New Discovery Sheds Light on Gold Formation in Volcanoes

[aaronwesslker]

A research team, including a University of Michigan scientist, has uncovered a new gold-sulfur complex that enhances our understanding of how gold deposits are formed. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides crucial insights into the processes responsible for transporting gold from Earth's mantle to the surface.

Gold found in ore deposits linked to volcanoes around the Pacific Ring of Fire originates in the mantle and is brought to the surface by magma. However, the specific mechanisms behind this process have remained unclear. The team employed numerical modeling to identify the conditions that contribute to gold enrichment in rising magmas.

The model specifically highlights the role of a gold-trisulfur complex, a compound whose existence had been widely debated. According to Adam Simon, a professor of Earth and environmental sciences at the University of Michigan and co-author of the study, the presence of this complex under certain pressure and temperature conditions—found 30 to 50 miles beneath active volcanoes—facilitates the transfer of gold from the mantle into magma. This finding offers a plausible explanation for the high concentrations of gold in certain mineral systems within subduction zone environments.

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Gold deposits associated with volcanoes typically form in subduction zones, where oceanic plates, like the Pacific plate, are forced beneath continental plates. This process allows magma from the mantle to rise toward the surface, contributing to volcanic eruptions and, eventually, gold deposits. Regions around the Pacific Ocean, including New Zealand, Indonesia, Japan, and Alaska, feature numerous active volcanoes that form in such environments.

When the conditions are optimal, a fluid containing the trisulfur ion from the subducting plate is introduced into the mantle, causing gold to bond with trisulfur and form the gold-trisulfur complex. This complex is highly mobile in magma, aiding the transportation of gold.

While scientists were already aware of gold's ability to form complexes with sulfur ions, this study represents the first to provide a detailed thermodynamic model of the gold-trisulfur complex's existence and importance. By conducting lab experiments to control pressure and temperature, the researchers developed a model that predicts real-world conditions, improving our understanding of gold deposition in subduction zones.

Simon concludes that these findings provide valuable insights into why certain subduction zones produce gold-rich ore deposits, which could ultimately aid exploration efforts and deepen our understanding of gold formation.