Understanding the Development and Distribution of High-Grade Gold Ore Shoots
Recently-completed project M10412 provides new insights into the fundamental controls on high-grade gold ore systems.
Gold mineralisation accumulates to high grades through the combined effects of several linked processes. Gold concentrates where rock fractures stay open, allowing fluids to flow and precipitate minerals for extended periods. Repeated deformation and fluid movement can further upgrade these zones, and tiny gold particles, carbon-rich fluids, and silica chemistry can all play important roles in moving and trapping gold. At the smallest scale, defects in minerals help remobilise and concentrate gold after it first forms. Laboratory experiments also confirmed that silica gels and the piezoelectric properties of quartz can accelerate gold growth.
Together, these findings provide practical tools to better predicts and target the distribution of high-grade ore concentrations within gold mineralisation, helping reduce exploration risk and improve mine planning.
For more information, download report 10412 from the MRIWA website.
Page was last reviewed 17 June 2026