Sulphides and Gold ?s

[sepoinak]

Does/can "larger" gold "form" out of the breakdown of sulphides somehow? So say a 0.25 g. placer gold flake was not originally locked-up in sulphides, it came from a native or free gold source?

 

[machineman]

I am not an expert in this. However gold and sulfides often form in the same areas. I do not believe gold can form from the sulfides, different elements. They are just deposited in similar locations. If you found gold in sulfides it formed independently.

 

[yankee joe]

I'm not sure about this but my under standing is that the gold is carried in the acid sulfide solution and is then deposited when the solution cools. The old school thought was this could happen slowly in cracks and fishers and faults. Lately I read some where that the new thought is that this can happen short term may be in minutes or seconds when the solutions flow under great pressure into a new fault or crack and cool quickly. A Vulcanologist could give you a better answer or may be a geologist. This question could be directed to Userkc on this forum. This is a very good question and I would like to know the correct answer my self.

 

[sepoinak]

This question could be directed to Userkc on this forum.

Haa funny stuff.

 

[sepoinak]

After some research it seems that larger gold is not released from the breakdown of sulfides. Gold out of sulfides is very tiny to microscopic, and can not recombine into larger pieces somehow.

 

[shadowulf]

Working at a precious metal mine, I can tell you that our operation avoids sulfides and tellurides as much as possible.
Operations that have sulfide ore usually have to roast the ore to be able to get good recovery.

There are a few theories about the formation of "free mill" gold.
Oxidized ores are more commonly thought to be the sources for "free mill" gold , as well as multiple-channel deposition, hydro-fluid deposition and the "grown nugget" theory.
Now, sulfides and tellurides can become oxidized ores through weathering and other natural factors. But those take many years to breakdown the chemical bonds of those ores.