Editorial for Special Issue “Mineralogy, Geochemistry and Fluid Inclusion Study of Gold Deposits Endowed in Critical Metals”

The high global demand for critical elements required for continuously advancing technologies has intensified the research interest in gold deposits that are enriched in elements such as Te, Se, Bi, Sb, W, and Mo. These elements are traditionally recovered as by-products from gold (or base metal) deposits, however, the processes responsible for their concentration in the ore remain comparatively under-examined.

This Special Issue brings together six original contributions that provide new insights into the critical metal enrichment of gold deposits within a broad range of geological settings from almost all continents, highlighting the value of integrated mineralogical and geochemical approaches.

Shapovalova et al. investigated epithermal Au-Ag deposits in the Kamchatka region and report significant enrichment in Se, Te, Sb, and Bi, accompanied by complex organic-bearing fluid inclusions (contribution 1). Their results show the potential role of organic compounds in hydrothermal metal transport within such systems. Costafreda et al. present a comprehensive review of gold deposits hosted in island-arc and ophiolite terranes in eastern Cuba, emphasizing the influence of alteration processes such as serpentinization, listvenitization and rodingitization on the metal localization (contribution 2). Xia et al. examine the Axi deposit in the West Tianshan region of China and through fluid inclusion and multi-isotope analyses, reconstruct the temperature, salinity, and redox evolution of the ore-forming fluids (contribution 3). Han et al. investigate the Naizhigou deposit in northeast China, demonstrating the importance of magmatic-hydrothermal fluids and structural controls in a major granite-hosted gold system (contribution 4). Mercer et al. analyze rhyolitic magmas associated with Eocene Carlin-type mineralization in Nevada, demonstrating that felsic magmas may contribute to the critical metal budgets of large gold provinces (contribution 5). The sixth contribution by Coulibaly et al. provides a detailed assessment of the thermal and structural evolution, with fluid inclusion characteristics, of the Ity gold deposit and the nearby Dahapleu prospect in western Ivory Coast (contribution 6). Collectively, these contributions demonstrate the importance of integrating mineralogical, geochemical, isotopic, and fluid inclusion data to unravel the complex processes responsible for gold and critical metal enrichment.

We express our sincere appreciation to all authors, reviewers, and editors for their valuable contributions to this Special Issue. The findings presented herein provide a foundation for continued advancement in the study of gold deposits enriched in critical metals.