Gold in the Jinya Carlin-type Deposit: Characterization and Implications

Youqin(Joe) Zhou¹, Kuiren Wang²

¹SGS Lakefield Research, P.O. Box 4300, 185 Concession Street, Lakefield, ON K0L 2H0, Canada.
²Department of Earth & Space Sciences, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.

DOI: 10.4236/jmmce.2003.22008                

Abstract

Gold in the Jinya Carlin-type deposit, assaying 6.27 g/t Au, was characterized using a comprehensive mineralogical and analytical approach which includes optical microscopy and several advanced microbeam techniques. Each gold carrier was quantified independently. Gold in the Jinya ore occurred as microscopic gold and submicroscopic gold. Submicroscopic gold, primarily in the form of solid solution gold, was carried mainly by arsenopyrite (accounting for 77% of the gold assay), and to a lesser extent (~16%) in arsenic-rich fine-grained and microcrystalline pyrite. Native gold accounted for 6% of the gold assay. Gold carried in cinnabar and rock minerals is insignificant. Gold deportment shows that (1) arsenopyritization and pyritization can be used as indication of mineralization for the further exploration in the Jinya district, and (2) gold in sulfides is not amenable to direct cyanidation, but can be recovered by flotation of a sulfide concentrate and then cyanidation with a pretreatment process.

Keywords

Gold, Carlin-type, Deposit

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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