Lithochemistry of the Alpala Cu-Au Porphyry Deposit, northern Andes of Ecuador

Santiago Vaca1, Steve Garwin1 2, Benn Whistler1, Jason Ward1, Nick Mather1, Alfredo Cruz1,
Nathaly Guerrero1, Alvaro Guachamín1

1 SolGold Plc., Avenida Coruña E25-58 y San Ignacio, Edif. Altana Plaza, piso 4, ofic. 406, Quito, Ecuador
(svaca@solgoldecuador.com; bwhistler@solgoldecuador.com)
2
Steven L Garwin Pty. Ltd., 42 Abraham Close, Baskerville, Western Australia 6056 Australia
(sgar@iinet.net.au)

1. Introduction 2. Geological setting

The Western Cordillera of Ecuador consists of

The porphyry deposits located in the Andean
multiple allochthonous oceanic terranes accreted
cordillera are responsible for more than 30% of Cu
to the South American margin along major N-S
supply globally, representing one of the best
and NE-SW faults since the Middle Cretaceous
regions for Cu-porphyry exploration in the world.
(Egüez, 1986; Boland, 2000).
This is exemplified by the recent discovery of the
The ca. 35 – 42 Ma granodiorite to tonalite
world class Cu-Au Alpala porphyry deposit, with an
Santiago Batholith (Fig. 1) is hosted by Cretaceous
open mineral resource estimate of 2.95 Bt @
- basaltic volcanic and sedimentary rocks, that
0.52% Cu Eq (10.9Mt Cu and 23.2Moz Au), in an
show island-arc and MORB affinities (Boland,
under explored northern section of the Ecuadorian
2000). The Alpala porphyry deposit yields an age
Andean Cordillera.
of 38.7 Ma (Garwin et al., 2017). Given the
Incompatible element chemistry was used to
proximity and age-similarity of the Alpala intrusions
analyze the different rock types found at Alpala. In
and the Santiago Batholith, it is interpreted that the
this regard, the geochemical diagrams for Co vs
two are related. The volcanic sequence of the
Th (Hastie et al., 2007) and Ti vs Sc (Halley, 2016)
Eocene Macuchi island-arc (Egüez, 1986) is
were utilized to subdivide the altered igneous
considered to host the Alpala intrusions, however
rocks. The Y vs Sr/Y diagram of Richards and
the distribution of the Paleocene to Middle
Kerrich (2007) was used to show an adakite-like
Miocene rock units are not well defined in
signature, and the Mg vs V/Sc diagram (modified
published literature (Figura 1).
from Halley, 2016) indicates variations in
differentiation of the volcanic rocks and intrusive
phases, and their prospectivity for porphyry-style 3. Petrography and lithochemistry
mineralization.
3.1. Analytical procedures
Copper and gold grades were used to compare
intrusive stages, consisting of pre-, early-, intra- Petrographic descriptions were made during core
and post-mineralization intrusions. logging of 105 holes located within the Alpala
deposit, totaling more than 121,000 meters of
drilling. Samples of drill core were collected
continuously every 2 m and analyzed at the ALS
laboratory by the 4-acid digestion ICP-MS method
(ME-MS61), which is recommended by Halley
(2016) for lithochemical analysis. The data
presented in this study exceeds the detection limit
by a factor of three for all the elements used; data
below 3-times detection limit are not included in
this research to avoid the interpretation of noise.
Figure 1. Maps: A) Allochthonous terranes forming the
geological basement of western Ecuador; and B) Simplified
rock units with intrusion ages in Ma (modified from Boland,
2000).
Volcanic and intrusive rocks that are extensively
altered by late-stage, phyllic and advanced argillic
alteration are excluded from this study to avoid
misinterpretation due to hydrothermal alteration.
3.2. Petrographic description
The andesitic to basaltic volcanic sequence at
Alpala consists of fragmental rocks, lava flows and
sedimentary rocks that have been intruded by at
least eight phases of intrusions, delineated on the
basis of composition and relative timing-
relationships with porphyry-related vein-stages and
mineralization. The equigranular to sub-porphyritic,
hornblende-bearing intrusions are narrow, taper
upwards and consist of pre-mineral D10 diorite to
microdiorite; early-mineral QD10 quartz diorite;
intra-mineral QD15 quartz diorite and D15 diorite;
late-mineral dikes of D20 diorite and QD20 quartz
diorite; and post mineral dikes of D30 diorite and
QD30 quartz diorite (after Garwin et al., 2017).
Thin-section petrography indicates very fine-
grained quartz in the groundmass of the intrusions,
which suggests compositions that range from
quartz diorite to tonalite. However, the intrusive
rock types are classified on the basis of
observations made by the field geologist with a 20x
hand-lens.
Hydrothermal alteration consists of early-stage,
distal chlorite- and epidote-propylitic, proximal
actinolite-propylitic and central biotite-potassic;
transitional-stage, chlorite-sericite-clay (inter-
mediate argillic); and late-stage, quartz-sericite
(phyllic) and dickite-pyrophyllite (advanced argillic).
3.3. Trace-element chemistry
A set of incompatible trace elements were
chosen to discriminate the rock types at Alpala as
shown in Table 1. Cobalt (Co) and Th
concentrations (Figures 2A1, 2A2 and 2A3; Hastie
et al., 2007) vary depending on lithology,
distinguishing primitive from evolved rocks, and
indicating different magma series from tholeiitic to
calc-alkaline. Titanium (Ti) and Sc help to define
differentiation trends (Figure 2B1, 2B2, 2B3;
Halley, 2016). Yttrium (Y) and Sr/Y ratios (Figures
2C1, 2C2, 2C3; Richards and Kerrich, 2007)
indicate the affinity with adakite-like magmas.
Magnesium (Mg) and V/Sc ratios (Figures 3D1,
3D2, 3D3; Halley, 2016) indicate the degree of
fractionation and prospective rocks for porphyry
copper-gold mineralization.
Table 1. Average elemental values and ratios for the major
rock types at Alpala (Note: % CuEq = % Cu + [0.63 * g/t
Au])
4. Discussion and conclusions
All rock types at Alpala have experienced
hydrothermal alteration. For this reason,
incompatible elements were used to analyze the
chemical differences of volcanic and intrusive
rocks.
Porphyry copper deposits are associated with
hydrous arc magmas, which are characterized by
multiple intrusions of intermediate to felsic
compositions (Gustafson et al., 2001) and related
hydrothermal alteration and mineralization.
Petrography and geochemical analyses indicate
the Alpala porphyry deposit is associated with
eight intrusive phases, which are hosted in a
volcanic sequence. The pre-mineral diorite D10
and early quartz diorite QD10 host relatively
intense ore-stage veining and copper sulfides
when compared to intra-mineral QD15 and D15,
late-mineral D20 and QD20, and post-mineral D30
and QD30 intrusions. This is evidenced by the
copper and gold grades of the intrusions, which
exhibit decreasing values from the QD10 to the
QD30 (Table. 1; Figure 3).
Magma evolution from mafic to felsic is evidenced
in many porphyry copper districts (Lang and Titley,
1998; Lickfold et al., 2003). At Alpala, the
variations in the concentration of the incompatible
elements such as Sc, Ti, Th and Co are inferred to
show a cyclical evolution in the causal magma
chamber(s) during porphyry deposit formation
(Figure 2A, 2B). The wall-rock volcanic rocks are
inferred to have evolved from basaltic to andesitic

Figure 2. Lithochemical discrimination diagrams of the volcanic rocks and pre-, early-, intra- and post-mineralization
intrusions of Alpala. A) The Co vs Th diagram (Hastie et al., 2007) shows results consistent with the repeated evolution
of the magmatic chamber from mafic to intermediate compositions for volcanic rocks and intrusions in arc tholeiite to
low-K, calc-alkaline settings. B) The Ti vs Sc diagram (Halley, 2016) shows fractionation trends for the volcanic and
intrusive rocks, characterized by decreasing Sc and Ti with increasing fractionation. C) The Y vs Sr/Y diagram (Defant
and Drummond, 1993) indicates results consistent with an adakite-like geochemical signature and normal andesite-
dacite-rhyolite trend for the igneous rocks at Alpala. D) The Mg vs. V/Sc diagram (modified from Halley, 2016)
indicates that the earlier intrusions (e.g., D10, QD10 and QD15) show increased fractionation and greater prospectivity
for porphyry-style mineralization than do the later intrusions (e.g., D15, D20, QD20, etc.) .
composition; the pre-mineral D10 intrusion evolved
from andesitic to dacitic composition, and the early
QD10 intrusion shows predominantly a dacitic
signature (Figures 2A1, 2B1). The intra-mineral
QD15 intrusion is of dacitic composition and is
followed by the D15 intrusion, which shows a
broad range of magmatic compositions (Figures
2A2, 2B2). The late-mineral intrusions D20 and
QD20, and the post-mineral QD30 and D30 show
a range from andesitic to dacitic compositions
(Figures 2A3, 2B3).
The Co vs Th diagram (Figures 2A1, 2A2, 2A3;
Hastie et al., 2007) shows that the rocks at Alpala
have compositions consistent with both tholeiite
and calc-alkaline magmas. Future major oxide-
element analyses will assist in magma
characterization
High Sr/Y > 20.0, and low Y <15.0 ppm
concentrations are related to an adakite-like
signature (Defant and Drummond, 1990). Magmas
with Sr/Y > 35.0 indicate a hydrous melt that is
fertile with respect to porphyry mineralization
(Loucks, 2014). The volcanic rocks at Alpala vary
from normal-arc to adakite-like magmas, while the
average values of Sr/Y and Y for the pre-, early-,
intra- and post-mineral intrusions fit with hydrous,
adakite-like magmas (Figs. 3C1, 3C2, 3C3).
Magmas with V/Sc > 7 show prospectivity for
porphyry copper mineralization (Figs 3D1, 3D2,
3D3; Halley, 2016). Large porphyry copper
deposits such as Bajo de la Alumbrera, Batu Hijau,
Bingham, Chuquicamata, El Abra, Escondida,
Grasberg, Rio Blanco and Tampakan are Figure 3. Distribution of the copper and gold grades in the
characterized by V/Sc > 10.0 and Sr/Y > 35.0 (Fig. different rock types at Alpala.
3; Loucks, 2014). At Alpala, the early quartz diorite
QD10 shows average values of 16.5 for V/Sc, 56.2
for Sr/Y, 1.3 % for Cu and 1.9 g/t for Au (Table 1;
Fig. 3 and Figure 4).
The intra- and late-mineral intrusions show V/Sc
values between 8.4 and 9.6, Sr/Y from 29.6 to
40.0, and also add Cu-Au to the system (Table1;
Fig. 4) but at lower grades than the early-mineral
intrusion. The post-mineral intrusions indicate V/Sc
from 7.9 to 9.4, Sr/Y from 42.1 to 64.1 and do not
contribute significant Cu-Au (Table 1, Figure 4).
The lithochemical signatures of Alpala intrusions
suggest an oxidized and hydrous arc-magma
source of intermediate composition and high
fertility.
Figure 4. Average values of Sr/Y vs V/Sc for Alpala
Acknowledgements intrusions D10 through QD20 and average values of selected
large global porphyry deposits (from Loucks, 2014).
The authors acknowledge the management, staff
and advisors of SolGold Plc.
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 LITHOCHEMISTRY OF NOTAS

THE ALPALA Cu-Au

PORPHYRY DEPOSIT,
NORTHERN ANDES OF
ECUADOR

Santiago Vaca, Steve

Garwin, Benn
Whistler, Jason
Ward, Nick Mather,
Alfredo Cruz,
Nathaly Guerrero,
Alvaro Guachamín