Gold in Magmatic Hydrothermal Solutions and the Rapid Formation of a Giant Ore Deposit

Abstract

The Ladolam hydrothermal system, on Lihir Island, Papua New Guinea, hosts one of the youngest and largest gold deposits in the world. Several deep (more than 1 kilometer) geothermal wells were drilled beneath the ore bodies to extract water at >275 degrees C and to facilitate open-pit mining. Using a titanium down-hole sampler, we determined that the deep geothermal brine of magmatic origin contains approximately 15 parts per billion gold. At the current gold flux of 24 kilograms per year, this deposit could have formed within approximately 55,000 years. The combination of sustained metal flux and efficient metal precipitation led to the formation of a giant hydrothermal gold deposit in a short period.