Bryolithochemical studies in the search for and evaluation of gold-silver mineralization based on stream sediments (northeastern Russia)

The first bryolithochemical studies have been carried out within the Dukat ore field (Balygychan-Sugoi trough, northeastern Russia), in its northeast (Dukat Au-Ag deposit, Chaika site) and on its eastern flank (Au-Ag ore occurrence, Piritovyi site). Sampling was made along primary water streams draining Au-Ag ore zones, because the headstreams localized in the permafrost zone are poor in alluvial sediments or lack them, whereas the stream banks and beds are overgrown with aquatic and semiaquatic mosses. We examined samples of moss cushions with loose sediments (fine silt suspension and sand-silt material). The study has shown that moss cushions are an effective natural trap extracting finely dispersed, ultradisperse, and colloid-dispersed particles, including ore ones, from water stream suspension. The contents of major elements indicating Au-Ag mineralization (Au, Ag, Hg, Sb, As, Pb, and Zn) in the bryolithochemical and lithochemical samples were compared. The highest contents of these elements have been revealed in the bryolithochemical samples. Scintillation analysis shows a predominance of finely dispersed Au and Ag particles. The chemical composition of lithoparticles and probable species of elements indicating mineralization were studied by energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis. It has been concluded that the bryolithochemical stream sediments are an integral part of the lithochemical ones and can also be effectively used to reveal geochemical anomalies and identify the corresponding ores. It is shown that the bryolithochemical sediment streams bear important information about the chemical composition of primary ores, as they have the same major indicator elements (Au, Ag, Hg, Sb, As, Pb, and Zn) and nearly the same mineral composition (finely dispersed gold and silver, electrum, silver sulfosalts, and simple sulfides). The proposed bryolithochemical research is promising not only for northeastern Russia but also for other areas with similar landscapes, primarily areas where lithochemical and bryolithochemical stream sediments form in the northern subarctic and arctic environments.