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| 1. Quartz Vein Hosted Gold | | | | The gold-bearing veins at Pickle Crow fill faults, shears and fractures in the various host rocks. Auriferous sulphide zones that are stratabound and contained within iron formation occur adjacent to shear zones in some areas. The gold is contained in quartz veins that are generally banded with tiny streaks of tourmaline, chlorite or sericite, and fracture fillings. Quartz is by far the main vein mineral along with lesser carbonates including siderite, ferruginous dolomite, and calcite. Minor albite, chlorite and sericite, and local traces of tourmaline and scheelite have been noted. Gold occurs principally in its native form at Pickle Crow. The main sulphide minerals are pyrrhotite and pyrite which combined are usually <2% of the auriferous material, along with trace arsenopyrite, magnetite, chalcopyrite, galena and sphalerite. Visible gold occurs locally in small quantities but generally cannot be identified macroscopically except in the mineralization from No. 2 vein which contains spectacular amounts of free gold. Gold has been deposited as a late mineral accompanied by galena and the late carbonate. Gold is molded upon or fills fractures in quartz, pyrite and arsenopyrite and it replaces pyrrhotite, sphalerite and chalcopyrite. | | |
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