Phanerozoic gold deposits in tectonically active continental margins

Abstract

Phanerozoic gold deposits currently account for approximately 25% of the non-communist world’s annual gold production or 53% of annual production, if the deposits of the Witwatersrand are excluded (data from Woodall, 1988). With the anticipated increase in production from newly discovered gold deposits of the southern Pacific and western US, this percentage should increase substantially in the coming years. Consequently, the understanding of and exploration for gold deposits in Phanerozoic terranes merit a substantial effort from both the research and industrial communities.