Self-similar fractal analysis of gold mineralization of Dayingezhuang disseminated-veinlet deposit in Jiaodong gold province, China

The mineralization degree in drifts in the Dayingezhuang disseminated-veinlet gold deposit in Jiaodong gold Province, China, can be categorized into non-mineralized, weakly mineralized, moderately mineralized and intensely mineralized ranks based on the number of the gold grades greater than cut-off. The grades sampled equidistantly and continuously along different drifts at - 140 m, - 175 m and - 210 m levels of the deposit are systematically calculated via the self-similar fractal model. The grade distributions often show bifractal characteristics, including two or three non-scale ranges. It shows that with the increase of mineralized rank, the fractal dimension of the second non-scale range decreases and the corresponding threshold becomes greater. The dimension decrease comes from the increase of proportion of the wider microfracture in the ore-controlling structure system; and the threshold increase is a result from the magnitude elevation of the microfractures from the extension-shear zone to compression-shear zone. The smaller fractal dimension means the proportion of the higher gold grades increases, suggesting the thickness of the orebody is proportional to its mean gold grade. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.