A FRACTAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VEIN THICKNESS AND GOLD GRADE IN DRILLCORE FROM LA-CODOSERA, SPAIN

Analysis of quartz vein thicknesses and gold grades in drill core from western Spain indicates that both approximate a power law distributio n, suggesting an underlying fractal relationship. Log-log plots of cum ulative frequency (N) against vein thickness (t) show systematic chang es in relation to gold grade. The exponent D, in a power law of the fo rm N = C t(-D), is lower for higher gold grades, indicating that a gre ater proportion of the dilation is taking place on the thicker veins, which are interpreted as providing interconnected conduits for gold-be aring fluids. Thus, monitoring the vein thickness distribution may pro vide a means of discriminating mineralized and barren structures in ve in-hosted mineral deposits.