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The Biogeochemical Cycling Of Gold Under Surface And Near-Surface Environmental Conditions, Jeremiah P. Shuster

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The mobility of gold at near-surface environmental conditions, e.g., supergene weathering environments, lateritic weathering systems, saline to hypersaline systems and placer gold environments, takes place as oxidised, soluble gold complexes and as reduced elemental gold. The transformation between aqueous and solid states of gold is attributed to the varying geochemical conditions that occur in dynamic environments that are catalysed in part by the biosphere. The primary focus of this research is the investigation of biogeochemical processes that contribute to the cycling of gold using laboratory models to represent various natural systems including chemolithotrophic bacteria, e.g., iron-oxidising bacteria, and heterotrophic sulphate-reducing …