Where do placer deposits occur?

Placers can be found in rivers (alluvial placers) and on the coast, particularly in beaches (beach placers). In some locations, the ore minerals that initially were concentrated into a beach placer have been blown inland by coastal winds to form mineral-rich dune sands.

What chemical elements are typically concentrated in a supergene enrichment?

Supergene enrichment occurs at or near the base of the weathering profile developed over deep-seated sulfide deposits or rocks enriched in Ni, Cu, and Co.

What is supergene deposit?

In ore deposit geology, supergene processes or enrichment are those that occur relatively near the surface as opposed to deep hypogene processes. Supergene processes include the predominance of meteoric water circulation (i.e. water derived from precipitation) with concomitant oxidation and chemical weathering.

What is supergene hypogene?

Supergene is a term used to describe near-surface processes and their products, formed at low temperature and pressure by the activity of descending water and gas. The opposite term is hypogene, formed by ascending water and gas at high temperature and pressure.

What is a hypogene ore mineral?

Minerals that precipitate directly out of the ascending thermal fluid are called primary or hypogene minerals. In contrast to secondary, or supergene minerals, the hypogene minerals have not undergone any alteration caused by descending fluids.

Which valuable mineral is commonly found as a placer deposit?

Mineral Deposits The most common placer deposits are those of gold, platinum group minerals, gemstones, pyrite, magnetite, cassiterite, wolframite, rutile, monazite, and zircon. The California gold rush in 1849 began when someone discovered rich placer deposits of gold in streams draining the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Is placer gold worth anything?

Placer gold does have value, if you want it to be worth more, you just have to find a large amount of it. Gold is considered a currency, even those pieces that are not refined down into gold bars or coins. As such, the value of the gold does fluctuate every year and even daily in some cases.

How is a supergene formed?