While gold partitioning into hydrothermal fluids responsible for the formation of porphyry and epithermal deposits is currently well understood, its behavior during the differentiation of metal-rich silicate melts is still subject of an intense scientific debate. Typically, gold is scavenged into sulfides during crustal fractionation of sulfur-rich mafic to intermediate magmas and development of native forms and alloys of this important precious metal in igneous rocks and associated ores are still poorly documented. We present new data on gold (Cu-Ag-Au, Ni-Cu-Zn-Ag-Au, Ti-Cu-Ag-Au, Ag-Au) alloys from iron oxide deposits in the Lesser Khingan Range (LKR) of the Russian Far East. Gold alloy particles are from 10 to 100 µm in size and irregular to spherical in shape. Gold spherules were formed through silicate-metal liquid immiscibility and then injected into fissures surrounding the ascending melt column, or emplaced through a volcanic eruption. Presence of globular (occasionally with meniscus-like textures) Cu-O micro-inclusions in Cu-Ag-Au spherules confirms their crystallization from a metal melt via extremely fast cooling. Irregularly shaped Cu-Ag-Au particles were formed through hydrothermal alteration of gold-bearing volcanic rocks and ores. Association of primarily liquid Cu-Ag-Au spherules with iron-oxide mineralization in the LKR indicates possible involvement of silicate-metallic immiscibility and explosive volcanism in the formation of the Andean-type iron oxide gold-copper (IOCG) and related copper-gold porphyry deposits in the deeper parts of sub-volcanic epithermal systems. Thus, formation of gold alloys in deep roots of arc volcanoes may serve as a precursor and an exploration guide for high-grade epithermal gold mineralization at shallow structural levels of hydrothermal-volcanic environments in subduction zones.

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Some geological, petrochemical, and geochemical characteristics of carbonaceous shales as a new unconventional natural source of gold and PGE are considered by the example of the Kimkan and Sutyr’ units of the Bureya massif (southern Far East, Russia). It is shown that shales of the units belong to the terrigenous-carbonaceous and siliceous-carbonaceous formations. They accumulated in deep-water trenches, and the active continental margin was probably their main provenance. The carbonaceous terrigenous-sedimentary units and precious-metal ores in them show specific petrochemical characteristics different for complexes with predominantly PGE and gold mineralization. According to these characteristics, carbonaceous complexes with high Fe contents, low total contents of alkalies, and high K/Na ratios are promising for PGE-rich ores. Gold ores are usually localized in black-shale strata with high total contents of alkalies and low K/Na. In this respect, the shales and Fe-ores of the Kimkan unit obviously contain high-PGE mineralization, while the rocks of the Sutyr’ unit can bear gold deposits. We assume that the PGE mineralization is genetically related to the formation and transformation of carbonaceous rocks. At the same time, most of gold in the carbonaceous shales is native and is not related to carbon; it is present in mineral assemblages resulted from superimposed sulfidization and silicification.

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