Thermodynamic model identifies how gold reaches Earth’s surface

By University of Michigan

A research team including a University of Michigan scientist has discovered a new gold-sulfur complex that helps researchers understand how gold deposits are formed.

Gold in ore deposits associated with volcanoes around the Pacific Ring of Fire originates in Earth’s mantle and is transported by magma to its surface. But how that gold is brought to the surface has been a subject of debate. Now, the research team has used numerical modeling to reveal the specific conditions that lead to the enrichment of gold in magmas that rise from the Earth’s mantle to its surface.