Gold deposits and mineralization studies: A 2018-2022 Scopus-based bibliometric analysis

Gold is an important source of economic development and international relations. The accumulation of this element and the formation of deposits is an urgent research problem. The variety of types of deposits, conditions of their formation, and methods of deposit development are of interest to many researchers. Thus, in order to understand the demand for this area, a bibliometric analysis was carried out using the keywords "gold deposits" and "gold mineralization" for a five-year period. The database was acquired from the Scopus and included 793 articles from 77 countries. Statistical analysis was done using the VOSviewer and Mapchart software. Among top publishing countries China, Australia, and Canada took the highest ranks. Top 3 authors stand out as having a high H-index, which indicates their high qualifications in this field. The most popular journal publishing these studies is Ore Geology Review with 259 publications. However, the most cited articles are Earth-Science Reviews, Geoscience Frontiers, and Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. All of these journals are related to Earth and planetary sciences. The large gold mining provinces of China, Australia, and Canada are a key factor in the high publication rate among researchers.