Adsorbed Gold in Clay Minerals from Hardrock Gold, Geraldton, Ontario

Greenstone Gold Mines是centterra Gold和Premier Gold Mines之间50/50的合作伙伴关系，负责开发Hardrock金矿等。纳多博士和他的学生对太古宙硬岩金矿床的初步研究表明，在金矿就位后的27亿年里，通过风化作用，部分黄金从原始位置被重新调动了出来。对一组有限样品的分析表明，除了与硫化物有关的外，大量的金还存在于低温相中，其中含有松散结合的挥发物、钛、镉和重稀土元素。因此，这些岩石中金和其他经济金属的总量一定部分地与它们在低温阶段的浓度和风化程度有关。含金低温相在低于105℃的温度下脱气，可能为粘土矿物。科学目标是使用x射线衍射光谱（XRD）精确识别这些粘土矿物，并使用x射线光电子能谱（XPS）和激光烧蚀ICP-MS （LA-ICP-MS）识别和定量吸附在其表面的金属。虽然之前已经使用XRD和XPS/LA-ICP-MS来鉴定粘土矿物及其表面吸附的金属，但在太古宙金成矿背景下，风化金矿床的概念以及这些技术的结合将是世界上第一次。鉴于采矿公司目前对大吨位/低储量、露天矿的矿床感兴趣，这一发现与这些方法相结合肯定会对勘探和采矿活动产生影响。最终，这些结果将有助于加拿大勘探和采矿公司改进其资源估计、冶金流程表和开采程序，从而加强其经济活动和加拿大经济。

Greenstone Gold Mines is a 50/50 partnership between Centerra Gold and Premier Gold Mines for the development of, amongst others, the Hardrock gold property. Preliminary research by Dr. Nadeau and student on the Archean Hardrock gold deposit suggests that gold was partly remobilized from its primary location through weathering during the 2.7 billion years that followed its emplacement. Analysis of a limited set of samples suggests that besides that which is associated with sulfides, a significant amount of gold is hosted in a low-temperature phase containing loosely bonded volatiles, titanium, cadmium and heavy rare earth elements. The total amount of gold and other economic metals in these rocks must thus be partly related to their concentration in that low-temperature phase and the extent of the weathering. The auriferous low-temperature phase was degassed at a temperature lower than 105°C and thus probably is a clay mineral. The scientific objectives are to precisely identify these clay minerals using x-ray diffraction spectrometry (XRD) and to identify and quantify the metals adsorbed at their surface using x-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) and laser ablation ICP-MS (LA-ICP-MS). Although XRD and XPS/LA-ICP-MS have been used before to identify clay minerals and the metals adsorbed on their surfaces, the concept of weathered Archean gold deposits and the combination of these techniques in the context of Archean gold metallogenesis would represent a world premiere. Given the current interest of mining companies for large-tonnage/low-tenor, open pitable deposits, the combination of this discovery with such methods will certainly have impactful results on exploration and mining activities. Ultimately, these results should help Canadian exploration and mining companies refine their resource estimates, metallurgical flow sheets and exploitation procedures, which in turn will enhance their economic activity and the Canadian economy.