Studies of populations of gold particles are becoming increasingly common; however, interpretation of compositional data may not be straightforward. Natural gold is rarely homogenous. Alloy heterogeneity is present as microfabrics formed either during primary mineralization or by modification of pre-existing alloys by chemical and physical drivers during subsequent residence in either hypogene or surficial environments. In electron-probe-microanalysis (EPMA)-based studies, the combination of Cu, Hg, and Pd values and mineral inclusion suites may be diagnostic for source style of mineralization, but Ag alone is rarely sufficient. Gold characterization studies by laser-ablation-ICP mass spectrometry linked to both quadrupole and Time-of-Flight (ToF-MS) systems show that only Ag, Cu, and Hg form homogenous alloys with Au sufficiently often to act as generic discriminants. Where present, other elements are commonly distributed highly heterogeneously at the micron or submicron scale, either as mineral inclusions or in highly localized, but low concentrations. Drawing upon our own data derived from individual inspection and analyses of approximately 40,000 gold particles from 526 placer and in situ localities worldwide, we show that adequate characterization of gold from a specific locality normally requires study of a minimum of 150 particles via a two-stage approach comprising spatial characterization of compositional heterogeneity, plus crystallographic orientation mapping, that informs subsequent targeted acquisition of quantitative compositional data by EPMA and/or laser-ablation ICP-MS methods. Such data provide the platform to review current understanding of the genesis of gold particle characteristics, elevating future compositional studies from empirical descriptions to process-focused interpretations.

对金颗粒种群的研究变得越来越普遍。但是，构成数据的解释可能并不简单。天然金很少是同质的。合金异质性是作为微织物存在的，该微织物是在初级矿化过程中形成的，或者是在随后存在于表观或表观环境中的过程中，通过化学和物理驱动力对已有合金的改性而形成的。在基于电子探针微分析（EPMA）的研究中，将Cu，Hg和Pd值与矿物质夹杂物组合在一起可以诊断矿化的矿床类型，但仅使用Ag并不足够。通过与四极杆和飞行时间（ToF-MS）系统相关联的激光烧蚀-ICP质谱法对金的表征研究表明，只有Ag，Cu，Hg和Hg经常与Au形成均质合金，以作为一般判别剂。如果存在，其他元素通常以微米或亚微米级别高度异质分布，既可以作为矿物包裹体，也可以高度局限但浓度低。根据我们对526个砂矿和全球原地进行的大约40,000个金颗粒的单独检查和分析得出的数据，我们表明，要对特定位置的金进行充分表征，通常需要通过两阶段研究至少150个金颗粒该方法包括成分异质性的空间表征以及晶体学取向映射，该方法可指导随后通过EPMA和/或激光烧蚀ICP-MS方法有针对性地获取定量成分数据。