NEW TYPE OF GEOCHEMICAL ZONING IN GOLD DEPOSITS

Abstract

While studying one gold-ore deposit in the Darasun ore node in Transbaikalia, the authors identified a special type of geochemical zoning that has virtually never before been described in such bodies. The concentric zoning of geochemical anomalies, their small size and their similar composition in all three ore levels of the deposit and their relative spatial isolation make it impossible to use the well-known approach to evaluate deep the levels and flanks here on the basis of direct (or reversed) geochemical zoning. To predict and evaluate such ore deposits main efforts must be concentrated on ascertaining structurally favorable places where indicator elements are concentrated in nodes. The particulars of the distribution of elements in space within possible geochemical anomalies should be evaluated, in order to determine their maximums of accumulation. Relatively high copper, lead, zinc and arsenic concentrations in ore vein sectors or their constrictions may in first approximation indicate proximity to an ore pillar.