Chapman, R, Torvela, T orcid.org/0000-0003-1539-8755 and Savastano, L (2023) Insights into Regional Metallogeny from Detailed Compositional Studies of Alluvial Gold: An Example from the Loch Tay Area, Central Scotland. Minerals, 13 (2). 140. ISSN 2075-163X
Abstract
Compositional features of a total of 1887 gold alluvial particles from six localities to the south of Loch Tay in central Scotland were interpreted to establish different types of source mineralization. Populations of gold particles from each locality were grouped according to alloy and inclusion signatures. Inclusion suites provided the primary discriminant with gold from Group 1 localities showing a narrow range of simple sulphide and sulphoarsenide inclusion species, whereas a wide range of minerals including molybdenite, bornite and various Bi and Te- bearing species were identified in gold from Group 2 localities. Whilst the range of Ag in alloys in all populations was similar, higher incidences of measurable Hg and Cu were detected in Group 1 and Group 2 gold samples respectively. The application of compositional templates of gold from other localities worldwide indicated that Group 1 gold is orogenic and Group 2 gold is a mixture of porphyry and epithermal origin; a result that is sympathetic to the spatial relationships of sample localities with local lithologies. This approach both provides an enhanced level of understanding of regional gold metallogeny where in situ sources remain undiscovered, and permits clearer targeting of deposit types during future exploration.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | alluvial gold; indicator mineral; compositional studies |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Institute for Applied Geosciences (IAG) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 24 Jan 2023 14:22 |
Last Modified: | 24 Jan 2023 14:22 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/min13020140 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:195488 |