Copper creek is an early halo type copper porphyry system early halo type deposits are frequently recognized in major copper districts worldwide early halo copper porphyry deposits tend to be large and highgrade systems, including. Breccias associated with porphyry copper deposits have been a source of fascination for many researchers. In later stages, circulating meteoric fluids may interact with the magmatic. Using add reply allows you to attach images or pdf files and provide a more complete input. Porphyry copper depositsthe primary source of the worlds copper are a consequence of the degassing of intrusion complexes in magmatic arcs associated with ancient subduction zones 1,2. These are large scale magmatichydrothermal systems associated with a series of porphyritic intrusions, which result in extensive alteration footprints that we map and model to target high grade copper gold mineralization. The main lithostratigraphic units in the district are the cretaceous managa group cansi. Transitions between porphyry copper deposits and highsulfidation epithermal gold deposits also have been proposed sillitoe, 1973, 1983, 1988, 1989. Porphyry copper deposits of the american cordillera. Hache on a widely adopted copper porphyry system model published in 2010, created by dr. Please click on the service to which you have a subscription to obtain access. Giant porphyryrelated metal camps of the worlda databas. Society of economic geologists this article is available from multiple sources.
The presence of intraarc fault systems are beneficial, as they can localize porphyry. Generalized alteration mineralisation zoning pattern for telescoped porphyry cu deposits sillitoe, 2010. Porphyry copper deposits are copper ore bodies that are formed from hydrothermal fluids that. Porphyry copper deposit model, chapter b of mineral deposit. Because some porphyry mo deposits contain significant w, the few papers that document mow and w porphyry deposits are also provided in this subsection. Richard sillitoes observations and interpretations e.
Sillitoe, based on his many decades of study of hundreds of porphyry deposits worldwide. Schematic map of the central asian orogenic belt after shen et al. This alteration consists of propylitic and argillic types with localized patches of silicification and advanced argillic alteration. Porphyry copper gold deposits form in a variety of volcanic environments, most commonly in continental margins and intraoceanic arcs. Copper porphyry is a form of copper deposit that is often characterized as lowgrade, typically with 0. Porphyry cumoau and related epithermal au systems mineral. Sillitoe 27 west hill park, highgate village, london n6 6nd, england abstract porphyry cu systems host some of the most widely distributed mineralization types at convergent plate. Aster data processing analysis for porphyry copper. Porphyry cu systems host some of the most widely distributed mineralization types at convergent plate boundaries, including porphyry deposits centered on intrusions. Cooling of an aqueous fluid initially containing 2 m nacl, 0. Geology, genesis, and exploration for magmatic and magmatichydrothermal. Sillitoe 27 west hill park, highgate village, london n6 6nd, england abstract porphyry cu systems host some of the most widely distributed mineralization types at convergent plate boundaries, including porphyry deposits centered on intrusions.
The intrusives also simulates the limestone altering its composition and forming and endo skarns. Copper gold porphyry occurrences goldonly occurrences volta resources, now b2gold 22 mt at 0. Porphyry cu systems host some of the most widely distributed mineralization types at convergent plate boundaries. Characteristics, continua, and causes marco einaudi. The age and distribution of deposits exposed at the surface suggest that mountain exhumation is. The alteration and mineralization in porphyry cu systems, occupying many. Since then, the role of prevolcanic enrichment has been questioned cook, 1994. Figure 6 from porphyry copper systems semantic scholar. Porphyry copper deposits are normally located in the basement beneath a comagmatic volcanic pile, which is transected by a column of hydrothermal alteration representing the upper parts of the porphyry copper system. Many visually and topographically prominent and, commonly, areally extensive advanced argillic alteration richard h. Phyllic, argillic, silicic and propylitic alteration zones were observed at the surface while potassic alteration zone could be observed at depth in drill core samples.
Duration of magmatichydrothermal systems that form porphyry copper deposits 18. Sillitoe s full model, extending from the underlying precursor pluton located below the mineralized porphyry. Application of metal zoning to gold exploration in. See sillitoe, 2010, porphyry systems economicgeology, the best overview of porphyry deposits also his 2005 paper in the economic geology 100 th anniversary volume on supergenealtered porphyry. A different but closely related group of deposits to porphyry copper deposits are the skarn deposits. In fortuna del cobre, the premineralization granodiorite porphyry yielded an upb zircon age of 76.
Porphyry gold systems are not a very common type of gold deposit. General setting of porphyry copper and associated deposit types modified from sillitoe and bonham, 1990. Pdf porphyry copper systems introduction miguel peral. Understanding the evolution of supergene enrichment at morenci is of critical importance, not only because of this deposits economic significance, but also in terms of our understanding of the evolution of porphyry copper systems in general. Largescale sodiccalcic alteration around porphyry copper. Porphyry copper deposits of the american cordillera frances wahl pierce and john g.
Numerous other minor occurrences with porphyry or porphyry related characteristics occur throughout the arc. Committee for coordination of joint prospecting for mineral resources in asian offshore areas ccop, ccop technical publication 14, 89 p. In addition a further ten significant cu andor au systems that may be porphyry related in the broader sense exist table 1. Porphyry and epithermal systems geological processes. Table of contents pdf society of economic geologists.
Porphyry deposits are the worlds principal resources of cu, mo, and re, and are major. Styles of highsulphidation gold, silver and copper mineralisation in porphyry and epithermal environments. Owing to the complexity, a succinct definition that includes the essential attributes of this deposit class is elusive. Predating or associated with those fluids are vertical dikes of porphyritic intrusive rocks from which this deposit type derives its name. Generalized porphyry copper model anatomy and alteration zoning anatomy of calcalkalic porphyry copper and related mineralization alteration zonation patterns in calcalkalic porphyry systems modified from. Drenth, francisco cendejascruz, enrique espinosa, efren perezsegura, martin valenciamoreno, jose luis rodriguezcastaneda, rigoberto vasquezmendoza, and lukas zurcher. Advances in geological models and exploration methods for. Consequently, this descriptive model uses a working definition of a porphyry copper deposit. Use add reply to replyparticipate in a topicdiscussion most frequent. Byproducts of porphyry copper and molybdenum deposits rare.
Anatomy of porphyryrelated mineralised aucuagmo systems. Porphyry copper systems are mainly developed at convergent plate margins, including continental margin and islandarc settings sillitoe, 2010, where the subduction of oceanic crust is related to. Late cretaceous porphyry copper mineralization in sonora. Sillitoe london, uk abstract this analysis concludes that there is little realistic likelihood of discovering large, highgrade porphyry cu deposits in japan and south korea because of an unusual. Porphyry copper deposits commonly contain hundreds of millions of metric tons of. Project overview collaborative project involving cogs and anglo american exploration usa inc. Alteration zones at the deposit demonstrated zoning which is comparable with lowelguilbert model proposed for quartzmonzonite type porphyry copper deposits. The mines were chosen based on an operating record of more than five years. Request pdf porphyry copper systems porphyry cu systems host. May 28, 2014 porphyry copper deposits are generally composed of a pluglike igneous intrusion a large magma body that is emplaced beneath a volcanic system.
View test prep 2010 porphyry sillitoe from geology 1 at university of texas. Geological criteria for porphyry copper exploration. Rye, 1993, and recent studies of the lepanto highsulfidation gold copper and adjacent far southeast porphyry copper gold deposits arribas et al. Geological and genetic characteristics of porphyry copper deposits. See sillitoe, 2010, porphyry systems economicgeology. Field based vectors used to explore for porphyry cuau deposits. Manganese copper ratios of greater than 20 indicate that one is well outside of the gold zone. Generalized models of porphyry copper deposits anatomy. Porphyry copper molybdenum and copper gold deposits are centred on shallowlevel porphyry intrusions. Porphyry copper systems 39 0361 012898000000 00 600 39 2000 gold rich porphyry from geology 1 at university of texas. Some aspects of the model were presented elsewhere as an abstract sillitoe, 1970. Codes the australian research councils centre for excellence in ore deposit research, university of tasmania, private bag 126, hobart, tasmania 7001, australia. Porphyry copper deposits are the worlds major source of copper mudd et al.
Pdf styles of highsulphidation gold, silver and copper. Copper porphyry deposits are almost always mined in industrialscale open pit operations. Largescale sodiccalcic alteration around porphyry copper systems. Temporalspatial distribution and tectonic setting of. Lesage, mineral deposit research unit, the university of british columbia, vancouver, bc. A climate signal in exhumation patterns revealed by. This database tabulates basic information about the worlds largest porphyhryrelated deposits in order to help define their size, distribution, and. This increase began in the early 1960s, and the numbers of publications reached a peak during.
Porphyry copper deposit, large body of rock, typically a porphyry of granitic to dioritic composition, that has been fractured on a fine scale and through which chalcopyrite and other copper minerals are disseminated. Notwithstanding the assertion that cartoons of this sort including fig. Copper hill was probably the first copper mine in new south wales with production commencing prior to 1845. Geological studies of mining districts of the southwest reported mostly by geologists. The copper mountain morenci mining district is located approximately 115 miles northeast of tucson, arizona figure 1. Characteristics and controls of the largest porphyry. Skarns are formed when hot magma intrudes the limestone the fluids from the intrusive alter the limestone to form an exoskarn. Cumo zoning in porphyry systems porphyry cumo deposits are commonly zoned with a deeper, higher temperature molybdeniterich zone and a shallower, lower temperature chalcopyriterich zone.
Application of metal zoning to gold exploration in porphyry. Large porphyry copper system copper creek, arizona february 2016. Epithermal gold and silver deposits are typically hosted by volcanic rocks. Why no porphyry copper deposits in japan and south korea. Geometallurgical characterisation of complex orebodies. The abundance of breccias in porphyry systems ranges from absent to incidental occurrences to ubiquitous, but the controls on this variability are poorly understood. However, even there, the reduced crust may have militated against effective cu transport into the porphyry environment. Geology and genesis of major copper deposits and districts of the world. If you dont have a subscription, clicking will allow you to obtain payperview access.
Table 1 basic characteristics of the principal porphyry copper deposits in the central asian orogenic belt. The magmatic and metallogenic factors that downgrade the porphyry cu potential of japan and south korea are believed to be equally applicable to other subduction. Porphyry copper deposits are emplaced at a fixed crustal depth in convergent tectonic settings. Pdf porphyry copper systems daniela olivares sedan. It lies along the southern boundary of the transitional physiographic province, a rugged mountainous region that separates the colorado plateau from the basin and range province. Aug 06, 2012 the 14 mines represent 87% 14 out of 16 of currently operating copper porphyry mines, and 89% of u. International exchange lecture june 1994 high sulfidation. Porphyry and epithermal systems sciencedriven exploration successes richard sillitoe porphyry and epithermal deposits. Examples from the highland valley copper district, guichon batholith, southcentral british columbia k.
Sillitoe and gappe 1984 have helped us to understand many aspects of porphyry systems, including that the ore deposits can be. Average gold contents are generally gt, although a few deposits are richer fig. Porphyry copper systems are mainly developed at convergent plate margins, including continental margin and islandarc settings sillitoe, 2010, and references therein, where subduction of oceanic crust is related to arctype magmatism that generates most of the hydrous, oxidized upper crustal granitoids genetically related to ores. A plate tectonic model for the origin of porphyry copper deposits. Porphyry related metal deposits are largetonnage, generally lowgrade, hydrothermal deposits related to igneous intrusions emplaced at high crustal levels that include many of the worlds largest accumulations of cu, mo, au, ag, sn, and w. Porphyry copper deposits are copper orebodies that are formed from hydrothermal fluids that originate from a voluminous magma chamber several kilometers below the deposit itself.
Deposits assigned to this group include a few porphyries in the chilean maricunga belt. Richard sillitoe s observations and interpretations e. The systems commonly define linear belts, some many. Agenda localisation of porphyry cuau deposits pcd factors that contribute to the high cuau grades in porphyry deposits and metal zonations stage model for the evolution of porphyry cuau deposits incorporating time. Porphyry copper deposits result from the complex interactions and feedbacks of many processes.
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