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1.
Occurrence of calcrete over kimberlite is known all over the world and calcrete can also develop over a wide variety of weathered rocks and/or soil under suitable condition of its formation. The objective of this study is to evaluate the mineralogy and mineral chemistry of kimberlite derived calcretes and highlights their role as an exploration tool in search of kimberlite. The present study reveals the presence of significant minerals, including diamonds, within the calcretes of “kimberlite traits”. Calcrete derived from granite and mafic (dolerite/gabbro) rocks are mineralogically very distinct with those derived from kimberlite. Calcrete can thus be a very useful prospecting tool in kimberlite and diamond exploration.  相似文献   

2.
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3.
Pedogenic calcretes are closely associated with Pliocene to Holocene wind-worked deposits of volcanic ash in the Olduvai and Ndolanya Beds of northern Tanzania. The typical profile with calcrete consists of an unconsolidated sediment layer, an underlying laminar calcrete, and a lowermost massive calcrete. The laminar calcrete is a relatively pure limestone, whereas massive calcrete is aeolian tuff cemented and replaced by calcite. An Olduvai calcrete profile can develop to a mature stage in only a few thousand years. Carbonatite ash was the dominant source for most of the calcite in the calcretes. Replacement was a major process in formation of the massive calcretes, and oolitic textures have resulted from micrite replacing pelletoid clay coatings around sand grains. Phillipsite and possible other zeolites were extensively replaced in the massive calcretes. Replacement of clay by micrite in the Olduvai calcretes is accompanied by dissolution or leaching of phengitic illite and the formation of clay approaching the composition of halloysite or kaolinite. In the upper calcrete of the Ndolanya Beds, montmorillonite was altered to a kaolinite-type mineral and to dioctahedral chlorite. Authigenic dolomite, zeolite, and dawsonite in the Olduvai calcretes probably received at least some of their components from replaced materials.  相似文献   

4.
Calcrete (pedogenic Ca carbonate) is an important sampling medium for geochemical gold (Au) exploration in semi-arid and arid regions of Australia, because it is widespread, easy to sample and calcium (Ca) shows a strong positive correlation with Au, but not with base metals, in calcrete overlying buried Au mineralization. In this study we show that the formation of Au-anomalous calcrete can be biomediated through the activity of resident microorganisms, and may not simply be the result of passive nucleation on inactive cells or evapotransporative processes. Calcified microfossils are highly abundant in calcrete from the Barns Au-prospect in South Australia. These microfossils are morphological analogues of calcified cells and biofilms formed in laboratory experiments conducted with active bacterial cultures enriched from Au-anomalous calcareous sand from the Barns prospect. Calcium carbonates precipitated by these cultures consisted mostly of calcite, which is the main carbonate mineral in calcrete. Synchrotron micro-X-ray fluorescence (S-μXRF) mapping was used to assess the distribution of Au, Zn, Ca and other metals in Ca carbonates precipitated by active bacterial cultures. On a μm-scale the distribution of Au was heterogeneous in these Ca carbonates and differed from base metal distribution, thus mimicking the spatial separation of these metals observed in calcrete. The speciation of Au in Ca carbonates precipitated by active bacteria was measured using micro-X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy (μ-XANES) and resembled that observed in Au-anomalous calcrete closely. While metallic Au was observed in Au ‘hotpots’, ionic Au was detected in the halo surrounding the ‘hotspot’. In contrast, the precipitates produced in the presence of dead bacterial cells or by raising solution pH or pCO2, i.e., hydroxylapatite, portlandite and vaterite, respectively, did not reflect the mineralogy of calcrete. Gold distribution and speciation in vaterite, formed by raising pCO2, were homogenous and did not reproduce the variation observed in calcrete and Ca carbonates precipitated by active cells. Increasing the supersaturation with respect to Ca in solution by incremental drying of the medium produced only X-ray amorphous precipitates, or hydroxylapatite in the presence heat-killed cells. In conclusion, this study shows that active microbial processes that combine biogenic Ca carbonatogenesis with Au precipitation are likely to drive the formation of Au-anomalous calcrete.  相似文献   

5.
The Phu Kradung Formation of the Mesozoic Khorat Group is deposited by meandering river system. Floodplain deposits in the Nong Bua Lamphu section, northeastern Thailand contain paleosols with abundant calcretes. Calcretes occur within about 60 horizons in the studied section. Occurrences of calcretes are related with traces of life, such as roots and burrows. Microstructures of calcretes are mixture of biogenic and non-biogenic origin. It is suggested that the calcrete formation in the Phu Kradung Formation was affected by abundant biological activity.  相似文献   

6.
A. E. ADAMS 《Sedimentology》1980,27(6):651-660
Calcrete profiles (caliche) have been recognized in the Eyam Limestone from the Lower Carboniferous in the area around Monyash, Derbyshire. They occur at the top of the flank facies surrounding carbonate-mud buildups (‘knoll reefs’). Four units make up the complete profile. These are from base to top: (1) grain-supported sediment with rhizocretions, (2) matrix-supported sediment with alveolar texture, (3) pelleted calcrete, (4) laminar calcrete. Commonly one or more units are missing from the profile. Calcretes indicate subaerial exposure. The carbonate buildups of the Eyam Limestone were completely exposed soon after deposition, requiring a fall in sea-level probably in excess of 10 m. This discovery demands a review of previous regional palaeoenvironmental studies.  相似文献   

7.
Anomalously high Au concentrations (2.5 to 50 ppb) in regolith carbonate accumulations, such as calcrete and calcareous sands in aeolian sand dunes overlying Au mineralisation of the Gawler Craton, South Australia, show a marked covariance of Au with K, Mg and most notably Ca. This relationship appears to be linked to the authigenic formation of smectites and carbonates within the aeolian dunes in the region. However, little is known about the processes involved in the formation of carbonates under semi-arid and arid conditions. In this study the geochemical properties of aeolian dunes along several depth profiles of 2 to 4 m are investigated in order to assess the relationship between Au mobility and calcrete formation. In the profiles a strongly systematic relationship between Au and the increasing Ca–Mg contents at depth highlights the close association between the enrichment of Au in the calcrete and the underlying hydrothermal mineralisation. Intense calcrete formation and concurrent Au enrichment also occurs in the vicinity of roots penetrating the dune. Thin section petrography and cathodoluminescence show that most of the calcrete in the regolith profiles is micritic; some sparic crystallites have also been identified. To demonstrate the presence of microbial processes that may mediate the formation of calcrete, samples from a depth profile in the dune were taken under sterile conditions. After amendment with urea and incubation of up to 24 h, up to 18 mg/l of NH4+ were detected in near surface samples. At depth of 2.3 m 1 mg/l NH4+ were detected compared to a control that contained below 0.05 mg/l NH4+. These results suggest that the genesis of calcrete and pedogenic carbonate in the area may be partly biologically mediated via processes such as the metabolic breakdown of urea by resident microbiota which generates a pH and pCO2 environment conducive to the precipitation of carbonate. In the process of urea breakdown organic Au complexes such as Au-amino acid complexes may become destabilised in solution and Au may be co-precipitated, resulting in the fine, non-particulate distribution of Au throughout the micritic calcrete carbonate. In conclusion, this study suggests a coupled mechanism of biologically mediated and inorganic mechanisms that lead to the formation of Au-in-calcrete anomalies.  相似文献   

8.
Detailed information on semi‐arid, palustrine carbonate–calcrete lithofacies associations in a sheetwash‐dominated regolith setting is sparse. This is addressed by studying the Lower Limestone of the Lameta Beds, a well‐exposed Maastrichtian regolith in central India. The general vertical lithofacies assemblage for this unit comprises: (a) basal calcareous siltstones and marls with charophytes, ostracods and gastropods; (b) buff micritic limestones associated in their upper parts with calcretized fissure‐fill sandstones; (c) sheetwash as fissure‐fill diamictites and thin pebbly sheets, locally developed over a few metres; and (d) sandy, nodular, brecciated and pisolitic calcretes at the top. The sequence is ‘regressive’, with upsection filling of topographic lows by increased sheetwash. Lateral lithofacies change is marked, but there are no permanent open‐water lake deposits. In topographic lows close to the water table, marshy palustrine or groundwater calcretes formed, whereas on better drained highs, brecciation and calcretization occurred. Prolonged exposure is implied, suggesting that shrinkage was the main cause of brecciation. Evidence for rhizobrecciation and other biological calcrete fabrics is sparse, contrasting with the emphasis on root‐related brecciation in many studies of palustrine lithofacies. Stable isotope (δ18O and δ13C) values are consistent with the palustrine limestones being fed from meteoric‐derived groundwater with a strong input of soil‐zone carbon. There is overlap of both δ18O and δ13C values from the various palustrine and calcrete fabrics co‐occurring at outcrop. This suggests that, in groundwater‐supported wetlands, conversion from palustrine carbonate to calcrete need not show isotopic expression, as the groundwater source and input of soil‐zone carbon are essentially unchanged. Cretaceous–Tertiary δ18O and δ13C values from palustrine lithofacies and associated calcretes appear to be strongly influenced by the inherited values from lakes and wetlands. Hydrologically closed lakes and marine‐influenced water bodies tend to result in low negative palustrine δ18O and δ13C values. During brecciation and calcretization, the degree of isotopic inheritance depends on whether or not alteration occurs in waters that are different from those of the original water body or wetland. Marked biological activity (e.g. rhizobrecciation or root mat development) during calcretization may lower δ13C values where C3 plants are abundant but, in shrinkage‐dominated systems, δ13C values will be largely inherited from the palustrine limestones.  相似文献   

9.
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10.
In the Muskeg Trough of northcentral Alberta the Gilwood Member contains widespread carbonate deposits that formed within terrigenous mudstone and sandstone hosts. Stratigraphic, depositional and petrographic relationships indicate that these carbonates represent calcretes and dolocretes. Calcretes, observed best with cathodoluminescence, display microcrystalline alpha fabrics, circumgranular cracks, root networks, displacive growth fabrics, elongate channel voids and rare coloform growths with flower spar. Similarly, dolocretes have microcrystalline alpha fabrics, brecciation, gradational contacts with host mudstones, extensive layered nodular horizons and are associated with anhydrite and pyrite. δ13C values range between ?7‰ to +1‰ and –6‰ to +3‰ for calcretes and dolocretes, respectively. Oxygen isotopes are more variable and differ with host lithologies. δ18O of calcretes ranges between ?11‰ to ?8‰ for sandstones and ?8‰ to ?3‰ for mudstones, whereas δ18O of dolocretes ranges between ?3‰ to 1‰ for marine mudstones and ?6‰ to ?2‰ for pedogenic mudstones. Regional mapping indicates that calcretes thicken towards the deepest parts of the Muskeg Trough. Widespread dolocretes extend beyond the eastern and western limits of Muskeg Trough and are useful marker intervals for regional correlations. Dolocretes of restricted lateral extent are found within gleyed palaeosol mudstones next to calcretized channel sandstones. Calcrete isotopic values are interpreted as indicative of carbonate precipitation from waters with meteoric water input. However, the higher δ18O values in dolocretes are indicative of a contribution from an isotopically heavier source such as seawater. Stratigraphically, calcretes are most common along the western and northern edges of Muskeg Trough; thus, calcrete accumulation was further controlled by meteoric water in-flow from the highland to the west and sluggish groundwater flow in Muskeg Trough. In contrast, regionally widespread dolocrete horizons appear to have formed from mixing of fresh waters derived from the highland to the west and seawaters introduced from the east. Regionally restricted dolocretes which are found next to channel sandstones formed from groundwater out-flow from the permeable channel sandstones which resulted in calcretization in channel proximal mudstones and dolomitization in channel distal mudstones.  相似文献   

11.
The calcretes in the Thar desert occur in a variety of settings, including the piedmonts, sheetwash aggraded plains; and this study adds calcretes in regolith and colluvio-alluvial plains to the group of settings in which calcretes occur in the region. Field logs, morphological details and analytical data such as petrographic, cathodoluminescence and geochemical characteristics are described along with a discussion on their implications. Sand dunes and sandy plains dating to < 20 ka have weakly developed calcretes. The better-developed calcrete horizons occur in piedmonts, interdunes or in areas that have sufficient groundwater. Deep sections in the region show phases of calcrete development in aeolian sand aggradation at ∼ 150, ∼ 100, ∼ 60 and 27–14 ka. The extensive sheetwash plains have mature calcretes and date to mid-Pleistocene. Our studies indicate that these calcretes represent a hybrid process, where carbonate enrichment of the originally calcareous host occurred due to periodically raised groundwaters, and its differentiation into nodules occurred under subaerial environment i.e., after recession of groundwater. Deep sections also show a stack of discrete calcretes that developed in individual aggradation episodes with hiatuses as indicated by ESR dating results. Nodules display a multiplicity of carbonate precipi tation events and internal reorganization of calcitic groundmass. The process is accompanied by degradation and transformation of unstable minerals, particularly clays and with a neosynthesis of palygorskite. The ancient calcretes are dated from the beginning of the Quaternary to ∼ 600 ka and show more evolved morphologies marked by brecciation, dissolution, laminar growth on brecciated surfaces, pisolites and several generations of re-cementation. Mica/chlorite schists and such other rocks are particularly vulnerable to replacement by carbonate. In an extreme case, replacement of quartzose sandstone was observed also. The presence of stretches of alluvio-colluvial plains in an area presently devoid of drainage bespeaks of occasional high-energy fluvial regime, under a semi-arid climate. The mid-Pleistocene period saw a shift towards more arid climate and this facilitated sheetwash aggradation. Finally, during the late Pleistocene, aggradation of aeolian sands indicated a progressively drier climate. However, this does not find its reflection in stable isotope data. The amount of carbonate in the form of calcretes is substantial. The present studies indicate that aeolian dust or rainwater are minor contributors to the carbonate budget. A more important source was provided by the pre-existing calcretes in the sheetwash aggraded plains and detrital carbonate in the aeolian sediments. The original source of carbonate in the region, however, remains unresolved and will need further investigations. Electron spin resonance protocols for the dating of calcretes were developed as a part of this study and the results accorded well with geological reasoning  相似文献   

12.
The groundwater discharge zone of central Australia is marked by a chain of playas extending 500 km from Lake Hopkins in Western Australia through Lake Neale, Lake Amadeus and numerous smaller playas to the Finke River in the Northern Territory. This great valley is devoid of surface drainage, and the playas and their associated landforms and chemical sediments are a result of groundwater transmission, and discharge from a large regional flow system. The valley contains extensive groundwater calcrete deposits, which are commonly silicified. The playas contain gypsum and glauberite deposits resulting from the evaporative concentration of discharging groundwater to 250 g/1total dissolved solids. Thin gypcrete crusts have developed on the playa margins and islands as a result of induration of bordering gypsum dunes. Diagenetic changes in the calcrete and gypcrete are caused by dissolution and reprecipitation through groundwater movement.

Calcrete and gypcrete samples from playas near Curtin Springs, NT, dated by electron spin resonance (ESR) — calibrated by 14C dates on calcrete and the uranium content of gypcrete — are mostly in the range 8000–16 000 years BP, and are evidence of groundwater discharge conditions similar to those of the present day. Calcrete in the vadose zone, above the present water‐table, gives ESR dates in the range 22 000–27 000 years BP suggesting episodes of high intensity rainfall at that time. Phreatic calcrete, below the water‐table, with ages in the range 34 000–75 000 years BP, provides evidence of older episodes of calcretization.

The ESR and 14C dates for the chemical sediments suggest that this groundwater flow system has been an important feature in the region for much of the Late Quaternary. Although there are problems with the interpretation of ESR dating for chemical sediments with diagenetic alteration, the technique shows promise as a dating tool.  相似文献   

13.
The Kopet-Dagh basin of northeastern Iran was formed during the Middle Triassic orogeny. From Jurassic through Miocene time, sedimentation was relatively continuous in this basin. The Shurijeh Formation (Neocomian), which consists of red bed siliciclastic sediments that were deposited in fluvial depositional settings, crops out in the southeastern part of the Kopet-Dagh basin. In addition to clastic lithofacies, non-clastic facies in the form of calcrete paleosols, were identified in this formation. The calcrete host rocks are mainly sandstone, pebbly sandstone. The calcrete in middle unit in the Shurijeh Formation consists of, from bottom to top: incipient calcrete, nodular calcrete, massive calcrete horizons. The maturity pattern of these calcrete gradationally increases from bottom to top in this unit. Lack of organo-sedimentary structure (mainly plant roots), diversity of calcite fabric, suggest that the studied calcretes have a multi-phase development: a short vadose phase followed by a long phreatic phase. These calcretes are neither pedogenic nor groundwater calcretes. Petrographic studies show that they are composed of micritic textures with a variety of calcite fabrics, microsparitic/sparitic veins, displacive, replacive fabrics, quartz, hematite grains. Cathodoluminescence images, trace elemental analysis (Fe, Mn increased, Na, Sr decreased) of calcrete samples show the effects of meteoric waters during the calcrete formation when water tables were variable. In this study, we conclude that evaporation, degassing of carbon dioxide are the two main factors in the formation of non-pedogenic or groundwater calcrete. The sources of carbonate were probably parent materials, surface waters, ground waters, eolian dusts, numerous outcrops of limestones that have been exposed in the source area during Neocomian time.  相似文献   

14.
Abstract

The Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia hosts a number of Cenozoic paleochannels, which have been incised into the underlying Paleozoic and Precambrian rocks, filled with sediments and subsequently weathered. The paleochannels are of particular interest in mineral exploration as they may not only host placer-type deposits but also overlie significant supergene and primary mineralisation. Paleochannels also pose particular challenges during exploration as they mask underlying geochemical anomalies, including gold and pathfinder elements. This study investigates a method of distinguishing transported overburden from residual regolith utilising a combination of field and laboratory-based techniques. At the Minotaur deposit, the residual regolith and transported overburden are mineralogically similar, although the presence of biotite, chlorite and muscovite is more characteristic of the residual regolith. Geochemically, Zr, Ti, Co and Sc ratios form distinct groupings allowing more confident discrimination of transported overburden from the underlying residual regolith units. The presence of a distinct gold depletion zone at the redox front was also identified to be a feature of the Minotaur deposit, with Au enrichment occurring above (within transported overburden) and below (within saprolite) the redox front, similar to other gold deposits on Lake Lefroy. The lithological, stratigraphic and Au-enrichment characteristics at Minotaur have also been compared with regional studies and suggest the long-lived impact of paleovalleys on the depositional systems and Au distribution of Lake Lefroy. This work provides a basis for future studies of the region in particular the variation of depositional sequences within regional paleochannel networks.  相似文献   

15.
This essay traces the development of geochemical exploration from its early beginnings in the modern era during the 1930s, concentrating especially in its application to deeply weathered terrain in the tropics and sub-tropics. Following promising results obtained in temperate regions in North America and Europe, test orientation surveys were conducted to see whether similar procedures were applicable in the tropics, where conventional geological prospecting was largely precluded due to the extensive cover of a deep lateritic regolith and consequent lack of outcrop. After initial work in Sierra Leone and Nigeria, the emphasis transferred to East Africa in the 1950s and 1960s, aimed principally at Cu exploration. Many of the basic principles for exploration in dominantly residual, free-draining terrain were quickly established in this period. Exploration in terrains with more complex weathering histories, however, raised a number of difficulties due to leaching and secondary concentrations of elements, problems in selecting and identifying appropriate sample media, and extensive transported overburden. These were encountered especially in more arid regions in Australia and Africa during exploration for Ni and Au during the 1970s and 1980s. This led to a change in approach, placing weathering and geochemical dispersion in the context of regolith and landscape evolution –a return to the early concept of landscape geochemistry. The 3D expression of mineralization in the landscape is depicted as empirical conceptual models, that account for both relict features and active processes, and portray element associations, dispersion mechanisms and host materials. They also indicate suitable sample media, sampling intervals and procedures for analysis and interpretation.  相似文献   

16.
This compilation and summary of geochemical exploration conditions in Norden is the second in a series of special issues on exploration geochemistry. The first issue dealt with the Canadian Cordillera and Canadian Shield. The conceptual models from the Canadian Shield form an integral part of the present volume. These studies are an attempt to pull together very extensive exploration geochemical information and define it in terms of a limited number of conceptual models.A total of 45 case histories are presented in this volume which cover various aspects of collection, analysis and interpretation of data from glacial till, stratified drift, organic deposits, stream sediments and water. These data are described in a relationship to the conceptual models outlined by Bradshaw (1975). An overall summary is given with respect to these models and also a summary is given of the relative importance of frost heave, transport by glaciation, transport by water and wind, multiple glacial transport, ion and molecular dispersion, groundwater transport, transport by capillary water, electrochemical transport and mixed dispersion.The final section contains 13 short articles dealing with methods of geochemical exploration which are presently used in the different countries of Norden.  相似文献   

17.
Strontium isotopes have been analyzed in a typical calcrete profile developed on granite in the Toledo mountains, Central Spain. The pedogenic carbonates show clear petrographic evidence of pseudomorphic replacement of the weathered parent granite.Calcretes display 87Sr/86Sr ratios between 0.70961 and 0.71059 in sharp contrast to the granite whole rock (0.72856) and minerals (0.71359 to 0.91351). This difference shows that the contribution of Sr from the granite to the calcretes is at most 33% and may be as low as 3%. Direct measurements in rains and aerosols show that the allochtonous source of Ca and Sr is clearly related to the atmospheric input, mainly as dry deposit.A slight decrease of Sr concentration is observed from the upper horizon composed of continuous calcrete to the deeper calcrete veins in the saprolite. This may be due to a kinetic control of the Sr/Ca fractionation, and different crystallization rates of the carbonates in the different units of the profile.Finally, local groundwaters have Sr isotopic compositions similar to the calcretes and the atmospheric input, very different from waters running on the granite.  相似文献   

18.
Highly anomalous Au concentrations in calcrete were discovered in 1987 at the Bounty Gold Deposit, Western Australia. A strong correlation was noted between the Ca, Mg, Sr and Au in soil profiles which have not only attracted the interest of mineral explorers but also chemists, soil scientists, metallurgists and climatologists. Gold has been considered an inert element and so its strong association with the alkaline earth group of relatively mobile elements is both remarkable and intriguing. Despite widespread interest, there have been few published papers on the Au-calcrete phenomenon. Here, we present work conducted on calcareous soil samples from above the Bounty mineralisation in Western Australia, prior to mining.Using SXRF (synchrotron X-ray fluorescence) and XANES (micro-X-ray absorption near-edge structure), we have shown for the first time the distribution of Au in calcrete and that it occurs in both particulate and ionic form. Much of the ionic Au associated with Br is found in a root tubule. The observations are consistent with an evapotranspiration model for the formation of Au in the calcrete; Au has been mobilised then precipitated as vadose water has been removed from the soil by trees and shrubs. While the association between Au and Ca is very strong in bulk sample analyses down the soil profile, other detailed analyses on sub-samples using wet chemical, LA-ICP-MS (laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry) and SXRF techniques show that it is not apparent at the sub-millimetre scale. This suggests that the Au and Ca are behaving similarly but independently and they do not (at the μm scale) co-precipitate with carbonate minerals.These results corroborate other studies that suggest biotic influences can affect the mobilisation and distribution of Au in surficial materials. Water-extractable Au in calcrete has been reported previously and the ionic Au described in this study likely represents that soluble component. The presence of easily solubilised Au in soils has been widely discussed and exploited for mineral exploration.  相似文献   

19.
Efficient exploration for new Au deposits is increasingly important as existing deposits become depleted. This is particularly relevant in Australia, where exploration can be difficult because of a thick regolith cover. New and effective methods of exploration need to be developed, and possibilities lie in geomicrobiological methods. For instance, Bacillus cereus, a common soil bacterium, has been shown to act as a biogeochemical indicator for concealed mineralisations, including vein-type Au deposits. We report the results of the first Australian case study of the association of B. cereus and Au at the Tomakin Park Gold Mine in southeastern New South Wales. Soil samples from the Ah horizon were analysed for B. cereus spores and 56 major and trace elements. The results show enrichment of Au, As, B. cereus spores and, to a lesser extent, Sb, Bi and Pb over the top of the Au deposit. Gold concentrations over the mineralisation range from 100 ppb to 1.1 ppm compared to a background of 2 ppb and As concentrations are enriched to 100 ppm from a background of 5 ppm. B. cereus spore counts were up to 10 times higher in soils with elevated concentrations of Au. Factor analysis indicates four main associations: TiO2+lanthanides+actinides; CaO+MgO+Cs+Be+Ba(+Ga+Pb+Rb); B. cereus+Au+As+Sb+Bi(+Pb); Fe2O3+MnO+Co+Ni+Cu+Mo. Selective sequential leaching was used to study the fractionation of Au and As in soils, other regolith materials and Au-bearing vein quartz to infer their mobility and bioavailability. In unweathered quartz vein material, the majority of the Au was extracted only in the strongest, final step, with aqua regia. However, in soils from the Ah horizon, 50% of the Au was present in the water-, ammonium acetate- and sodium pyrophosphate- and hydroxylamine hydrochloride-extractable fractions. In contrast, As displays little change in fractionation with an increasing degree of weathering, and is predominantly associated with the operationally defined Mn- and Fe-oxides and oxyhydroxides. These results indicate that: (i) Au is mobilised during the weathering of the host rock; (ii) Au is bioavailable in these soils; and (iii) the increase in B. cereus spores is likely to be linked to elevated concentrations of bioavailable Au in these soils. The results indicate also that an effective biogeochemical exploration technique may be developed, where B. cereus spore counts are measured in the field and used as a pre-screening method to target areas useful for further sampling and complete geochemical analysis.  相似文献   

20.
The formation of pedogenic carbonate (calcrete) in terrestrial environments is commonly mediated by microorganisms. In Australia, Au-anomalous calcrete is an important sampling medium for geochemical exploration, but current models describing its formation do not include a confirmed microbial component. This study demonstrates that bacterial communities in calcareous sands from dunes overlying the Barns Gold Deposit in semi-arid South Australia, are capable of mediating the biomineralisation of Au-anomalous carbonates. Bacterial enrichment cultures obtained from calcareous sands at three depths (0.1, 0.64 and 2.1 m, plus abiotic control) were incubated in urea and Ca2+-containing growth media (pH 8), unamended and amended with Au (100 parts-per-billion, ppb) as Au–aspartic-acid complex. During the incubation of the enrichment cultures urea was turned over to NH4+ within 96 h to 220 h. The solution pH increased concurrently by approximately 1.2 units, and Au-anomalous Ca-carbonate crystallites were precipitated on cells, which functioned as nucleation sites; no carbonate precipitation was observed in abiotic controls. Compared to the medium, Au was strongly enriched in these carbonates and appeared to be uniformly dispersed in the individual crystallites, as shown using LA-ICP-MS; a similar distribution is present in naturally occurring Au-anomalous calcrete. Phylogenetic 16S rRNA PCR DGGE analyses, shotgun cloning and functional microbial analyses (BioLog, ureC quantitative PCR) demonstrated that naturally occurring and culture-enriched bacterial communities were dominated by alkaliphylic, halotolerant Bacillus spp. The indigenous bacterial communities were capable of utilising amino acids (including l-aspartic acid) and urea, which appears to lead to the destabilisation of the Au–amino acid complexes and concomitant co-precipitation of Au in the Ca-carbonates. In conclusion, a model combining geomicrobial– with evapotranspiration– and plant-based components is likely to best describe the formation of (Au-anomalous) calcrete in semi-arid and arid zones.  相似文献   

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