Abstract
Gold placer was discovered at Nonodake Hill in the mid-eighth century, making it the site of the earliest gold diggings in Japan. Watanabe (1935) was the first geologist to discuss the source of the placer gold, suggesting that it was derived from a Tertiary conglomerate containing rounded fragments of vein quartz, and that the primary source was pre-Tertiary gold veins in the Kitakami Mountains. Onoda (1942) agreed with Watanabe’s view. However, Yagyu (1953) suggested that the placer gold was derived from Tertiary gold veins on the northern side of Nonodake Hill. Taguchi and Ozaki (1994) undertook chemical analyses of particles of placer gold using a scanning electron microscope with an X-ray microanalyzer. Their results support Watanabe’s view on the primary source of the placer gold.
