Rich Cousin, Poor Cousin? What Controls the Formation And Size of Orogenic Gold Deposits.

This project will investigate the geological and geochemical factors that control the formation and size of gold deposits in Phanerozoic mountain belts ('orogens'). A combination of methods will be used to establish the importance of source, absolute timing of minerlisation, genetic links to magmas, asnd geochemical processes that result in the transport, and deposition of gold in three seperate, geologically young orogens. The wider implications of this research include a greatly improved understanding of lesser known Phanerozoic orgenic gold provinces, ore genesis at convergent plate margins, and the formation of gold deposits in older terrains.