Carlin–type gold deposit
Carlin–type gold deposits are
Geology
The Carlin type deposits show enrichment in the elements
During the Eocene, fluids flowed through the lower plate of thrust faults and the underlying fractured carbonates. These fluids were magmatic, meteoric, and metamorphic in origin. A low Ph in the fluids allowed for a significant amount of carbonate rocks to dissolve. The presence of carbonate in the water kept the fluids reduced. This reduction facilitated the movement of gold within sulfate rich epithermal fluids. The low temperature, low salinity fluids replaced the carbonate rocks with ore deposits that included gold. Later, when the Basin and Range began its extension, normal faulting took place, and the ore deposits were downfaulted and buried under alluvial sediment.[6]
Mining
The Carlin–type deposits represent some of the largest hydrothermal gold deposits in the world.[7] The invisible nature of the gold in the deposit makes it difficult to find deposits of that kind. The class of deposit was defined after the Carlin mine became a mass producer of gold in the 1960s and it was recognized that other deposits of that type should exist.[5] Most of the mines in the Great Basin in the United States belong to the Carlin type. Similar "Invisible Gold" deposits have also been found in northern Canada,[8] China,[9] Iran,[10][11] and Macedonia;[12] but the relationship between these deposits and those in Nevada are debated.
See also
References
- USGS
- .
- S2CID 202906068.
- ISSN 1752-0894.
- ^ doi:10.1016/S0169-1368(96)00010-8. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2010-12-14.
- ^ Muntean, John L. (2020), "Chapter 36: Carlin-Type Gold Deposits in Nevada: Geologic Characteristics, Critical Processes, and Exploration", Geology of the World’s Major Gold Deposits and Provinces, Society of Economic Geologists, pp. 775–795, retrieved 2024-03-27
- S2CID 21739741.
- )
- S2CID 128423422.
- S2CID 55842236.
- S2CID 129719462.
- S2CID 128807508.
External links
- "The Rush to Uncover Gold’s Origins", Geotimes, April 2006