SpringerLink
Log in

Gold-Bearing Placer Assemblages in the East of the Siberian Platform: Origin and Prospects

  • Published:
Geology of Ore Deposits Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

For the first time, based on a study of the typomorphic features of placer gold and its distribution patterns, the predicted gold potential of the east of the Siberian Platform is substantiated. The identified morphological and mineralogical–geochemical indicators in placer gold have made it possible to establish the genesis of placers (alluvial, aeolian, etc.) and predict the types of primary sources. Gold-bearing placers were formed from ore assemblages that do not form bed placers. This explains the noneconomic placers recommended for complex diamond, gold, and platinum mining. Detection of Witwatersrand-type gold-bearing conglomerates is problematic, since there are no geological prerequisites for their formation in a region. For the east of the Siberian Platform, the following assemblage types of primary gold sources have been identified: low-sulfidation gold–quartz, gold–iron–quartzite, gold–copper–porphyry, Precambrian gold–platinoid and gold–silver, gold–rare-metal, gold–sulfide–quartz of Mesozoic ore formation stages. All of these correspond to certain geological and structural positions, and their identification contributes to more correct selection of methods of prospecting for deposits. The predicted types of primary sources, except for gold–platinoid, are not associated with mafic magmatism. A new source of ore gold has been established in the ultramafic alkaline carbonatite complex of the Tomtor massif. Promising objects are Carlin-type gold–sulfide quartz ore occurrences, predicted in terrigenous carbonate sequences spatially confined to deep-seated faults, repeatedly rejuvenated in the Mesozoic–Cenozoic, as well as Cripple Creek–type gold–silver occurrences in the Vilyui and Udzha paleorifts, where andesite–dacite volcanism had occurred.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 7.
Fig. 8.
Fig. 9.
Fig. 10.
Fig. 11.

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Hereinafter, the letter “f” marks the production reports stored in the State Unitary Enterprise “Geological Information Fund of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia).”

REFERENCES

  1. Badanina, I.Yu., Malich, K.N., Goncharov, M.M., and Tuganova, E.V., Noble metal placers of the Guli massif (northern Siberian Platform): new data on unusual Au and PGE mineral associations, Tipomorfizm mineral’nykh assotsiatsii, usloviya obrazovaniya mestorozhdenii, zadachi prikladnykh issledovanii: Mater. Vseross. Konf. k 100-letiyu N.V. Petrovskoi. Samorodnoe zoloto (Typomorphism of Mineral Associations, Conditions of Deposit Formation, and Problems of Applied Studies. Proc. All-Russian Conference Dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of N.V. Petrovskaya. Native Gold), Moscow: IGEM RAN, 2010, pp. 56–59.

  2. Baranov, L.N., Tolstov, A.V., Okrugin, A.V., and Sleptsov, A.P., New in mineralogy and geochemistry of apatite–magnetite ores of the Tomtor massif, Northeastern Siberian Platform, Rudy Metally, 2018, no. 2, pp. 42–54.

  3. Belov, S.V., Lapin, A.V., Tolstov, A.V., and Frolov, A.A., Minerageniya platformennogo magmatizma (trappy, karbonatity, kimberlity) (Metallogeny of Platform Magmatism: Traps, Carbonatites, Kimberlites), Novosibirsk: Izd-vo SO RAN, 2008.

  4. Bilibin, Yu.A., Osnovy geologii rossypei (Principles of Placer Geology), Moskva: Izd-vo AN SSSR, 1938. 471 s.

  5. Bulakh, A.G. and Ivannikov, V.V., Problemy mineralogii i petrologii karbonatitov (Problems of Mineralogy and Petrology of Carbonatites), Leningrad: Nedra, 1984.

  6. Cherskii, N.V., Bogatstvo nedr Yakutii (Wealth of the Yakutia Interior), Yakutskknigizdat, 1957. 164 s.

  7. Dodin, D.A., Metallogeniya Taimyro-Noril’skogo regiona (Metallogeny of the Taimyr–Norilsk Region), St. Petersburg, 2002.

  8. Report on the State of Fundamental Sciences in the Russian Federation and Most Important Scientific Achievements of Russian Scientists in 2014. Important Achievements in 2014. Earth’s Sciences, Moscow, 2014.

  9. Filippov, V.E. and Nikiforova, Z.S., Formirovanie rossypei zolota pod vozdeistviem eolovykh protsessov (Formation of Gold Placers under the Influence of Eolian Processes), Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1998.

  10. Filippov, V.E. and Nikiforova, Z.S., Transformation of native gold particles in eolian process, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1988, vol. 299, no. 5, pp. 1229–1232.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Gerasimov, B. B. and Nikiforova, Z.S., Indicator features of placer gold as criteria for prediction of different types of gold occurrences: evidence from the Anabar district, Geologiya i mineral’no-syr’evye resursy Severo-Vostoka Rossii: Mater. VI Vseross. nauch.-prakt. Konf (Geology and Mineral-Raw Resources of Northeast Russia. 6th All-Russian Scientific-Practical Conference), Yakutsk, 2016a, pp. 41–44.

  12. Gerasimov, B. B. and Pavlov, V. I., Mineralogy of placer gold in the eastern surrounding of the Anabar shield, Geologiya i mineral’no-syr’evye resursy Severo-Vostoka Rossii: Mater. V Vseross. nauch.-prakt. Konf (Geology and Mineral-Raw Resources of Northeast Russia. Proc. 5th Scientific-Practical Conference), Yakutsk, 2015, pp. 113–116.

  13. Gerasimov, B.B. and Nikiforova, Z.S., Superposition of ore mineralization on placer occurrence of the Kamenistyi Brook, northeastern Siberian Platform, Otechestvennaya Geol., 2016b, no. 6, pp. 62–67.

  14. Glushkova, E.G., Typomorphic Signs of Native Gold in the Placer Occurrences of the Middle Lena Basin, Southeast Siberian Platform, Extended Abstract of Candidate’s (Geol.-Min.) Dissertation, Novosibirsk: IGM SO RAN, 2009.

  15. Glushkova, E.G. and Nikiforova, Z.S., On the bedrock sources of placer gold of the Urin anticlinirum (southeastern Siberian Platform), Tikhookean. Geol., 2013, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 118–123.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Izbekov, E.D., Obrazovanie i evolyutsiya rossypei (Formation and Evolution of Placers), Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1985.

  17. Izbekov, E.D., Sistema korennoi istochnik-rossyp' (Bedrock Source–Placer System), Yakutsk: Yakutskii nauchnyi tsentr SO RAN, 1995.

  18. Izbekov, E.D., Razin, L.V., and Starostin, V.I., Metallogenic criteria and typomorphic features of the geological history of the formation of the Witwatersrand giant gold complex deposits on South Eastern Platform, which are typical for the formation of their analogues in the northern segment of the eastern Siberian Platform, Izv. Sekts. Nauk Zemle RAEN, 2012, vol. 22, pp. 138–147.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Kassandrov, E.G. and Marinich, V.A., On the gold potential of BIFs of the Aldan Shield, Geol. Geofiz., 1979, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 87–91.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Kazhenkina, A.G. and Nikiforova, Z.S., Prediction of possible bedrock sources of the gold–PGE mineralization at the territory of the Lena–Vilyui interfluve (eastern Siberian Platform), Vestn. St.-Petersb. Univ., Nauki o Zemle, 2018, vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 520–532.

  21. Kogarko, L.N. and Senin, V.G., The first find of native gold in parent rocks of the Gulinskii massif (Polar Siberia), Dokl. Earth Sci., 2011, vol. 441, no. 1, pp. 1512–1513.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Kogarko, L.N., Ukhanov, A.V., and Nikol’skaya, N.E., New data on the PGE content in the rocks of the ijolite–carbonatite formation (Guli and Kugda massifs, Maimecha-Kotui Province, Polar Siberia), Geokhimiya, 1994, no. 1, pp. 1568–1577.

  23. Kolpakov, V.V., On the fossil deserts of the lower reaches of the Lena River, Byull. Kom. Izuch. Chetvert. Perioda, 1970, no. 37, pp. 76–82.

  24. Konstantinov, M.M., Zolotorudnye provintsii mira (Gold Province of the World), Moscow: Nauchnyi mir, 2006.

  25. Kravchenko, A.A., Smelov, A.P., Berezkin, V.I., Zedgenizov, A.N., and Dobretsov, V.N., Nature of gold mineralization of the Early Proterozoic Billyakh granitoid complex based on geochemical data (Anabar Shield), Otechestvennaya Geol., 2010, no. 5, pp. 23–29.

  26. Mikhailov, V.A., Sources of Metal-Bearing Deposits of the Vilyui Syneclise, Extended Abstract of Candidate’s (Geol.-Min) Dissertation, Tomsk: TGU, 1990.

  27. Mikhailov, V.A. and Gavril’ev, N.N., Role of orogenic complexes of the Vilyui syneclise in the gold potential of its platform cover, Izv. AN SSSR. Ser. Geol., 1976, no. 12, pp. 110–118.

  28. Milanovskii, E.E., Riftogenez v istorii Zemli: Riftogenez na drevnikh platformakh (Rifting in the Earth’s history: Rifting on the Ancient Platforms), Moscow: Nedra, 1983.

  29. Nikiforova, Z.S., Tipomorfizm rossypnogo zolota kak pokazatel' rossypei i korennykh istochnikov (vostok Sibirskoi platformy) (Typomorphism of Placer Gold as an Indicator of Placers and Bedrock Sources (Eastern Siberian Platform)), Extended Abstract of Doctoral (Geol.-Min.) Dissertation), Novosibirsk, 2014.

  30. Nikiforova, Z.S., Typomorphic features of flake gold and its evolution in exogenic conditions, Topomineralogiya i tipomorfizm mineralov (Topomineralogy and Typomorphism of Minerals), Yakutsk, 1988, pp. 83–93.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Nikiforova, Z.S., Bazilevskaya, R.V., and Gerasimov, B.B., On the finds of ore gold in the Ebelyakh River basin, northeastern Siberian Platform, Otechestvennaya Geol., 2006, no. 5, pp. 48–52.

  32. Nikiforova, Z.S. and Filippov, V.E., Pseudo-ore gold in ancient conglomerates, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1990, vol. 311, no. 2, pp. 455–457.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Nikiforova, Z.S., Filippov, V.E., and Gerasimov, B.B., Influence of eolian processes on placer formation during various epochs of the Earth’s evolution, Russ. Geol. Geophys., 2005, vol. 46, no. 510–520.

  34. Nikiforova, Z.S., Gerasimov, B.B., Glushkova, E.G., and Kazhenkina, A.G., Indicative features of placer gold for the prediction of the formation types of gold deposits (east of the Siberian Platform), Russ. Geol. Geophys., 2018, vol. 59, no. 10, pp. 1318–1329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Nikiforova, Z.S., Gerasimov, B.B., Glushkova, E.G., and Kazhenkina, A.G., Gold resource potential of the eastern Siberian Platform: placers and their feeding sources, Geol. Ore Deposits, 2013, vol. 55, no. 4, pp. 265–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Nikiforova, Z.S., Gerasimov, B.B., and Tulaeva, E.G., Genesis of gold-bearing placers and their possible sources (eastern Siberian Platform), Lithol. Miner. Resour., 2011, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Nikiforova, Z.S. and Evensen, G.V., On the problem of genesis of epithermal gold deposits in the Lena–Vilyui interfluve, Rudogenez: Mater. mezhdunar. Konf.(Ore Genesis. Proc. Intern. Conf.), Miass, 2008, pp. 203–206.

  38. Nikiforova, Z.S., Evensen, G.V., and Filippov, V.Ye., Manifestations of volcanic activity in the lena-vilyui interfluve and its association with gold mineralization, International Symposium Large Igneous Provinces of Asia, Mantle Plumes, and Metallogeny, Novosibirsk, 2007, pp. 182–184.

  39. Obruchev, V.A. Olekminsko-Vitimskii zolotonosnyi raion. Geologicheskii obzor zolotonosnykh raionov Sibiri. Vostochnaya Sibir’ (Olekma–Vitim Gold District. Geological Review of Gold Districts of Siberia. East Siberia), Moscow: 1923, Vol. 2.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Petrov, A.F., Ob"yasnitel’naya zapiska k gosudarstvennoi geologicheskoi karte SSSR masshtaba 1 : 200 000 (list O-50-XVIII - Seriya Bodaibinskaya) (Explanatory Note to State Geological Map of the USSR on a Scale 1 : 200 000 (Sheet O-50-XVIII—Bodaibo Series), Moscow: Gosgeoltekhizdat, 1978.

  41. Petrovskaya, N.V., Novgorodova, M.I., and Frolova, K.E., On nature of structures and substructures of endogenous native gold, Mineralogiya samorodnykh elementov (Mineralogy of Native Elements), Vladivostok: DVNTs AN SSSR, 1980, pp. 10–20.

  42. Rodionov, N.T., Geomorphology and Placer Gold Potential of the Middle Lena Region, Extended Abstracts of Candidate’s (Geol.-Min.) Dissertation, Kazan’, 1973.

  43. Rozhkov, I.S. and Pisemskii, G.V., Problems of the gold potential of ancient conglomerates, Geol. Rudn. Mestorozhd., 1966, vol. 8, no. 5, pp. 116–118.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Rzhonsnitskii, A.G., Route studies in the eastern Lena–Vilyui interfluve, Izv. Geolkoma, 1918, no. 1, pp. 72–75.

  45. Shpunt, B.R., Genetic types of gold occurrences in the northeastern Siberian Platform, Uch. Zap. NIIGA. Regional. Geol., 1970, pp. 5–15.

    Google Scholar 

  46. Shpunt, B.R., Shamshina, E.A., Shapovalova, I.G., et al., Dokembrii Anabaro-Olenekskogo mezhdurech’ya (Precambrian of the Anabar–Olenek Interfluve), Novosibirsk: Nauka. Sib. otd-nie, 1976.

  47. Smelov, A.P., Amuzinskii, V.A., Zedgenizov, A.N., Berezkin, V.I., and Koval’, S.G., Prospects of bedrock gold potential of metamorphic and magmatic complexes of the Anabar shield, Zoloto Sibiri i Dal’nego Vostoka (Gold of Siberia and Far East), Ulan-Ude, 2004, pp. 279–281.

  48. Timofeev, V.I., On the placer gold potential of the Vilyui River, Razved. Okhr. Nedr, 1965, no. 6, pp. 1–5.

  49. Timofeev, V.I., Nesterov, N.V. and Shpunt, B.R., Gold content of western Yakutia, Materialy po geologii i poleznym iskopaemym Yakutskoi ASSR (Proceedings on Geology and Mineral Resources of the Yakutian ASSR), Yakutsk, 1970, vol. 17, pp. 103–110.

  50. Tolstov, A.V., Glavnye rudnye formatsii Severa Sibirskoi platform (Main Ore Formations of the Northern Siberian Platform), Moscow: IMGRE, 2006.

  51. Tolstov, A.V., Gold mineralogy and geochemistry of the northwestern Yakutia and prospects of the gold potential of the Anabar shield, Vestn. Voronezhsk. Gos. Univ. Ser: Geol., 1999, no. 8, pp. 194–197.

  52. Tolstov, A.V., Prospects of the gold potential of the Anabar anteclise, Vestn. Goskomgeol., 2002, no. 1, pp. 44–49.

  53. Trushkov, Yu.N., Izbekov, E.D., Tomskaya, A.I., and Timofeev, V.I., Zolotonosnost’ Vilyuiskoi sineklizy i ee obramleniya (Gold Potential of the Vilyui Syneclise and its Framing), Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1975.

  54. Vinogradov, V.A., Krasil’shchikov, A.A., and Gorina, I.G., On gold sources on the Olenek Rise, Materialy po geologii i poleznym iskopaemym Yakutskoi ASSR (Proceedings on Geology and Mineral Resources of the Yakutian ASSR), Yakutsk, 1967, vol. 15, pp. 114–119.

    Google Scholar 

  55. Zverev, V.N., Settings of gold potential of the Vilyui area, Izv. Geolkoma, 1925, vol. 44, no. 5, pp. 539–562.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to the anonymous referees for helpful comments.

Funding

The study was with the financial support of the government project of the Institute of Geology of Diamond and Precious Metals, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, NIGP AK ALROSA (PJSC), and support from the Russian Science Foundation (grant no. 18-17-00120).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geology of Diamond and Precious Metals, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 677980, Yakutsk, Russia

    Z. S. Nikiforova

  2. Research Geological Enterprise AK ALROSA (PJSC), 678170, Mirny, Russia

    A. V. Tolstov

Authors
  1. Z. S. Nikiforova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. V. Tolstov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Z. S. Nikiforova or A. V. Tolstov.

Ethics declarations

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nikiforova, Z.S., Tolstov, A.V. Gold-Bearing Placer Assemblages in the East of the Siberian Platform: Origin and Prospects. Geol. Ore Deposits 64, 1–25 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1075701522020027

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1075701522020027

Keywords:

Search

Navigation