Morphology and Chemical Composition of Newly Discovered Alluvial Gold from Baia, Eastern Carpathians, Romania

This study documents the first-ever recorded occurrence of alluvial gold in the foreland region of the Eastern Carpathians, specifically within the Moldavian Platform, Romania, and presents the morphological analysis and the chemical composition of the newly discovered alluvial gold. A total of 115 gold particles, with a combined weight of approximately 0.50 g, were collected from three distinct sites within the Baia region, near Falticeni town. The native gold grains exhibit average length and width ranging from 3.93 mm to 2.50 mm in location #1, 0.43 mm to 0.30 mm in location #2, and 1.01 mm to 0.56 mm in location #3, respectively. The gold grains are rounded to sub-rounded and display discoidal to subdiscoidal shapes. Traces of the original quartz gangue are occasionally retained on their surfaces. The morphological analysis and the presence of quartz attached to the gold grains suggest a short transportation distance. Quantitative electron probe microanalysis conducted on 16 gold grains yields a silver (Ag) content between 0.56 wt% to 6.19 wt%. The primary source of the alluvial gold remains unidentified. We suggest that this could be orogenic gold type deposit.