Native gold is naturally occurring elemental gold, ideally Au, and is the principal mineral form in which gold is recovered from many deposits. It occurs in hydrothermal veins, disseminated and structurally controlled deposits, and secondary placer concentrations produced by weathering and erosion. Natural gold may contain silver and other minor elements, while grain size, associations with sulfides, and degree of liberation strongly influence recovery methods.
These elements are often found is this element in the following Deposit Types:
Deposit Type: Orogenic Gold - Structurally controlled gold deposits formed from hydrothermal fluids during mountain-building and deformation.
Native gold is a principal visible gold phase in orogenic gold deposits, although gold can also occur in tellurides or invisibly within sulfides.