Invisible gold and arsenic in pyrite from the high-grade Hishikari gold deposit, Japan

Abstract Gold occurs as both electrum (a natural alloy of gold and silver) and invisible gold in arsenian pyrite in the Hishikari epithermal gold deposit in Japan. Microanalyses of arsenian pyrite from the deposit using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) revealed that Au concentrations (0.1–2600 ppm) are positively correlated with As concentrations (0.0–6.1%). A small (3 μm) area of pyrite was analyzed because the sample textures were fine and complicated. The Au/As ratio is high in the Sanjin ore zone, which has very high-grade veins, while the ratio is low in the Yamada ore zone, which has average-grade veins.