LAUSR

Abstract Secondary mineral deposits have played an important role in the global mineral resource economy for over 50 years, with lateritic Au, Al, Fe and Ni deposits having a significant input to global metal production and reserves. In the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia, a deeply weathered mantle is commonly capped with 2–10 m of lateritic residuum (residual lateritic gravels and duricrust) and/or ferricrete (Fe oxide-cemented sediment), which formed under seasonally humid tropical and sub-tropical climates during the Cenozoic. The principal constituents of these units are goethite, hematite, maghemite, kaolinite and quartz. They are commonly overlain by younger, 2–10 m thick transported cover, deposited under later semi-arid conditions. Both ferricrete and lateritic residuum may host exploitable secondary gold deposits, typically small (