GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 603 

Gold in Meteorites 

And in the Earth's Crust 

Gold in Meteorites 

And in the Earth's Crust 

By Robert S. Jones 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 603 
United States Department of the Interior 

ROGERS C. B. MORTON, Secretary 

Geological Survey 

V. E. McKelvey, Director 

First printing 1968 

Second printing 1974 

Free on application to the U.S. Geological Survey, National Center, Reston, Va. 22092 
CONTENTS 

Abstract 

Introduction -------------------------------------------------------------

Gold in meteorites --------------------------------------------------------

Estimates of gold in the earth's crust --------------------------------------

References cited ---------------------------------------------------------

TABLES 

TABLE 1. Gold content of meteorites 

2. Abundance of precious metals in the earth's crust _________________ _ 

3. Abundance of precious metals in parts of the earth's crust ____________ _ 

III 

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GOLD IN METEORITES AND IN THE EARTH'S CRUST 

By ROBERTS. }ONES 

ABSTRACT 

The reported gold contents of meteorites range from 

0.0003 to 8.74 parts per million. Gold is siderophilic, 

and the greatest amounts in meteorites are in the iron 

phases. 

Estimates of the gold content of the earth's crust are 

in the range ~f 0.001 to 0.006 parts per million. 

INTRODUCTION 

This report is one of several that summarize 

available data on the occurrence of gold. They 

have been prepared as background material for 

the Heavy Metals program of the U.S. Geological Survey, an intensified program of search 

for new sources of heavy metals, including gold. 

Data on the occurrence of gold in meteorites 

and tektites are summarized, and recent estimates of the abundance of gold in the earth's 

crust are compiled. 

GOLD IN METEORITES 

Table 1 shows reported gold contents of 

tektites, aerolites, siderolites, and siderites. The 

table is arranged so that the data on tektites, 

which have the lowest iron contents, are at the 

top of the table and the data on siderites, which 

have the highest iron contents, are at the 

bottom. The other meteorite groups are intermediate in iron contents except for the siderolites. Gold is most abundant in the siderites and 

least abundant in the tektites; therefore, meteorites supply good evidence of the siderophilic 

character of gold. The tektites and the achondrites are relatively low in gold contents and 

are distinct from the other groups of meteorites 

in this respect. The gold contents of tektites 

and achondrites are of the same order of magnitude as those of terrestrial rocks. The other 

meteorites, on the average, contain appreciably 

more gold. 

Although the iron contents of meteorites are 

similar in many respects to those of mafic and 

1 

ultramafic rocks, the meteorites tend to contain 

much more gold. In chondrites, the golc, seems 

to be almost entirely in the dispersed netallic 

phase (Vincent and Crocket, 1960), and this 

is probably true of the other meteorite? .. The 

gold content of the metallic phase of the 

chondrites is about 1.4 ppm (parts per million), 

which is similar to the gold contents of siderolites, octahedrites, and ataxites (Vincent and 

Crocket, 1960; Goldberg and others, 19£~1). 

The carbonaceous chondrites are primitive, 

relatively undifferentiated matter from which 

the other meteoritic types have evolved (Mason, 

1962; Baedecker and Ehmann, 1965). The occurrence of gold in such primitive types may 

be of special interest. The average gold content for 13 carbonaceous chondrites is 0.16 

ppm, an amount greater than that in the average terrestrial rock by a ratio of about 40 to 1. 

It has been suggested (Aller, 1961) tl'at the 

best approximation to the average comp')sition 

of the earth's mantle or even the entire earth 

is provided by the composition of the chordrites. 

They are similar in chemical composition to the 

ultramafic rocks, and their isotopic constitution 

for several elements is basically the sr.me as 

that for the rocks of the mantle. 

Baedecker and Ehmann (1965) shew the 

abundances of gold, iridium, and platirum in 

four groups of chondrites. In the c livinebronzite (H group), the olivine-hypersthene 

( L group), and the carbonaceous chondrites, 

the abundance ratio of Pt :Ir :Au is approximately 7-9:2:1; but for the enstatite chondrites, 

gold is more abundant and the Pt :Ir :Au ratio is 

3.5:0.2 :1. The iridium shows a relatively large 

decrease with respect to gold. These values, 

however, represent only analysis of th€ Abee 

enstatite chondrite made by Baedecker and 

Ehmann (1965) by neutron-activation methods. 

Analysis of this same meteorite by Crocket and 
TABLE 1.-Gold content of meteorites 

Type 

No. of Gold content (ppm) 

meteorites---------

analyzed Range Average 

References 

Method 

Tektites 1 ----------------- 12 20.0003- 0.0242 0.0074 Neutron Baedecker and Ehmann (1965). 

activation. 

Aerolites: 

Achondrites : 

Calcium poor ----- 3 .0040- :1.030 .014 ----- do ----- Baedecker and Ehmann (1965); Baedecke~ (1967). 

Calcium rich ____ _ 4 .0019- .0078 .0037 ----- do ----- Do. Chondrites : 

Carbonaceous ____ _ 13 3 .10 - .23 .16 ----- do _____ Shcb.erbakov and Perezhogin (1964) ; Baede~ker and Ehmann 

(1965) ; Baedecker (1967); Crocket and others (1967). 

H~ez:stheneohvme ---------- 8 4 .10 - .19 .15 ----- do ----- Vincent and Crocket (1960); Shcherbako'· and PePezbogin 

(1964); Baedecker and Ehmann (1965). 

Bronzite ----------

Enstatite ---------

Siderolites 

Siderites: 

Hexahedrites ----------

Octahedrites ----------

9 

7 

3 

17 

1 

92 

6 .14 - .29 6 .13 - .37 

71.3 - 2.0 85 -10 

.43 - 1.17 

1 - 5 

9 .43 - 8.74 

0 -10 

.21 

.27 

1.5 

.67 

1.3 

104.7 

----- do -----

----- do -----

_____ do -----

Other -------

Neutron 

activation. 

Other -------

Neutron 

activation. 

Other -------

Do. 

Baedecker and Ehmann (1965); Baedecker (1967); Crocket 

and others (1967). 

Cobb (1967). 

Goldschmidt and Peters (1932). 

Goldberg and others (1951) ; Fouche anc:l Smales (1966) ; Cobb (1967). 

Goldschmidt and Peters (1932). 

Goldberg and others (1951); Fouche an~ Smales (1966); 

Cobb (1967). 

Noddack and Noddack (1930); Goldsch:-nidt and Peters (1932). 

Ataxites --------------

15 

20 11 .05 - 3.8 1.2 Neutron 

activation. 

Goldberg and others (1951) ; Fouche an~ Smales (1966) ; Cobb (1967). 

5 .5 -10 Other ------- Goldschmidt and Peters (1932). 

1 The origin of tekt1j;es is in doubt. 2 A tektite spherule contained 8 ppm Au (Baedecker, 1967). 3 A chondrule contained 0.11 ppm Au, and the matrix contained 0.13 ppm Au (Baedecker, 1967). 4 The metallic fraction of two meteorites contained 1.52 ppm Au, and the silicate fraction contained 0.0052 ppm Au (Bat>decker 1967). 5 The metallic fraction of two meteorites contained 1.00 ppm Au, and the silicate fraction contained 0.025 ppm Au (Baedecker, 1967). 6 The metallic fraction of two meteorites contained 0.95 ppm Au, and the silicate fraction contained 0.029 ppm Au (Baedecker, 1967). 7 The metallic fraction of two pallasites contained 1.9 ppm Au, and the silicate phase of three pallasites contained 0.046 ppm Au (Rae- decker, 1967). 8 Iron parts only. 9 The maximum value "probably gravely high" (Hey, 1966). 10 In obtaining the average, "-" was assumed to be 0.5 ppm Au, and several values reported as 5-10 ppm Au were a'!sumed to be 7.5 ppm Au. 11 Value of < 0.1 ppm Au assumed to be 0.05 ppm Au. 12 Value of 5-10 ppm Au assumed to be 7.5 ppm Au. 

others (1967), who also used neutron-activation 

methods, gives a somewhat different relationship. Their ratio for Pt :Ir :Au is 5.9 :1.5:1. 

The amount of platinum, iridium, and gold 

reported by Baedecker and Ehmann is 1.3, 

0.083, and 0.37 ppm, respectively; Crocket and 

others reported 1.3, 0.32, and 0.22 ppm, :respectively. The iridium-gold ratio of terrestrial 

rocks is more like that of tektites than it is like 

the ratios of the other meteorites (Baedeckler 

and Ehmann, 1965). 

The gold contents of the octahedrites do JlOt 

seem to vary with the coarseness of the 

octahedrites. Cobb (1967) noted that most of 

his vahles for gold in meteorites were in the 

range of 0.2 to 2.5 ppm. Cobb (1967) and 

Goldberg, Uchiyama, and Brown ( 1951) analyzed parts (three in all) of the same meteorite, 

and Cobb obtained lower values. The average 

values of gold in hexahedrites were also l<!>w 

2 

compared with those of Goldberg, Uchiyama, 

and Brown (1951). For the same 11 meteorites 

analyzed by neutron-activation methods by 

Goldberg, Uchiyama, and Brown (1951) and 

Fouche and Smales (1966), the average 

contents were 1.1 ppm gold and 0.9 ppm gold, 

respectively. 

The various types of siderites have differing 

amounts of gold. Ataxites and octahedrites 

have an average gold content of ab1ut 1.3 ppm, 

which is about twice that for hexahedrites (0.64 

ppm). The hexahedrites usually have less 

nickel than either the ataxites or the octahedrites. The Santa Catharina ataxite contained 

the most nickel ( 38.5 percent) and r.lso the most 

gold (4.0 ppm), but the Deep Springs ataxite 

(13.4 percent nickel) contained the least amount 

of gold (less than 0.1 ppm, but considered as 

0.05 ppm for table 1). 
Fouche and Smales. (1966) analyzed 70 siderites and found gold contents that ranged from 

0.055 to 3.61 ppm. The correlation coefficients 

between gold and rhenium and between gold 

and chromium were low and negative, giving 

values of -0.41 and - 0.31, respectively, but the 

correlation between gold and arsenic was +0.82 

and between gold and palladium +0.68. 

Goldschmidt and Peters (1932) analyzed the 

Coahuila, Mexico, meteorite and reported that 

it contained 1 to 5 ppm gold, whereas analysis 

by the neutron-activation method by Goldberg, 

Uchiyama, and Brown (1951) gave 0.743 ppm 

gold; by Fouche and Smales (1966), 0.70 ppm 

gold; and by Cobb (1967), 0.43 ppm gold. 

Goldschmidt and Peters (1932), analyzed the 

Mount Joy, Pa., meteorite and reported that it 

contained 5 to 10 ppm gold, whereas analysis 

by the neutron-activation method by Goldberg, 

Uchiyama, and Brown (1951) gave 0.994 ppm 

gold. These comparative values along with 

others in this report seem to indicate that lower 

values are obtained for gold when neutronactivation methods are used. 

ESTIMATES OF GOLD IN THE 

EARTH'S CRUST 

Parker (1967) has pointed out the difficulty 

in estimating the composition of the earth's 

crust, which forms less than 1 percent of the 

earth's mass (Aller, 1961). Differences among 

the estimates given by various authors since 

Clarke and Washington (1924) are due partly 

TABLE 2.-Abundance of precious metals 

in the earth's crust 

[n, first significant though unknown integer] 

Amount, in parts per million 

Ag Au Pt Reference and sample soull"ce 

O.On O.OOn O.OOn Clarke and Washington (1924); 

igneous rocks. 

.04 .0015 .00012 Berg (1929, p. 11). 

. 1 .005(?) .05 Fersman (1933); 10-mile crust . 

• 06 .006 .05 Schneiderhohn (1934); 16-km crust. 

.1 .005 .005 Goldschmidt (1934, 1937) and 

Rankama and Sahama (1950); 

igneous rocks . 

. 04 . 0015 .05 Anderson (1945) ; crust . 

• 1 .005 .005 Polanski (1948) ; 35-km crust. 

.1 .005 .005 Mason (1952, 1958) ; crust. 

.2 .OOn .005 Vinogradov (1956); crust . 

• 07 .0043 Vinogradov (1962) ; crust • 

. 0025 DeGrazia and Haskin (1964); 

igneous rocks. 

.075 .0035 .046 Tung and Chi-Lung (1966); crust. 

3 

TABLE 3.-Abundance of precious metals 

in parts of the earth's crust 

[From Tung and Chi-Lung, 1966] 

Amount, in parts }'P.r million 

Source Ag Au Pt 

Deep oceanic region ---------------- 0.098 

Suboceanic region ----------------- .082 

Continental shield region ---------- .067 

Folded belt region ----------------- .062 

Oceanic crust --------------------- .091 

Continental crust ------------------ .065 

Earth's crust --------------------- .075 

Crystalline rocks ------------------ .077 

Sedimentary rocks ----------------- .065 

0.004 

.0029 

.0034 

.0038 

.0035 

.0035 

.0035 

.0036 

.0051 

0.095 

.05 

.031 

.022 

.075 

.028 

.046 

.049 

to different concepts of what constitutes the 

earth's crust, the depth to the Mohorovicic 

discontinuity, the composition of the oceanic 

crust compared with the continental cru~t, and 

the changes in crustal composition with depth. 

Also, with respect to gold specificall:", the 

newer method of analysis, that of neutrc n activation, has resulted in a general downward 

revision of gold values. 

Table 2 gives the various estimates for the 

abundance of the precious metals, gold, platinum, and silver, in the earth's crust. Pr~'~ciousmetal contents of various parts of the earth's 

crust has been noted by Tung and Chi-Lung 

( 1966). These data are given in table 3. 

The estimates of gold and silver in the ~arth's 

crust have varied little since those of Clarke 

and Washington in 1924, although the estimates 

for platinum have varied substantially. The 

Ag :Pt :Au ratios, based on Tung and Chi-Lung's 

(1966) figures, are 21 :13:1. 

REFERENCES CITED 

Aller, L. H., 1961, The abundance of the elements: 

New York, Interscience Publishers, 283 p. 

Anderson, J. S., 1945, Chemistry of the earth: Royal 

Soc. New South Wales Jour. and Proc., v. 76, 

p. '329-345 . 

Baedecker, P. A., 1967, The distribution of gold and 

iridium in meteoritic and terrestrial materials: 

U.S. Atomic Energy Comm. [Pub.] OR0-2670-17, 

and Ph.D. thesis, Univ. Kentucky, 110 p . 

Baedecker, P. A., and Ehmann, W. D., 196fi, The 

distribution of some noble metals in meteorites and 

natural materials: Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, 

v. 29, p. 329-342. 

Berg, Georg, 1929, Vorkommen und Geochemie der 

mineralischen Rohstoffe : Leipzig, 414 p. 
Clarke, F. W., and Washington, H. S., 1924, The 

composition of the earth's crust: U.S. Geol. Survey 

Prof. Paper 127, 117 p. 

Cobb, J. C., 1967, A trace-element study of iron meteorites: Jour. Geophys. Research, v. 72, no. 4, p. 

1329-1341. 

Croc.ket, J. H., Keays, R. R., and Hsieh, S., 1967, 

Precious metal abundances in some carbonaceous 

and enstatite chondrites: Geochim. et Cosmochim. 

Acta, v. 31, p. 1615-1623. 

DeGrazia, A. R., and Haskin, Larry, 1964, On the 

gold content of rocks: Geochim. et Cosmochim. 

Acta, v. 28, p. 559-564. 

Fersman, A. E., 1933, Geokhimiya, Tom 1: Leningrad, 

328 p. 

Fouche, K. F., and Smales, A. A., 1966, The distributiJon 

of gold and rhenium in iron meteorites: Chern. 

Geology, v. 1, no. 4, p. 329-339. 

Goldberg, Edward, Uchiyama, Aiji, and Brown, Harris~n, 1951, The distribution of nickel, cobalt, g~lhum, palladium, and gold in iron meteorites: 

Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, v. 2, p. 1-25. 

Goldschmidt, V. M., 1934, Drei Vortage iiber Geochemie: Geol. Foren. Stockholm For h. v. 56 p. 

385-427. ' ' 

---1937, Geochemische Verteilungsgesetze der Elemente. IX. Die Mengenverhaltnisse der Elemente 

und der Atom-Arten: Norske Vidensk.-Akad. Oslo, 

Skr., Matematisk-Naturvidenskapelig Kl., 1937, no. 

4, 148 p. 

Goldschmidt, V. M., and Peters, Cl., 1932, Zur Geochemie des Edelmetalle: Gesell. Wiss. Gottingen, 

Nachr., Math.-Phys. Kl., no. 4, p. 377-401. 

Hey, M. H., 1966, Catalogue of meteorites: Brit!ish 

Mus. (Nat. History) Pub. 464, 637 p. 

Mason, Brian, 1952, Principles of geochemistry: New 

York, John Wiley and Sons, 276 p. 

---1958, Principles of geochemistry [2d ed.] : 

New York, John Wiley and Sons, 310 p. 

---1962, Meteorites: New York, Joln Wiley and 

Sons, 274 p. 

Noddack, Ida, and Noddack, Walter, 1930, Die Haufigkeit der chemischen Elementen: Naturw., v. 18, 

p. 757-764. 

Parker, R. L., 1967, Composition of the earth's crust: 

U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 440-D, 19 p. 

Polanski, Antoni, 1948, A new essay of evaluation of 

the chemical composition of the ear~h: Soc. Amis 

Sci. et Lettres Poznan Bull., Ser. B., v. 9, p. 25-46. 

Rankama, Kalervo, and Sahama, Th. G., 1950, Geochemistry: Chicago, Univ. Chicago Press, 912 p. 

Schneiderhohn, Hans, 1934, Die Ausnutzungsmoglichkeiten der deutschen Erlagerstatter : Metallwirtschaft 13, p. 151-157. 

4 

Shcherbakov, Yu. G., and Perezhogin, G. A., 1964, 

Geochemistry of gold: Geochemistry Internat., no. 

3, p. 489-496. 

Tung, Li, and Chi-Lung, Yio, 1966, The abundance of 

chemical elements in the earth's crust and its 

major tectonic units: Scientia Sinica, v. 15, no. 

2, p. 258-272. 

Vincent, E. A., and Crocket, J. H., 1960, Studies in the 

geochemistry of gold. II. The gold C')ntent of some 

basic and ultrabasic rocks and sto:-1e meteorites: 

Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, v. 18, p. 143-148. 

Vinogradov, A. P., 1956, Regularity of distribution of 

chemical elements in the earth's crus~: Geokhimiya, 

translation, no. 1, p. 1-43. 

---1962, Average content of chemical elements in 

the principal types of igneous rocks of the earth's 

crust: Geokhimiya, translation, no. 7, p. 641-664. 

G P 0 865·703