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18.12.2008

Why does gold occur where it does in the bedrock?

If we understood that we would be able to make new finds also in areas where we had not looked for it.

In his research into the Fäboliden gold deposit along the so-called Gold Line in Västerbotten in northern Sweden, Glenn Bark has studied the geological features that are important to the formation of gold deposits. What's more, the results are proving to be directly useful to the project's industrial partner and its current gold prospecting.

Gold from so-called orogenic gold deposits constitute a major portion of global reserves of gold. Glenn Bark has studied this type of gold deposit along the so-called Gold Line in Västerbotten. The main focus has been on the large gold deposits at Fäboliden in the central part of the Gold Line. This region of Sweden was previously a relatively unexplored area regarding the occurrence of gold. Now the Gold Line is regarded as a up-and-coming gold district with great potential for the future.

"In my research I am trying to understand in purely geological terms just why the gold occurs where it does in the bedrock. If we understand what it was that made the gold form precisely in Fäboliden, we can use that knowledge to find new gold fields in areas where nobody ever looked for gold," says Glenn Bark, who is submitting his dissertation On the Origin of the Fäboliden Orogenic Gold Deposit, Northern Sweden.

"I have examined the geological features that were important to the formation of the Fäboliden gold deposit, and my findings have proven to be directly useful to the project's industrial partner and its ongoing gold prospecting in the area. Through this collaboration, a new gold deposit of as yet unknown size has now been discovered in the Gold Line."

Information: Glenn Bark, phone: +46 (0)920-49 10 39; glenn.bark@ltu.se or Luleå University of Technology Chief Information Officer Lena Edenbrink, phone: +46 (0)920-49 16 22; cell phone: +46 (0)70-679 16 22, lena.edenbrink@ltu.se

Lena Edenbrink | Source: Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Further information: www.vr.se

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