6/01/2014

Porphyry Cu + Au + Mo deposits
Definition
 Bulk tonnage low grade metal
 Intrusion rocks with porphyritic texture
 Quartz-sulphide stockwork (sheeted) veins
 Characteristic alteration zoned in time and space

Bingham Canyon

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Porphyry deposits
 Bulk tonnage low grade metal
 Intrusion rocks with porphyritic texture
 Quartz-sulphide stockwork (sheeted) veins
 Characteristic alteration zoned in time and space

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Porphyry deposits
 Bulk tonnage low grade metal
 Intrusion rocks with porphyritic texture
 Quartz-sulphide stockwork (sheeted) veins
 Characteristic alteration zoned in time and space

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Comparison with
volcanic
compositions

Andesitic magmatic arcs

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Porphyry deposits
 Bulk tonnage low grade metal
 Intrusion rocks with porphyritic texture
 Quartz-sulphide stockwork (sheeted) veins
 Characteristic alteration & mineralisation zoned in time and space

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Porphyry metal types

Cu + Mo Typical Andean calc-alkaline porphyry Cu
common strong phyllic alteration with pyrite
supergene chalcocite blanket
Cu – Au + Mo SW Pacific island arc
preserved potassic alteration with magnetite
Au-rich Cu SW Pacific includes alkaline intrusions

Mo + Cu Felsic differentiated granodiorite to granitic

Au Fort Knox style

Maricunga Belt, Chile
Wallrock porphyry styles (Cadia).

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Maricunga Belt Porphyry Au Chile

Rufugio
Marte

From Sillitoe et al.,

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Wallrock porphyry Au
Maricunga Belt, Chile

Cadia Hill Australia

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Controls to porphyry Cu-Au-Mo mineralisation

 Fertile magmatic source

 Trigger provided by
change in convergence
 Dilatant setting eg splay
 Sheeted veins
 Competent host rock
 Polyphasal intrusions
 Only minor post-mineral
porphyry

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Porphyry deposits

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Structural control to porphyry Cu-Au

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Cadia district and the Lachlan Transverse Zone

Bar scale is 200km

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Transfer structure,
Wafi, PNG

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Arc-parallel structures

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Structure in porphyry systems – localisation

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Arc parallel faults and

Chuquicamata localised by a
splay in oblique convergence

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La Escondida

La Escondida

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Splays localise porphyries in arc parallel strs

Far South East at
Lepanto Philippines

Frieda River, Papua New Guinea

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Changes in converge as a trigger for intrusion

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Spine like intrusions

Grasberg Indonesia

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Golpu, Wafi,
Papua New Guinea

Extends to
1800 depth

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Ridgeway, Cadia Valley,

Australia

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Caspiche Chile
Mineralisation in
porphyry systems
 Quartz veins
 Disseminated Ok Tedi PNG

 Breccia

Tourmaline
breccia, Chile

Yoeval NSW

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Stockwork versus sheeted

and laminated porphyry
veins Cadia,
Australia

La Granja, Peru
Random
Ridgeway, Australia
4 vein generation Laminated M vein
Ridgeway, Australia

Namosi,
Fiji

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Structure in porphyry systems

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Structure in porphyry systems

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Cargo Marginal lodes

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Structure in porphyry systems

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Conceptual porphyry structure

Dinkidi at Didipio, Philippines

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Porphyry geology – end of a long process

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Exploration significance
Vectors to buried porphyry deposits
 Zoned prograde alteration – incl magnetics
 Retrograde alteration – incl chargeability
 D veins
 Dykes and polyphasal porphyry systems
 Marginal breccias such as pebble dykes
 Deeply eroded barren shoulders

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Lowell and Guilbert

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Sillitoe & Gappe

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Dizon, Philippines

Pyrophyllite, dickite,
diaspore, pyrite alteration

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G & H tot

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Philippine porphyry related geothermal systems

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Model for staged porphyry

Cu-Au evolution

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Potassic alteration

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Kfeldspar as matrix, veins and selvages

flooding , Zhongdian, China selvages Caspiche Chile

matrix to volcanic breccia - Temora veins Sumba Is. Indonesia

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Biotite St Tomas
Philippines Potassic alteration
secondary biotite,
Anhydrite matrix to
biotite-magnetite anhydrite, magnetite
altered clasts, Lihir,
Papua New Guinea

Biotite Wamum
Papua New Guinea

Adjacent to
A vein
Goonumbla Magnetite with quartz-bornite
Australia veins, Ridgeway, Australia

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Early porphyry style A veins

Dismembered
A veins,
Ridgeway

Ptgymatic
quartz veins

Ptgymatic quartz-anhydrite
A vein cut by later veins
Goonumbla Australia

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Porphyry style
linear A veins

Caspiche, Chile

Goonumbla
Australia

Ridgeway
Australia

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A veins
Cadia East wall rock porphyry

Cargo
Australia

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Porphyry style M veins

Copper Hill, Australia

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‘Barren core’ - laminated quartz-magnetite

without later sulphides

Wonogiri, Indonesia

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Ridgeway,
Cadia Valley
Australia

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Laminated and sheeted M veins

Namosi Golpu
Fiji PNG

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Propylitic
alteration
Chlorite-
carbonate

epidote

actinolite

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Actinolite
Ridgeway discovery DDH NC498

485m

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Barren shoulders of advanced argillic alteration

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Barren shoulders of
advanced argillic alteration
and associated porphyry Cu-Au
Lookout Rocks-Ohio Creek
New Zealand

Ekwai Debom-Horse Ivaal

Frieda River, PNG

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Southern Negros

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Geothermal Analogy

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Lithocaps
Barren shoulders with
lithological control

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Porphyry B veins

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Porphyry B veins
Copper Hill Australia

Central Thailand

Cargo
Australia

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B veins formed by opening A veins

Wonogiri Indonesia

Ridgeway Australia

Goonumbla Australia

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Porphyry C veins
Grasberg, Indonesia

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C veins
Cadia-Ridgeway

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A->BC veins

Wonogiri Indonesia

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Drawdown and phyllic alteration overprint

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Phyllic Alteration

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Phyllic alteration - silica-sericite-pyrite+ankerite

Caspiche
Chile

Chatree
Thailand
Highland Valley
La Arena, Peru Canada

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Phyllic alteration and Au deposition

Batu Hijau Indonesia 1.33g/t Au 0.66%Cu Temora Australia 0.1 g/t Au & 0.11% Cu

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Argillic overprint

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Argillic overprint
on phyllic

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D veins

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D veins – sulphide lodes with sericite selvages

Bilimoia and
Nakru PNG

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D veins – quartz-sulphides-carbonate

Copper Hill
SE Queensland
Australia

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D veins – quartz-sulphides-anhydrite

Constantina Peru
Taguibo Philippines

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D veins

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Acid D veins

Poposa Argentina

Acid D vein with quartz-

pyrite-enargite-alunite-barite
- Maricunga district Chile

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Classification of porphyry vein types

Early and Prograde
 A – ptymatic dismembered, granular quartz-
sulphdie + anhydrite, prograde alteration (G & H)
 A – linear and wormy saccharoidal quartz with
chalcopyrite-bornite
 M – quartz-magnetite-chalcopyrite-bornite (Clark)
 B – comb centrally terminated reactivated linear
quartz veins with late sulphide fill (G& H)
 C – thin chalcopyrite + quartz (Proffett)
 D – thick linear quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite-enargite
with sericite halos
Late and Retrograde

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Porphyry quartz vein types and magmatic source

A M B C

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Levels in
porphyry Cu-Au

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Barren Cores to porphyries

Magnetite-epidote-chalcopyrite
breccias 1.74g/t Au & 2550ppm Cu

Wonogiri, Indonesia

Barren laminated
quartz-magnetite
Sheeted magnetite-epidote- veins 0.07g/t Au &
actinolite chalcopyrite veins 357ppm Cu
1.3g/t Au & 2970ppm Cu.

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Ore shells and Barren cores

 Fluids migrate to top and margins
 Settings of most cooling
 Limit of quartz veins
 Central later intrusions barren

Batu Hijau, Indonesia

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Polyphasal intrusion emplacement

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Repeated intrusion

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Multiple intrusion events

La Arena Peru

Ridgeway

Wonogiri, Indonesia

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Disruption to the
normal sequence

Magnetite cuts sericite

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Ridgeway –
several events

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Overprinting intrusions
Grasberg, Inodnesia

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Late stage post mineral

intrusions

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Oyu Tolgoi
From Foster 2001

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Post-mineral diatreme breccia pipes

Dizon Philippines
post-mineral diatreme breccia pipe

Magnetite clast
Lepanto

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Post-mineral
diatreme – El
Teniente, Chile

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Golpu, Wafi,
Papua New Guinea

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Cu-Au ratios

Au with
bornite

‘First’ Cpy 1% Cpy 3%Cpy Bn

Covellite From
Menzies 2013

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Copper species in porphyry systems

composition Cu% Fe% S% As%
Pyrite FeS2 0 46.6 53.4 0

Chalcopyrite CuFeS2 34.5 30.5 35 0

Bornite Cu5FeS4 63.3 11.1 25.6 0

Covellite CuS 66.4 0 33.6 0

Chalcocite Cu2S 79.8 0 20.2 0

Malachite CuCO3.Cu(OH)2 63.8 0 0 0

Enargite 3Cu2S.As2S5 48.3 0 32.6 19.1 + Sb

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Copper species in porphyry systems

*Au
propylitic
potassic

Bornite Au Chalcopyrite-bornite

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Metal zonation

Position of plan

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Metal Zonation

Position of
vertical zonation

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Role of phyllic alteration in supergene Cu

enrichment and exploration
 Magnetite destruction
 Pyrite provides chargeability anomalies
 Pyrite weathers to provide acid waters

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Magnetite destruction

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Aerom

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Oyu Tolgoi long section

from Kirwin 2003

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IP Magnetics
Oyu Tolgoi IP and mag

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Supergene Cu processes
1966

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Leached caps and

Supergene blankets

La Granja, Peru

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Chalcocite and
copper oxide

Morenci, Arizona

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Supergene enriched porphyry Cu Au

Ok Tedi, Papua New Guinea
1988 proven and
probable reserves

Au cap 2.7Mt @
2.07 g/t Au at 1
gm cut off

>0.7% Cu

‘Sulphide’ 355Mt
@ 0.67% Cu &
0.61 g/t Au at .4%
1gm cut off 0.11%
Mo

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Exploration implications – Porphyry Cu-Au

 Localised on major structures
– Arc normal and arc parallel
– Trigger of change in the nature of convergence
 Anatomy - source vs apophysis and wallrock veins
 Overprinting events –
• Repeated mineralisation with repeatd intrusion events
• Post-mineral ‘wipe-out’ intrusions
• Prograde and retrograde alteration,
• Different quartz veins – e.g., A, M, B, C & D
 Prospecting
– D veins, pebble dykes, skarn float
– Zoned alteration
– Geophysical techniques – aeromegnetics, IP
– Drill testing sheeted veins

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Controls to porphyry Cu-Au-Mo mineralisation

 Fertile magmatic source

 Trigger provided by
change in convergence
 Dilatant setting eg splay
here as growth fault
 Dilatant sheeted veins
 Competent host rock
 Polyphasal intrusions
 Only minor post-mineral
porphyry

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