Disseminated gold, without quartz veins, occurs in some types of Klondike Schist, typically near mineralized orogenic veins. The disseminated gold and sulphide minerals (mainly pyrite) are associated with a distinctive chlorite alteration and weak silicification of host rock. In drill core sections that contain mineralized discordant quartz veins there is a crude association between gold and arsenic. In sections that contain disseminated sulphide minerals and gold without quartz veins there is no apparent association between gold and arsenic. Compared to the Otago Schist, New Zealand, a similar orogenic belt that has gold mineralization without coeval magmatism, the Klondike Schist has much lower levels of arsenic in mineralized schist (up to 1000 times less) and in unmineralized host schist (typically 10 times less). The disseminated sulphide minerals associated with Klondike veins are important as they extend the exploration target for these veins.
