Pathfinder elements and indicator minerals of Au from the Kubi Gold ore deposits in GhanaShow others and affiliations
2023 (English)In: Environmental Earth Sciences, ISSN 1866-6280, E-ISSN 1866-6299, Vol. 82, no 16, article id 386Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The Au mineralization in the Kubi Gold Mining Area in the Birimian of Ghana is associated with garnet (about 85 vol.%), magnetite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, and sulfide minerals, as well as quartz with gold and calcite. These minerals and the included elements can act as indicator minerals or pathfinder elements. For the present work, we collected samples from drill holes at different depths, from the alluvial zone (0–45 m) to the ore zone (75–100 m). The distributions of minerals and elements in the rocks that act as indicator minerals and pathfinder elements in the concession area were investigated along the drill hole cross sections. X-ray diffraction shows that the samples contain garnet, pyrite, periclase, and quartz as the main indicator minerals. By energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fe, Mg, Al, S, O, Mn, Na, Cu, Si, and K are identified as corresponding pathfinder elements. The results indicate that the Au mineralization in the Kubi Mine area correlates mostly with the occurrence of garnet, pyrite, goethite, and kaolinite in the host rocks, which show towards the surface increasingly hematitic and limonitic alteration in form of Fe(oxy-)hydroxides.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2023. Vol. 82, no 16, article id 386
Keywords [en]
Pathfinder element, X-ray, Spectroscopy, Birimian, Gold
National Category
Geology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-196461DOI: 10.1007/s12665-023-11058-zISI: 001041675600003Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85167399398OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-196461DiVA, id: diva2:1786002
Funder
Linköpings universitet, Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU no. 2009 00971Carl Tryggers foundation , CTS20:272,CTS16:303, CTS14:310
Note
Funding agencies:Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linköping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU no. 2009 00971).Swedish Energy Research(Grant no. 43606-1)Carl Tryggers Foundation (CTS20:272,CTS16:303, CTS14:310)Open access funding provided by Linköping University
2023-08-072023-08-072025-02-20Bibliographically approved