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A two ounce gold nugget formed by supergene processes in tropical laterite soil.

The Supergene Effect: Gold Nuggets

In tropical environments, intense chemical weathering of a gold system breaks down primary sulfides, allowing gold to dissolve and reprecipitate to form nuggets in the overlying laterite soil..

  • The Opportunity: Chemical enrichment can turn a low-grade 1 g/t Au primary deposit into a 3 g/t Au oxide blanket near surface.

  • The Risk: Without a sophisticated geological model, "nugget effect" in the laterite and/or saprolite can result in misleading resource estimates and failed feasibility studies.

  • The Miners: Artisanal and small-scale gold miners (ASGM) also target the high purity gold nuggets that are in the relatively soft laterite and saprolite soils of the tropical regolith.

Aerial view of a cleared area with tree planting activity, showing small holes in the ground for saplings, a cluster of trees on the left, and a scale bar indicating 15 meters.
Three dimensional hand explicit modelling of gold-bearing quartz vein lodes at venice Gold Mine in Zimbabwe. 3D modelling software used for this is Micromine.

The Case for Hand-Explicit 3D Modelling:

Hand-explicit vein modelling integrates geological modelling with core logging results and assay data to visualize the gold-bearing veins and structures as close to reality as possible..

That way there are no surprises with infill drilling or running grade control for mine production.

Exploration Targeting in Laterite Terrain

In tropical savannah climate the water table sits much lower than in tropical rainforest climates. The gold-enriched lower laterite and upper saprolite are targeted by deep vertical pits. Some pits are up to 30 meters deep with underground side chambers.