Abstract
The Metallogeny of Lode Gold Deposits: A Syngenetic Perspective . Ulrich Kretschmar and Derek McBride. Pp. 339. Elsevier. 2016. ISBN 978-0-12-803222-0. Paperback, Illustrations in black and white. Print or electronic US$180. You shouldn’t judge this book by its glossy cover. If you have a background of investigating lode vein systems, formed by the localized precipitation of ore and associated gangue minerals from hydrothermal fluids in, and adjacent to, permeable fracture systems generated by tectonic processes, then you will certainly be disappointed. This book, written by two Canadian exploration geologists, had a formidable start, with the death of the senior author, Ulrich Kretschmar, in December 2014. For his colleague, Derek McBride, it surely must have been a daunting task to take on the role of completing this project, which relies heavily on both authors’ consulting activities. The result is a compilation of industry-focused and consulting observations in many historical mine sites and prospects, unfortunately dominated by an outdated sedimentological perspective and lacking critical 21st century data sets and interpretations. As a reviewer, I was unfamiliar with the location of many of the Canadian goldfields described and found it difficult to follow, as there were few locations provided in the form of inset maps or grid coordinates until chapter 4. The text is organized into 11 chapters that relate mainly to the interpretation of Canadian gold deposits, and this is the only consistency in the book. Unfortunately, if a reader were to attempt to follow the evolution of any particular gold camp, he would be forced to search through the entire text. In addition, many important deposits in the Superior and Slave provinces are not described. The authors state that “a thesis of this book and a key concept underpinning syngenetic lode vein formation is that it is possible to see through metamorphism, …
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