BEHAVIOR OF GOLD AND SILVER UPON INTERACTION OF BASALT GLASS WITH FLUID (EXPERIMENTAL DATA)

Abstract

New information has recently been obtained from experimental research on gold and silver solubilities in magmatic melts and fluid systems. This paper considers whether gold and silver are lost from volcanic rocks, by means of experimental data based on the radioisotopic tracer method, which allows the behavior of various elements to be traced with radioactive tags. The results show that upon interacting with all the solutions used, the basalt glasses were altered under the above conditions and in isolated cases acquired distinct zoning. During the experiments, gold and silver behaved differently during high-temperature hydration of glasses. Thus, silver was actively removed from basalt glass by all solutions and was found only in nonhydrated glass relicts. The silver loss in intermediate zones ranged from 60 to 95 percent. The most complete picture was obtained from specimens hydrated by purely aqueous fluid. Additional aspects of the study are discussed.