Journal article
Revealing Yukon’s hidden treasure: an atomic-scale investigation of Carlin-type gold mineralization in the Nadaleen Trend, Canada
- Abstract:
- The invisible-gold deposits known as Carlin-type are becoming more important as easier to find deposits are progressively depleted. The combination of the invisible nature of the Au in these deposits, as well as the limited surface indicators of these deposits, makes exploration to find new Carlin-type deposits extremely difficult. Comprehensive mineralization models are essential to find new Carlin-type deposits in similar geologic settings. The Nadaleen Trend of Yukon, Canada, is one such district where an improved understanding of this deposit type has led to new discoveries. Previous studies compared and contrasted the tectonic setting, host rock depositional setting, structural preparation, and mineralization style of the Nadaleen Trend with those in Carlin-type localities, Nevada. However, the comparisons at an atomic scale, between Carlin-type Au deposits in the Nadaleen Trend and those in Nevada, has yet to be investigated. This study fills this knowledge gap by combining high resolution microanalytical techniques with atom probe tomography to examine the distribution of Au and other trace elements in the Nadaleen Trend, compare them to a representative Carlin-type deposit in Nevada (Turquoise Ridge), and determine how widespread the mineralization model is. Our findings show that in the Nadaleen Trend, as in Nevada, Au is generally directly linked with As at the macro to atomic scale, and is incorporated into As/Au rich overgrowths on sedimentary/diagenetic pyrite. Gold-rich pyrite rims in the Nadaleen Trend are generally smaller than those found in Nevada (0.5–2 µm vs > 10 µm), although the ore grades appear comparable. We find that the Au in the pyrite of the Nadaleen Trend is homogenously distributed (i.e. lattice bound) at the atomic scale, but that there is a notable enrichment of As surrounding individual Au atoms. These findings are in agreement with those from previous work on a representative deposit in Nevada, and support the assertation that As is the key ingredient in facilitating the incorporation of Au into the pyrite lattice. Arsenic as an essential component in the trapping mechanisms of Au in CTG deposits, is something that has been as to yet underappreciated in the current models of CTG deposit formation.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 3.3MB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1007/s00126-024-01325-9
Authors
+ Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
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- Funder identifier:
- https://ror.org/0439y7842
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Journal:
- Mineralium Deposita More from this journal
- Volume:
- 60
- Issue:
- 5
- Pages:
- 937–953
- Publication date:
- 2024-10-30
- Acceptance date:
- 2024-10-04
- DOI:
- EISSN:
-
1432-1866
- ISSN:
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0026-4598
- Language:
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English
- Pubs id:
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2055118
- Local pid:
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pubs:2055118
- Deposit date:
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2025-01-07
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Gopon et al
- Copyright date:
- 2024
- Rights statement:
- © The Author(s) 2024. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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