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

Greenstone Gold Mines是Centerra Gold和Premier Gold Mines各占50%股份的合作伙伴关系，目的是开发Hardrock金矿等。纳多博士和学生对太古宙哈德罗克金矿的初步研究表明，在侵位后的27亿年里，金通过风化作用部分地从其原生位置重新移动。对有限样品的分析表明，除了与硫化物有关的样品外，还有相当数量的金赋存于含有松散结合的挥发物、钛、镉和重稀土元素的低温相中。因此，这些岩石中的黄金和其他经济金属的总量一定部分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，可能是一种粘土矿物。科学目标是使用X射线衍射谱(X射线衍射谱)精确识别这些粘土矿物，并使用X射线光电子能谱(XPS)和激光烧蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱(LA-ICPMS)识别和定量吸附在其表面的金属。尽管X-射线衍射仪和XPS/LA-ICP-MS已被用于鉴定粘土矿物和吸附在其表面的金属，但太古宙风化金矿床的概念以及这些技术在太古宙金矿成矿作用中的组合将是世界首例。鉴于矿业公司目前对大吨位/低租期、露天可开采矿床的兴趣，这一发现与这种方法相结合，肯定会对勘探和采矿活动产生重大影响。归根结底，这些结果应该有助于加拿大勘探和采矿公司完善其资源估计、冶金流程图和开采程序，这反过来将增强它们的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.