EOSC 331: Porphyry deposits

Stefan Wallier
EOS-South 058
swallier@eos.ubc.ca

Bingham, Utah (USA)

What is going to be covered

Definition of porphyry deposits
Occurrence of porphyry deposits
Classification
Metal-based classification
Cu, Mo, Au, Sn, W

Systematic relationships to magma types

Alkalinity and silica content

Related deposit types

How are they formed

Styles of alteration and mineralization

What is a porphyry Cu ( other metals) deposit?

Large tonnage and low hypogene
grade (<1%)
Centered over apical part of
pluton, stocks or dikes
Lie above larger batholith at
6-10 km depth
Emplaced generally at 1-4 km
depth (some deeper)
Fluid evolves from high to low T
Generally short time of formation
Can be linked with epithermal
deposits
From Heinrich (2002)

Defining characteristics of
porphyry deposits
Genetic association with
porphyries, igneous rocks that
both
Are porphyritic
Have a sugary (aplitic), fine-grained
groundmass

Large volumes of uniform,

low to moderate grade
mineralization
Systems with spatial dimensions of
kilometers, yet
Processes that formed deposits
occurred on scales of veins
Multiple commodities

Porphyry deposits are major sources of metals

Copper > Mo ~ Au > Pb, Zn, Rh, W, etc
Copper used in construction, currency, electronics
Molybdenum used in high strength alloy and high-T steel;
aircraft parts, paints and lubricants
digenite Cu9S5

Chalcocite Cu2S

chalcopyrite CuFeS2
bornite Cu5FeS4

enargite Cu3AsS4

molybdenite MoS2

Distribution in time
All classes strongly skewed to Cenozoic
Function of preservation

Global
distribution
of porphyries

Convergent margins
Circum-Pacific
Alpine-Himalayan
Altaides

Tectonic settings

Only in settings that generate large and moderately hydrous

magma chambers
Variety of settings; copper deposits mostly in arcs

Size and
grade
Sizes
10 Mt to 10 Gt
Cu > Mo ~ Au > W ~ Sn

Grades
Typical ore grades:
0.4 - 1.0 % Cu
0.001 - 0.1 % Mo
0.001 - 1 g/t Au
100 to 10,000 x crustal
abundance

Seedorff et al. (2005)

Classes
Based on the principal contained metals
Classes
Porphyry copper
Porphyry molybdenum
Porphyry gold
Porphyry tungsten
Porphyry tin

Subdivision based
on igneous rocks
Consistent broad patterns in

Metals
Setting
Alteration types
Distinctive features

Seedorff et al.
(2005)

Metal Endowment & Magma Chemistry

101

oxidation state

Fe2O3 /
FeO 100

Cu - Au

Mo

Cu - Mo

W - Mo

W
10-1

Increasing
oxidation
Increasing
fractionation
10-3

10-2

10-1

Rb/Sr
Modified from
Blevin, 2003

100

Metal endowment of
intrusion-related
deposits controlled
by magmatic:

Sn

Sn W

101

fractionation

102

103

oxidation state
compositional
evolution
silica content

What is a porphyry Cu ( other metals) deposit?

Large tonnage and low hypogene
grade (<1%)
Centered over apical part of
pluton, stocks or dikes
Lie above larger batholith at
6-10 km depth
Emplaced generally at 1-4 km
depth (some deeper)
Fluid evolves from high to low T
Generally short time of formation
Can be linked with epithermal
deposits

From Heinrich (2002)

Source of metals and fluid

- Metals from magma
- Fluid from
magmatic volatile phase which are exsolved from a
crystallizing magma body.
Surface (meteoric) water (and intergranular fluids
within country rock)
Transport of metals in
- Magma
- Magmatic derived fluid
- Meteoric fluid
Trap
- Boiling
- Fluid mixing (?)
- Changing physio-chemical conditions (P,T,Xxi,XO2)
- Structural traps greater fluid-rock interaction
- Magmatic breccia traps greater fluid-rock interaction

Upper crustal magma chambers

Cuernos del Paine, Chile

Mushroom shaped with flat

tops and bottoms
Wider (10-20 km) than thick
(<5km)

Goodale pluton, California

Chita pluon, Argentina

Yoshinubo et al.,

Yerington - Advanced argillic to pluton

169.5 Ma

168.5 Ma

Formation of mid-crustal magma chamber and exsolution and trapping of

hydrothermal fluid in apical zones of chamber is a critical first step in a
magmatic-hydrothermal system

Luhr Hill granodiorite

Yerington Batholith Plan (1-3 km depth) with Luhr Hill

cupolas & ppy dikes, alteration zones, & ore deposits

Na-Ca altn

Na-Ca altn

Lyon Cu
Fe-oxide
Dilles & Proffett, 1995; Dilles, 2000

Related deposit types

With genetic ties
Lodes
Skarn
Replacement
Epithermal

Coeval in some areas

Iron-oxide-copper-gold (IOCG)
Volcanogenic massive sulfides

What is a porphyry Cu ( other metals) deposit?

Large tonnage and low hypogene
grade (<1%)
Centered over apical part of
pluton, stocks or dikes
Lie above larger batholith at 6-10
km depth
Emplaced generally at 1-4 km
depth (some deeper)
Fluid evolves from high to low T
Generally short time of formation
Can be linked with epithermal
deposits

From Heinrich (2002)

Variety of porphyry
Cu deposits reflects
igneous association
and style of
hydrothermal system

diorite/alkalic
normal PCD

breccia

Porphyry Mo: Similar story

Bingham

Silver Bell

Veins in porphyry Cu
deposits
Referred to as stockworks, which
implies random arrangement of
veins.

Bingham

Courtesy of Alan Wilson & David Cooke

Courtesy of David Cooke

Goonumbla, Australia

Ridgeway, Australia

Veins in porphyry deposits

Widths
Typically less than
a few cm
Most only a few
millimeters

Implications
Narrow fractures fractures easily filled and
sealed within a short period of time
Generally straightforward to relate formation of
alteration envelopes to filling of veinlets

Alteration envelopes
Wall-rock alteration envelopes
Envelopes = selvages = halos
Generally symmetrical about vein

Commonly
produces specific,
and usually
characteristic,
observed mineral
associations
Stable equilibrium
not necessarily
implied
Relict minerals may
remain unreacted

Vein sequences:
Reflects fluid evolution
Temperature
Water rock interaction

Grouping of vein types

High-temperature
Biotitic veinlets associated
with potassic assemblages
Veins dominated by
magnetite, amphibole, and
plagioclase
Sugary quartz veinlets
associated with potassic
assemblages
Veins with sodic-calcic
envelopes
Calc-potassic veins
Veins with silicic and potassic
envelopes

Moderately high temperature

Quartz veins that commonly
lack alteration envelopes
Quartz-bearing veins with
complex mineralogy
Banded quartz veinlets

Moderate temperature
Pyritic veins with feldspardestructive envelopes
Greisen veins
Veins with propylitic envelopes

Low temperature
Base-metal veins
Generally barren veins without
alteration envelopes

Seedorff et al. (2005)

High-temperature potassic assemblages

Fish Lake, British

Columbia (Caira et al.,
1995, Fig. 15A)

El Salvador, Chile
Gustafson and Hunt (1975)

High-temperature sugary quartz

veinlets associated with potassic
assemblages
Mineralogy of veins

Quartz (50-90 vol%)

K-feldspar
Anhydrite
Bornite and chalcopyrite
Rare biotite

Potassic (K-silicate)
alteration of wall rocks
K-feldspar replaces
plagioclase
Biotite replaces amphibole
Commonly Cu mineralized
(disseminated)

Seedorff et al. (2005)

Moderately high temperature

quartz veins that commonly lack
alteration envelopes

Orientation and morphology

Continuous along strike for
meters to tens of meters

Texture
Coarse grained

Mineralogy

Quartz
Molybdenite
Chalcopyrite
Anhydrite (vugs if leached)
Minor pyrite
Lesser tourmaline

Steeply dipping B veinlet at El

Salvador (Gustafson and Hunt,
1975, Fig. 15A)

Moderately high T veins

Sulfides
Molybdenite
Chalcopyrite pyrite

Morphology
Continuous planar
structures
Parallel walls
Internal banding, including
centerlines

Alteration envelopes
veins generally lack
alteration halos
Seedorff et al. (2005)

Moderately high temperature

banded quartz veinlets
Orientation and morphology
Randomly oriented
Discontinuous and wispy

Mineralogy
Quartz
Magnetite

Texture
Distinctly banded

Dark color of bands due to

Abundant vapor-rich fluid
inclusions
Micrometer-sized grains of
magnetite

Dark, banded quartz veinlet from

Pancho deposit, Refugio district, Chile
(Muntean and Einaudi, 2001, Fig. 5A)

Moderate-temperature pyritic veins

with feldspar-destructive envelopes

Orientation and morphology

Continuous, systematically
oriented fracturessheeted sets
Commonly steeply dipping,
imperfectly radial pattern

Vein filling
Dominated by pyrite
Lesser amounts of other sulfides
Minor quartz, with anhydrite and
minor dolomite

Alteration envelope
Feldspar-destructive alteration
halos are characteristic
Sericite or sericite + chlorite
Also pyrite, quartz, anhydrite,
other sulfide minerals, and rutile

2 cm

Two D veins with pyrite and bright

sericite halo, cutting B veins with
purple quartz at Rosia Poieni,
Romania.

Moderate-temperature pyritic veins

with feldspar-destructive envelopes
Synonyms
D veins
Quartz + sericite + pyrite
(QSP) veins
Phyllic veins

Seedorff et al. (2005)

Low-temperature base-metal veins

Alteration envelopes
Intermediate argillic
alteration envelopes are
most common
Sericitic alteration
envelopes also observed
Certain veins lack wall-rock
alteration

Of exploration interest
Commonly characterize the
region above and beyond
the bulk-tonnage target
Mineralogy and metal
ratios can give clues as to
the class and subclass of
the underlying porphyry
system
Lowell, 1991, Fig. 1

Low-temperature, generally barren

veins without alteration envelopes
Sulfide-poor veins
that commonly lack
alteration envelopes
Mineralogy
Carbonate silica
minerals are common
Prehnite and zeolites
may occur in more
mafic wall rocks

May contain precious

metals
Seedorff et al. (submitted)

Main points Alteration-mineralization

Porphyry deposits exhibit diverse types of veins and
alteration envelopes
Phase equilibria of mineral assemblages provide a geochemical
context for understanding porphyry systems
Diversity of alteration-mineralization features attributed to
influence of numerous geologic variables

Certain vein types are common and widely recognized

High-temperature sugary quartz veinlets associated with
potassic alteration
Pyritic veins with feldspar-destructive envelopes

Other types are not widely recognized but may be

indicators of certain geologic environments
High-temperature green mica veinlets
Banded quartz veinlets
Greisen veins

Porphyry systems are complex

The real world of geology is complicated
Models rarely can capture all the detail
Valuable for generating insight but not for
recreating reality

Interpretations of origin, distribution of grade,

and many other factors depend on
understanding time-space relationships
From deposit-scale to regional

Analytical and theoretical tools aid

understanding, but
Understanding the sources of diversity revealed
by high-quality geology is the key to scientific and
practical breakthroughs

OXIDATION & TRANSPORT during weathering:

Supergene enrichment

OXIDATION & TRANSPORT during weathering:

METALS REMOVAL
Removed: Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, K, +/- As, Au
Remaining: Mo, Pb, Ag, Mn, Fe

METALS ACCUMULATION as oxides, sulfides

PROTOLITH: metals, reduced sulfur are metastable

DEVELOPMENT OF GEOCHEMICAL STRATIGRAPHY:

OXIDATION-LEACHING PROCESSES
(applied to a protolith comprising Py >> CuSx and with
variable neutralizing capacity )

Oxidation and Transport:

lose Cu, Zn, ~Fe, +/- As, Au;
sulfur (as sulfate); ~Al, ~Mn

Lateral transport and

formation of CuOx
(FeOx, MnOx)

Accumulation of Cu, S=, Fe,

Zn, Au, Al, +/- As

Development of oxidation profiles: Cu + Fe + (Mn,Al)

mobility during oxidative destruction of sulfides
Fe+++ + H2O Fe(OH)3 + 3H+(aq)

Santa Rita, New Mxico

Fe(OH)3

FeOOH(s) + H2O
goethite

(post- mineral
sediments)
pyrite, chalcopyrite
red hematite + goethite
pyrite goethite + jarosite

Sulfide accumulation zone

with
pyrite, chalcopyrite + Cu
chalcosite, covellite,
bornite
Cuajone, Per