Internal crystallography and thermal history of natural gold alloys
Abstract
New studies of gold are revealing how metallography is a key component of our understanding of the deposition of precious alloys in primary ore systems. Alluvial gold nuggets once thought to be secondary in origin have now been shown to be the erosional residue of hypogene systems, i.e. primary. This has been achieved through analysis of the internal crystallography using electron back scattered diffraction of large area ion beam polished gold samples. Comparisons of the microstructure are also being made with experiments on gold alloys with the same Ag contents where real time heating and in-situ microstructure mapping reveal the structures are of high temperature origin. A new frontier in gold analysis in both hypogene and supergene systems is the nano domain. In hypogene settings gold at all scales can be metallic and particulate as has been directly observed in refractory ores, or the so called "invisible gold" in pyrite and arsenopyrite. Such nanoparticulate and colloidal transport of gold is a viable mechanism of dispersing the gold during weathering of ore deposits. These gold nanoparticles, long known about in materials sciences and manufacturing have now been seen in these natural environments. Such colloids are also likely to play an important role in gold transport in hydrothermal deposits. The regularly heterogeneous distribution, trace concentration and nanoparticulate grain size of metallic gold in all ore systems has made it difficult for direct observation. Yet, it is critical to be able to establish a broad view of the microstructural/microchemical residence of the actual gold in a given sample. New generation element mapping tools now allow us to 'see' this invisible gold component for the first time and to probe its chemistry and controls on deposition. These studies have the potential to provide a new approach and view of the formation, deposition and provenance history of the metal in all gold deposits.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2011
- Bibcode:
- 2011AGUFM.V11A2514H
- Keywords:
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- 3600 MINERALOGY AND PETROLOGY