Synchrotron Data - Hough 2178 (Apr 2010) - Invisible gold in Carlin Trend refractory pyrite and matrix

The world-class Carlin-type gold deposits of northern Nevada provide nine percent of global gold production but the gold geochemistry is still poorly understood. The gold at Carlin is thought to be hosted by disseminated pyrite grains as a trace constituent but it is unknown as to whether the rock matrix also host ore stage gold and trace element associations? Is there any zonation or large scale element associations at the thin section scale? These are key questions that can reveal the compositional evolution of the Carlin-type ore-stage hydrothermal fluid that led to the formation of this giant gold system.\nLineage: Data was produced using the Maia 384 element detector array on the XFM X-ray microprobe beamline of the Australian Synchrotron and processed using the GeoPIXE software package.\n

位于内华达州北部的世界级卡林型金矿床（Carlin-type gold deposits）贡献了全球黄金总产量的9%，但其金地球化学特征仍未得到充分阐明。学界普遍认为，卡林型金矿中的金以微量组分形式赋存于浸染状黄铁矿颗粒中，但目前仍存在两个尚未解决的关键科学问题：一是岩石基质是否也可赋存成矿期金及相关微量元素组合；二是在薄片尺度下是否存在元素分带性或大尺度元素组合。上述问题可为揭示驱动这一巨型金矿床形成的卡林型成矿期热液流体的成分演化规律提供重要依据。
数据谱系：本数据集依托澳大利亚同步加速器的X射线荧光显微探针（XFM）光束线，采用Maia 384元素探测器阵列采集数据，并通过GeoPIXE软件包完成后期处理。