Other
Scientific paper
Mar 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008e%26psl.267...45f&link_type=abstract
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Volume 267, Issue 1-2, p. 45-55.
Other
6
Scientific paper
The analysis of the temporal distribution of gold deposits, combined with gold production data as well as reserve and resource estimates for different genetic types of gold deposit, revealed that the bulk of the gold known to be concentrated in ore bodies was added to the continental crust during a giant Mesoarchaean gold event at a time (3 Ga) when the mantle temperature reached a maximum and the dominant style of tectonic movement changed from vertical, plume-related to subhorizontal plate tectonic. A magmatic derivation of the first generation of crustal gold from a relatively hot mantle that was characterized by a high degree of partial melting is inferred from the gold chemistry, specifically high Os contents. While a large proportion of that gold is still present in only marginally modified palaeoplacer deposits of the Mesoarchaean Witwatersrand Basin in South Africa, accounting for about 40% of all known gold, the remainder has been recycled repeatedly on a lithospheric scale, predominantly by plate-tectonically induced magmatic and hydrothermal fluid circulation, to produce the current variety of gold deposit types. Post-Archaean juvenile gold addition to the continental crust has been limited, but a mantle contribution to some of the largest orogenic or intrusion-related gold deposits is indicated, notably for the Late Palaeozoic Tien Shan gold province. Magmatic fluids in active plate margins seem to be the most effective transport medium for gold mobilization, giving rise to a large proportion of volcanic-arc related gold deposits. Due to their generally shallow crustal level of formation, they have a low preservation potential. In contrast, those gold deposits that form at greater depth are more widespread also in older rocks. This explains the high proportion of orogenic (including intrusion-related) gold (32%) amongst all known gold deposits. The overall proportion of gold concentrated in known ore bodies is only 7 × 10- 7 of the estimated total amount of gold available in the continental crust. This is less than the solubility of Au in common crustal fluids. A high potential for the existence of voluminous, hitherto undiscovered, gold resources may thus be inferred.
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