Quartz Vein Gold Mineralization
image:Michael Appiah-Twum (Linkedin)
image:Michael Appiah-Twum (Linkedin)
image:Michael Appiah-Twum (Linkedin)
Quartz Vein Gold Mineralization in simple terms refers to Gold hosted in Quartz Veins. The Gold mineralisation usually form as coats of gold (Au) grains within the texture of the host rock.
Quartz veins are distinct sheetlike or linear bodies of crystallized Quartz minerals within a rock (outcrop). They are formed from solidification of hydrothermal fluids (Hot molten rock/magma) from the mantle containing varied minerals within a pre-existing host rock.
The simplest type of a quartz vein is the filling of an already present crack in rocks. The crack might form during folding of the rock in mountain-building processes, by shattering during tectonic events, by a decrease in pressure during the uplift of a rock, or because a rock cools down and shrinks. Hydrothermal fluids/molten magma that percolate the rocks and originate at extensive depths with higher temperatures will precipitate the minerals they carry with them in cracks at lower temperatures and pressures. This process may continue until the crack is completely filled or may stop before, leaving “pockets” in the vein that are sometimes outlined by crystals.
Hydrothermal fluids that enter a crack in the rock from some distant hot source like a Granite intrusion, first cool and precipitate most of their load rather quickly. The result is milky quartz, either massive or made of interlocked milky quartz crystals.Later, when the crystal growth slows down, the crystals may get less milky or even clear. In the majority quartz veins, most of the quartz is precipitated as massive, milky quartz, and well-formed crystals, if found at all, are only a small portion of the vein filling.
Take a look at the veins in a leaf and imagine the leaf being a rock and the veins being bodies of crystallized Quartz in the rock. You can also picture/imagine walking along a street/road with a narrow gutter along the street, imagine the land mass on both sides of the gutter as a huge rock and the narrow gutter as a Quartz vein within the rock (such geological features can be regional).
Quartz vein Gold mineralization are structurally controlled thus they form in deformations such as cracks and openings within pre-existing rocks suitable for percolation and subsequent cooling of hydrothermal fluids within these structures.
These are a beauty to behold geologically. Gold tends to form within such distinct bodies (Gold Anomalies).
Here is a seriously nice specimen of natural gold in quartz. It was found in Australia, and has gold visible from all sides. The pictures really tell the story on this one, an absolutely stunning piece of natural gold in quartz that will be a fine addition to any mineral collection. The total weight of the specimen is 17.33 grams.
image: 17.55 Gram Australian Gold in Quartz (goldrushnuggets.com)
image: 17.55 Gram Australian Gold in Quartz (goldrushnuggets.com)
image: 17.55 Gram Australian Gold in Quartz (goldrushnuggets.com)
image: 17.55 Gram Australian Gold in Quartz (goldrushnuggets.com)
image: 17.55 Gram Australian Gold in Quartz (goldrushnuggets.com)
There are other types of Gold mineralization….this is just One of other types.
So as I always keep saying….., When you see a rock, don’t just throw it away.
Who knows, you might be throwing a nugget of Gold away.
There are still many fascinating aspects to Quartz Vein Gold Mineralization, if you enjoyed this blog post. Please share it with your family and friends! Your sharing is the powerful inspiration that drives us to create more articles on this topic, and we greatly appreciate it.
Souce: Michael Appiah-Twum
