Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analyses of silicates show high sensitivity for Au when an alkali metal primary beam is used in conjunction with detection of negative secondary ions and an electron flood gun for charge neutralization. Two approaches to analysis give good results: (1) Cs primary ions and high mass resolution analysis of secondary ions, and (2) K primary ions and energy filtering (50 ± 20 eV) of the secondary ions. The latter technique shows slightly higher sensitivity but requires modification of off-the-shelf SIMS instruments whereas the former technique is accessible to most magnetic sector SIMS as delivered. Study of National Institute of Standards and Technology glasses indicates detection levels below 100 ppb by weight (~10 ppb atomic).
New geologic mapping, petrology, and U-Pb geochronology indicate that Mesoproterozoic crust near Mount Rogers consists of felsic to mafic meta-igneous rocks emplaced over 260 m.y. The oldest rocks are compositionally diverse and migmatitic, whereas younger granitoids are porphyritic to porphyroclastic. Cathodoluminescence imaging indicates that zircon from four representative units preserves textural evidence of multiple episodes of growth, including domains of igneous, metamorphic, and inherited origin. Sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) trace-element analyses indicate that metamorphic zircon is characterized by lower Th/U, higher Yb/Gd, and lower overall rare earth element (REE) concentrations than igneous zircon. SHRIMP U-Pb isotopic analyses of zircon...