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Gold in Magmatic Hydrothermal Solutions and the Rapid Formation of a Giant Ore Deposit
Stuart F. Simmons1* and
Kevin L. Brown2
The Ladolam hydrothermal system, on Lihir Island, Papua NewGuinea, hosts one of the youngest and largest gold depositsin the world. Several deep (more than 1 kilometer) geothermalwells were drilled beneath the ore bodies to extract water at>275°C and to facilitate open-pit mining. Using a titaniumdown-hole sampler, we determined that the deep geothermal brineof magmatic origin contains 15 parts per billion gold. At thecurrent gold flux of 24 kilograms per year, this deposit couldhave formed within 55,000 years. The combination of sustainedmetal flux and efficient metal precipitation led to the formationof a giant hydrothermal gold deposit in a short period.
1 Geology Dept., Univ. of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142, New Zealand. 2 GEOKEM, P. O. Box 95-210, Swanson, Waitakere 0653, New Zealand.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: sf.simmons{at}auckland.ac.nz
Hydrothermal Breccias and Veins at the Kelian Gold Mine, Kalimantan, Indonesia: Genesis of a Large Epithermal Gold Deposit.
A. G. S. Davies, D. R. Cooke, J. B. Gemmell, T. van Leeuwen, P. Cesare, and G. Hartshorn (2008)
Economic Geology
103, 717-757
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
The flux of gold and related metals through a volcanic arc, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand.
Fluid-Fluid Interactions in Magmatic-Hydrothermal Ore Formation.
C. A. Heinrich (2007)
Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry
65, 363-387
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Platinum Group Element Geochemistry of Andesite Intrusions of the Kelian Region, East Kalimantan, Indonesia: Implications of Gold Depletion in the Intrusions Associated with the Kelian Gold Deposit.
B. T. Setiabudi, I. H. Campbell, C. E. Martin, and C. M. Allen (2007)
Economic Geology
102, 95-108
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Au-quartz mineralization near the base of the continental seismogenic zone.
R. H. Sibson (2007)
Geological Society, London, Special Publications
272, 519-532
|Abstract »|PDF »