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The Fractal Distribution of Gold Deposits: Two Examples from the Zimbabwe Archaean Craton

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Fractals and Dynamic Systems in Geoscience

Abstract

Gold deposits in two study areas in the Zimbabwe Archaean craton have fractal spatial distributions over a length scale from 2.5 to 25 km. The number of squares of side d necessary to cover every deposit is proportional to a power of the length of the square, and the number of deposits within a circle of radius r is proportional to a power of the radius. The fractal dimension, given by the exponent of the length scale in each method, is approximately 1. The fractal relations for both study areas are very similar. The distributions of deposits are interpreted as the result of hydrothermal mineralization by fractal fluid systems focussed in deformation zones.

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Blenkinsop, T. (1994). The Fractal Distribution of Gold Deposits: Two Examples from the Zimbabwe Archaean Craton. In: Kruhl, J.H. (eds) Fractals and Dynamic Systems in Geoscience. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-07304-9_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-07304-9_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-07306-3

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