is primarily orogenic in origin. Similarly, the characterization of placer gold in Blackhills Creek strongly suggests an orogenic source. This study has demonstrated for the first time that orogenic lode gold mineralization extends a considerable distance to the south of the southern Klondike goldfield. This information contributes to the regional models of gold mineralization in an area which is currently the focus of intensive exploration.     

The variation of silver content in native gold particles as revealed by ESCA

Depth profiling analysis of native gold samples using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) shows the surface layers of lode gold to be significantly enriched with silver to a depth of 0.02–0.04 microns and the surface layers of placer gold to be depleted of silver up to a depth of several microns. The change in the surface composition of gold samples taken from oxidation zones is of more complicated character. Model experiments suggest the surface segregation of silver in lode gold samples to be due to outward diffusion and oxidation of silver at the surface. In placer gold the depletion of silver is caused by leaching of the latter from the surface layers.     

黑龙江省砂金的粒度及形态特征

对黑龙江省７９个砂金及３个岩金样品进行了粒度及形态研究，多数样品的平均粒径在０．３￣０．６ｍｍ之间，以正态分布为主，分选系数和磨圆度表明多为远距离搬运的砂金，通过金粒总体形态比较，将形态划分为４类，其中第一类为岩金，第二类为有利于在其附近寻找原生金矿床的残积金。     

Native gold in Cu- and Ni-bearing pyroxenite-cortlandite intrusions and placers of the Dambuki ore cluster,the Amur region

The Dambuki ore cluster of the Upper Amur region is characterized by numerous and high-grade gold placers. A few small primary deposits and occurrences of gold-quartz type were formerly considered to be the main source of placers. However, the study of widespread Early Cretaceous Cu- and Ni-bearing ultramafic intrusions has shown that gold occurring in primary Cu-Ni ores and products of their weathering practically does not differ from placer gold in morphology, fineness, or geochemical features. In both cases, elements typical of Cu-Ni ore (Cu, Fe, Pd, Ni, etc.) are detected as impurities of gold particles. These data indicate that the Au-and Pt-bearing Cu-Ni ore mineralization may be the main source of placer gold. This ore mineralization is genetically related to small pyroxenite-cortlandite sills and dikes, abundant in the Dambuki ore cluster. The primary gold-quartz deposits and occurrences also contributed to the placers, but their part was rather small.     

Problem of intermediate collectors of gold

Analysis of conglomerates at the Kamenskoye goldfield, eastern Zabaykal'ye, shows that some of them are auriferous and are typical “interceptors” (transit collectors) of gold, depending on their petrographic composition and the environmental variables, and that three new variants of the lode-placer sequence are recognizable: a) lode → deluvial placer → interceptor → alluvial placer, (b) lode → interceptor → alluvial → placer, c) interceptor → alluvial placer. – V.P. Sokoloff.     

Microinclusions of ore minerals in gold from the Miass placer zone (South Urals): Evidence for source rocks

Microinclusions of ore minerals were found and studied in grains of native gold for characterization of the mineralogy of placer gold of the South Urals. One hundred ten unrounded and poorly rounded grains with a size of 1–2 mm from eight placer zones were studied. Microinclusions of ore minerals were detected in six placers of the Miass zone. The list of minerals includes sulfides, arsenides, Cu-bearing Au, and PGEs. All microinclusions show links to certain deposits of ore gold and chromite occurrences. It is suggested that the northern flanges of the Talovsky and Nurali massifs containing gold placers with PGEs require a search for PGE mineralization.

     

As–Sb–Bi–Au mineralization in the Baogutu gold deposit,Xinjiang, NW China

Here we report the occurrence of some uncommon mineral assemblages including pääkönenite, aurostibite, native arsenic, native antimony, and native bismuth found in the Baogutu gold deposit in the western Junggar, Xinjiang, NW China. The mineralization could be generally subdivided into two types: the gold-bearing quartz-vein type mineralization and disseminated mineralization in the wall rocks. The sulfide minerals in gold lodes commonly include pyrite, arsenopyrite, marcasite, and stibnite. However, the L7 lode in No. 4 orebody and the L1 lode in No. 11 orebody of the Baogutu gold deposit are quite different in terms of their mineral assemblages. The L7 lode contains native arsenic–quartz veins in shallow levels and stibnite–quartz veins at depth. Gold-bearing minerals (electrum, native gold, and rarely aurostibite) mainly coexist with pääkönenite, stibnite, native arsenic, and native antimony. The crystallization of As- and Sb-bearing minerals was likely to have consumed H₂S from the hydrothermal fluid, which probably triggered the precipitation of native gold. The L1 lode consists of several discontinuous sulfide-dominated lensoid orebodies. The massive sulfide ores that produced most of the gold resource are characterized by an intimate association between native bismuth and native gold mineralization.     

Gold resource potential of the eastern Siberian Platform: Placers and their feeding sources

The data on typomorphism of placer gold and its localization in the eastern Siberian Platform have been integrated for the first time. The alluvial, pseudolode, and eolian morphology of gold determines the origin of placers, which is explained not only by hydrodynamic but also by eolian processes. The recent and older alluvial (Au-bearing reservoir rocks in the second case), as well as eolian (unconventional type), genetic types of placers are recognized in the given territory. Precambrian and Mesozoic stages of ore formation are distinguished by the set of typomorphic attributes of placer gold (chemical composition, microinclusions, internal structure, etc.). On the basis of distinguishing features of placer gold, Precambrian lode deposits of great depth spatially related to outcrops of the basement have been forecasted for the first time and classified into low-sulfide gold-quartz, Au-bearing banded iron formation, Au-Cu porphyry, and Au-PGE types. The inferred shallow-seated gold-silver and gold-sulfide-quartz disseminated deposits occur locally and are related to the Mesozoic tectonomagmatic reactivation. The elaborated methods and approaches to the study of placer gold typomorphism in the eastern Siberian Platform also could be helpful in providing insights into placer origin, and forecasting and prospecting gold deposits on the East European Platform, which is close to the Siberian Platform in geological evolution.     

Determination of trace elemental signatures in placer gold by laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry as a potential aid for gold exploration

It is possible that placer gold retains the trace element composition (`signature') of the parent lode. Laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) offers sensitive detection limits of 59 elements with sub-millimetre sample spot sizes, ideal for signature analysis of placer. Here, the optimum laser parameters, analytical precision and reproducibility of elemental signatures are determined in placer nuggets by infrared LA–ICP–MS. The highest precision was offered by Q-switched ablation at a relatively low energy level, using Au as an internal standard; these parameters gave median precision values of 33–82% RSD for trace elements in nuggets. In addition to major constituents such as Ag, Cu and Hg, placer from several rivers world-wide commonly contained a wide range of trace elements including, in some cases, unusual REE patterns. At least two distinct signatures could be distinguished in placer from most of the rivers examined, while multiple examples of certain signatures were also seen. Tracking these signatures back to their original tributaries may offer a means of identifying the number and approximate location of deposits within a river watershed, thereby significantly aiding exploration.     

Analysis of the productivity of gold deposits of Amur province

By the amount of extracted placer and primary gold (~1300 t), Amur province is one of the major gold provinces of Russia. Its numerous placers yielded almost 1132 t Au in contrast to ~180 t from primary deposits. The central part of the province is most productive for placer and primary gold in comparison with the periphery. Native gold from placers has moderately high and high fineness, and its composition corresponds to that of gold from dominant gold–quartz and gold–quartz–sulfide deposits and occurrences. The preponderance of placer gold in gold production indicates significant prospects for discovery of new gold deposits.     

Yasny lode-placer cluster: Geological and structural features and gold potential

The geological and structural features and gold potential of the Yasny lode-placer cluster in Amur province have been investigated. The lode-placer cluster is an intrusive domal uplift elongated in the nearmeridional direction and surrounded by Neogene loose sediments. The cluster comprises placers that yielded 15 t gold mined from there and small occurrences of gold-quartz and gold-base-metal lodes. Association of native gold with cinnabar in the Yasny Creek placer allows us to forecast a new source of gold-mercury mineralization in the basin of this creek, which could be compared with the Kyuchyus deposit in Yakutia. Gold nuggets 79 kg in total weight were mined from Gar-2 River placer. They are comparable in weight and association with quartz to the world’s largest Holtermann Plate nugget from Australia. Gold-quartz lodes have been forecasted in the basin of the Gar-2 Creek.     

Typomorphic features of placer gold of Vagran cluster (the Northern Urals) and search indicators for primary bedrock gold deposits

The Vagran placer cluster is located on the eastern slope of Northern Urals. During > 100 years of gold mining history approximately 40 tons of gold have been extracted from the placer deposits.Bedrocks of the region consist of high metamorphic Upper Proterozoic and Paleozoic terrigeneous, terrigeneous-volcanogenic and igneous rocks. Gold placer deposits are mostly alluvial genesis deposits and of Quaternary to Oligocene (?) age. The alluvial deposits consist of gravel with pebbles, boulders, and sandy clay covered by sandy silt and a soil layer. The thickness of the alluvial sequence is usually 5–10 m and reaches 18 m in the main watercourses of the third order. Nearly all of the alluvial sediments are gold bearing but concentrations of economic importance prevail in the bottom part of the sequence above the bedrock.There are four different types of gold particles: (I) rounded and well-rounded particles of high fineness and homogeneous inner structure, (II) rounded to sub-rounded high fineness particles with a pure gold rim developed over a core, (III) crystallomorphic (idiomorphic) high fineness with a homogeneous inner structure, and (IV) irregular angular and subangular particles of medium fineness with a significant content of Ag (10–40 wt.%) and elevated Hg (up to 1.15 wt.%).The first type is prevalent and comprises up to 65% of the total gold particles; it is uniformly distributed throughout the territory. There are features with initially complicated dendritic and laminar shaped particles which were rounded during transportation. The second and third types have a propensity for zones of the inherited erosion–tectonic depressions. Apparently, types I, II and III are related with orogenic mesothermal gold-sulfide-quartz mineralization; the differences of these types depend on the primary zonation of ore bodies and supergenic transformation of the alloys. They were connected with middle-depth ore bodies of an orogenic gold-sulfide-quartz formation. The fourth type is evident of nearby transportation from primary sources and a short duration of supergenic influence. It is controlled by a zone of NW-SE orientation, diagonal to the main structures of Ural Fold Belt.The plot of Au content vs coefficient of heterogeneity (ratio of the Au content in the core and in the rim of the grains) is the distinguishing factor between the four types of gold grains both by primary hypogenetic characteristics and supergenetic features.No corresponding lode occurrence of gold-sulfide-quartz mineralization has been identified to date in this region. Placer gold concentrations are related to the intermediate hosts of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic surfaces of the Ural peneplain uplift in the Oligocene and eroded in Miocene-Quaternary time. This factor determines the widespread distribution of placer gold in the territory of the Vagran cluster.The large, Carlin-type Vorontsovsk gold deposit is located 60 km south-east from the Vagran area. It has a shallow erosional level, small size of native gold, and its distal location from the placer deposits makes it an unlikely primary source for the Vagran placers. However, mineralization of this type of deposit is noted within the cluster.Gold of the fourth type nearly resembles the gold of the Vorontsovsk deposit and, apparently, the source is related to the same hydrothermal mineralization event. ICP MS analyses of the quartz-sulfide lodes in the floor of gold-bearing valleys revealed a gold content of 2.0–6.9 g/t in the zone of type IV distribution. Therefore, gold of the fourth type can be used as an indicator for the exploration of primary bedrock mineralization. The geological setting and typomorphic features of this placer gold shows that the primary gold mineralization is similar to the Vorontsovsk deposit and within the zone of distribution of the placer gold of the fourth type.     

Residual-eluvial gold placers in northeastern Russia (Dal’nii placer)

We consider the formation of the Dal’nii (Dal’nyaya) eluvial gold placer (Bol’shoi Anyui ore–placer district, western Chukchi Peninsula), related to the Dal’nii (Dal’nee) gold-bearing porphyry Mo–Cu occurrence. The Dal’nii placer is located within the transition between the Kur’ya Ridge and Anyui basin, which has been relatively stable at the recent (Pliocene–Quaternary) tectonic stage. Minor recent uplift has determined the slight denudation of interfluves, the leading role of eluvial processes in the formation of a loose cover on them, and the preservation of the relict matter of pre-Pliocene chemical-weathering crusts (including the oxidized zones of orebodies) in present-day eluvium. The Dal’nii placer consists of relict weathering-crust placers altered by recent eluvial processes in different degrees. Therefore, it is relatively rich in metal, whereas the primary lode contains mainly fine-sized gold, which is almost not released from ore under periglacial lithogenesis in present-day interfluves. We suggest calling this genetic type of placers “residual-eluvial.” The primary lodes being highly eroded (during the formation of residual concentrations, which serve as an intermediate reservoir for these placers), residual-eluvial placers or their parts might not be directly related to specific orebodies at the present-day level of erosional truncation.     

砂金水化学成矿因素探讨

通过从砂金矿和原生金矿中自然金在粒度、形态、成色等方面特征对比，两类矿床中自然金成色的关系研究以及砂金过采区再生产意义的分析，对砂金水化学成矿因素进行了初步探讨金在表生条件下可以活化、迁移、再生富集成矿，砂金的水化学成矿作用在诸种成矿因素中占有重要地位。     

黑龙江省砂金指纹（化学成分）特征

对黑龙江省８４个砂金，７个岩金样品的化学成分进行了研究。通过Ｒ型聚类分析、探讨了不同元素之间相关性及其地质意义。通过Ｑ型聚类分析将所有样品进行分类，探讨了砂金样品与已知岩金样品之间的成因联系，并对砂金的可能原生金源的剥蚀程度进行了估计。     

内蒙古虎拉林地区砂金与岩金的关系

虎拉林地区砂、岩金矿的空间位置关系十分密切。在虎拉林河上中下游及虎拉林岩金矿分别采取样品，结果表明虎拉林河砂金粒度大，分选较差，磨圆度差；砂金形态总体上以粒状为主；溶蚀系数均值小于1。微量元素含量特征表明砂金的主要物质来源是近源，与岩金矿关系密切且具有继承性。虎拉林岩金矿床的矿石中自然金颗粒粗大，矿体的上部遭到剥蚀，虎拉林河砂金主要来源于虎拉林岩金矿床，砂金可作为岩金的找矿标志。自然金化学-结晶温度图表明砂金的原生Au源为中低温热液矿床。     

藏北地区砂金指纹特征及其对原生金的指示意义

砂金指纹(化学成分)特征是利用砂金寻找原生金的重要手段之一.研究表明,藏北地区砂金成色具明显的不均匀性,化学成分在东、西部地区变化较大,反映区内砂金对原生金具有继承性,并受后期地质作用改造明显,表明其原生金来源可能具有近距离搬运的多来源特征;自然金微量元素含量特征则指示:本区原生金的类型主要为浅成低温热液型,矿石富含As、Sb、Cu、Pb、Zn,且剥蚀程度较小,在砂金富集区附近有望找到规模较大的原生金矿床.     

人工重砂在蚀变岩金矿勘查中的应用——以宁夏树龙沟金矿为例

蚀变岩型金矿床中金常以"大颗粒金"形式存在,但针对其在蚀变矿化带中分布规律的研究相对缺乏。而且,采样及分析化验方法选择不当会导致测试结果与真实情况存在较大偏差,影响客观准确地评价找矿潜力。本文对宁夏树龙沟金矿床开展人工重砂研究,以期确定金的赋存状态、研究自然金的分布规律,以此指导区内相关勘查工作的具体部署。树龙沟金矿床为蚀变岩型金矿,受区内NE向断裂构造控制,从蚀变中心向两侧分别发育石英黄铁矿化带-伊利石黄铁矿化带-伊利石绿泥石化带,蚀变带宽度累计约10~20 m。采集的101件人工重砂样品中含自然金样品共计74件,其中粗粒金(0.07 mm)样品总量达62.4%。通过区内各类蚀变(矿化)相关的矿物与金含量关系的系统对比后发现:(1)自然金含量与褐铁矿呈正相关关系,与石英呈负相关关系,与黄铁矿的关系复杂;(2)伊利石黄铁矿化带中的自然金含量高于石英黄铁矿化带和伊利石绿泥石化带;(3)矿区基性岩脉与金无成因联系,基性脉岩及其后期破碎为金矿化提供了构造通道。本文认为在该区找矿工作中应该将伊利石黄铁矿化及石英黄铁矿化作为重要的找矿标志。本矿床自然金属于粗粒-巨粒,矿石中金含量的测定应选用针对明金的过筛火试金等分析方法。     

黑龙江省自然金的稀土元素含量特征

对黑龙江省８４个砂金样品及７个岩金样品，用等离子质谱仪分析了它们的稀土元素含量，岩金以稀土总量低，轻重稀土分离程度小为特征，不同类型岩金矿床的自然金，其稀土配分曲线有明显差异，砂金样品则以较富集轻稀土为特征，稀土元素含量继承了岩金的部分特点，自然金稀土元素的赋存状态为Ｕ，Ｔｈ矿物的微细包体，其分配特点可用来讨论岩金矿床的分类以及砂金的原生来源。     

内蒙古呼伦贝尔盟北部地区花岗岩特征与金矿化的关系

内蒙古呼伦贝尔盟北训地区蕴藏着丰富的砂金矿产资源,已探明中小型砂金矿床数十个,砂金矿中金主要来源于该区花岗岩.在野外工作及室内研究基础上,从岩石学、岩石化学、锶同位素、稀士元素等方面,对两种成因的花岗岩即深熔成因(I)型和陆壳改造成因(S)型的金成矿地质条件进行研究,认为"S"型花岗岩因交代重熔金丰度较高的基底岩石(板岩、片岩等)而使其金含量大大提高,是本区砂金矿床的主要金源体."S"型花岗岩的人工重砂中金粒的出现说明一部分金以自然金的形式存在。今后本区应注重在"S"型花岗岩发育的地区寻找原生金矿及砂金矿.