Nanoparticle suspensions from carbon-rich fluid make high-grade gold deposits

Laura Petrella (), Nicolas Thébaud, Denis Fougerouse, Brian Tattitch, Laure Martin, Stephen Turner, Alexandra Suvorova and Sarah Gain
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Laura Petrella: University of Western Australia
Nicolas Thébaud: University of Western Australia
Denis Fougerouse: Curtin University
Brian Tattitch: University of Western Australia
Laure Martin: The University of Western Australia
Stephen Turner: Newmont Corporation
Alexandra Suvorova: The University of Western Australia
Sarah Gain: Geological Survey of Western Australia

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Economic gold deposits result from a 100- to 10,000-fold enrichment in gold relative to crustal background. In hydrothermal systems, this enrichment is achieved through the transport and accumulation of metals via deeply sourced fluids to a site of deposition. However, the generally low metal solubility of Au in aqueous solutions in orogenic systems requires additional processes in order to explain high-grade gold formation. Reports of Au nanoparticles in high-grade gold veins infer that their formation is linked to mineralisation. However, processes leading to nanoparticle nucleation and deposition remain poorly understood. Here we show that formation of metal nanoparticles (Au, AuAg, Cu, Ag2O) is one of the essential contributors to efficient and focused gold deposition. We report systematic and previously unrecognized metal nanoparticles preserved in amorphous silica and/or carbonic phases in five high-grade deposits. The association of metal, silica and carbonic phases helps to constrain the multiple reactive processes involved in Au, Cu and Ag metallogenesis and formation of high-grade gold mineralisation.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31447-5

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