Geological setting of listwanite (carbonated serpentinite) at Atlin, British Columbia; implications for CO (sub 2) sequestration and lode-gold mineralization

Carbonate-altered serpentinite (listwanite) is commonly associated with gold mineralization, but also binds large quantities of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. At Atlin, listwanite alteration progressed through three carbonation reactions that resulted in the same overall mineral transformations as proposed for the industrial sequestration of anthropogenic CO (sub 2) by the process of mineral carbonation. Therefore, alteration of serpentinite to listwanite serves as a natural analogue to CO (sub 2) sequestration. Listwanite alteration is concentrated along faults and two orthogonal fracture sets, and extends tens of metres into the wall rock. One fracture orientation is preferentially mineralized. The carbonation reactions most [...]