Nature's Gold Factory
- 25 June 1999
- journal article
- perspective
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 284 (5423) , 2101-2102
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.284.5423.2101
Abstract
Gold is present only in trace amounts in normal rock but is concentrated in large gold deposits after hydrothermal leaching from the parent rock, followed by localized precipitation when the pressure and temperature are reduced. Kerrich (page 2101) shows how laboratory results by Loucks and Mavrogenes (page 2159) shed light on the aqueous gold complex that acts as the gold shuttle. This complex is only stable within a clearly defined window of pressure and temperature, explaining why most gold deposits form within a specific window of hydrothermal conditions.This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
- Gold Solubility in Supercritical Hydrothermal Brines Measured in Synthetic Fluid InclusionsScience, 1999
- P–T–t–deformation–fluid characteristics of lode gold deposits: evidence from alteration systematicsOre Geology Reviews, 1998
- The late Archean Schreiber–Hemlo and White River–Dayohessarah greenstone belts, Superior Province: collages of oceanic plateaus, oceanic arcs, and subduction–accretion complexesPublished by Elsevier ,1998