Arne et al. – The application of biogeochemistry to gold exploration in central Victoria The Application of Biogeochemistry to Gold Exploration in Central Victoria Dennis Arne 1 , Martin Hughes 2 , Barry Walters 3 & Helen Waldron 4 1. Western Australian School of Mines, Curtin University of Technology, Kalgoorlie, WA. 6433 arned@wasm.curtin.edu.au 2. P.O. Box 148N, Ballarat North, VIC 3350 mhughes@netconnect.com.au 3. Australian Geochemical Survey, 58 Glynns Road, Warrandyte, VIC 3113 bwalters@geochem.com.au 4. Becquerel Laboratories, Lucas Heights Science and Technology Centre, PMB1, Menai, NSW, 2234 naa@bq.com.au Abstract Biogeochemical prospecting has the potential for rapid ground coverage in areas of shallow to no basement cover. However, the successful application of the technique requires orientation surveys over areas of known mineralization to establish background to anomaly ratios, suitable indicator elements, the optimal variety of plant species and tissue type to sample, and the best collection procedures. Surveys have recently been carried out at Ballarat, Fosterville and Ararat in areas of known gold mineralization. Bark, leaves and twigs were sampled from eucalypts, acacias, and low bushes (Cassinia ). Cassinia shows a good correlation with areas of known mineralization with respect to both Au and As in areas of no cover. Blue gum (E. leuoxlon ), mess mate (E. obliqua ), and iron bark (E. sideroxylon ) also show less regular anomalism over areas of known gold mineralization, as well variations in Ba and Cr that can be correlated with changes in bedrock lithology. High field strength elements such as Ce, La, U and Th are also elevated in eucalyptus bark over the mineralized zones, where they correlate positively with the amount of Fe in the bark. These studies indicate that, with careful sampling to avoid dust contamination, biogeochemistry is a viable prospecting method in those areas of Victoria where a continuous cover of suitable plant species is available. 1 of 19 Pages