A theory of where gold came from

[johnh001]

I also believe in the theory put forward by Ditherer & Son, most of the gold on earth is sitting about 6000 kms below us, we are just picking at the scraps.

 

[noncents]

Hi guys a very interesting read. I listened to Dr Karl on the ABC radio talk about the same theory. I just got a (silly) question why isn't there any gold found in the Illawarra, Sydney and Hunter areas? If gold came from a meteorites should it not be spread over the whole country?

Hi Noncents, unfortunately all the sydney -illawarra is sitting on mainly sedimentary rocks of marine and freshwater origin (with a few young volcanic vents popping through) that do not contain any substantive gold in concentrations you can look for. There is some gold on the western edge of these Sydney Basin rocks north of lithgow and also small quantities of gold in old river deposits trapped under younger lava flows that cap the rocks in a few isolated spots (eg. Mount Airley).

There is however lots of gold, hundreds of metres below the sydney -illawarra area in the much older Lachlan Fold Belt rocks (like at Hill-End -Bathurst) which underlie the sydney basin rocks.

The issue is alot of geology, rock forming, mountain building, volcanism and erosion has occurred over the 3 billion years since much (not all) of the gold was delivered to the planet by meteorites. Alas most gold we find relies on it being pressurised towards the surface by volcanic activity or molten mantle juices rising up through faults (that can also pick up gold on the way through gold bearing rocks in the crust).
hope this helps, RedDirtDigger

Thanks RedDirtDigger for that, it makes a lot sense .
Now I just have to find an old volcano near me

 

[Mr Boring]

Nundle or bathurst are probably the best bet from sydney. I say Nundle cause that I seen a crystalline nugget patch fro near nundle that blew me away!! The photos were online years ago but I cant find them now. I think Sydney is "Hawkesbury sandstone" under-lied with "Narrabeen shale" both sedimentaries. Interestingly,when i was a kid growing up in Sydney, the belief was that the Hawkesbury sandstone was only 100 thousand years old, until a sandstone quarry in Somersby on the central coast unearthed a aquatic reptile fossil dated at 300 myo...woops!!

 

[Mr Boring]

Nundle or bathurst are probably the best bet from sydney. I say Nundle cause that I seen a crystalline nugget patch fro near nundle that blew me away!! The photos were online years ago but I cant find them now. I think Sydney is "Hawkesbury sandstone" under-lied with "Narrabeen shale" both sedimentaries. Interestingly,when i was a kid growing up in Sydney, the belief was that the Hawkesbury sandstone was only 100 thousand years old, until a sandstone quarry in Somersby on the central coast unearthed a aquatic reptile fossil dated at 300 myo...woops!!

 

[Mr Boring]

if you google "nundle gold crystalline" The first pic looks like one of those Nundle bits I was referring to

 

[Mr Boring]

RedDirtDigger, gotta respect a slug like that!! Oddly enough, my biggest was a 47oz! was not as pretty as that one though.. What a beauty!

 

[Goldpick]

http://www.sciencewa.net.au/topics/...ct-structure-reveals-mineral-deposit-hotspots

I think the above linked article is a pretty interesting, with huge ramifications for possible future mineral exploration. Looks like we now have claim to the worlds largest and oldest meteorite impact structure, with too mamy coincidences with known gold mineralisation to be a considered a flight of fancy.

 

[GOLD Billyen]

I also believe in the theory put forward by Ditherer & Son, most of the gold on earth is sitting about 6000 kms below us, we are just picking at the scraps.

That's just silly...EVERYONE knows all the Gold is at 5000kms.

 

[Paydirt]

I want to mine black smokers

 

[Goldtarget]

http://www.sciencewa.net.au/topics/...ct-structure-reveals-mineral-deposit-hotspots

I think the above linked article is a pretty interesting, with huge ramifications for possible future mineral exploration. Looks like we now have claim to the worlds largest and oldest meteorite impact structure, with too mamy coincidences with known gold mineralisation to be a considered a flight of fancy.

Excellent link thankyou. Game changer.

 

[Goldpick]

Type Watchorn Impact into Google, and click on the CSIRO PDF link at the top of the page, interesting stuff!

 

[Ditherer and Son]

I want to mine black smokers

It was comments like this that lost the LA Clippers!

 

[Paydirt]

I want to mine black smokers

It was comments like this that lost the LA Clippers!

Just the ignorant owner.
And no I'm not rascist or have anything against smokers - as long as they stay out of my air

 

[Mr Boring]

On the subject of smokers and ocean deposits. when I worked on a prawn boat off Harvey Bay, occasionally we would pull up big black manganese balls, they would ruin the whole trawl cause they squash the catch. Apparently there are companies scooping these balls of the ocean bed of PNG. very interesting links, cheers goldpick and others

 

[GOLD Billyen]

The Ocean is the next Gold rush...got to wait for $5000 a oz though.

 

[GOLD Billyen]

Then at $20,000 a oz the moon.

That's right Alice...YOUR GOING TO THE MOON! Just one of these days. :lol: