Journal of Geochemical

Exploration

55 ( 1995) 93-101

Concepts for geochemical gold exploration based on the

abundance and distribution of ultrafine gold
Wang Xueqiu a, Xie Xuejing a, Ye Shengyong b
a Institute of Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration, Langfang, Hebei 102849, China
b National Gold Bureau of China, I North Qingnianhu St., Beijing 100011, China
Received 7

March 1994;accepted5 April 1995

Abstract
Conventionally, geochemical exploration for gold is based on the assumptions that ( 1) gold is chemically inert in surticial
environments; (2) gold occurs mainly in discrete grains; and (3) gold is transferred by mechanical means to form elastic
dispersion halos and dispersion trains. Consequently, the commonly adopted methodology has been ( 1) to determine gold in
heavy mineral concentrates; (2) to use large samples in order to improve the reproducibility of gold analyses; (3) to use high
detection limits and thresholds; and (4) to determine total gold contents and pathfinder elements in the samples. However, these
methods are not always successful in locating gold deposits, and they have limited application in the search for buried or blind
deposits.
In China, studies of the distribution and migration of particulate and ultrafine gold indicated that ( 1) gold is active and mobile
in surf&al environments; (2) gold occurs not only as discrete grains, but also as ultrafine particles and other complex forms;
and (3) regional low-concentration gold anomalies as well as local anomalies over buried gold deposits originate from ultrafine
gold and other complex forms of gold. The methodology developed in China for regional and local geochemical gold exploration
is based on this experience. Results of investigations around two gold deposits in China are presented.

1. Introduction
Until the 1970s there were technical difficulties with
the determination of gold at low concentration levels,
hence geochemical gold exploration often relied on the
use of pathfinder elements (such as As, Sb, Bi, Hg, Cu,
Pb, Zn, etc.) associated with gold mineralization
(Nichol, 1983). This method was not always successful because not all gold mineralizations contain pathfinder elements and not all anomalies of pathfinder
elements indicate gold deposits. Furthermore, during
this period, panning for heavy mineral concentrates and
counting gold grains were more commonly used than
geochemical methods. In the 1980s sensitive methods
of gold analysis became available and were used in
03756742/95/$09.50 8 1995 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
SSDtO375-6742(95)00026-7

gold exploration (Closs and Sado, 1978; Xie, 1979;

Xie and Zheng, 1983; Xie and Hou, 1987). However,
inhomogeneous distribution of discrete gold particles
(nugget effect) resulted in poor analytical reproducibility. To overcome this problem, two approaches have
been followed: ( 1) the determination of gold in heavy
mineral concentrates by chemical means instead of
counting gold particles; and (2) the use of large samples combined with new technologies, such as leaching
of very large samples (Harris, 1982; Nichol, 1983; Day
and Fletcher, 1986; Nichol et al., 1989; Elliott and
Towsey, 1989; Smith et al., 1991; Butt and Zeegers,
1992). These two approaches are now being used successfully by many exploration geochemists and exploration companies. However, the high cost of sampling

and sample preparation is a serious drawback for these

methods.
In China, a different approach has been adopted
based on the recognition of broad distribution patterns
of ultrafine gold. Much of the research has been concerned with the abundance and modes of occurrence of
ultrafine gold in various sample media. Lowering the
analytical detection limit and anomaly threshold for
gold has led to the discovery of many new gold deposits
(Xie et al., 1989; Xie and Wang, 1991) . This paper
presents some results of this research and discusses
their implications for gold exploration.

ered by both transported and residual overburden. The

thickness of the cover is variable but generally ranges
from 2 to 10 m. The main bedrock types are Archean
metamorphic rocks and Mesozoic granites. The gold
mineralization occurs in veins controlled by N-trending
structures within zones of silicic and phyllitic alteration. The gold deposit is situated at a depth of 250 m.
The proven reserves exceed 50 tons of gold. Samples
of ore, halo, wall rocks, soil and gas were systematically
collected in a cross section (Fig. lb) to investigate the
distribution and migration of gold around the deposit.
2.2. Axi gold deposit, Xinjiang Province

2. Study areas
2. I. Duyingezhuang

gold deposit, Shandong

Province

This gold deposit is located in the farmland of Zhaoyuan in Shandong Province (Fig. 1a). The area is cov-

The Axi gold deposit is located in Yining county,

Xinjiang Province (Fig. la). The area comprises forested and grassy mountains with well developed soil
layers: it is underlain by Ordovician limestone, and
Silurian and Carboniferous sandstone. NNW-trending
faults control the gold mineralization which occurs in
quartz veins hosted by volcanic rocks. The reserves are
30 tons of gold. Soil samples were collected above the
gold ore. A cross section showing the sampling pattern
and underlying geology is presented in Fig. lc.

3. Distribution

and migration of gold

3.1. Proportion of particulate gold and ultra$ne gold

Fig. 1. Location (a) and schematic cross sections of the Dayingezhuang (b) and Axi (c) gold deposits. Sampling sites indicated by
circled numbers in (b) and by dots in (c).

Gold in rocks, stream sediments and soils consists

of particulate gold and various forms of ultrafine gold.
In our work, particulate gold is defined as ( 1) free gold
grains larger than 5 pm in diameter, and (2) gold
particles larger than 5 pm in diameter that have been
mechanically dispersed in grains of iron and manganese oxides, sulphides and silicates. Ultrafine gold
comprises ( 1) free gold grains smaller than 5 pm in
diameter, ( 2) gold under 5 pm and physically absorbed
onto iron and manganese oxides, clay minerals, sulphides, silicates, and suspended matter, ( 3) chemically
dispersed gold associated with organic matter and complex compounds, and (4) colloidal gold.
The amount of particulate gold in samples is obtained
using Shens method (Shen, 1976,1977; Wang, 1989).
This technique involves dividing the sample into so
many splits that there is no more than one grain of gold
( > 5 pm) in each split. Theoretical calculations have

Wang Xueqiu et al. /Journal

of Geochemical Exploration 55 (1995) 93-101

95

Table 1
Proportion

between particulate

Sample No.

and ultrafine gold in different areas in China

Total gold ( ppb)

> 5 pm particulate
concentration

Rocks in Shandong
7.9
zk6- 1
20.8
zk6-2
4.8
zk7- 1
913.0
zk7-2
4200.0
zk7-3
5.2
zk8- 1
726.7
zk8-2
3200.0
zk8-3

gold

( ppb)

Ultrafine gold
proportion

(%)

concentration

( ppb)

proportion

1.1
3.1
1.4
110.0
2470.0
3.8
480.0
1540.0

14
17
29
12
59
73
66
48

6.8
17.7
3.4
813.0
1730.0
1.4
246.0
1660.0

86
83
71
88
41
21
34
52

2.6
2.5
2.2

0.4
1.1
0.4

15
44
18

2.2
1.4
1.8

85
56
82

37.0
27.8
830

19.7
3.4
8.3

47
12
1

17.3
24.4
821.7

53
88
99

Stream sediments in Shandong

155.8
SD-D1
25.0
SD-D2
5.2
SD-D3

15.0
5.3
0.9

10
21
17

140.8
19.7
4.3

90
79
83

Stream sediments in Axi

18.5
AC-Dl
3.6
AC-D2
6.4
AC-D3

11.9
3.3
4.0

64
91
63

6.6
0.3
2.4

36
9
37

Rocks in inner Mongolia

0.8
NM-R1
1.6
NM-R2
44.4
NM-R3
21.1
NM-R4
329
NM-R5
2920
NM-R6

0.6
0.2
30.5
1.4
42.6
428.0

74
12
69
7
13
15

0.2
1.4
13.9
19.7
286.4
2429.0

26
88
31
93
87
85

Soils in Shandong
zk6-s
zkl-s
zk8-s
Soils in Xinjiang
Ac-Sa
Ac-Sb
AC-SC

shown that if the number of splits is five times the total

number of gold grains in the bulk sample, the probability of any split containing two or more gold grains
is only 1.5%. The necessary number of splits is reached
in two or three successive splitting rounds. The size of
the gold grains can be calculated from the mass of gold
in each split as determined by a spectrographic method.
The concentration of ultrafine gold is then obtained by
subtracting the particulate gold concentration from the
total gold content determined beforehand by atomic
absorption spectrometry.

(%)

Table 1 shows that ultrafine gold constitutes varying

but significant proportions of the total gold content of
rocks, stream sediments and soils from different areas
in China, both in arid and temperate climatic environments.
3.2. Distribution of goldparticle size
The distribution of gold particle sizes around an orebody was studied at the Dayingezhuang gold deposit.
Two composite samples were collected from the ore,

Y6

Table 2
Number of gold particles in different grain srze fractions of 50 g samples around the Dayingezhuang gold deposit. Sample locations shown in
Figure I b. Sample number codes: s - -surface soil; I - wallrock: 2 - halo; 3 - orebody. See text for method of analysis
Sample No.
zk6-s
zk7-s
zk8-s

s-10 /.Lm
Y
II
20

zk6- I
zk7- I
zk8- I

I7
8
7

zk6-2

78

zk7-2

IO-l.5 pm

1%20/.Ll

30-40 wrn

40-50 pm

5MO

/LI

_
I

68
I38

2s
4i

34
I6

zk7-3

159

66

zk8-3

IO0

62

rk8-2

X-30 pm

_-.

._
II
II

I
2

31

12

75

three from the primary dispersion halo, three from the

country rock, and three from the overburden which, in
that area, is transported (Fig. I b) The number of gold
particles in seven grain size intervals were determined
in every sample. The results (Table 2) demonstrate
that the particle size of gold decreases from the orebody
to the dispersion halo and decreases further in the wall
rocks and in the overburden. A decrease in particle size
is also demonstrated from the proximal to the distal part
of the dispersion halo.

The abundance and distribution patterns of gold

forms in different soil horizons were studied at the Axi
gold deposits where the soil above the deposit has a

3.3. Distribution and migration of vurious gold forms

Abundance und distribution
The abundance of various forms of gold was studied
by sequential analysis of samples, including the determination of water-soluble gold, gold absorbed on clay
minerals, organically bound gold, free ultrafine gold,
gold incorporated in iron and manganese oxides. in
carbonates, in sulphides, and in quartz and silicates.
Fig. 2 illustrates the results of sequential analyses of
the samples from the Dayingezhuang
gold deposits
(see sample locations in Fig. 1b) . The percentage of
the gold occurring in mobile forms, such as watersoluble gold, organic gold and gold absorbed on clay
minerals, increases from the orebody to the overburden.
For example, in ore samples from drill hole 8, watersoluble gold (a) and organic gold (c) make up 0.004
and 0%, respectively, of the total gold concentration,
whereas the same phases in samples of overburden
represent 5.7 and 40% of the gold, respectively.

Fig. 2. Abundance and distribution of various forms of gold at the

Dayingezhuang gold deposit ( in percent of total). a - water-soluble
gold; b - gold absorbed on clay minerals; c - organic gold; d free gold; e - gold in iron and manganese oxides; f - gold in
carbonates; g - gold in sulphides; h - gold in silicates. Sample
sites shown in Fig. lb.

Wang Xueqiu et al. /Journal of Geochemical Exploration 55 (1995) 93-101

abcdefgh
1

97

abcdefgh

site 1 (C horim
total Au cam.
154.0 ppb

90

Average

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
/
O
Fig. 3. Abundance
as in Fig. 2.

and distribution

-?-

of various forms of gold in A-, B- and C-horizon soils over the Axi gold deposit (in percent of total); a-h,

well-developed
profile with A-, B- and C-horizons
(Fig. 3;sample location in Fig. lc). The results of
sequential analyses show that the majority of the gold
in the C-horizon occurs in quartz and silicates (h)
representing 5 1 to 84% (average 64%) of the total gold
concentration, with the second most important phase
being iron and manganese oxides (d) accounting for 6
to 46% (average 25%) of the gold. In the B-horizon,
gold is mainly contained in the clay mineral fraction
(b) which accounts for 12.3 to 46% (average 3 1%) of
the gold, whereas in the A-horizon most of the gold
(44 to 95%; averaging 73%) is associated with organic
matter (c) .
It is evident from the results of the two localities
studied that there is significant variation in the modes

of occurrence of gold in different media and with the

distances from the gold source.

Migration
The migration of metals from a blind or buried ore
deposit through transported overburdens has been a
matter of debate for a long time. It is usually considered
that metals are transported toward the surface by one
or a combination of the following mechanisms: ( 1)
flowing water, (2) capillary action, (3) ionic diffusion,
(4) self potential effect resulting from oxidizing minerals producing an electrical gradient, and (5) as components of gases migrating upward from the deposits.
Which of these is dominant, remains an open question.
Malmquist and Kristiansson ( 1984) indicated that gas

bubbles passing through mineralization could collect

and transport microscopic amounts of matter to the
surface. Xie ( 1988) pointed out that trace or ultratrace
quantities of gold probably exist and migrate as gas or
gaseous colloids. These ideas were tested at the Dayingezhuang gold deposit, which occurs 250 m below
the surface (Fig. lb).
Soil gas was sampled using collectors buried in overburden for 2 months (static collection), and by pumping soil gases through a special collector for 5 to 10
minutes (dynamic collection) at each sampling site
(Fig. 4). The average concentration of gold in the soil
gas over the gold deposit was found to be 2 to 10 times
higher than over the background area. This shows that
gold undoubtedly migrates with soil gas although the
results do not prove that gold occurs as a gas. A possible
mode of migration could be that gases from depth passing through gold mineralization collect gold (in ionic
or ultrafine form) and carry it to upward. At the surface,
part of the gold may become trapped in manganese and
iron oxide coatings on mineral grains or in organic
matter, and part of it may persist in the gases. To detect
anomalies that have resulted from such mechanism, it
is necessary to extract the forms of gold deposited by
the gases at the surface.

4. Implications
gold

for geochemical

The need to recognize low-concentration

anomalies
generated by ultrafine and complex forms of gold has
greatly influenced the method used in regional geochemical exploration for gold in China (Xie and Wang,
199 1) . The method involves ( 1) collection of conventionally sized samples; (2) the analysis of the minus
177 /*.rn fraction (pulverized to minus 75 pm); ( 3)
gold analysis with a detection limit of 0.2 ppb; and (4)
the delineation of broad patterns of regional anomalies
using threshold values in the 2 to 4 ppb range in reconnaissance exploration surveys, and > 4 to 8 ppb range
in target delineation during detailed exploration.
A key feature of this approach is that it concentrates
on the recognition of reproducible anomalous patterns
as a whole, rather than focusing attention on individual
high values, which may be erratic due to the nugget
effect. The exploration has led to the discovery of hundreds of gold occurrences many of which are being
developed into mines (Xie and Wang, 1991).
One example among the successful case histories is
given here. Regional geochemical mapping based on
stream sediment samples was conducted in the Axi area
in 1986. A regional gold anomalous area of approximately 80 km2 was delineated by a 2.5 ppb contour line

gold in a

for

3. I. Regional exploration

Au nnb

Fig. 4. Distribution of gaseous gold or gas-transported

soil profile over the Dayinghezhuang gold deposit.

exploration

15km

Fig. 5. Regional geochemical anomaly pattern based on analysis of

< 177 pm fraction of stream sediments in the Axi area, Xinjiang
Province.

Wang Xueqiu et al. /Journal of Geochemical Exploration 55 (1995) 93-101

(Fig. 5). The detailed survey that followed, based on

rock and stream sediment samples, was carried out in
the area delineated by the 10 ppb contour line; attention
was drawn to the two highest values, 500 and 230 ppb.
Several gold-bearing veins were discovered, but no
mining-grade ore deposit was found. The authors maintained that detailed surveys should not be focused only
on high values generated by discrete gold particles;
low-concentration
anomalies caused by ultrafine gold
should also be investigated. A detailed survey was conducted over the low-concentration
anomalies at the 5
ppb level; this resulted in the discovery of a large gold
deposit in 1988, at the northern edge of this anomaly.

03
02
1

99

4.2. Detailed exploration for buried gold deposits

Presently available geochemical exploration methods are unsuitable or have limited application for
deeply buried gold deposits. The present investigation
shows that there is a substantial amount of various
forms of mobile gold in the overburden above a deposit
and that the percentage of mobile relative to particulate
gold increases with distance from the orebodies. Therefore, it is assumed that the total gold content at the
surface is composed of the original (background) content and an (anomalous)
contribution brought to the
surface from mineralization
at depth, through some
migration process. Extracting and analyzing the most
relevant forms of mobile gold may be very helpful in
discovering anomalies in transported overburden over
buried and blind gold deposits.

Fig. 7. Distribution of gold in iron and manganese oxides and watersoluble gold in soil samples over the Dayingezhuang gold deposit.

This is illustrated by results from the Axi gold

deposit. Extraction of organic gold using pyrophosphate ( Antropova et al., 1992) from samples of transported overburden
gives a prominent
anomaly
(Fig. 6). By contrast, determination of the total gold
content failed to detect the buried gold ore.
At Dayingezhuang,
a region with a temperate climate, it has been demonstrated that variations in gaseous gold or gas-transported gold reflect the buried
orebody (Fig. 4)) and that water-soluble gold and gold

metamorphic rocks

/ sandstone

&

Fig. 6. Distribution of organic gold in A-horizon

over the Axi gold deposit.

soil along a profile

Fig. 8. Distribution of gaseous gold and total gold in soils over

an area of unknown potential. The absence of a distinct gaseous
gold anomaly in the soil gas is taken to indicate a low potential for
important gold mineralization despite a high single value for total
gold.

in iron and manganese oxides also give anomalous

responses (Fig. 7).
Fig. 8 shows the distribution of gaseous gold in
an area of unknown potential. The distribution of total
gold in the overburden shows that there is a strong
anomaly above the altered zone, but the values of gaseous gold are very low and no anomalies of gaseous
gold were found. We deduced that a large gold deposit
was unlikely to occur in this area and. in fact, followup drilling failed to show the existence of an economic
gold deposit.

5. Conclusions
Conventional
geochemical exploration for gold,
based on the concept of mechanical transport of gold
in surficial environments and the determination of total
gold and pathfinder elements in surface materials, has
not always been very successful in prospecting for buried and blind gold deposits. Hence, there is an increasing need to improve presently available methods and
develop new ones.
Based on our theoretical and practical studies on ( I )
the particle size distribution of discrete gold grains
( > 5 pm), (2) the proportion of discrete gold grains
to ultrafine gold, and (3) the various forms of ultrafine
gold in different geological and environmental settings,
the following conclusions have been reached:
( I ) Gold occurs in rocks, soils and stream sediments
not only as free coarse particles but also in substantial
amounts as ultrafine free gold and in complex forms in
aqueous solutions, clay minerals, organic matter. secondary iron and manganese oxides, carbonates, sulphides. and quartz and silicates. The low-concentration
anomalies are created by ultrafine gold and other complex forms of gold.
(2) The size of gold particles and the proportion of
different forms of gold vary in the vicinity of gold
mineralization. The studies indicated that gold particles
become smaller and the proportion of active forms of
gold increases with the distance from mineralization.
(3) It was found that gold probably exists as a component of gases. The proposed model for gold migration assumes that gases collect ionic or ultrafine gold
when passing through gold mineralization.
Gold carried to the surface is likely to be trapped in iron and

manganese oxide coatings, in organic matter or in

gases.
(4) In regional geochemical exploration for gold,
tneaningful regional anomalies generated by ultrafine
gold and complex gold can be delineated by using low
threshold values.
( 5) In detailed geochemical exploration for buried
and blind gold deposits, selective extraction of gold in
mobile forms and of gaseous gold in soils can be
effectively applied, and different techniques should be
used in different physiographic environments.
The total concentration of gold and its pathfinder
elements have been determined in most geochemical
exploration projects for many years. But now it seems
that exploration geochemistry is entering a new phase
where methods will be developed to study the partial
concentrations of various forms of gold and other elements. Such methods include: ( 1) solvent extraction,
( 2) electrochemical extraction, (3) collection by gas
collector, and (4) extraction by physical separation.
The combination of these techniques and the optimum
use of the methods in different geological and surficial
environments will contribute significantly to enhance
the success rate of prospecting for blind and buried
gold deposits in the future.

Acknowledgements
Sincere appreciation is expressed to the National
Gold Bureau of China and to the State Science and
Technology Commission of China for the funding in
support of this research project. Dr. Agnete Steenfelt
and two anonymous reviewers have made substantial
improvements to the manuscript.

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