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. 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. Why no porphyry copper deposits in japan and south korea. 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. Committee for coordination of joint prospecting for mineral resources in asian offshore areas ccop, ccop technical publication 14, 89 p.
Porphyry cumoau and related epithermal au systems mineral. The presence of intraarc fault systems are beneficial, as they can localize porphyry. Sillitoe and gappe 1984 have helped us to understand many aspects of porphyry systems, including that the ore deposits can be. Giant porphyryrelated metal camps of the worlda databas. Sillitoe s full model, extending from the underlying precursor pluton located below the mineralized porphyry. Society of economic geologists this article is available from multiple sources. 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. Project overview collaborative project involving cogs and anglo american exploration usa inc.
Richard sillitoes observations and interpretations e. View test prep 2010 porphyry sillitoe from geology 1 at university of texas. Geological studies of mining districts of the southwest reported mostly by geologists. Copper porphyry is a form of copper deposit that is often characterized as lowgrade, typically with 0. 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. Porphyry and epithermal systems sciencedriven exploration successes richard sillitoe porphyry and epithermal deposits. Aug 06, 2012 the 14 mines represent 87% 14 out of 16 of currently operating copper porphyry mines, and 89% of u. Field based vectors used to explore for porphyry cuau deposits. Consequently, this descriptive model uses a working definition of a porphyry copper deposit. See sillitoe, 2010, porphyry systems economicgeology. Geological crit eria for porphyry copper exploration. Epithermal gold and silver deposits are typically hosted by volcanic rocks. 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. Pdf porphyry copper systems introduction miguel peral.
Deposits assigned to this group include a few porphyries in the chilean maricunga belt. Advances in geological models and exploration methods for. Temporalspatial distribution and tectonic setting of. Because some porphyry mo deposits contain significant w, the few papers that document mow and w porphyry deposits are also provided in this subsection. 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.
In fortuna del cobre, the premineralization granodiorite porphyry yielded an upb zircon age of 76. Since then, the role of prevolcanic enrichment has been questioned cook, 1994. Geological and genetic characteristics of porphyry copper deposits. 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. International exchange lecture june 1994 high sulfidation. Generalized models of porphyry copper deposits anatomy. The abundance of breccias in porphyry systems ranges from absent to incidental occurrences to ubiquitous, but the controls on this variability are poorly understood. Porphyry cu deposits and encompassing porphyry cu systems are the subject of extensive ongoing research, and many aspects of these systems are discussed in recent summary papers that include sillitoe 2000, 2005, 2010, tosdal and richards 2001, richards 2003, 2009, 2011, cooke et al. Figure 6 from porphyry copper systems semantic scholar. Richard sillitoe s observations and interpretations e. The systems commonly define linear belts, some many. Copper hill was probably the first copper mine in new south wales with production commencing prior to 1845. The mines were chosen based on an operating record of more than five years.
Largescale sodiccalcic alteration around porphyry copper systems. In later stages, circulating meteoric fluids may interact with the magmatic. Porphyry copper systems 39 0361 012898000000 00 600 39 2000 gold rich porphyry from geology 1 at university of texas. The alteration and mineralization in porphyry cu systems, occupying many. Characteristics, continua, and causes marco einaudi. It should perhaps be stressed that the proposed model is of a speculative nature, and does not purport to embody rigorous proofs of its validity. The porphyry copper deposits of the region have been not only sites of recovery of significant mineral wealth but also sites of detailed and extensive studies of process geology and develop ment of mining and beneficiation technology. Hache on a widely adopted copper porphyry system model published in 2010, created by dr. Characteristics of porphyry aucu systems in the ordovician. Porphyry cu systems host some of the most widely distributed mineralization types at convergent plate boundaries.
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. Lesage, mineral deposit research unit, the university of british columbia, vancouver, bc. Characteristics and controls of the largest porphyry. Table 1 basic characteristics of the principal porphyry copper deposits in the central asian orogenic belt. Anatomy of porphyryrelated mineralised aucuagmo systems. Aster data processing analysis for porphyry copper. Porphyry copper deposits result from the complex interactions and feedbacks of many processes. Drenth, francisco cendejascruz, enrique espinosa, efren perezsegura, martin valenciamoreno, jose luis rodriguezcastaneda, rigoberto vasquezmendoza, and lukas zurcher. Examples from the highland valley copper district, guichon batholith, southcentral british columbia k. This alteration consists of propylitic and argillic types with localized patches of silicification and advanced argillic alteration.
Late cretaceous porphyry copper mineralization in sonora. Porphyry copper deposits commonly contain hundreds of millions of metric tons of. 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. 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. The intrusives also simulates the limestone altering its composition and forming and endo skarns. This increase began in the early 1960s, and the numbers of publications reached a peak during. Porphyry copper deposits are emplaced at a fixed crustal depth in convergent tectonic settings. 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 molybdenum and copper gold deposits are centred on shallowlevel porphyry intrusions. Average gold contents are generally gt, although a few deposits are richer fig. Porphyry copper deposits of the american cordillera.
Porphyry aucumo although porphyry aucumo deposits display considerable variation, some broad generalisations are possible. Table of contents pdf society of economic geologists. Porphyry cu systems host some of the most widely distributed mineralization types at convergent plate boundaries, including porphyry deposits centered on intrusions. Predating or associated with those fluids are vertical dikes of porphyritic intrusive rocks from which this deposit type derives its name. Sillitoe, based on his many decades of study of hundreds of porphyry deposits worldwide. Transitions between porphyry copper deposits and highsulfidation epithermal gold deposits also have been proposed sillitoe, 1973, 1983, 1988, 1989. Rye, 1993, and recent studies of the lepanto highsulfidation gold copper and adjacent far southeast porphyry copper gold deposits arribas et al. Pdf porphyry copper systems daniela olivares sedan. Request pdf porphyry copper systems porphyry cu systems host. The copper mountain morenci mining district is located approximately 115 miles northeast of tucson, arizona figure 1. Porphyry copper deposits of the american cordillera frances wahl pierce and john g. Alteration zones at the deposit demonstrated zoning which is comparable with lowelguilbert model proposed for quartzmonzonite type porphyry copper deposits. The descriptive types of breccias in porphyry systems vary widely, and genetic models for the various types have been proposed e.
Owing to the complexity, a succinct definition that includes the essential attributes of this deposit class is elusive. Largescale sodiccalcic alteration around porphyry copper. Many visually and topographically prominent and, commonly, areally extensive advanced argillic alteration richard h. 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. The main lithostratigraphic units in the district are the cretaceous managa group cansi. Figure 2 modern exploration commenced in the late 1960s when conceptual models of porphyry copper systems were being developed in the southwestern usa. 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. Pdf styles of highsulphidation gold, silver and copper. 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. Codes the australian research councils centre for excellence in ore deposit research, university of tasmania, private bag 126, hobart, tasmania 7001, australia. Application of metal zoning to gold exploration in porphyry. Skarns are formed when hot magma intrudes the limestone the fluids from the intrusive alter the limestone to form an exoskarn. Porphyry copper deposits are the worlds major source of copper mudd et al.
Application of metal zoning to gold exploration in. 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. A plate tectonic model for the origin of porphyry copper deposits. Porphyry gold systems are not a very common type of gold deposit. This database tabulates basic information about the worlds largest porphyhryrelated deposits in order to help define their size, distribution, and. If you dont have a subscription, clicking will allow you to obtain payperview access. In addition a further ten significant cu andor au systems that may be porphyry related in the broader sense exist table 1. Numerous other minor occurrences with porphyry or porphyry related characteristics occur throughout the arc. Nov 01, 2010 prepared in cooperation with the servicio geologico mexicano porphyry copper assessment of mexico by jane m. Combined with an enlarging base of descriptive models of porphyry copper. Porphyry deposits are the worlds principal resources of cu, mo, and re, and are major. Breccias associated with porphyry copper deposits have been a source of fascination for many researchers. Use add reply to replyparticipate in a topicdiscussion most frequent. General setting of porphyry copper and associated deposit types modified from sillitoe and bonham, 1990.
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. The age and distribution of deposits exposed at the surface suggest that mountain exhumation is. 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. Using add reply allows you to attach images or pdf files and provide a more complete input. Styles of highsulphidation gold, silver and copper mineralisation in porphyry and epithermal environments. Byproducts of porphyry copper and molybdenum deposits rare. Porphyry copper deposits are copper ore bodies that are formed from hydrothermal fluids that originate from a voluminous magma chamber several kilometers below the deposit itself. Porphyry copper deposit model, chapter b of mineral deposit.
Porphyry copper deposits are copper ore bodies that are formed from hydrothermal fluids that. Notwithstanding the assertion that cartoons of this sort including fig. Porphyry and epithermal systems geological processes. 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. Generalized alteration mineralisation zoning pattern for telescoped porphyry cu deposits sillitoe, 2010. Cenozoic tectonics and porphyry copper systems of the chilean andes. Geometallurgical characterisation of complex orebodies. Duration of magmatichydrothermal systems that form porphyry copper deposits 18. Cooling of an aqueous fluid initially containing 2 m nacl, 0. Large porphyry copper system copper creek, arizona february 2016.
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. Copper porphyry deposits are almost always mined in industrialscale open pit operations. 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. Schematic map of the central asian orogenic belt after shen et al. Copper gold porphyry occurrences goldonly occurrences volta resources, now b2gold 22 mt at 0. A climate signal in exhumation patterns revealed by. A different but closely related group of deposits to porphyry copper deposits are the skarn deposits. Manganese copper ratios of greater than 20 indicate that one is well outside of the gold zone. Porphyry copper gold deposits form in a variety of volcanic environments, most commonly in continental margins and intraoceanic arcs. Some aspects of the model were presented elsewhere as an abstract sillitoe, 1970. Please click on the service to which you have a subscription to obtain access. 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. Geology, genesis, and exploration for magmatic and magmatichydrothermal.