PARTICLE-SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF FINE GOLD IN THE CRYOGENIC (FROST-WEATHERED) OXIDATION ZONE OF GOLD-ORE BODIES AND IN THEIR SECONDARY DISPERSION HALOS AND TRAINS

Abstract

The authors studied the particle size of gold in the cryogenic oxidation zone of gold-sulfide and gold-quartz mineralization and in the associated secondary lithogeochemical dispersion halos in bald-peak country. Frost weathering of gold-ore bodies simultaneously liberates both coarse and fine gold. Free gold was extracted from 16 samples weighing 30 to 60 kg, taken from the cryogenic oxidation zone and its redeposition products. After coarse gold has been washed off in the pan, the fine gold associated with silty-clayey material was analyzed separately from the minus 0.073-mm fraction. Fine gold was investigated by an emission spectroscopy technique with a scintillation spectrometer. Studies results are discussed.