eluvial placer

Eluvial placers are a type of placer deposit formed on hillslopes from weathered material. Unlike stream placers, they are not directly acted upon by streams but by rainfall and wind, which carry away lighter materials. This process concentrates heavier, stable minerals. Eluvial placers can be considered an intermediate stage in the formation of stream placers. Examples include early gold deposits worked in Australia and cassiterite placers in Malaysia.1

Placer mining involves extracting these concentrated deposits of valuable minerals, which are typically heavy and resistant to weathering, such as gold, tin, diamonds, and gemstones. The methods used depend on the specific characteristics of the deposit, including its size, depth, and the availability of water.12