The Legadembi Au deposit, situated in southern Ethiopia, is hosted in sheared metamorphic rocks of Pan-African age. The ore minerals and country rocks were subjected to multiple phases of deformation, metamorphism and mineralisation. Correlation studies and factor analysis are applied to test whether geostatistical studies can identify factors responsible for element relationships and pathfinder elements for Au. The results are compared with mineral paragenetic studies to decipher the temporal relationships between minerals and to further constrain possible pathfinder elements for Au. Spearman correlation coefficients identify NiCuPbAu, AgAuPb, BaZnTiPb and CdZnYbTiVSrScNiCuCrY correlations at 95 and 99% confidence levels. A four-factor model explains 99% of the data variability. Factor 1 (BaCdScSrTiVYr) is a lithological factor. Factor 2 (AuCuZnPbCdNiCo) is an overlap of mineralisation factor. Factor 3 (CrNiPbAgSrV) and Factor 4 (CdCrCuVYb) are due to the overlap of lithological and mineralisation factors. Even though the data are not normally distributed, geostatistical data processing using factor analysis gives geologically meaningful results. Mineral paragenetic studies show two main phases of mineralisation. The early phase is represented by chalcopyrite, pyrite, pyrrhotite and sphalerite. The later phase includes Au, galena and electrum. Based on geochemical factors and mineral paragenetic studies, Ag and Pb are potential pathfinder elements for Au for Legadembi-type Au deposits. The correlation of other elements with Au is due to the spatial overlap of mineralisation events with different metal associations.