Hyper-enrichment of gold via quartz fracturing and growth of polymetallic melt droplets

Abstract

Gold precipitation in hydrothermal systems is traditionally attributed to supersaturation of gold due to decreasing gold complex stability triggered by changes in physicochemical conditions of the ore fluid. However, ultrahigh-grade gold veins in orogenic (shear zone related) gold deposits can contain kilograms per tonne of gold or more, in marked contrast to the typically very low gold concentrations (tens of parts per billion) in fluid. The gold mineral assemblage is commonly restricted to native gold and/or Au-(Ag)-tellurides and occurs in micro-fractures of sheared quartz veins. Textural and compositional characterization of such assemblages, coupled with hydrothermal diamond anvil cell experiments and heating-freezing experiments, provides evidence for an alternative ultrahigh-grade gold enrichment mechanism via growth of polymetallic melt droplets induced by quartz fracturing. We propose that polymetallic melt droplets of Au-Ag-Te-Bi−rich composition form through adsorption-reduction of metal complexes on fractured quartz surfaces, where surface silanol groups and hydrogen serve as reductants. The melt droplets subsequently grow by catalyzing reduction of metal complexes and absorbing metals from fluids percolating in the fractured quartz network. The mobile and reactive polymetallic melt droplets can repeatedly react with the fluid on protracted quartz fracturing and efficiently continue to scavenge gold from multiple pulses of gold-undersaturated ore fluids.