“…For example, Alpers et al (1990) studied the stable isotopic composition of soil CO 2 over the Crandon deposit and found that anomalous concentrations reported by McCarthy et al, (1986) were derived from root respiration rather than from mineralization. Despite the complex and multiple origins of soil gases, numerous gas species (e.g., CO 2 , O 2 , Hg, Rn, He, sulfur compounds, and light hydrocarbons) appear to be related to buried mineral deposits (Carr et al, 1986;Klusman, 1993;Hale, 2000;Pauwels et al, 1999;Polito et al, 2002;Klusman, 2009;Muntean and Taufen, 2011;Noble et al, 2013). Specific ore bodies have been shown to contain varying amounts of light hydrocarbons having C chains of C 1 -C 9 and include methane, ethane and propane (Disnar, 1990;Hulen and Collister, 1999;Polito et al, 2002).…”