Abstract
Samples of primary low-sulphide gold-quartz ore and oxidised host rock containing up to 10 wt% sulphides and 5 wt% their oxidation products were investigated to reveal the relationship between the migration of elements during the hypergenic transformation of ores and rocks and their mineral composition. Mineralogical studies employed optical and electron microscopy to identify the shapes and sizes of mineral individuals and aggregates and to determine their chemical composition. It is determined for major element content that the oxidised host rocks contain significantly more iron, sulphur, aluminium, potassium and phosphorus than primary low-sulphide quartz gold ores, while silicon and calcium content is lower. This is due to the removal of sulphur and iron into the near-vein rocks with the formation of primarily pyrite and arsenopyrite, and the presence of aluminosilicates (feldspars and layered silicates) in them. The same applies to arsenic and antimony, as their concentrations are higher in the host rocks than in the ores. The rates of lithophile elements recovery from primary gold-quartz ores are much higher than those from oxidised host rocks. Сhalcophile elements, on the contrary, are more intensively transferred to the solution from host rocks. Thus, the complex of elements extracted from ore suspensions is directly determined by their mineral composition. The main carrier of gold is native gold and its tellurides. Silver is associated with low-grade gold, copper and silver sulphosalts, and also tellurides.
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