Geochemistry is generally considered to be one of the new and burgeoning interdisciplinary scientific fields. The evidence for such a belief is obvious. For example, the Geochemical Society is scarcely out of its swaddling clothes, but it is already a large and important international scientific organization. The very word “geochemistry” was not even included in the ten-volume Oxford Universal English Dictionary published as recently as 1937. During the Second World War and immediately thereafter, however, geochemical work was initiated at scores of universities and commercial laboratories. Thus by 1948 “geochemistry” was well enough established to be defined in The American College Dictionary as “the science dealing with chemical changes in, and the composition of, the earth’s crust.” <...>

Minerals and metals are essential components for the growth of human society. The need to survive taught prehistoric Paleolithic men the use of stones as tools as early as 20,000 years ago. The discovery of minerals, their exploitation, and use became many-fold with the advent of civilization and is continuing today. A mineral deposit is too small in size compared to the vast Earth’s crust. Near-surface deposits have been discovered over the centuries, ores have been mined, and metals extracted. The future search for concealed types, rarely showing surface signatures, will be opportunities and challenges. New discoveries will require state-of-the-art exploration techniques, trained labor, scientific knowledge, adequate experience, high-end data processing systems, and interpretation skills <...>

Since the arrival of European colonists in New York, the extraction of mineral wealth has been an important societal goal. Mining, then and now, provides the raw materials for consumer goods. Iron was used for cooking utensils and stoves, among other things. It was the basis for many construction projects. The availability of “hydraulic” cement was as important in the success of the Erie Canal as it is to the maintenance of the New York State Thruway. Mines provided materials to improve the standard of living of the populace. Late nineteenth century clay mines in the Hudson River Valley provided clay to make literally billions of bricks used to replace the highly flammable wooden building materials of New York City. The State of New York has, since the 1980s, ranked about fifteenth in the nation in terms of mineral value extracted annually.

This study was undertaken to characterize the mineral paragenesis and metal zoning at the property scale, evaluate the potential sources of ore-related metals, quantify the relationship between intensity of alteration and gold grade, and propose a comprehensive genetic model for the Carlin-type Au deposits at the southern part of the Goldstrike property, Nevada.

Mineralogy, textural relationships, whole-rock composition, and spatial distribution of the studied samples revealed two types of gold ore: Ore I and II. The former, which is hosted by the Roberts Mountains and Rodeo Creek Formations, and the Wispy, Planar, and Upper Mud units of the Popovich Formation, is the most abundant and widespread in the property. Ore I is characterized by intense hydrothermal alteration (e.g., carbonate dissolution, silicification, and precipitation of pyrite) and high amounts of trace elements (e.g., Ag, As, Au, Ba, Cd, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, S, Sb, Se, Te, Tl, and Zn). On the other hand, Ore II, which is hosted in the Wispy, Planar, and Soft Sediment Deformation units of the Popovich Formation, is mainly confined to the central-north-northwest portion of the Screamer deposit and is weakly altered with low concentration of trace elements. Both Ores I and II contain similar average concentrations of Au in whole rock (14 and 19 g/t Au, respectively) and in pyrite (290 and 540 ppm, respectively); however, auriferous pyrite from Ore I has higher trace element (As, Ag, Cu, Hg, Ni, Sb, Se, and Tl)/Au ratios than Ore II.