Hi Jimbo,
The carbon leader style of gold deposits in the Witwatersrand (WWR) basin appear to be highly possible in the Pilbara and Hamersley Basin.
About 40% of the gold coming out of the WWR is attributable the Carbon Leader gold type .. pics below
View attachment 685170
View attachment 685170
The cross sectional view of a typical carbon leader gold reef is depicted below
View attachment 685176
Note from the schematic above that "Bitumen" is mentioned. That " bitumen" is the Carbon source in Carbon lead gold deposits.
Bitumen is a tar, as in Tar Sands oil deposits. Over tens to hundreds of millions of years later that "Tar", under heat and pressure will dry out and turn into a solid rock . The tar turns to Kerogen in rock form, commonly known as Oil Shale rock. With more heat and pressure that Kerogen turns will eventually turn into Graphite.
The WWR carbon leader gold is associated with all three carbon sources. Think of those 3 sources as carbonaceous Shale.
This link may help understanding it.
https://www.aig.org.au/wp-content/u...ial-for-Metal-Resources-from-Black-Shales.pdf
Shales are present in the Yilgarn province and the Hamersley basin in WA . So, if you are looking for carbon leader gold, hunt down shale sequences with sandstone above it.
I have seen these formations mentioned in WA reports.
We had the largest area in Australia of carbonaceous shales (Kerogen rock) and it was in Queensland .. tens of billions of tonnes of it. The shales also contained Gold. We were not looking for gold then and we sold the project as an oil and gas play. The shales contained all the metals that are shown in the article in the link.
I certainly know where there is lot more of it. Maybe it's time to dust off all the old reports and geochem results and revisit the free areas, this time looking for the gold potential.
I will check the shales in the Pilbara area over he weekend and post you.
In the meantime read the report attached
View attachment 685212
Check the Au grades in page 4 and the mention of the Rand style deposit hunt in page 5 .. the geology might give you a clue.
Cheers,
HR
Hope that helps
