Explained by Dennis P. Cox

On the choice of deposit models

Although no sediment-hosted gold deposits are known, shales and carbonate rocks in sedimentary sequences thickened by thrust faulting are permissive conditions for undiscovered deposits of this type.

On the delineation of permissive tracts

Paleozoic sedimentary rocks that were folded and thrust faulted during Mesozoic or earlier orogenies constitute the permissive tract. There are no known deposits or prospects.

On the numerical estimates made

Because of the lack of known deposits and the fact that this area is a great distance from the well-recognized deposits in northern Nevada, the team made a low estimate. For the 90th, 50th, 10th, 5th, and 1st percentiles, we estimated 0, 0, 0, 0, 1 or more deposits consistent with the grade and tonnage model of Mosier and others (1992).

References

Mosier, D.L., Singer, D.A., Bagby, W.C., and Menzie, W. D., 1992, Grade and tonnage model of sediment-hosted Au, in Bliss, J.D., ed., Developments in deposit modeling: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2004, p. 26-28.