Chapter 9-33
Alteration and gold mineralization of the Ciurug vein,
Pongkor Au-Ag deposit, Indonesia
Syafrizal Koichiro, Yasushi Watanabe, Akira Imai
Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
Youshinobu Motomura
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
Abstract. The Pongkor Gold-Silver Mine is located in the district of
Bogor, West Java, approximately 80 km southwest of Jakarta, Indo-
nesia.
The gold and silver mineralization in the area is present in a
deposit consisting of high-grade epithermal vein-system. Volcan-
ic rocks of basaltic-andesite in composition are dominated by vol-
canic breccia and lapilli tuff in the studied area, while andesite
lava and siltstone are present locally.
Four groups of hydrothermal alteration mineral assemblages
were distinguished: cristobalite-tridymite-smectite, quartz-kaolin-
ite-smectite, quartz -illite/smectite mixed layer, quartz-chlorite-
±illite/smectite mixed layer and/or quartz-chlorite-and/or-illite.
The occurrences of mineralizing veins at the Ciurug vein show
asymmetric arrangement of bands. Generally, the Ciurug Vein
shows four main stages of mineralizing veins (vein formation), these
are: carbonate-quartz stage, manganese oxide-quartz stage,
banded-massive quartz stage, and grey sulfide quartz stage.The
major metallic minerals are pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and
galena. Covellite and silver sulfides-sulfosalts minerals are trace
minerals in the Ciurug Vein. Most of the electrum occurs coexist-
ing with other sulfide minerals, as inclusion in pyrite grain while
very little as inclusion in chalcopyrite or sphalerite.
Keywords. Epithermal, alteration zoning, Ciurug Vein, Pongkor, Indo-
nesia
1 Introduction
The Pongkor deposit was discovered in 1981 as a result
of systematic exploration (Basuki et al. 1994). The mine
is operated by the State Mining Company, P.T. Aneka
Tambang (Antam) using underground mining method.
Mining began in 1994 for the Ciguha and the Kubang Cicau
Veins, and in 1998 for the Ciurug Vein. The gold and sil-
ver mineralization in the area is present in a high-grade
epithermal vein-system deposit. As of December 2003, the
summary estimation of proven ore reserve of the Pongkor
Gold mine of approximately 2.5 million tones at 12.95
ppm gold and 134.96 ppm silver. In 2003, the mine pro-
duced 408,878 metric tones of ore with at gold 12.53 ppm
and silver 160.69 ppm. The Ciurug Vein is the most im-
portant vein in this mine. The vein thickness of the Ciurug
vein varies from 7 meters near the surface up to around
24 meters at depth with the total length approximately 2
km, containing 74% of the proven ore reserves with an
average grade of 13.26 and 134.96 ppm gold and silver,
respectively (Antam 2003). Antam has actively explored
9-33
the surrounding areas around the Ciurug Vein to know
the possibility of its extension.
This paper discusses the alteration mineral assem-
blages, texture of veins, and occurrences of gold mineral-
ization based on the samples taken from the surface (cov-
ering the Ciurug and Cikoret area) and from the Ciurug
underground mine presently being conducted at level 700,
600, and 515 meter (above sea level). The obtained samples
were studied by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray Fluo-
rescence spectroscopy (XRF) analysis, ore microscopic
observation, and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA).
2 General geology
The geology of the Pongkor deposit has been described
by Basuki et al. (1994) and Milesi et al. (1999). Java and
Sumatera form a part of the western Sunda-Banda arc
that is developed along the northern margin of the sub-
ducting Indian-Australian plate following the collision
with the Eurasian plate during the Cenozoic. Ore depos-
its associated with volcanism in West Java include
epithermal gold deposits within and on the flanks of the
Bayah Dome (Marcoux and Milesi 1994; Milesi et al. 1999).
The Pongkor deposit is an epithermal low-sulfidation
type and has an age of 2.05 ± 0.05 Ma (Milesi et al. 1999).
The volcanic rocks hosting the Pongkor deposit is known
as the lower, middle, and upper volcanic units (Fig. 1).
Volcanic breccia (tuff breccia) and lapilli tuff are domi-
nant rocks in the Ciurug area, while andesite lava and
siltstone are present locally. Tuff breccia consists of an-
gular to sub-angular fragments of various rocks (andes-
ite lava, lapilli tuff, claystone, and black siltstone). The
matrix contains plagioclase and fine aggregate of volcanic
glass. These rocks can be represented very well by under-
ground samples but difficult to find a good sample from
surface due to high degree of weathering. According to
stratigraphy of the Pongkor deposit by Milesi (1999), the
Ciurug area is included in the middle unit (lapilli and
block tuffs (LBT) sub unit).
3 Zonation of hydrothermal alteration
In general the alteration minerals identified in the Ciurug
area can be classified on the basis of the pH of hydro-
996 Syafrizal Koichiro · Yasushi Watanabe · Akira Imai · Youshinobu Motomura
thermal solution that caused alteration, i.e., into acid to
near-neutral pH thermal waters. The acid pH alteration
is characterized by the occurrence of kaolinite. The near-
neutral pH of alteration is characterized by occurrences
of chlorite and calcite, coexisting with illite group miner-
als. The acid pH of alteration is distributed from the sur-
face to shallow depth, while the near-neutral pH of alter-
ation became dominant in the deeper depth. Potassium
feldspar and laumontite that commonly appear in alka-
line pH alteration occur locally in the deeper part espe-
cially near the vein zone.
On the basis of mineral assemblages, hydrothermally
altered volcanic rocks can be grouped into four mineral-
ogical zones. They are Cristobalite-smectite, quartz-
smectite, mixed layer clay minerals, and chlorite-illite
(Izawa et al., 1990). Furthermore, the clay minerals can
be grouped by several ranges of formation temperatures
(Hedenquist et al. 1996, 2000; Corbett and Leach, 1998).
The zonation of hydrothermal alteration and their min-
eral assemblages on the surface of the Ciurug area and in
the Ciurug underground mine based on this study are
shown in Figure 2.
Bulk chemical composition of surface and underground
selected samples were determined by XRF analysis. Trends
shown by arrows in an inset diagram of Figure 3 show
the tendency of each alteration zone. This diagram is posi-
tively support the interpretation of hydrothermal alter-
ation zoning defined by XRD analysis.
4 Stages of vein deposition
Generally, the Pongkor deposit shows four main stages of
mineralized veins (Milesi et al. 1999). These are, in depo-
sitional chronology order: carbonate-quartz (CQ) stage,
manganese oxide-quartz (MOQ) stage, banded-massive
quartz (BMQ) stage, and grey sulfide quartz (GSQ) stage.
The occurrences of mineralizing veins at the Ciurug Vein
show asymmetric arrangement of vein bands based on
depositional order from footwall to hanging wall. Hydrau-
lic breccia connected to carbonate-quartz stockworks or
veinlets are commonly developed in the foot-wall and
hanging-wall of veins.
The description of band of each vein zone based on
the sample from level 700, 600, and 515 more detail is
presented below.
Carbonate-quartz (CQ) stage was abundant at level 700,
central part of level 600, and dominated along vein zone
at level 515. This stage is dominated by carbonate-quartz.
The sulfide content is very low. The carbonates are domi-
nantly by calcite and small amount of dolomite, rhodo-
chrosite and ankerite.
 Chapter 9-33 · Alteration and gold mineralization of the Ciurug vein, Pongkor Au-Ag deposit, Indonesia
Manganese carbonate-quartz (MOQ) stage was rarely
appear in the Ciurug Vein except in central part of level
515, where pinkish color of thin rhodochrosite band (1-2
cm) was observed clearly.
Banded-massive quartz (BMQ) stage corresponds to
the stage of banded opaline quartz (BOQ) by Milesi (1999).
This stage consists of microcrystalline to milky quartz
with banded or colloform textures usually containing fine-
grained disseminated sulfides. Potassium-feldspar (prob-
ably adularia) is detected by XRD analysis with signifi-
cant quantity. This stage commonly occurs in each level
of the Ciurug Vein.
Grey sulfide-quartz (GSQ) stage consists of grey sul-
fide-rich quartz breccia (hydrothermal breccia?), banded
and colloform quartz. This stage was observed locally at
level 600 (East Ciurug Vein) and southern part of the
Ciurug Vein at level 515.
CQ-MOQ stages contain some clay minerals domi-
nantly smectite and locally kaolinite and chlorite/smectite
mixed layer minerals. On the other hand, chlorite and
chlorite/smectite mixed layers commonly appear in BMQ-
GSQ stages with smectite and kaolinite locally. The clay
minerals became rich at the deeper level and late stages
(BMQ-GSQ stages).
5 Gold mineralization
Gold-silver mineralization associated with base metal-
bearing sulfide is generally occurs in the later stages of
mineralization (BMQ and GSQ stages). Sulfide minerals
generally comprise <1 volume % of the vein as dissemi-
997
nated fine grains in the early stage and as a thin thick
(1-2 mm) black sulfide band in the late stages.
The major metallic minerals are pyrite, sphalerite, chal-
copyrite and galena. Pyrite is the earliest and most com-
mon species in all stages. Pyrite contains some inclusion
of galena, electrum and acanthite. Some euhedral grains
of pyrite show a corrosion zoning altered to goethite (or
other Fe-oxides) was observed at level 600 samples.
Sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena show the same ten-
dency, abundant in the late stages and increasing of depth.
The ranges of Fe, Mn and Cd contents of sphalerite are
0.01 to 1.72 wt %, 0 to 0.15 wt %, and 0 to 1.74 wt %,
respectively.
Covellite and silver sulfides-sulfosalts minerals are trace
in the Ciurug Vein. Covellite was observed in the BMQ-
GSQ stages only from level 600. Silversulfides and sulfosalts
are observed in two samples from level 600 (BMQ and GSQ
stage) and in a sample from level 515 (CQ-BMQ stage). De-
tailed description of silver mineralization in the Pongkor
systems has been reported by Marcoux et al. (1996), Milesi
et al. (1999) and Warmada and Lehmann (2003).
Gold occurs mainly as electrum, with a close spatial
association with silver minerals (especially acanthite). The
electrum occurs almost in each mineralization stage, lo-
cally abundant in the BMQ stage, and very common in
the GSQ stage. Most of electrum coexists with other sul-
fide minerals especially pyrite-chalcopyrite-sphalerite-
galena, and/or silver sulfide mineral assemblages, and as
inclusion in pyrite grain and than very little as inclusion
in chalcopyrite or sphalerite. Grain size of electrum ranges
from < 1 to 20 μm, where it occurs as inclusions in pyrite.
On the other hand, average grain size ranges generally
about <20 to >50 μm, where it occurs coexisting with sul-
fide minerals.
The gold contents of electrum range from 43 to 59 %
wt Au (at level 700), and range from 52 to 55 % wt Au (at
deeper parts), where it occurs as inclusions in pyrite. The
gold contents of electrum range from 62 to 65 % wt Au
(at level 700) and range from 55 to 64 % wt Au (at deeper
parts), where it coexists with sulfide minerals. In general,
the electrum grains display no chemical zoning (homog-
enous), with the exception of a few rare cases in several
grains from deeper parts.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like thank the management of P.T.
Aneka Tambang for the permit and supporting our field
work and giving useful information and data about the
Pongkor Mine. We also wish to thank Ir. Herian Sudarman
Hemes, Ir. Eko Janu Herlambang, and their staffs for their
support during the fieldworks. Thanks are due to Prof.
Emeritus Eiji Izawa for valuable discussion and sugges-
tion.
998 Syafrizal Koichiro · Yasushi Watanabe · Akira Imai · Youshinobu Motomura
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