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Characteristics and controls of the largest porphyry copper-gold and

epithermal gold deposits in the circum-Pacific region
R. H. Sillitoe
To cite this Article Sillitoe, R. H.'Characteristics and controls of the largest porphyry copper-gold and epithermal gold
deposits in the circum-Pacific region', Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 44: 3, 373 388
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Australian Journal of Earth Sciences (1997) 44, 373-388
Characteristics and controls of the largest porphyry

copper-gold and epithermal gold deposits in the
circum-Pacific region
R. H. SILLITOE
Downloaded By: [Rice University] At: 23:13 21 November 2009
27 West Hill Park, Highgate Village, London N6 6ND, England.
Eleven gold-rich porphyry copper and 14 epithermal gold deposits around the Pacific rim contain > 200 t
(-7 million oz) of gold. These large porphyry-type deposits conform to a single overall model, whereas the large
epithermal gold deposits are varied in both genetic type and mineralisation style. Most regional and local
characteristics of the largest porphyry and epithermal deposits fail to explain convincingly their extremely high
gold contents. Nevertheless, a number of hypothetical processes operative alone, or in combination, in the mantle,
in upper crustal magma chambers and at the sites of gold accumulation are believed to maximise the likelihood of
exceptional gold concentrations. Partial melting of the upper parts of stalled lithospheric slabs in the mantle,
immediately following collision or arc migration, promotes oxidation of mantle sulfides and the release of gold.
These tectonic scenarios may also result in rapid cooling and uplift-induced depressurisation of upper crustal
magma chambers, thereby accelerating the release of gold-bearing magmatic fluids. Upper crustal magma mixing
and passive degassing of the resultant SO2 are also considered to favour gold availability. Rheological and
permeability contrasts at sites of gold deposition are important controls on the size and tenor of gold deposits. The
summation of these mechanisms tends to result in short-lived, areally restricted gold-forming events, commonly as
an end-stage of arc development. These hypothetical processes translate into several practical criteria of potential
use to explorationists. Both large gold-rich porphyry and epithermal deposits seem to be more common in atypical
arc settings and in association with unusual, especially highly potassic, igneous rocks. During the search for goldrich porphyry deposits, high hydrothermal magnetite contents, very young arcs in the tropical environment and
impermeable host rocks, especially limestones, deserve emphasis. In contrast, large epithermal gold deposits are
commonly controlled by marked lithologic differences and associated with flow-dome and/or maar-diatreme
systems.
Key words: circum-Pacific region, epithermal deposits, exploration, giant deposits, gold, magmatic arcs,
porphyry copper deposits.
INTRODUCTION
Exceptionally large gold deposits, often designated as

giant, world-class or super-large, are the principal
exploration objectives in the circum-Pacific region and
elsewhere. Gold contents of either > 1001 (Singer 1995)
or> 2001 (applying the formula of Laznicka 1983) have
been used to define such superior gold deposits. The
latter size limitation, equivalent to about 7 million oz of
gold, is employed here in order to restrict the number of
examples to 25 (Figure 1; Tables 1, 2).
This short review deals with the largest porphyry and
epithermal gold deposits around the Pacific rim, but
excludes other genetic types of deposits containing
> 2001 gold, namely sediment-hosted and mesothermal
(including slate belt) types. All the porphyry deposits
included, except Far Southeast, and most of the
epithermal deposits, except McDonald, Round Mountain,
Ladolam and Hishikari, have undergone various degrees
of erosional removal and hence originally were larger
than their reserves ( production) imply.
Most of the largest gold-rich porphyry deposits contain
appreciable copper, as either a principal or co-product,
whereas several of the large epithermal deposits, most
notably Pachuca-Real del Monte, have metal budgets
dominated by silver rather than gold. Several huge

porphyry copper deposits characterised by relatively modest
gold grades also possess > 2001 of gold (e.g. Escondida,
Chile; 4501 Au), but are excluded from consideration
because they cannot be considered as gold deposits.
The review commences with 'thumb nail' geological
sketches of the large gold-rich porphyry and epithermal
deposits. It continues with a brief assessment of a number
of regional (metallogenic) and local (deposit-scale)
factors that neither singly nor in combination explain
adequately the exceptional gold contents of the deposits
considered. Three mechanisms are then proposed for
enhancing gold availability and accumulation in porphyry
and epithermal systems, followed by a set of geological
criteria that seem to be useful indicators of large goldrich systems (Table 3).
GEOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Gold-rich porphyry deposits
Gold-rich porphyry copper deposits dominate this category, although gold-rich, relatively copper-poor (Fish
Lake, Cadia Hill) and essentially gold-only (Refugio)
374
R. H. SILLITOE
Fish Lake
McDonald
,x
Bingham
ff
Comstock Lode O o
O Cripple Creek
lound
fountain
Pachuca-Real del Moi
Spreading ridge
, Subduction zone
Figure 1 Location of the largest

gold-rich porphyry and epithermal
gold deposits of the circum-Pacific
region.
Gold-rich porphyry
deposit
Epithermal gold
deposit
Table 1 Selected geological characteristics of large gold-rich porphyry deposits.

Deposit
Au
Tectonic Regional Porphyry
content setting structural stock
control
Fish Lake
Canada
Bingham
USA
Bajo de La
Alumbrera
Argentina
Refugio
Chile
Cadia Hill
Australia
Panguna
PNG
OkTedi
PNG
Grasberg
Indonesia
Batu Hijau
Indonesia
Santo
Tomas II
Philippines
Far Southeast
Philippines
471
Cont
No
937
Cont
(BA)
Cont
(BA)
489
Age
Coeval
(Ma)* volcanics
OreAbundant
related magnetite
alteration
Quartz
stockwork
Litho- Associated
cap
mineralisation
Recent
reference
QdiCA
80
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
Lin
Qmon KCA
39
Yes
No
Yes
No
Sk, CR, SH
Lin
Dae KCA
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
LS
Caira et al.
1995
Babcock et al.
1995
Guilbert 1995
259
Cont
No
Qdi-Di CA
23
Yes
IA-P-K Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Flores 1993
224
IA(?)
Lin
Qmon KCA
-440
Yes
P-K
Yes
Yes
No
Sk
766
IA
No
Di-Qdi CA
3.4
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Newcrest Mining Staff 1996

Clark 1990
368
Cont
No
Mon KCA
1.2
No
No
Yes
No
Sk
1598*
Cont
No
Mdi KCA
3.3-3.0 Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Sk, CR
353
IA
Lin
QdiCA
5.1^.9 Yes
K-IA
Yes
Yes
Yes
LS
230
IA
Fault
DiCA
1.0
Yes
Yes
No
LS
441
IA
Fault
QdiCA
1.5-1.2 Yes
K-IA
Yes
Yes
Yes
HS, LS
No
Rush & Seegers

1990
MacDonald &
Arnold 1994
Irianto &
Clark 1995
Serafica &
Baluda 1977
Garcia 1991
*Age data supplemented by: Arribas et al. 1995; McDowell et al. 1996; Perkins et al. 1995; Sillitoe et al. 1991; E. H. McKee
and R. H. Sillitoe unpubl. data; S. J. Turner pers. comtn. 1996.
f
Mineable reserve; geological reserve is -25001 Au
Tectonic setting: BA, back-arc; Cont, continental margin; IA, island arc. Regional structural control: Lin, lineament. Porphyry stock:
Dae, dacite; Di, diorite; Mdi, monzodiorite; Mon, monzonite; Qdi, quartz diorite; Qmon, quartz monzonite; CA, calc-alkaline; KCA,
high-K calc-alkaline. Ore-related alteration: IA, intermediate argillic; K, K-silicate; P, propylitic. Associated mineralisation: CR,
carbonate replacement; HS, high-sulfidation epithermal; LS, low-sulfidation epithermal; SH, sediment-hosted gold; Sk, skarn.
deposits are also included (Figure 2). Refugio is considered as a porphyry gold deposit (Vila & Sillitoe 1991).
The pre-eminent gold-rich porphyry deposits are clearly
Grasberg, Bingham and Panguna, all containing > 7001

of gold (Figure 3). However, Grasberg and Far Southeast
possess the highest gold grades, with both containing
LARGEST CIRCUM-PACIFIC GOLD DEPOSITS

Grasberg
1.2-
1.0-
0.8I Far Southeast
0.6-
Bingham
Panguna
Ok Ted!
Batu Hljau
Ba)o de la Alumbrera
Santo Tomas II
Cadia Hill
Fish Lake
0.2-
0.0
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
Refuglo
1.0
1.2
1.4
Au (g/t)
Figure 2 Gold and copper contents of the largest gold-rich
porphyry deposits of the circum-Pacfic region. All deposits
contain > 200 t of gold. Note the pre-eminence of Grasberg and
Far Southeast grades.
10
1000
100
million tonnes
1
2
3
6
7
8
9
Fish Lake
Bingham
Bajo de la Alumbrera
Refugio
Cadia Hill
Panguna
Ok Tedi
Grasberg
Batu Hijau
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Santo Tomas II
Far Southeast
McDonald
Comstock
Cripple Creek
Round Mountain
Pachuca-Real del Monte
Pueblo Viejo
Yanacocha
Ellndlo
20
21
22
23
24
25
Waihi
Ladolam
Porgera
Kelian
Baguio
Hishikari
* Bonanza part only

+ Approximate
Figure 3 Gold grade-tonnage plot for the largest gold-rich

porphyry and epithermal gold deposits of the circum-Pacific
region. All deposits contain > 200 t of gold. Note that the bulk
low-grade epithermal deposits at McDonald, Round Mountain and
Yanacocha plot with the gold-rich porphyry deposits. # , gold-rich
porphyry deposit; O, epithermal gold deposit.
375
appreciable tonnages at > 2 g/t Au as well as high copper

contents (Figure 2). Molybdenum contents are low in
many of the deposits, but average 0.025% at Bingham
(Babcock et al. 1995) and 0.01% at Ok Tedi (Rush &
Seegers 1990), which are the deposits hosted by the most
potassic stocks (Table 1). Several of the deposits (e.g.
Bajo de La Alumbrera, Batu Hijau) display molybdenumenriched haloes that overlap the outer parts of the
copper-gold orebodies. Silver contents in all the large
gold-rich porphyry deposits are low, generally < 3 ppm.
The large gold-rich porphyry deposits are located in
magmatic arcs along both sides of the Pacific Ocean,
although they are somewhat more abundant on the western side (Figure 1). The deposits are distributed about
equally in continental-margin and island-arc terranes
(Table 1). Bingham and Bajo de La Alumbrera, both
underlain by continental crust, occupy back-arc positions
that were mildly extensional at the time of mineralisation.
In marked contrast, Ok Tedi and Grasberg, at the leading
edge of the Australian craton, were emplaced through an
active fold-thrust belt linked to continent-island-arc collision. The Late Ordovician age of the Cadia Hill deposit
precludes proper assessment of its geotectonic setting,
although a late extensional stage of island-arc development is proposed on the basis of selected modern analogues (Walshe et al. 1995).
A multitude of faults is present in and around most ore
deposits and the large gold-rich porphyry deposits
analysed here are no exception. However, it is not clear
that major faults or lineaments were responsible for
localising most of the deposits, except for Far Southeast
by the Lepanto fault (Garcia 1991). No truly major faults
or lineaments have been recognised in the vicinities of
five of the deposits, although major pre-mineral faults or
lineaments are present in proximity to the rest (Table 1).
Arc-transverse structures, such as the Uinta axis at
Bingham (Babcock et al. 1985), the Hualfin and
Aconquija lineaments at Bajo de La Alumbrera (Guilbert
1995) and the Lachlan River lineament at Cadia Hill
(Walshe et al. 1995), are common.
The stocks that host the large gold-rich porphyry
deposits are all of I-type and belong to the magnetite
series, thereby indicating contributions from oxidised
subcrustal melts (Ishihara 1981). The mineralised porphyry
stocks are either calc-alkaline or high-K calc-alkaline in
petrochemical affiliation (Table 1), with those at Bajo de
La Alumbrera and Cadia Hill also qualifying as members
of the shoshonite suite. Moreover, volumetrically minor
mafic alkaline and shoshonitic igneous rocks in the
Bingham district are modelled as parental to the porphyry
copper-gold stock (Keith et al. 1995). The mineralised
porphyries span a broad compositional range: diorite
through quartz diorite and dacite to monzodiorite, monzonite and quartz monzonite (monzogranite).
The large gold-rich porphyry deposits range in age
from Ordovician to Pleistocene, although deposits along
the western side of the Pacific Ocean, all = 5 Ma except
for Cadia Hill, are generally younger than those in the
western Americas (Table 1). This relationship is attributed to more rapid erosion and, consequently, quicker
unroofing of deposits in the western Pacific island arcs
than in much of the western Americas (Sillitoe 1993a).
376
R. H. SILLITOE
All the large gold-rich porphyry deposits conform to a

single unified model (Sillitoe 1993b; Figure 4), which
differs little from that for porphyry copper deposits in
general. The gold-copper mineralisation is centred on
composite porphyry stocks, which are circular to ovoid in
cross-section and essentially vertical over intervals of at
least 2 km. The stocks generally include inter- and latemineral phases, which contain lesser amounts of gold and
copper because they were emplaced during or late,
respectively, in the alteration-mineralisation event. These
later porphyry pulses were commonly intruded up the
axial zones of the pre-existing stocks (Figure 4). Less
common are barren or low-grade, pre-mineral intrusions,
either equigranular like those at Bingham (Babcock et al.
1995) and Panguna (Clark 1990) or porphyritic as at Bajo
de La Alumbrera (Guilbert 1995) and Batu Hijau (Irianto
& Clark 1995). Diatreme vents post-dated porphyry
deposit formation at Batu Hijau, Santo Tomas II and Far
Southeast (Table 1; Figure 4).
The mineralisation may be confined to the stocks (e.g.
Grasberg) or extend appreciably into surrounding wallrocks (e.g. Fish Lake, Santo Tomas II). The wallrocks are
varied in both age with respect to the stock and
composition. Eight of the large deposits were emplaced
into volcanic rocks that are broadly co-temporal with the
stocks themselves, whereas the rest intruded older
'basement' units (Table 1).
Gold and copper in all the deposits are components of
K-silicate alteration, the product of magmatic brines
(Burnham 1979), although propylitic assemblages are
noted within the copper-poor Refugio and Cadia Hill
deposits. Each deposit displays a close, although generally non-linear, correlation between copper and gold
contents, especially where bornite is present as a significant copper mineral. Biotite is typically the ubiquitous
K-silicate alteration mineral, and may be accompanied by
K-feldspar and/or actinolite. Quartz-veinlet stockworks,
including subparallel veinlet arrays, characterise all the
deposits (Table 1) and host much of the copper and gold.
Hydrothermal magnetite comprises 3= 5 vol.% of ore in
nine of the 11 deposits (Table 1), as pre- and/or syn-metal
veinlets and disseminated grains.
K-silicate alteration grades outwards to propylitic
alteration, with several deposits (e.g. Fish Lake, Bingham,
Bajo de La Alumbrera, Grasberg) containing a complete
or partial annulus of intervening sericitic alteration
(Figure 4). Sericitic and/or innermost propylitic alteration
commonly coincide with pyrite haloes. Intermediate
argillic assemblages, typified by illite/sericite and chlorite, partially overprinted the K-silicate alteration (Figure 4)
at Refugio, Batu Hijau and Far Southeast, but do not
seem to have been accompanied by appreciable metal
introduction. Remnants of an advanced argillic lithocap
are preserved in proximity to the uppermost parts of only
three of the deposits (Table 1; Figure 4), which implies
that the rest were eroded relatively deeply. This observation accords well with the observed downward increases
of gold contents in several deposits, although Ok Tedi,
with a gold-rich cap (Rush & Seegers 1990), is an
exception.
Eight of the large gold-rich porphyry deposits are the
foci of zoned mineral districts (Table 1). Copper-gold
Intermediate argillic overprinted

on K-silicate alteration
Remnant of advanced argillic
lithocap
'
Co-temporal
volcanic
sequence
.
f
Low-sulphidation
veins, Zn-Pb-Ag-Au
p
Propylitic-altered
wallrocks
k-silicate alteration
with magnetite, Cu+Au
Intermineral porphyry phase
with less Cu+Au
Figure 4 Model for large gold-rich porphyry deposits in the

circum-Pacific region. Copper and gold are present in K-silicate
alteration and overprinted intermediate argillic alteration from the
present surface to a depth of at least 2 km.
skarns abut the porphyry deposits at Bingham, Cadia

Hill, Ok Tedi and the deeper portions (> -1000 m) of
Grasberg, while carbonate-replacement zinc-lead deposits
and sediment-hosted gold deposits are also present more
distally at Bingham (Babcock et al. 1995). The top of the
Far Southeast deposit is characterised by a highsulfidation epithermal copper (enargite)-gold deposit
(Garcia 1991) generated at the base of the lithocap,
whereas low-sulfidation epithermal veins are located
distally with respect to four of the deposits (Table 1;
Figure 4).
Epithermal gold deposits
The pre-eminent epithermal gold deposits, with 3= 6001
of gold, are Cripple Creek, Pueblo Viejo, Ladolam,
Porgera, and Baguio (Table 2; Figure 3). Most of the
large gold-rich epithermal systems in the circum-Pacific
region are economically gold-only deposits. The
exceptions are Pachuca-Real del Monte and Comstock
Lode, which were primarily rich silver deposits, with
Ag/Au ratios of roughly 200 (Geyne et al. 1963) and
>20, respectively. Copper, as enargite, is an important
by-product of the early-stage veins at El Indio.
The large epithermal gold deposits are split almost
equally between the eastern and western Pacific
regions (Figure 1). Ten of the 14 deposits are located in
continental-margin magmatic arcs (Table 2), with only
Cripple Creek unequivocally occupying an extensional
back-arc position. Four of the deposits are parts of island
arcs, which in the case of Pueblo Viejo and Ladolam are
built directly on oceanic lithosphere.
Faults are recognised in all the deposits, although their
377
Table 2 Selected geological characteristics of large epithermal gold deposits.
Deposit
Au content Tectonic Related

setting volcanic
(t)
rocks
McDonald
251
USA
Comstock
-260
Lode USA
Cripple
-755
Creek USA
Round
413
Mountain USA
Pachuca-Real 235
del Monte,
Mexico
Pueblo Viejo -700
Dominican
Republic
Yanacocha
292f
Peru
El Indio
295
Chile
Waihi
230
New Zealand
Ladolam
595
PNG
Porgera
-600
PNG
Kelian
>200
Indonesia
Baguio
>700
Philippines
Hishikari
250
Japan
Age Volcanic
(Ma)* setting
At
Local
fault
lithologic
control
contact
OreAbun- Palaeorelated
dant
surface
alteration base- evidence
metals
Asso- Recent
ciated reference
mineral
-isation
Disseminated
+ stockwork
Vein
Yes
Normal
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
Normal
(45)
Normal +
ring fault
Normal
Yes
No
No
Normal
LS
No
Qu + Ad
LS
Yes
Qu
LS
No
Ad
LS
No
Ad
LS
Yes
Qu + Ad
No
No
Yes
Ring fault
Yes
No
No
Russell &
Kesler 1991
No
Not known HS
Qu
Normal + HS
reverse
Qu
Normal
LS
Qu + Ad
Normal?
LS
Qu + Ad
Normal
LS
Qu
Normal
LS
Ad
Strike slip + LS
ring fault
Qu + Ad
Normal
LS
Qu + Ad
No
Yes(?)
No
Yes
Yes
LS
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
Ppy
Cu
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
Ppy
Cu
No
Harris
etal. 1994
Jannas
etal. 1990
Brathwaite &
Blattner 1995
Moyle et al.
1990
Richards &
Kerrich 1993
Van Leeuwen
etal. 1990
Cooke
etal. 1996
Izawa
et al. 1990
Felsic ig
CA
And
CA
Phon-Trach
A
Rhyodac ig
CA
And-rhy
CA
39-37
21-20
Uncertain
Vein +
disseminated
Disseminated
+ vein
Vein
IA
Ker-Spil
IAT
-130
Diatreme
Stockwork
Cont
And
10.9
CA
_7
Rhy?
KCA
And
7
CA
Trachyb
0.35+ trachA
0.1
Bas (int)
6.0-5.6
A
Rhy
EMio?
CA
Dae
0.6
KCA
Dae
1.25-0.6
CA
Cont
Cont
Cont
(BA)
Cont
Cont
Cont
Cont
IA
Cont
Cont
IA
IA
13.7
32-31
26
Caldera?
Form of
orebody
Flow dome
Diatreme
Caldera
Flow dome? Disseminated

Flow dome
Vein
StratoVein
volcano?
StratoBreccia
volcano
No volcanics Stockwork +
vein breccia
VeinDiatreme
stockwork
Diatreme
Vein +
breccia
Flow dome Vein
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
HS
Qu
Bartlett
etal. 1995
Vikre 1989
Thompson
1992
Tingley &
Berger 1985
Geyne
etal. 1963
*Age data supplemented by: Aoki et al. 1993; Henry et al. 1995; Izawa et al. 1993a; McKee et al. 1992; R. Jannas pers. comm. 1995;
D. E. Noble pers. comm. 1995.
f
173 t Au production + reserves (July 1996).
Tectonic setting: BA, back-arc; Cont, continental margin; IA, island arc. Related volcanic rocks: And, andesite; Bas, basalt; Dae, dacite;
Ig, ignimbrite; Int, intrusions; Ker, keratophyre; Phon, phonolite; Rhy, rhyolite; Rhyodac, rhyodacite; Spil, spilite; Trach, trachyte;
Trachyb, trachybasalt; A, alkaline; CA, calc-alkaline; KCA, high-K calc-alkaline; IAT, island-arc tholeiite. Ore-related alteration: Ad,
adularia; HS, high sulfidation; LS, low sulfidation; Qu, quartz. Associated mineralisation: LS, low-sulfidation epithermal; Ppy Cu,
porphyry copper.
role as ore localisers appears to be minimal at Pueblo Viejo

and Ladolam. Major fault zones controlled vein emplacement at Comstock Lode and El Indio, whereas more local
faults localised the gold ore in the other deposits. Most of
the faults that controlled the large gold-bearing vein
systems and acted as feeders for the bulk-tonnage gold
mineralisation are reported to have undergone normal
displacements (Table 2), in some cases with a component
of oblique slip being recognised. Fault jogs within strikeslip fault zones have been proposed for Waihi (Sibson
1987) and Baguio (Ringenbach 1992). Diatreme-bounding
ring faults imposed additional structural controls on some
of the gold mineralisation at Cripple Creek (Thompson
1992), Pueblo Viejo (Russell & Kesler 1991) and Baguio
(Damasco & de Guzman 1977).
The large epithermal gold deposits show a spread in
ages, from Early Cretaceous (Pueblo Viejo) to Pleistocene,
although 13 of the deposits are younger than 40 Ma
(Table 2). As in the case of the gold-rich porphyry
deposits, the epithermal gold deposits along the western

side of the Pacific Ocean are, on average, notably younger
than those on the eastern side.
A spectrum of volcanic settings hosts the large goldrich epithermal deposits (Table 2). At least three, possibly
four, deposits occur either in or around diatremes; three,
possibly four, of the deposits are associated with flowdome complexes; one, possibly two, are parts of ash-flow
calderas; and Ladolam is present in a small stratovolcano
that underwent sector collapse during the mineralisation
event (Sillitoe 1994). The remainder of the deposits
occupy uncertain volcanic settings, which at Porgera is
due to a complete absence of volcanic rocks.
Eight of the large epithermal gold deposits are judged, on
the basis of available data, to be related genetically to calcalkaline volcanic rocks ranging in composition from
rhyolite to andesite (Table 2). Two deposits may be related
to high-K calc-alkaline volcanics (Table 2) and one, Pueblo
Viejo, to the island-arc (low-K) tholeiite series (Lebron &
378
R. H. SILLITOE
Perfit 1993). The volcanic rocks are bimodal at Pueblo

Viejo and Hishikari, thereby suggesting extensional settings. Felsic ignimbrites are spatially and temporally related
to the McDonald and Round Mountain deposits, whereas
the host ignimbrite at El Indio is unrelated temporally to the
gold mineralisation. Three deposits are associated with
alkaline magmatism, which is basic and sodic at Porgera
(Richards 1990), but potassic and, in part, more felsic at
Cripple Creek and Ladolam (Table 2). I-type, magnetiteseries volcanic rocks appear to be ubiquitous.
In contrast to the large gold-rich porphyry deposits, the
large epithermal gold deposits are extremely varied in
form and mineralisation style. They may be subdivided
broadly into vein systems and large dispersed deposits of
either predominantly disseminated, stockwork or brecciahosted mineralisation (Figure 5). The vein systems constitute both bonanza deposits (Comstock Lode, Cripple
Creek, El Indio, Zone VII at Porgera, Hishikari) as well
as more extensive, but lower grade deposits (PachucaReal del Monte, Waihi, Baguio). Average gold grades
were as low as 2.4 g/t at Pachuca-Real del Monte. Veins
are also present in several of the other deposits (Table 2),
either subsidiary to disseminated ore (Round Mountain),
dominant over disseminated ore (Cripple Creek) or
of approximately equal importance to stockwork ore
(Porgera). The stockwork ore at Porgera is intrusionrelated and formed relatively deeply, but is juxtaposed
with the epithermal gold veins and breccias of Zone VII
(Richards & Kerrich 1993).
In common with epithermal deposits in most parts of
the circum-Pacific region, large low-sulfidation deposits
are more abundant than those of high-sulfidation type.
Table 2 demonstrates that the large low-sulfidation deposits
are nearly five times as abundant. The various styles of
mineralisation include examples of both epithermal types.
Half of the low-sulfidation deposits contain appreciable
amounts of base metals, mainly zinc and lead, whereas
the other half are poor in sulfides (Sillitoe 1993c). The
sulfide-poor low-sulfidation vein deposits, with the exception of Baguio, tend to possess greater concentrations of
adularia as a vein and alteration component, although
adularia is also abundant in several of the bulk-tonnage
deposits (McDonald, Round Mountain, Ladolam). Two of
the large low-sulfidation deposits (Round Mountain,
Kelian) contain relatively minor quantities of quartz.
Kelian and the intrusion-related stockwork gold ore at
Porgera are rich in a variety of carbonate minerals, and are
classified as carbonate-base-metal deposits by Leach and
Corbett (1994).
Two of the three large high-sulfidation deposits do not
adhere to the typical model for this type of epithermal
gold deposit (Hedenquist et al. 1994) because residual
vuggy quartz does not host the gold. Ore is associated
with quartz-alunite and quartz-pyrophyllite alteration at
Pueblo Viejo (Muntean et al. 1990), whereas at El Indio
it is present in massive enargite-pyrite and bonanza-grade
quartz veins (Jannas et al. 1990).
Six, probably seven, of the large epithermal gold deposits
were formed at shallow depths because features denoting
the interval between the palaeo-surface and palaeo-water
table (Figure 5; Sillitoe 1993c) are partly preserved.
Features include hot-spring sinter of palaeo-surface origin
Lacustrine
sediment
Remnant
sinter
Minor quartzadularia veins + Au

Smectite-chlorite
alteration
Welded
ignimbrite
Non-welded I
ignimbrite
Welded-*ignimbrite A A
Illite-adularia
alteration + Au
Quartz-adularia veins + Au
(b)
Acid-leached rock formed

in steam-heated zone
Quartz-carbonate veins + Au
(minor illite/sericite-adularia
selvages)
Tuff sequence
Bonanza Au
beneath
unconformity
0.5
km
_0.5
Basement
rocks
Figure 5 Selected end-member models for large epithermal gold

deposits in the circum-Pacific region, (a) Large-tonnage, lowgrade deposit hosted by an aquifer below an aquitard. (b) Major
vein system containing bonanza shoots immediately beneath an
unconformity separating tight basement rocks from an overlying
porous sequence. Both models are for low-sulfidation deposits
poor in base metals and sulfides.
at McDonald (Bartlett et al. 1995); acid-leached rock

generated in the steam-heated environment above the
palaeo-water table at or near El Indio (Sillitoe 1991), Waihi
(Brathwaite & Blattner 1995), Ladolam (Moyle et al.
1990), Hishikari (Izawa et al. 1990) and, possibly,
Yanacocha; a hydrothermal eruption crater filled with
lacustrine mudstone and interbedded chert at Hishikari
(Izawa et al. 1993b); and remnants of lacustrine sedimentary rocks at El Indio (Sillitoe 1991) and Round
Mountain (Tingley & Berger 1985; Henry et al. 1995). The
remaining deposits were formed at substantially deeper
levels, as deep as 900 m at Kelian (Van Leeuwen et al.
1990) and even -2 km at Porgera (Richards & Kerrich
1993). Moreover, the vertical extents of at least seven of the
deposits exceed 600 m, and attain at least 1 km at
Comstock Lode and Cripple Creek.
Most of the large epithermal gold deposits lack associated mineralisation types (Table 2) although, as noted
above, Porgera is a combination of intrusion-related and
epithermal mineralisation. The exceptions are the lowsulfidation gold deposits at Ladolam and Baguio, which
are related to low-grade porphyry copper-gold mineralisation, and El Indio, which is near a low-sulfidation
epithermal gold deposit.

FACTORS NOT RELATED DIRECTLY TO
LARGE GOLD CONTENTS
Perusal of these brief overviews of the characteristics of
large gold-rich porphyry and epitherraal gold deposits in
the circum-Pacific region and reference to Tables 1 and 2
reveal a series of factors that, either singly or in combination, appear unable to explain the exceptional gold
contents of the 25 deposits under consideration. These
factors are explained further in this section.
Geotectonic setting
Neither the large gold-rich porphyry deposits nor the
large epithermal gold deposits seem to be influenced
unduly by the nature of the underlying crust. Both
deposit types were generated in the shallow parts of
either cratonic or island-arc crust (Figure 1). The crustal
extremes are represented by Bingham and Cripple Creek
atop thick crust and Pueblo Viejo and Ladolam underlain
by essentially nothing but oceanic lithosphere. Nor does
the distance of the large deposits from the trenches or
underlying subduction zones active during or just before
their emplacement seem to have been influential.
No unique stress regime in the upper crust at the time
of mineralisation appears to account for the localisation
of unusually large gold deposits. Cripple Creek and
Hishikari were probably formed during incipient rifting,
whereas other deposits, especially most of those of
epithermal type in the Great Basin of the western USA
(Seedorff 1991), were emplaced under mildly extensional
conditions. In contrast, regional compression characterised the upper crust during emplacement of the
Grasberg and Ok Tedi porphyry copper-gold and Porgera
gold deposits in New Guinea.
The composition and redox state of the concealed arc
crust and subjacent mantle in the vicinities of these large
gold deposits are unknown except at Ladolam, where a
study of xenoliths from nearby young volcanic rocks
reveals a highly oxidised mantle assemblage (B. I. A.
Mclnnes, R. A. Binns, P. M. Herzig & M. D. Hannington
unpubl. data). Such oxidised mantle is believed to be the
source of the I-type igneous rocks related genetically to
these large gold deposits (e.g. Richards 1990). Even
where shallow crustal rocks comprise organic carbonbearing sedimentary sequences, as at Porgera and
Hishikari, the igneous rocks did not undergo appreciable
reduction.
Igneous rocks
A broad spectrum of intrusive and/or volcanic rocks is
observed to be related genetically to the large gold
deposits reviewed here. Island-arc tholeiite, calc-alkaline,
high-K calc-alkaline (including shoshonitic) and alkaline
magma suites were all capable of generating large gold
concentrations. Moreover, the degree of fractionation and
composition of the associated igneous rocks span a broad
range, from hawaiite and mugearite (at Porgera: Richards
1990) to rhyolite.
Notwithstanding the varied petrochemistry of the associated igneous rocks, a surprisingly large percentage,
379
approximately 20%, of the large gold deposits accompany shoshonitic or alkaline suites (Mutschler et al. 1991;
Miiller & Groves 1993). Shoshonites are estimated to
constitute only about 2.5% by volume of igneous rocks in
circum-Pacific arc terranes (Baker 1982). Alkaline rocks
are even less abundant in circum-Pacific arcs so, in total,
these suites probably do not exceed 3% by volume of
circum-Pacific igneous rocks.
Structural setting
The structural controls noted in Tables 1 and 2 and the
comments above suggest that no specific structural
setting is responsible for the formation of very large gold
deposits in arc terranes. Major faults and lineaments
appear to be associated with some, but not all, of the
porphyry deposits and, therefore, cannot be considered
as a prerequisite for the formation of large gold concentrations. Similarly, the district-scale structures that
localised the large epithermal gold deposits, although
dominated by normal faults, do not seem to differ
substantially from the profusion of other faults in arc
terranes. Provision of dilatant sites for the passage of
magma and fluids is the only basic requirement and this
may be accomplished in a variety of structural settings
which may or may not involve regional faults or
lineaments. For example, in the context of the regional
compressive setting for the Grasberg porphyry coppergold deposit, dilatancy for stock emplacement and metal
introduction was facilitated by a restricted pull-apart
connecting district-scale strike-slip faults (Sapiie & Cloos
1994).
Age of deposits
The range of deposit ages clearly precludes formation of
the large gold deposits at one or more specific times
during the Phanerozoic. Nevertheless, all but three of the
25 deposits were generated after 40 Ma (Figure 6) because
average depths of erosion are shallower and hence the
preservation potential for epithermal and subvolcanic
deposits is greater.
Surprising, however, are the extremely young ages
(^5 Ma: Table 1; Figure 6) for the five large porphyry
copper-gold deposits in the western Pacific island arcs.
In fact, only three of the region's seven large epithermal gold deposits, two of which (Ladolam and
Baguio) are associated with porphyry copper-gold formation, are as young (Table 2). This observation
confirms that erosion and exhumation rates were exceptionally rapid in the vicinities of these large gold-rich
porphyry systems.
Volcanic setting
Most volcanic settings, including stratovolcanoes, ashflow calderas, flow-dome complexes and maar-diatreme
systems, are represented by the 25 gold deposits under
consideration. In contrast to the epithermal gold deposits,
the gold-rich porphyry deposits are generally eroded too
deeply to ascertain the nature of volcanic landforms that
380
R. H. SILLITOE
o-i
10-
PACIFIC
West East
8 9
o
o
o
o
o
40-
50-
O)
60-
<
130|
Figure 6 Plot of ages of large gold-rich porphyry and epithermal

gold deposits along the western and eastern sides of the Pacific
Ocean. Note the appreciably younger ages of deposits in the
western Pacific island arcs as a result of more rapid erosion rates.
Data for 24 radiometrically dated deposits taken from Tables 1
and 2. , gold-rich porphyry deposit; O, epithermal gold deposit.
originally overlay them; indeed, three of the porphyry

deposits, as well as one of the epithermal deposits, lack
contemporaneous volcanic products, which has led
locally to the suggestion that magmatism failed to attain
the palaeo-surface (e.g. Porgera: Richards & Kerrich
1993). At Bajo de La Alumbrera and Batu Hijau,
however, the porphyry deposits are clearly hosted by
degraded stratovolcanoes, a landform that is also probably implied by the andesitic volcanic rocks in the
vicinities of Refugio and Panguna.
As many as seven of the deposits display an association
with diatremes and associated plugs and domes. The
diatremes immediately post-dated emplacement of the
porphyry deposits, but helped to localise the epithermal
deposits. Moreover, diatreme emplacement at Far Southeast appears to have intervened between formation of the
porphyry copper-gold and Lepanto high-sulfidation
copper-gold deposits.
Deposit style
The large gold-rich porphyry deposits, like their smaller
counterparts, conform to a prescribed model, which
includes both stock-hosted and predominantly wallrockhosted examples. Low-grade cores characterise at least
six of the deposits and give rise to annular or bell-shaped

geometries.
In contrast, the large epithermal gold deposits are
extremely varied in form, like epithermal deposits in
general, with vein systems and grossly equidimensional
to tabular bodies of disseminated, stockwork and/or
breccia-hosted mineralisation representing the two geometrical extremes.
Clearly, the particular style or form of a deposit does
not seem to influence directly its gold content.
Alteration-mineralisation type
The gold-rich porphyry deposits all comply with a single
alteration-mineralisation model, in which centrally located
columns of K-silicate alteration containing quartz-veinlet
stockworks host the bulk of the gold and copper (Figure 4).
All but two of the large deposits, in common with many
smaller gold-rich porphyry deposits (Sillitoe 1979), contain
abundant hydrothermal magnetite. The presence or absence
of overprinted sericitic or intermediate argillic alteration
does not seem to exert any control on gold contents. The
existence of advanced argillic lithocap remnants at the
shallowest preserved levels near three of the deposits
implies that the upper parts of K-silicate alteration zones
are capable of hosting major gold concentrations. However,
the fact that the lithocaps have been eroded from the other
eight deposits may be taken to suggest that the deeper
levels of K-silicate zones are more favourable than their
shallower parts for gold concentration (also see above).
Large epithermal gold deposits span the full spectrum
of types currently recognised (White & Hedenquist 1990;
Sillitoe 1993c). They include high-sulfidation deposits,
albeit commonly of somewhat unusual styles, as well as a
variety of low-sulfidation types. These include deposits
that are either rich or poor in base metals and sulfides, in
adularia and in quartz. Representatives of both deposits
affiliated with alkaline rocks and hence rich in tellurides,
roscoelite (vanadian mica) and/or fluorite (Bonham 1986;
Richards 1995; e.g. Cripple Creek) and base-metal-rich
deposits dominated by carbonate gangue (Leach &
Corbett 1994; e.g. Kelian) are included.
Major gold concentrations may be present in the
shallow (so-called hot spring) parts of epithermal
systems, but may also occur at depths of up to 1.5-2 km
(e.g. Kelian, Porgera), which must be near the base of the
epithermal environment. The gold occupies vertical
intervals of 600 to 1000 m in several deposits, thereby
denying any restriction of gold ore to narrow vertical
ranges.
MECHANISMS CONDUCIVE TO PRODUCTION

AND ACCUMULATION OF GOLD
Several mechanisms operative from the initial site of
subcrustal magma generation through the magmatichydrothermal environment to the eventual site of hydrothermal gold accumulation are isolated here because of
their perceived potential to enhance the efficiency of gold
concentration.
381
Mantle processes
Post-subduction partial melting of the uppermost
seawater-altered parts of stalled ('dead') slabs or the
associated metasomatised (subduction-modified) mantle
wedge may generate highly oxidised magmas as well as
destabilising mantle sulfides to release copper and gold
(Mclnnes & Cameron 1994). These metals would then be
available for transport to the upper crust during arc
magmatism.
Such mantle-melting events may be triggered by
cessation of subduction, which may be induced by island
arc/island arc, continent/island arc or island arc/oceanic
plateau collision events (Figure 7a; cf. Thompson 1995).
Grasberg, Ok Tedi and Porgera were emplaced following
collision between the leading edge of the Australian
craton and an island arc to the north, whereas Ladolam
and Panguna followed collision between an island arc and
the Ontong Java oceanic plateau. Such collisions lead to
reversals of arc polarity, a tectonic scenario considered by
Solomon (1990) to be favourable for porphyry coppergold generation. The flip in subduction polarity due to
Plio-Pleistocene arc/continent collision is recent in the
northern Philippines, where the pre-collision, west-facing
Central Cordillera arc, site of the large Far Southeast,
Santo Tomas II and Baguio gold copper deposits, remains
weakly active. In marked contrast, the arc polarity
reversal that seems to have been responsible for the
magmatism associated with Pueblo Viejo was Early Cretaceous (Lebron & Perfit 1993). Post-subduction partial
melting was also proposed for the Ordovician shoshonitic
magmatism of the eastern Lachlan Fold Belt (Wyborn
1992), with which Cadia Hill is related.
Alternatively, the mantle melting may be caused by
transitions from convergent to transform margins or by
steepening and trenchward retreats of subducted slabs
(Figure 7b). Large deposits in back-arc settings, such as
Bingham, Bajo de La Alumbrera and Cripple Creek,
might be ascribed to back-arc extension linked to slab
retreat. Round Mountain may be tied to extension
preparatory to the demise of subduction beneath the
Great Basin of the western USA, but probably with a
greater crustal contribution to the associated volcanic
rocks. In contrast, some large gold deposits, such as El
Indio and Batu Hijau, are products of final arc activity
prior to landward migration of magmatism to create a
new younger arc.
Irrespective of the precise controls of the mantlemelting events, the upper crustal intrusive and/or volcanic
products and associated gold mineralisation tended to be
distinctive compositionally, relatively limited in areal
extent and short-lived (cf. Thompson et al. 1995). Where
arc activity was longer lived, as in the vicinities of El
Indio, Batu Hijau, Baguio, Santo Tomas II and Far
Southeast, the formation of the large gold deposits was
the concluding event and seems to have lacked
voluminous co-temporal magmatism.
Magmatic-hydrothermal processes
Efficient release of voluminous gold-rich magmatic fluids
from upper crustal magma chambers should favour the
(a)
Large gold deposit in

former fore-arc setting
Subduction-modified
mantle wedge
Large gold deposit

in back-arc setting
(b)
Oxidized
magma
Subduction-modified
mantle
Stalled slab
200 km
Slab steepening
Figure 7 Tectonic scenarios for partial melting of stalled slabs

and overlying subduction-modified mantle wedges to give highly
oxidised magmas, with oxidation of magmatic mantle sulfides to
release gold and copper, (a) Following island arc/continent
collision, (b) During trenchward migration of subducted slab (slab
steepening). See text for further details.
formation of large gold deposits. Rapid cooling or

depressurisation of such magma chambers, not necessarily accompanied by 'second boiling' due to crystallisation (Burnham 1979), promotes magmatic fluid saturation and release (e.g. Lowenstern 1993).
Rapid cooling of magma chambers may be induced by
cessation of magma production and ascent as a consequence of either slab steepening or flattening (arc
migration) or collision (Figure 8; Sillitoe 1992; Skewes
& Stern 1994; Cloos 1996). Rapid magma chamber
depressurisation may be triggered by rapid reductions of
confining pressure, caused by either rapid erosion and
exhumation consequent upon tectonic uplift (Figure 8) or
gravitational sector collapse of overlying volcanic
edifices (Sillitoe 1994). High rates of erosion, accomplished largely by landsliding, typify rapidly uplifted
terrains subjected to pluvial climatic conditions. Rapid
uplift is commonplace at convergent plate margins,
particularly as a consequence of collision events.
Grasberg, Ok Tedi and Porgera in mainland New
Guinea, Ladolam and Panguna in nearby islands and Far
Southeast, Santo Tomas II and Baguio in the northern
Philippines were all emplaced during rapid tectonic uplift
induced by collision processes (see above). Fission-track
dating by Crowhurst et al. (1996) confirms that rapid
uplift, denudation and cooling in the New Guinea Mobile
Belt took place from 8-5 Ma in the north (Porgera,
382
R. H. SILLITOE
6-5.6 Ma) through to the present day in the south

(Grasberg, 3.3-3 Ma; Ok Tedi, 1.2 Ma). In contrast, synsubduction crustal thickening was responsible for the
Mio-Pliocene uplift at El Indio (Kay et al. 1991). At
Ladolam, however, the unroofing is believed to have
taken place essentially instantaneously by sector collapse
of an overlying stratovolcano (Sillitoe 1994).
The very young ages noted above (Figure 6) for the
large gold and copper-gold deposits in Irian Jaya, Papua
New Guinea and the northern Philippines require rapid
uplift and erosion since deposit emplacement in order to
remove 1 or 2 km of overlying lithocap and underlying
rocks in as little as 1 million years. If such high erosion
rates characterised the areas of the deposits immediately
after emplacement, they almost certainly also prevailed
during magma intrusion and hydrothermal activity.
Passive, relatively slow degassing of magma chambers
during rapid cooling, uplift or sector collapse is thought
likely to inhibit formation of immiscible sulfide liquids
that sequester gold and copper from the melt (Figure 8;
Mclnnes & Evans 1996). In contrast, explosive degassing
and SO2 removal from the melt result in reduction of
oxygen fugacity and consequent magmatic sulfide precipitation, thereby decreasing gold availability at the hydrothermal stage (Matthews et al. 1995; Mclnnes & Evans
1996).
Volcano remnant
Molasse sediments
^T
^
Formation of large
gold-rich porphyry
deposit
Part of collisiongenerated
fold-thrust belt
Degassing of magma chamber;

oxidation of magma; gold and
copper behave incompatibly
Felsic magma
chamber
Cessation of magma supply

as subduction ends as a result
of collision; consequent cooling
of magma system
Figure 8 Selected processes operative in and around upper

crustal magma chambers that may be conducive to formation of
large gold-rich porphyry and epithermal deposits. Injection of
mafic magma into the felsic chamber causes SO2 release,
breakdown of magmatic sulfides and release of gold and base
metals. Rapid tectonic uplift aids degassing of the felsic chamber
and formation of a major gold accumulation in cylindrical cupolas
on its roof. Degassing is also promoted by cessation of magma
input to the chamber and its consequent rapid cooling. See text for
further details.
Studies of active volcanoes suggest that highly oxidised

magma may be generated by quenching a volatile-charged
mafic melt during injection into a felsic chamber in the
upper crust (Figure 8). The resulting SO2-rich gas phase
would oxidise the mixed magma, stabilise anhydrite as a
phenocryst phase and cause copper to behave incompatibly (Hattori 1993; Matthews et al. 1995).
The apparently enhanced possibility of generating
large gold deposits in association with shoshonitic and
alkaline rocks (see above) may be attributed to the fact
that higher contents of sulfur and chlorine, both potentially effective ligands for hydrothermal gold transport,
correlate with increased alkalinity (Miiller & Groves
1993; Ducea et al. 1994). High chlorine contents favour
increased C1/H2O ratios in exsolved fluids, which
maximise the probability of base metal and gold transport
and mineralisation (Candela & Piccoli 1995).
Hydrothermal processes
Marked contrasts in the permeability of rocks and

structures at the sites of ore formation commonly exert
powerful influences on the size and grade of the resulting
deposits because of focusing and ponding of fluids. The
most obvious representation of this is the confinement of
at least parts of 10 of the large epithermal gold deposits
by faults (Table 2). Moreover, the large size of the Waihi,
Pachuca-Real del Monte and Baguio deposits, where
gold grades are not exceptional, is clearly due to the large
number of dilatant faults that were available throughout
extended mineralisation events.
Lithologically induced permeability contrasts also seem
to be important, not only in epithermal settings where half
of the large gold deposits are localised at lithologic
contacts (Table 2), but also in the porphyry environment.
Porphyry copper stocks that possess tight wallrocks may
tend to retain rather than dissipate and dilute the exsolving
magmatic fluids, a sort of 'pressure-cooker effect', and so
develop higher gold and copper grades (Figure 9a). The
two highest grade porphyry copper-gold deposits comply
with this situation: the upper parts of the Grasberg stock
are encased in massive, poorly bedded limestone that was
rendered even more impermeable by marbleisation near
the contacts (MacDonald & Arnold 1994); and Far
Southeast is hosted by late Mesozoic volcanic rocks that
had undergone sub-seafloor metamorphism (Garcia 1991).
Furthermore, three of the 11 gold-rich porphyry deposits,
the two largest (Bingham and Grasberg) and Ok Tedi,
possess limestone wallrocks, which seems to be more than
just coincidental given that carbonate terranes are
estimated to crop out in no more than 5% of Cenozoic
magmatic arcs around the Pacific rim.
The extraordinarily large size of two of the epithermal
deposits is attributed to the availability 'in the right place
at the right time' of highly permeable units overlain by
aquitards (Figures 5a, 9b). At Round Mountain (Sander
1988) and McDonald (Bartlett et al. 1995), poorly
welded ignimbrite beneath more intensely welded parts
of the same cooling units constituted the aquifers into
which gold-bearing fluids were fed. The reverse situation,
impermeable basalt overlain by poorly lithified and
probably water-saturated maar sediments (Figure 9b),

appears to have localised much of the gold ore at the
large Pueblo Viejo deposit (Muntean et al. 1990).
These two stratigraphic situations, impermeable unit
either above or below permeable unit, also seem to have
exerted a major influence on development of bonanza ore
shoots in two of the large epithermal vein gold deposits
(Figure 5b). At Hishikari, an unconformity between
permeable tuffs and volcaniclastics and subjacent flysch
basement localised the highest grade ore, probably as a
result of abrupt changes in physico-chemical conditions
as the mineralising fluids entered the permeable unit
(Ishihara et al. 1986). The ascending fluids would have
undergone essentially simultaneous depressurisation (vigorous boiling), dilution, oxidation and cooling, all propitious for gold precipitation from bisulfide complexes
(Seward 1991). In contrast, the localisation of bonanza
gold ore in welded ignimbrite beneath andesitic flows at
El Indio is attributed to the rheological difference
between the two rock types, the latter being less brittle
and therefore acting as a partial seal above the orebearing dilatant faults below.
Some of the bonanza gold shoots at Cripple Creek
were also localised in part by lithologic contacts.
Bonanza shoots follow the ring fault of the nested
Cresson diatreme, which juxtaposes basalt-rich breccia
against earlier, probably better-lithified diatreme breccias
(Thompson 1992; Figure 9c). Gold-bearing breccia pipes
in the Acupan sector at Baguio are also controlled by a
diatreme contact, where it is intersected by vein-hosting
faults (Damasco & de Guzman 1977).
The dynamic environment of gold deposition,
especially to form epithermal deposits, may also be
isolated as a crucial factor in the development of some
very large deposits. At Ladolam, sector collapse transformed a porphyry copper-gold system into a lowsulfidation epithermal gold system and resulted in telescoping of the two (Sillitoe 1994; Figure 9d). The
subhorizontal zone of gold-bearing phreatic breccias that
constitutes the Ladolam deposit was generated as a result
of depressurisation caused by the sector collapse, with
the gold being precipitated by the consequent fluid
boiling and mixing (Moyle et al. 1990; Carman 1995).
The bonanza epithermal stage in Zone VII at the Porgera
gold deposit was probably a result of violent phase
separation (Richards & Kerrich 1993) during the synmineral initiation of the ore-controlling Roamane fault
(Munroe 1995). Porgera was generated during an interval
of rapid uplift and erosion (Crowhurst et al. 1996) that
resulted in Zone VII being telescoped over the earlystage intrusion-related gold mineralisation. Telescoping
was a requirement for Porgera to attain its large size.
CRITERIA FOR LARGE CIRCUM-PACIFIC

GOLD DEPOSITS
The formation of large gold deposits in the porphyry and
epithermal environments, as elsewhere, must be favoured
by the confluence of many magmatic and hydrothermal
factors as well as by the production and focusing of large
volumes of gold-rich fluid. However, such statements are
not useful for explorationists, who need observational
Marble near
stock contact
y*\
V
V
383
Impermeable
limestone wallrocks
v
\ ^ High-grade gold-rich
porphyry deposit
Large epithermal
gold deposit
Aquitard
i Aquifer
Large epithermal
gold deposit
Tight
basement
Large epithermal gold deposit

in diatreme ring fault and
in diatreme fill
(c)
1 km
Large telescoped
epithermal gold deposit
Sector collapse amphitheatre

Debris avalanche
1km
Porphyry-type
mineralization in stock
Figure 9 Selected processes favouring formation of large gold

deposits in the shallow hydrothermal environment, (a) Formation
of high-grade, gold-rich porphyry deposit resulting from fluid
ponding in stock caused by relatively impermeable host rocks
(e.g. Grasberg). (b) Formation of large epithermal gold deposits
beneath an aquitard (e.g. Round Mountain; cf. Figure 5a) and in
an aquifer above a tight rock sequence (e.g. Pueblo Viejo).
(c) Formation of large epithermal gold deposit on the contact of
and within a maar-diatreme system (e.g. Baguio). (d) Gravitational sector collapse of a volcanic edifice to generate a large
epithermal gold deposit telescoped over porphyry copper-gold
mineralisation, the formation of which was terminated by the
collapse (e.g. Ladolam). See text for further details.
criteria that might suggest the presence of large deposits.

On the basis of the foregoing, the following criteria
(Table 3) may be useful in directing the search for large
gold deposits of porphyry and/or epithermal type.
384
R. H. SILLITOE
Table 3 Criteria favourable for large circum-Paciflc gold deposits.

Gold-rich porphyry deposits
Epithermal gold deposits
Unusual arc settings, especially following collision and in back-arcs following slab steepening
Unusual magma chemistry, especially shoshonitic, alkaline and bimodal suites
End stage of arc construction
Gravitational sector collapse of volcanic edifices, as shown by collapse amphitheatres and debris avalanche deposits
Highly oxidised systems, shown by abundant hydrothermal magnetite
Marked permeability or rheological contrasts within host lithologies
Extremely young (= 5 Ma) magmatism (in the tropics)
Flow-dome complexes and/or maar-diatreme systems
Steep incised terrain (in the tropics)
Impermeable host rocks, especially massive limestones
Applicable to porphyry and epithermal deposits

Five of the 11 large gold-rich porphyry deposits and
seven of the 14 large epithermal gold deposits occupy
unusual arc settings and/or are parts of igneous suites
characterised by unusual chemistry. The unusual arc
settings include back-arcs, post-subduction arcs, rifted
arcs and arc junctions. The unusual magma chemistry is
reflected by alkaline, shoshonitic and bimodal suites.
Geotectonic settings favouring mantle processes capable
of generating highly oxidised magmas and occurrence of
higher chlorine and sulfur contents in alkali-rich magmas,
as described above, may help to explain some of these
relationships. However, irrespective of the precise controls,
the fact that about half the large gold deposits are located in
tectonic and magmatic settings that make up < 5% of the
Pacific rim, rather than in 'normal' subduction-related
andesitic-dacitic arcs, is important for exploration planning.
Available geological information for much of the
circum-Pacific region is adequate to be able to isolate
unusual tectonic settings and magmatic provinces,
especially for Cenozoic terranes. This must be considered
as a useful endeavour for anyone embarking on or
engaged in gold exploration of the circum-Pacific region.
Applicable to porphyry deposits
Gold-rich porphyry deposits, including the large ones, are
distinguished from other porphyry deposits by an abundance of hydrothermal magnetite in zones of gold- and
copper-bearing K-silicate alteration (Sillitoe 1979). Only
two of the 11 large gold-rich porphyry deposits (Bingham,
Ok Tedi) lack appreciable hydrothermal magnetite.
The elevated magnetite contents of gold-rich porphyry
deposits reflect the highly oxidised state of the magmas
from which the gold-transporting fluids were derived.
The two large deposits lacking hydrothermal magnetite
are associated with the most felsic host stocks (Table 1),
which may imply that total iron contents were simply too
low for magnetite to form as a major hydrothermal
mineral. As described above, mechanisms operating
during magma generation in the mantle wedge and again
during magma mixing in subvolcanic magma chambers
may account for highly oxidised magmas that promote
gold incompatibility and its efficient partition into a
magmatic fluid phase.
Although high hydrothermal magnetite contents cannot
be used to distinguish between large and small gold-rich
porphyry deposits, their existence does at least suggest
that a porphyry system is gold-rich. Furthermore, the

magnetite contents are sufficient for detection using
aeromagnetic surveying (Sillitoe 1979). Indeed, Bajo de
La Alumbrera, Grasberg and Batu Hijau were all shown
recently to correspond to prominent 'bull's eye' magnetic
highs (e.g. Potter 1996).
If rapid rates of magma chamber cooling, uplift and
consequent denudation are accepted as favourable for the
formation of large gold-rich porphyry and related epithermal gold deposits, as proposed above, then arc terranes showing physiographic evidence for rapid erosion
and characterised by young porphyry stocks should be
assigned priority. Rapid uplift and erosion under tropical
conditions will give rise to steep incised terrain and, in
island arcs, relict late Cenozoic shallow-marine sequences up to 1 km or more above sea-level. Table 1 suggests
that arcs = 5 Ma are the most prospective given that all
the large gold-rich porphyry deposits in western Pacific
arcs are of this age. In arid and semi-arid terrains of the
western Americas, however, high uplift rates are not
matched by such rapid erosion, and hence prospective
stocks will not be so young (Table 1).
Porphyry stocks emplaced into tight wallrocks are
hypothesised to result in higher grade gold-rich porphyry
deposits because of the reduced dissipation of magmatic
fluids. Relatively impermeable but potentially receptive
limestone wallrocks are believed to be particularly
effective for the localisation of large and possibly highgrade deposits. Indeed, based on Table 1 and the discussion above, a case could be made for devoting entire
porphyry gold copper exploration budgets to arcs
constructed over shelf-carbonate terranes.
Applicable to epithermal deposits
Half of the large epithermal gold deposits are controlled,
at least partly, by contacts between lithologies that are
very different in intrinsic permeability or rheology. Such
contacts, including unconformities, may have acted to
focus or pond hydrothermal fluids or to modify
dramatically
their physico-chemical
constitution.
Alternatively, such contacts may influence profoundly the
details of fault propagation and dilatancy at the time of
gold mineralisation.
Given that many epithermal districts lack marked
lithologic contacts, those that do should be given particular emphasis during exploration programmes. Imagination and geological extrapolation will be required in
many instances because the potentially favourable

contacts will be largely or entirely subsurface features at
the sites of observed mineralisation. Indeed, the contacts
instrumental in ore localisation at Round Mountain,
Pueblo Viejo, El Indio, Porgera and Hishikari were not
appreciated properly until after gold ore was discovered.
Sector collapse of volcanic edifices above gold-generating intrusions may be instrumental in the formation of
large epithermal gold deposits as well as causing telescoping of different styles of gold mineralisation (Sillitoe 1994).
However, volcanological evidence for sector collapse is
preserved as a collapse amphitheatre (Moyle et al. 1990)
and submarine debris flow derived from it (Herzig &
Hannington 1995) only at Ladolam.
An exceptional number, at least seven and possibly
eight, of the large epithermal gold deposits are associated
with maar-diatreme systems and/or flow-dome complexes
(Table 2). These volcanic landforms may be preferred
sites for large epithermal gold deposits because they are
connected directly to subjacent magma chambers by
through-going permeable zones. The permeability in
maar-diatreme systems is provided by ring faults,
intersections of ring and district faults and the poorly
lithified diatreme breccias themselves, whereas in flowdome complexes it is provided by feeder dykes, commonly fault-controlled.
It is not easy at the exploration stage to employ maardiatreme systems as guides to large gold deposits because
they are difficult to recognise at surface. This is because
their poorly lithified breccia fills generally give rise to
recessive topographic features that act as receptacles for
thick soil and alluvium. Nevertheless, their recognition
during trenching and early drilling can assist ongoing
exploration. Domes are much easier to recognise,
however, because they commonly give rise to topographic
prominences.
CONCLUSIONS
Most aspects of the setting and characteristics of porphyry and epithermal systems containing > 2001 gold
deposits seem to be similar to those that typify their
smaller and lower grade counterparts. Size-independent
factors include those of metallogenic scope, such as
magmatic arc type, crustal architecture, petrochemistry,
regional fault/lineament control and mineralisation age,
and those of deposit or district scale, such as deposit
type, mineralisation style, structural setting, lithologic
setting, volcanic setting and depth of formation. It is
apparent that no magic formula or panacea exists to
explain the formation of unusually large gold deposits
in the circum-Pacific region.
Nevertheless, a series of hypothetical mechanisms
operating in the mantle, in high-level magma chambers,
during exsolution of magmatic fluids and at sites of gold
deposition are considered to be particularly favourable
for either the liberation, concentration, transport or
precipitation of gold and hence for the formation of large
gold deposits.
If the characteristics of the 25 largest gold deposits in
the circum-Pacific region are reviewed in conjunction
with these hypothetical mechanisms, a number of criteria
385
considered as favourable indicators for large gold

accumulations may be identified. Unusual arc setting and
chemistry are proposed as favourable criteria for both
porphyry and epithermal deposits. Abundance of hydrothermal magnetite, high uplift rates reflected by very
young host stocks, and impermeable or limestone
wallrocks are applicable to porphyry deposits, whereas
permeability and rheology contrasts across lithologic
contacts and an association with maar-diatreme systems
and flow-dome complexes are applicable to epithermal
deposits. However, none of these criteria is applicable
exclusively to large gold deposits.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Plutonic Resources Ltd and the organising committee are
thanked for the invitation and support to present this
paper at the World-Class Ore Deposits Symposium held
at the 13th Australian Geological Convention (Canberra,
22 February 1996). Donald Singer kindly let me have his
grade-tonnage data for large gold deposits, and Paul
Heithersay, Brent Mclnnes and Jeremy Richards provided
useful reviews of the manuscript.
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Received 9 July 1996; accepted 7 December 1996

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This article was downloaded by: [Rice University]

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Australian Journal of Earth Sciences

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Characteristics and controls of the largest porphyry copper-gold and

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Australian Journal of Earth Sciences (1997) 44, 373-388

Characteristics and controls of the largest porphyry

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27 West Hill Park, Highgate Village, London N6 6ND, England.

Exceptionally large gold deposits, often designated as

dominated by silver rather than gold. Several huge

Pachuca-Real del Moi

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Figure 1 Location of the largest

Table 1 Selected geological characteristics of large gold-rich porphyry deposits.

Newcrest Mining Staff 1996

Rush & Seegers

Grasberg, Bingham and Panguna, all containing > 7001

LARGEST CIRCUM-PACIFIC GOLD DEPOSITS

0.8I Far Southeast

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* Bonanza part only

Figure 3 Gold grade-tonnage plot for the largest gold-rich

appreciable tonnages at > 2 g/t Au as well as high copper

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All the large gold-rich porphyry deposits conform to a

Intermediate argillic overprinted

Figure 4 Model for large gold-rich porphyry deposits in the

skarns abut the porphyry deposits at Bingham, Cadia

LARGEST CIRCUM-PACIFIC GOLD DEPOSITS

Table 2 Selected geological characteristics of large epithermal gold deposits.

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Au content Tectonic Related

Flow dome? Disseminated

role as ore localisers appears to be minimal at Pueblo Viejo

deposits, the epithermal gold deposits along the western

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Perfit 1993). The volcanic rocks are bimodal at Pueblo

Minor quartzadularia veins + Au

Acid-leached rock formed

Figure 5 Selected end-member models for large epithermal gold

at McDonald (Bartlett et al. 1995); acid-leached rock

LARGEST CIRCUM-PACIFIC GOLD DEPOSITS

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Figure 6 Plot of ages of large gold-rich porphyry and epithermal

originally overlay them; indeed, three of the porphyry

six of the deposits and give rise to annular or bell-shaped

MECHANISMS CONDUCIVE TO PRODUCTION

LARGEST CIRCUM-PACIFIC GOLD DEPOSITS

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Large gold deposit in

Large gold deposit

Figure 7 Tectonic scenarios for partial melting of stalled slabs

formation of large gold deposits. Rapid cooling or

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6-5.6 Ma) through to the present day in the south

Degassing of magma chamber;

Cessation of magma supply

Figure 8 Selected processes operative in and around upper

Studies of active volcanoes suggest that highly oxidised