In the Manelão deposit the gold is associated with quartz veins hosted in the São Manoel metavolcano-sedimentary sequence. At period Plio- Pleistocene, under a humid climate, an autochthonous and immature lateritic cover was developed on the São Manoel sequence. This lateritic cover contains gold particules of high purity suggesting lixiviation or remobilization and redeposition processes of Au-Ag in a lateritic enviroment. During Pleistocene the climate changed to arid or semi-arid favouring the erosion of the lateritic profile through colluvial processes associated with periodical floods. This colluvial deposit cover lateritic profile destroying a possible geochemical disperson of pattern of the supergenic gold and harming the geochemical exploration surface. At the end of Pleistocene and beginning of Holocene the humid climate condition returned and associated with the intemperic processes form stone line and latosols. The lateritic and colluvial cover were the source area for the current alluvial material of the São Manoel river, in which the gold occurs free in the lower sedimentary strata and forms concentrations around 10 g/ton.
climatic oscilations; Manelão gold deposit; lateritic gold
