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Gold Exploration in Tropical Landscapes

Part 4: The Formation of Tropical Regolith

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Background ... | Controls ... | Controls Cont'd ... | Review #4 ...

Background
Session Headings: Lateritization

You will cover the following points in Part 4: The

Formation of Tropical Regolith.
an overview of the lateritization
process
controls of lateritization
temperature
amount and temporal
distribution of rainfall
groundwater flow and
groundwater table fluctuation
Eh and ph conditions
throughout the regolith
profile
presence of sulphides
parent rock composition
structural deformation
physical erosion
topography
tectonic stability
paleotectonic and
paleoclimatic history

Lateritization
(See Summary for main points)
Many areas of the tropics have laterite regolith formed by lateritization, or tropical
weathering, of the bedrock. Lateritization starts at the earth's surface and
progresses downwards, attaining thickness ranging from 1 metre (m) to almost 200
m (Nahon (1991)). The process of lateritization results in the formation of a thick,
layered, and mostly residual weathering rind overlying fresh bedrock. This
weathered crust is composed of laterally extensive, sub-horizontal zones, each
exhibiting characteristic physical, chemical and biological traits. This resulting
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regolith cannot be uniform, because of the wide variety in climate, vegetation,

parent rock material, geomorphology and age. As long as climatic and tectonic
conditions remain stable, the weathering front continues downwards. Bedrock is
consumed and the landscape is progressively lowered by lateritization. This is
termed lateritic lowering. The stratified sequence in the regolith we encounter
today is a geologic snapshot of a dynamic system.
Rainwater falling on the surface of exposed lands is the essential vector of all
interface reactions. Rock weathering reactions are controlled by meteoric (rain)
waters and the atmospheric gases dissolved in it; mainly O2 and CO2 that permeate
rocks and minerals along fractures and mineral grain boundaries. When rainwater
infiltrates soil or rocks and reacts with organic matter or their constituent minerals,
its chemical composition varies during its percolation , establishing a vertically
moving reaction front.
Meteoric waters recharge the groundwater
table at depth, bringing the
dissolved gases along with it. The increased porosity and permeability of the
tropical regolith allows groundwater levels to reach to greater depths than the
unweathered bedrock in cooler climates. Most of the tropical rock weathering
occurs at or near the groundwater table.
Lateritization of bedrock involves a number of geochemical, rock destructive
processes, which are caused by large volumes of infiltrating, oxygen-rich and acidic
groundwater. Meteoric waters, acidic and oxygen-rich, infiltrate the soils and pass
through the laterite to recharge the groundwater system hosted by the regolith at
depth. Within these solutions, rock forming minerals (such as quartz, feldspar,
olivine, hornblende, pyroxene and biotite) break down.
Mineral weathering
Mineral weathering is the chemical alteration of minerals in the laterite regolith
resulting in the complete breakdown of the original mineral. This happens layer by
layer starting at the crystal face, or from the centre of a mineral outwards. Mineral
weathering is most active along mineral grain defects, such as twin planes, pits and
edges. Weathering of minerals causes weakening of the bonds holding the rock
together and it disintegrates. The weathering geochemical system has three main
variables:
rocksmineral constituents that compose the rocks and minerals are
formed in alteration assemblages associated with gold mineralized
systems;
rainwaterslightly acidic, oxygenated and most importantly periodic
(seasonal) and heavy at times; and
dissolved gasesoxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) found in rainwater
are strong reactants in the weathering of minerals.
Weathering of minerals releases cations such as Mg2+, K+, Ca2+ and Na+ into the
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surrounding groundwater. In addition, weathering of common rock-forming

minerals (feldspar, pyroxene, olivine) results in the formation of secondary
minerals, including clays (kaolinite, gibbsite, smectite), iron oxides (hematite) and
hydroxides (goethite) that are stable in the new wet, oxygen rich and acidic
environment. Groundwater flow washes the clays away, promoting physical
breakdown of the rock.
Sulphides (such as pyrite, chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite,
sphalerite and galena) are commonly part of the
alteration mineral assemblage associated with gold
mineralization. When exposed to an acidic and oxidizing
groundwater environment, they become progressively
oxidized into insoluble (solid) iron oxides, such as
hematite. Iron oxides impart the characteristic orangered colour to the laterite regolith.
When the water table drops (during dry spells) and these same solutions are
exposed to oxidizing conditions, precipitation of iron hydroxides (goethite) occurs.
Secondary clays break down and release silica in a process called desilicification.
Alumina is also released. The precipitated iron hydroxides, new silica and alumina,
and newly formed clays, form the basis of the laterite horizon.
The chemically resistant minerals (such as tourmaline, zircon and rutile) and any
remaining quartz vein fragments, concentrate in a band above the water table.
With progressive lateritic lowering, this band dries out and is incorporated into the
base of the overlying laterite horizon.
Residual accumulation during lateritic lowering, or land surface reduction, is clearly
implied (McFarlane (1976)). The lowering of the land-surface through lateritization
is important to keep in mind when considering the geochemical weathering
processes; there is no need for a mechanism to transport elements upwards; over
a multi-year time scale, the surface is moving downward and upper horizons
accumulate residual material from lower horizons through the process of lateritic
lowering.

Continue with Controls of Lateritization

Background ... | Controls ... | Controls Cont'd ... | Review #4 ...

Gold Exploration in Tropical Landscapes - January 24, 2014

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Background - Figure 1

Figure 1: Exploration geologist Jawas Dekba stands next to a road cut revealing massive hematite (in
red) at Vangold Resources' Mt Penck gold project, PNG; the hematite formed as a result of the
oxidation of sulphide-rich alteration associated with high sulphidation epithermal gold mineralization
(source: D. Voormeij).

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