Author name: John L. Walshe

Gold concentrations in mineable deposits range from ~1 to 100 parts per million (ppm), or higher in bonanza deposits, in comparison to an average crustal abundance of ~1.3 ppb. A diverse range of elements may be associated with Au (La, Ce, U, V, Cr, Mo, W, Fe, Co, Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu, Ag, Zn, Hg, B, Tl, C, Si, Pb, As, Sb, Bi, S, Se, Te). A common mineralogical association is gold and quartz, but gold accumulations are also found with carbonates, carbon, feldspars, Fe sulfides and oxides, base metal sulfides, Fe ± Co ± Ni arsenides, and Fe ± Mg ± Ca ± V ± Cr silicates.