© 2012 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.

Special Publication 16, pp. 127–146

Chapter 6

Geology of the Bingham Canyon Porphyry Cu-Mo-Au Deposit, Utah

JOHN P. PORTER,* KIM SCHROEDER,† AND GERRY AUSTIN
Kennecott Utah Copper, Bingham Canyon Mine, 4700 Daybreak Parkway, South Jordan, Utah 84095

Abstract
The Bingham Canyon porphyry Cu-Mo-Au deposit is located in the central part of the Oquirrh Mountains,
30 km southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah. The Cu-Au-Mo deposit lies at the center of a large polymetallic dis-
trict, which includes proximal Pb-Zn-Ag replacement and distal sediment-hosted gold mineralization. Open-
pit copper mining commenced in 1906 and through 2011 has produced 2.666 billion tonnes of ore averaging
0.74% Cu, 0.035% Mo, 0.448 g/t Au, and 3.29 g/t Ag.
Bingham lies near the west end of an 80-km-long belt of petrochemically similar Eocene to Oligocene
intrusions and coeval volcanic rocks, which host base and precious mining districts. The Bingham district is
centered on the Bingham stock, a multiphase mid-Eocene intrusion emplaced into a thick succession of folded
mid- to upper Paleozoic siliciclastic and carbonate rocks. The 2 × 2 km Bingham stock consists mainly of pre-
mineral equigranular monzonite that was intruded successively by a 2-km-long dike-like body of quartz mon-
zonite porphyry (QMP), long narrow dikes and sills of intramineral latite porphyry (LP), and narrower dikes of
late-mineral quartz latite porphyry (QLP). The intrusions and associated porphyry-style mineralization dip
steeply to the northwest and persist from the pre-mine surface at 2,390 m to below sea level. U-Pb zircon dat-
ing indicates a 38.6 Ma age for the equigranular monzonite and suggests that the subsequent porphyry intru-
sions were emplaced at ~38 Ma. Porphyry intrusion and mineralization were approximately synchronous.
Early actinolite-stable alteration in igneous and sedimentary rocks is flanked by distal chlorite-epidote alter-
ation. Magnetite-destructive secondary biotite alteration is pervasive in intrusive rocks that contain >0.7% cop-
per but typically is fracture-controlled and overprints earlier actinolite alteration in lower grade intrusive rocks
and quartzites. K-feldspar alteration accompanies the highest grade copper and gold mineralization. Sericitic
alteration is locally pervasive but, more typically, it is restricted to the margins of late quartz-pyrite veins. Late,
low-temperature montmorillonite ± kaolinite alteration is ubiquitous in the intramineral porphyries and adja-
cent equigranular monzonite.
An outer zone of 0.35 to >0.70% Cu mineralization surrounds and overlaps an inner zone of 0.05 to >0.15%
Mo mineralization, which in turn forms a cupola around a barren core. Intense bornite-chalcopyrite-chalcocite-
gold mineralization (>0.7% Cu and >1 g/t Au) occurred directly above the barren core but has largely been
removed by mining. The copper mineralization in the flanks of the deposit is dominated by chalcopyrite. Cop-
per and gold grades decrease downward but quartz-molybdenite stockwork mineralization grading >0.05% Mo
extends to the lower limit of drilling. Equigranular monzonite is the predominant ore host, containing 53% of
the ore mined to date.
Vein types proceed in a sequence from early biotite through quartz-sulfide to late anhydrite and zeolite.
Early copper-bearing quartz veins are truncated by the LP and QLP dikes, but later copper-bearing veins cut
the dikes. Cathode luminescence studies indicate that copper-bearing sulfides were deposited within micro-
fractures and vugs created by dissolution of earlier quartz. Quartz-molybdenite veins postdate the copper-bear-
ing veins and cut all of the porphyries. Vein densities reach >10 vol % in the barren core and decrease to ~1
vol % at the outer boundary of the >0.35% Cu zone.
Published fluid inclusion and vein density studies, together with modeled grade distributions, show that min-
eralization was precipitated by a plume of metal-bearing fluid approximately 2 km in diameter, centered near
the southeastern edge of the QMP. The barren core apparently represents an upflow zone near the top of
which supercritical fluids separated into vapor and brine. Copper-bearing sulfides and gold precipitated as
vapor-dominant fluids cooled from 430° to 350°C. Inclusions in quartz from the deep flanks of the copper
deposit indicate similar fluid compositions, but less separation into vapor and brine.

Introduction discovery of placer gold in Bingham Creek (Boutwell, 1905).

THE BINGHAM CANYON Cu-Mo-Au deposit is located at the
head of Bingham Canyon in the central part of the Oquirrh
Mountains, 30 km southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah (Fig. 1A,
B). Carbonate replacement Pb-Zn-Ag mineralization was
discovered in Bingham Canyon in 1863, followed in 1864 by
† Corresponding author: e-mail, kim.schroeder@riotinto.com
*Present address: Barrick Goldstrike Mines, P.O. Box 29, Elko, Nevada
89803.
Underground mining of the skarn-hosted Highland Boy cop-
per deposit commenced in 1896. Large-scale bulk mining of
enriched ore from the Bingham Canyon (Bingham) porphyry
copper deposit commenced in 1906 (De Kalb, 1909; Krahulec,
2010), and open pit mining has continued almost without in-
terruption since then. Given its long life, Bingham is one of the
best exposed and most studied porphyry deposits in the world.
Total ore milled through December 2011 was 2.666 bil-
lion tonnes (Table 1) from which 17.4 million tonnes (Mt) of

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 128 PORTER ET AL.

A 112° C Upper Plate

40° Salt North Oquirrh Thrust Ppc
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Fault
Pcp Curry Peak Fm. Intrusive rocks Bingham Canyon
Thrust Fault Cu orebody
Pbm Bingham Mine Fm. Ppc Park City Fm.
Fold axis Pb-Zn halo (Mine: )
Pbp Butterfield Peaks Fm. Pkdc Kirkman-Diamond
Creek Fm. Gold deposit Outer limit of Au-As
Pe Erda Fm. geochemical anomalies

FIG. 1. Maps showing the location of the Bingham Canyon deposit. A) Bingham deposit relative to other deposits in the
southwestern United States. B) Location of Bingham relative to the Uinta Arch. C) Geological sketch map of the Bingham
district. Modified from Babcock et al. (1995) and Gruen et al. (2010).

copper, 0.454 Mt of molybdenum, 808 t (26 M oz) of gold,
and 7,000 t (225 M oz) of silver have been recovered. The dis-
trict has also produced 30 Mt of lead-zinc-silver-gold vein and
replacement ore, 13.4 Mt of copper-gold skarn ore, and 20.3
Mt of sediment-hosted gold ore from the Barneys Canyon
and Melco deposits (Krahulec, 2010). The Bingham Canyon
mine is operated by Kennecott Utah Copper, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Rio Tinto. As of December 2011, Bingham open
pit ore reserves were 835 Mt with average grades 0.48% Cu,
0.041% Mo, 0.20 g/t Au, and 2.10 g/t Ag, and underground
skarn resources were 20 Mt, with average grades of 3.65%
Cu, 1.62 g/t Au, and 20.95 g/t Ag (Rio Tinto, 2011).
Several workers have summarized the geology of the Bing-
ham mining district. Boutwell (1905) described the district
geology prior to open pit mining and Butler et al. (1920) sum-
marized the district geology when bulk-tonnage mining was
in its infancy. A special issue of Economic Geology (Einaudi et
al., 1978) included detailed descriptions of Bingham mine

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 GEOLOGY OF THE BINGHAM CANYON PORPHYRY Cu-Mo-Au DEPOSIT, UTAH 129

TABLE 1. Porphyry Ore Production by Decade for the Bingham Mine Regional Geologic Setting
Average annual The Bingham deposit is located in the central part of the
ore mined in Oquirrh Mountains, which lie near the eastern margin of the
Periods period (Mt) Cu (%) Mo (%) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Basin and Range province (Fig. 1B). The Oquirrh Mountains
1905–1914 3.09 1.45 N/A 0.54 4.63
consist predominantly of mid- to late Paleozoic siliciclastic
1915–1924 7.64 1.25 N/A 0.30 2.58 sedimentary rocks (Tooker and Roberts, 1970), but Eocene
1925–1934 9.34 0.99 N/A 0.31 2.91 volcanic rocks are present along the eastern flank of the range
1935–1944 20.70 0.97 0.023 0.42 3.31 and crop out within 2 km of the deposit (Waite et al., 1997;
1945–1954 23.28 0.96 0.034 0.62 4.09 Maughan et al., 2002). The deposit is intimately related to a
1955–1964 24.54 0.81 0.031 0.58 3.55
1965–1974 30.57 0.70 0.029 0.50 3.42 multiphase mid-Eocene stock emplaced in the sedimentary
1975–1984 29.57 0.61 0.023 0.33 2.77 rocks.
1985–1994 32.37 0.65 0.044 0.48 3.38 The Bingham deposit lies on the Uinta Arch, a prominent
1995–2004 50.41 0.63 0.040 0.42 3.21 east-west lineament that represents a structural arch and a
2005–2011 50.10 0.55 0.047 0.38 3.05
belt of Eocene and intrusive and extrusive rocks; the linea-
2666 0.74 0.035 0.45 3.29 ment can be traced across much of northern Utah (Fig. 1B)
and more tentatively into western Nevada (Roberts et al.,
1965; Presnell, 1997). Compression during the Mesozoic to
early Tertiary Sevier orogeny (Armstrong, 1968) resulted in
generally eastward-verging thrust faulting. The Uinta Arch
geology. Babcock et al. (1995) provided an overview of the ge- acted as a buttress, impeding the thrust plates and resulting
ology of the Bingham district, including the porphyry deposit, in three separate structural domains in the Oquirrh Mountain
skarn ores, Pb-Zn-Ag deposits, and Barneys Canyon and range, separated by the North Oquirrh and Midas thrust
Melco sediment-hosted gold deposits 7 and 9 km to the faults (Tooker and Roberts, 1988). Fold axes are NE-trending
north. SEG Guidebook 29 included a compilation of papers in the northern part of the mountain range, N-trending in the
covering various aspects of the geology of the district (John center, and NW-trending in the southern part of the range.
and Ballantyne, 1997). The Bingham deposit lies near the boundary between the
Other investigations of the Bingham deposit have addressed central and southern thrust plates (Fig. 1C).
ore genesis. Early studies of sulfur isotopes and fluid inclu- Compression associated with the Sevier orogeny locally is
sions in porphyry deposits were reported by Field (1966) and evident in formations as young as the early to mid-Eocene
Roedder (1971). Hydrogen and oxygen isotope investigations Wasatch Formation (57–51 Ma), whereas the onset of exten-
were carried out by Sheppard et al. (1971), and the contribu- sion, as recorded by the basal units in half-grabens immedi-
tions of mafic alkaline magmas to the Bingham deposit were ately north of the Uinta Arch, has been estimated at 49 to 48
investigated by Keith et al. (1997), Hattori and Keith (2001), Ma (Constenius, 1996). The mid-Eocene Bingham deposit
and Maughan et al. (2002). Recently, vein and fluid inclusion therefore developed shortly after a change from regional com-
studies have increased understanding of the evolution of mag- pression to extension. Movement on large-scale, N-trending
matic fluids and metal transport in porphyry systems (Red- normal faults east and west of the deposit commenced at ~18
mond et al., 2004; Landtwing et al., 2005, 2010; Gruen et al., Ma and continues to the present day (Parry and Bruhn,
2010; Seo et al., 2012). Kloppenburg et al. (2010) reported a 1986). Movement on these faults has tilted the Bingham de-
structural model for emplacement of the Bingham stock, and posit by 10° to 25° to the east (Smith, 1961; Atkinson and Ein-
Steinberger et al. (in press) modeled high-resolution mag- audi, 1978; Lanier et al., 1978a; Melker and Geissman, 1997).
netic data to provide insights into an upper-crustal magma The Bingham stock (Fig. 2) lies within an E-trending belt of
chamber inferred to underlie the porphyry copper system. Eocene to Oligocene intrusions and coeval volcanic rocks that
Recent deep drilling has increased our understanding of hosts multiple mineral occurrences. The belt coincides with a
grade distributions, mineralization, and alteration within the portion of the Uinta Arch and extends for 80 km from the un-
deposit. Prior to January 1998 (shortly after publication of developed Stockton porphyry copper deposit, located 15 km
SEG guidebook 29), 419 core holes totaling 310 km had been west of Bingham, to the Park Premier copper-gold occurrence
drilled from the surface by Kennecott Utah Copper. From 65 km east of Bingham (Fig. 1B; Babcock et al., 1995; John,
1998 through 2011, an additional 280 km of core drilling has 1997; James and Atkinson, 2006). Volcanism preceded and fol-
been completed. That drilling includes 14 holes that have lowed mineralization. Nepheline basalt lava flows 10 km south-
penetrated below sea level; for context the elevation of the east of the mine (Moore, 1973) and narrow, discontinuous
topographic surface above the center of the deposit was 2,390 minette dikes within the mine are dated at 37.7 Ma (Deino
m and the elevation of the bottom of the open pit as of late and Keith, 1997). They suggest a mantle contribution to the
2012 is 1,350 m. magmatism and are consistent with an extensional regime.
This paper focuses on the geology of the porphyry Cu-Mo-
Au deposit rather than on the district. The Cu-Au skarns that
flank the deposit and the more distal Pb-Zn-Ag vein and re- Geology of the Bingham Deposit
placement deposits are discussed only briefly. We also sum- The geology of the Bingham deposit is presented in Figure
marize previously published research results by others, in- 2, which shows that the zone of >0.35% Cu at the current pit
cluding results from a decade of collaborative research at surface occurs predominantly within igneous rocks of the
Stanford University and ETH Zurich. multiphase Bingham stock.

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 130 PORTER ET AL.

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Quartzite Quartz Monzonite Fold
Porphyry (QMP)
Quartz Latite 45 Overturned
Hornfels/siltstone Hybrid Porphyry Bedding 70
Porphyry (QLP) Bedding
Porphyritic Quartz
Commercial Lmst.
Monzonite (PQM) Latite Plug >0.35% Cu Dump
Jordan Limestone Equigranular
Monzonite Latite Porphyry (LP) 5640 September 2009
100 ft. contours

FIG. 2. Geology of the Bingham Canyon mine based on pit mapping by the mine geology staff. Coordinates are in Bing-
ham mine grid.

Paleozoic sedimentary rocks both formations, some acting as key marker beds and as com-
The intrusions and associated mineralization that com- mercially important skarn hosts.
prise the Bingham deposit are hosted in Pennsylvanian sed- The Butterfield Peaks Formation is a sequence of in-
imentary rocks of the Butterfield Peaks Formation and the terbedded arkosic orthoquartzite and calcareous siltstones
overlying Bingham Mine Formation (Welsh and James, and quartz-rich limestones. A sequence of silty limestone
1961; Tooker and Roberts, 1970). Both formations are dom- beds named the Alphabet series is an important host for
inated by fine-grained, cross-bedded, locally arkosic ortho- structurally controlled and replacement Pb-Zn-Ag mineral-
quartzites. Limestone and calcareous siltstones occur within ization (Rubright and Hart, 1968). The Alphabet series beds

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 GEOLOGY OF THE BINGHAM CANYON PORPHYRY Cu-Mo-Au DEPOSIT, UTAH 131

also host copper-gold skarn mineralization in some of the
deepest drill holes.
The Bingham Mine Formation is separated into the Clip-
per Ridge (lower) and Markham Ridge (upper) members.
The Clipper Ridge member, which is the main sedimentary
host unit for Cu-Mo-Au mineralization in the district, consists
mostly of quartzite (Fig. 3A) and calcareous siltstones but also
includes the Jordan and Commercial limestones, which lie at
the base of the formation and host the thickest and highest
grade copper-gold skarn mineralization in the district. Unlike
the silty limestones of the Alphabet series beds, unaltered
Jordan and Commercial limestones are massive cherty lime-
stones with only a minor siliciclastic component (Atkinson
and Einaudi, 1978; Lanier et al., 1978a)
Eocene intrusive rocks
The Bingham stock, host to most of the stockwork mineral-
ization, consists of six main rock types, discussed below. Other
minor intrusive phases are present but are too small or dis-
continuous to be routinely mapped and modeled.
Equigranular monzonite: Equigranular monzonite, the old-
est intrusive rock type in the district, occurs in two bodies, the
Bingham and Last Chance stocks, each about 2 km in diame-
ter, and the Phoenix dike, which joins the two stocks (Fig. 2).
Equigranular monzonite in the Last Chance stock is mostly
barren, whereas equigranular monzonite in the Bingham
stock is pervasively altered and mineralized. Unaltered
equigranular monzonite is a dark gray rock containing about
33 vol % plagioclase, 30% orthoclase, 11% augite, 8% biotite,
8% amphibole, 7% quartz, and 2% magnetite (Fig. 3B;
Moore, 1973). The grain size of the equigranular monzonite
in the Last Chance stock ranges from 0.3 to 0.5 mm, but the
grain size in the Bingham stock is coarser, typically ~1 mm
but locally up to 3 mm. Large xenoliths of sedimentary rock
up to 100 m in diameter and consisting disproportionately of
limestone occur within the equigranular monzonite in the
Bingham stock (Fig. 2).
Porphyritic quartz monzonite: A large dike-like body of
porphyritic quartz monzonite, known as the Ohio Copper
dike, intrudes equigranular monzonite on the east side of the
open pit (Fig. 2). The Ohio Copper dike is a greenish gray,
porphyritic rock with 3 to 4 mm plagioclase phenocrysts and
large pink orthoclase phenocrysts set in a phaneritic matrix
similar to the equigranular monzonite (Fig. 3C; Moore, 1973;
Lanier et al., 1978a).
Hybrid porphyry: An intrusive rock, designated hybrid
porphyry (hybrid quartz monzonite porphyry in Lanier et al.
1978a), is exposed in the open pit at the southwest end of the
quartz monzonite porphyry (Fig. 2). Drilling shows that the
hybrid porphyry also flanks the quartz monzonite porphyry
intrusion at depth. The hybrid porphyry contains 30 to 50%
phenocrysts, including 20 to 35% plagioclase, 2 to 5% K-
feldspar, 5 to 8% biotite, and 3 to 5% hornblende, set in a
fine-grained anhedral groundmass. There is a sharp contact
between the hybrid porphyry and the quartz monzonite por-
phyry, but the contact between the hybrid porphyry and the
equigranular monzonite is gradational over several meters.
Maughan et al. (2002) reported that the hybrid porphyry

A B C D

E F G

2 cm

FIG. 3. Photographs of the major rock types and alteration in drill core. A) Fine- to medium-grained orthoquartzite with
a distinctive brown color due to secondary biotite alteration. B) Equigranular monzonite showing mottled black secondary
biotite envelopes on fractures and quartz veins overprinting pale-green actinolite alteration. C) Propylitically altered por-
phyritic quartz monzonite of the Ohio Copper dike. D) Weakly mineralized QMP from the barren core. E) Weakly argillized
LP from the northeast side of the pit. F) Propylitically altered QLP showing distinctive rounded quartz phenocrysts and large
K-feldspar phenocrysts largely replaced by epidote. G) Narrow quartz-sulfide vein with a wide actinolite-bearing envelope
overprinting pale-gray diopside hornfels.

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 132
locally contains mafic inclusions with elevated Cr contents,
suggesting mixing with a more mafic magma prior to or dur-
ing emplacement. We interpret the hybrid porphyry as a sep-
arate intrusion, emplaced after the equigranular monzonite
but prior to the quartz monzonite porphyry.
Quartz monzonite porphyry (QMP): The QMP, the largest
and best mineralized porphyry intrusion in the deposit, oc-
curs as a single, 200- to 400-m-wide, NE-trending dike that
dips 65° to the northwest. The QMP intrusion is 1,400 m long
at the current open pit surface and at least 2 km long at sea
level. The intrusion contains ~50% phenocrysts, including 25
to 30% plagioclase, 6 to 12% K-feldspar, 2 to 3% biotite, 12 to
15% hornblende, and rare quartz, in an aplitic groundmass
(Fig. 3D; Redmond and Einaudi, 2010).
Latite porphyry (LP): Latite porphyry occurs as a set of
subparallel, NE-trending dikes and sills that cut the equigran-
ular monzonite and QMP and extend into the sedimentary
rocks for up to 7 km both to the southwest and northeast
(Swensen, 1975; Laes et al., 1997). Within the QMP, the LP
dikes are 15 to 80 m wide and dip steeply to the northwest,
parallel to the dip of the QMP (Fig. 2). Redmond and Ein-
audi (2010) noted that the phenocryst and groundmass com-
positions of the LP are similar to those of the QMP, but that
the phenocrysts in the LP tend to be smaller and the ground-
mass is darker and finer grained than in the QMP (Fig. 3E).
Unlike the QMP, the LP contains thick books of biotite. The
LP is not chilled against the QMP.
Quartz latite porphyry (QLP): The QLP, the youngest of
the porphyry intrusions, occurs as narrow dikes, mostly <10 m
wide. These dikes cut the equigranular monzonite, QMP, and
LP, and extend for about 2 km from the QMP (Fig. 2). The
phenocryst composition of the QLP is similar to that of the
earlier porphyry intrusions, but the QLP has only 30 to 40%
phenocrysts, including 10 to 15% plagioclase, 5 to 8% K-
feldspar, 2 to 4% biotite, 3 to 5% hornblende, and 3 to 7%
quartz (Redmond and Einaudi, 2010). Highly resorbed, al-
most spherical quartz phenocrysts up to 10 mm in diameter
are characteristic (Fig. 3F). Large orthoclase phenocrysts,
typically 1 to 2 cm across, but locally >5 cm across, are com-
mon. QLP dikes commonly contain xenoliths of wall rocks and
earlier intrusive phases, the xenoliths becoming less abundant
with increasing distance from the center of the deposit.
Mafic dikes: Narrow, 1- to 4-m-wide, dark-gray, biotite-rich
porphyry dikes cut the QMP (Ballantyne et al., 1997;
Maughan et al., 2002; Redmond and Einaudi, 2010). One of
the biotite porphyry dikes was mapped and described in de-
tail by Redmond (2002) and Inan and Einaudi, (2002). They
noted that the biotite porphyry includes 7 to 15% plagioclase,
1 to 5% K-feldspar, 2 to 4% biotite, 2 to 3% hornblende, and
rare quartz phenocrysts in a biotite-rich groundmass. Two
narrow (<1 m), discontinuous, weakly mineralized, biotite-
rich dikes cutting hybrid porphyry were identified in 1969 on
level 6090 of the mine. The dikes contain flow-aligned biotite
phenocrysts up to 3 cm across in a biotite-rich matrix and
have been described as minette (Maughan et al., 2002).
Breccias: Hydrothermal breccias are uncommon in the
Bingham deposit and do not host appreciable mineralization.
The largest breccia body is the Kilkinny breccia pipe, which
lies 500 m south of the orebody (Fig. 2). It is an irregular body
with plan dimensions of 250 × 250 m and extends to a depth
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PORTER ET AL.
below the pre-mine surface of at least 400 m. Pyritic
quartzite, monzonite, and opalized limestone clasts supported
by a crushed quartz matrix at higher elevations give way at
depth to a quartzite crackle breccia.
Age of intrusive rocks
A U-Pb age of 38.55 ± 0.19 Ma was determined for
equigranular monzonite from the Last Chance stock by analy-
sis of four multigrain fractions of small euhedral zircons
(Parry et al., 2001). The U-Pb date is corroborated by a 38.40
± 0.16 Ma 49Ar/39Ar plateau age for primary igneous biotite
from a sample of propylitized equigranular monzonite from
the southeast edge of the Bingham stock, reported by the
same authors.
Recent work has suggested extended age populations for
zircons in the QMP, LP, and QLP phases of the Bingham
stock (von Quadt et al., 2011). However, the ages of six of the
youngest zircon grains from all three porphyries overlap
within the range of 38.10 to 37.78 Ma, including their 2σ un-
certainties, suggesting that emplacement occurred within a
maximum interval of <0.32 m.y. Older concordant zircon ages
suggest that zircons crystallized in the source magma cham-
ber over a period of up to 2 m.y.
An 40Ar/39Ar age of 37.74 ± 0.11 Ma for sanidine from a
QLP dike that cuts equigranular monzonite in the Bingham
stock and an 40Ar/39Ar age of 37.72 ± 0.09 Ma for biotite phe-
nocrysts from a minette dike that cuts QMP have been re-
ported by Deino and Keith (1997). Both dikes are intramin-
eral, and the ages are assumed to reflect the time at which the
dikes cooled below ~350°C, the argon blocking temperature
of biotite. The dike ages are indistinguishable from a whole-
rock 40Ar/39Ar age of 37.82 ± 0.14 Ma for nepheline basalt
from a lava flow 10 km south of Bingham (Deino and Keith,
1997).
Folds and thrust faults
The Bingham deposit lies near the locus of convergence of
three thrust plates separated by the North Oquirrh and Midas
thrust faults (Fig. 1C). The open pit mine is presently con-
fined to the southern domain but deeper portions of the de-
posit, including the published skarn resources, lie below the
Midas thrust fault in the central domain. Kloppenburg et al.
(2010) noted that the northerly trending folds have influ-
enced emplacement of the equigranular monzonite, the north
end of which intruded the nose of the tight and nearly upright
Tiewaukee anticline (Fig. 1C).
Bedding-parallel faults are common in the district as a re-
sult of differential slip during Mesozoic thrusting and folding
and are particularly well developed at quartzite-carbonate
contacts due to competency contrasts between the two rock
types. These bedding-parallel faults represented enhanced
zones of permeability for distal Pb-Zn-Cu-Ag-Au mineraliza-
tion. Thrusts subparallel to bedding have also led to structural
thickening within quartzite units on the east side of the pit
(A. Pope, pers. commun., 2005). Kinematic indicators at the
base of the Fortuna sill, a prominent LP sill on the east side
of the deposit, indicate that postemplacement movement was
extensional.
The Bingham syncline is a broad, open fold with a nearly
vertical axial plane and an arcuate axial trace that mimics the
132
 GEOLOGY OF THE BINGHAM CANYON PORPHYRY Cu-Mo-Au DEPOSIT, UTAH
northern and northeastern margin of the Bingham stock (Fig.
2). The syncline appears to be superimposed on the Sevier-
aged folds. Because the deformation style of the Bingham
syncline is distinct from that of the other major folds in the
mine area, and its mapped surface trace follows the eastern
and northern monzonite-quartzite boundary, we concur with
Kloppenburg et al. (2010) that the syncline formed by roof
uplift during emplacement of the Bingham stock.
Other faults
A group of faults, prevalent on the south side of the open
pit, trend northwest and dip 50° to 75° to the southwest (Fig.
2). These faults appear to have influenced the location of pre-
mineral monzonite dikes. Examples include monzonite intru-
sions along the Occidental fault (Farmin, 1933) and the NW-
trending Ohio Copper dike, which is aligned parallel to the
NW-trending Bear fault in the lower plate, 2.5 km to the
north (Fig. 1C; Kloppenburg et al., 2010). These NW-trend-
ing faults appear to represent either high-angle reverse faults
that formed immediately after low-angle Mesozoic thrusting
(Paulsen and Marshak, 1998), or right-lateral tear faults gen-
erated during late Mesozoic thrusting (Smith, 1975; Atkinson
and Einaudi, 1978) that were reactivated as high-angle nor-
mal faults during Basin and Range extension (Constenius,
1996); they appear to have been compressional during copper
mineralization (Atkinson and Einaudi, 1978).
The most important faults that controlled emplacement of
the porphyry dikes and Pb-Zn-Ag mineralization dip steeply,
strike NE (015°–045°), and occur on the south side of the
open pit. A subset of these faults commonly carries Pb-Zn-Ag
mineralization and has traditionally been referred to as fis-
sures (Fig. 2). The fissures generally have displacements of
only meters to a few tens of meters and the displacement di-
rections are variable (Boutwell, 1905). These fissures have
been interpreted to represent tensional fractures related to
rotational shear on the northwest faults (Atkinson and Ein-
audi, 1978). Another subset of these steep faults with a
slightly more easterly strike (030°– 045°) is inferred to have
controlled emplacement of the QMP and subsequent dikes,
but these faults are largely obliterated by the dikes.
Another set of vertical, N-NE–striking (010º–025º) faults,
including the East, 200, and China faults, is present on the
west side of the open pit (Fig. 2). These faults display post-
mineral, sinistral strike-slip displacement, distinguishing
them from the fissures described above. Late horizontal dis-
placement on these faults probably represents antithetic
movement during Basin and Range extension.
Hydrothermal Alteration
Hydrothermal alteration assemblages and alteration zoning
at Bingham are similar to those seen at many other porphyry
copper deposits (e.g., Lowell and Guilbert, 1970; Seedorff et
al., 2005; Sillitoe, 2010). The typical zonal arrangement of
potassic alteration inboard of propylitic alteration with late
sericitic and argillic overprints is present at Bingham. Ad-
vanced argillic alteration assemblages were generally absent
at the pre-mine erosion level at Bingham, although alteration
that could be considered transitional between sericitic and
advanced argillic is locally present in quartzite on the north
side of the deposit (Inan and Einaudi, 2002). Shallower parts
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133
of the deposit have been removed by mining, and alteration
in the mined-away portions has been discussed by others
(Atkinson and Einaudi, 1978; Lanier et al., 1978a; Babcock et
al., 1995).
Alteration of igneous rocks
Propylitic alteration: Hydrothermal actinolite is abundant
in a 600-m-wide halo that overlaps the outer edge of the sec-
ondary biotite zone and inner edge of the chlorite-epidote-
calcite zone (Lanier et al., 1978b; Bowman et al., 1987). The
actinolite replaces primary pyroxene, hornblende and, locally,
biotite.
Potassic alteration: Potassic alteration at Bingham consists
of spatially restricted intense secondary K-feldspar alteration
and more widely distributed magnesium-rich secondary bi-
otite (Lanier et al., 1978a, b; Phillips et al., 1997; Redmond
and Einaudi, 2010). Both types of potassic alteration mostly
occur in early vein selvages, becoming pervasive where the
selvages coalesce. Intense K-feldspar alteration in the upper-
most portions of the deposit is associated with strong copper
and gold mineralization. However, that rock volume has now
largely been removed by mining. Petrography indicates that
secondary K-feldspar is scarce at depth.
Secondary biotite is present in the zone of strong K-
feldspar alteration but extends laterally beyond and below
that zone. Pervasive secondary biotite is characteristic of in-
trusive rocks with grades >0.7% copper, whereas biotite al-
teration in quartzites and intrusive rocks with lower copper
grades is commonly fracture-controlled and overprints ear-
lier pervasive actinolite alteration. In a study of alteration
within the equigranular monzonite, Lanier et al. (1978b)
observed that abundant secondary biotite is present up to
670 m from the QMP. Fracture-controlled secondary bi-
otite persists for up to 1,280 m from the QMP. Within zones
of K-feldspar alteration and secondary biotite alteration,
primary magnetite is commonly replaced by copper and
iron sulfide minerals (Bray, 1969), resulting in an orebody
that coincides with a magnetic low in a reduced-to-pole
magnetic plot (Fig. 4).
Sericitic alteration: Unlike the large volumes of sericitic al-
teration seen in many porphyry copper systems (e.g., Seedorff
et al., 2005; Sillitoe, 2010), pervasive sericitic alteration is only
locally present at Bingham. Previous studies suggest that per-
vasive sericitic alteration is more common in the upper parts
of the deposit (Moore and Nash, 1974; Lanier et al., 1978a;
Parry et al., 1997, 2002). Localized sericitic alteration along
late quartz-pyrite veins is common throughout the deposit.
Petrographic, XRD, and microprobe studies show that most
of the sericite is a moderately phengitic illite with minor in-
terlayered smectite that occurs with minor kaolinite (Parry et
al., 1997, 2002).
Late argillic alteration: Late argillic alteration occurs in in-
trusive rocks and generally replaces plagioclase with mont-
morillonite (Parry et al., 1997, 2002). Strong, pervasive
argillic alteration commonly replaces all plagioclase in a zone
that parallels the QMP and LP dikes. Outside of that zone,
strong argillic alteration is structurally controlled. Routine
shortwave infrared spectroscopic analyses of blast-hole
samples carried out primarily to monitor talc abundance have
identified zones of high montmorillonite content.
133
 134 PORTER ET AL.

00
0E
0N
44 00

25
45

80

30
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ll B
ed
Eas

China Fa
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Bingham 35

Stock

Co
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er
Ce
nt Ohio Copper
er
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ia ult
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Ch
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su

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re
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su
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Fis

sure
le

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ce
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00
an

r Fis
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55
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le
La

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re

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Kilkinny
u

ult
ss

45 BX
Fa
Fi

00
30
Rou
en

sure
ra

0E
ld

Fissu Ready
ga
Ho

Roll Fault

True North
Nia

s Fis

sure

re
h and
Eagle Bird Fis
ame

Last Chance

Mi
St. J

Roug

ne
Stock

No
rth
LP and QLP dikes and plugs Breccia

QMP and hybrid porphyry Faults

Monzonite (equigranular and porphyritic) 45 Bedding

Quartzite and siltstone 70 Overturned Bedding

500 m
Limestone / skarn >0.35% Cu

FIG. 4. Magnetic image from a proprietary helicopter magnetic survey flown in 1994 overlaid by a simplified version of
the geology map presented in Figure 2. The magnetic image shows reduced-to-pole magnetic intensity data from which 500-
m upward-continued, reduced-to-pole data has been subtracted. Magnetic lows (blue colors) coincide with quartzites and
with well-mineralized monzonite where mineralization has been accompanied by magnetite destruction. Magnetic highs (red
colors) correspond to skarns (including an east-west band of xenoliths through the middle of the equigranular monzonite),
and to weakly mineralized monzonite that contains 1 to 2 vol % igneous magnetite.

Alteration of clastic sedimentary rocks altered igneous rocks. Some distal quartzite contains fine
Alteration in clean quartzite is zoned from strong biotite pyrite and minor interstitial, fine-grained white micas, but
and actinolite flooding near intrusive rocks to weaker diop- otherwise appears unaltered in hand sample.
side ± actinolite flooding farther from intrusive rocks. Patchy Calcareous siltstones are more obviously altered than
to banded zones of interstitial, light-brown, microcrystalline quartzites. Near the Bingham stock, the calcareous siltstones
phlogopitic biotite are common in quartzite proximal to the have been converted to diopside hornfels, commonly cut by
Bingham stock (Fig. 3A; Atkinson and Einaudi, 1978). Where veinlets with actinolite and/or biotite envelopes. Farther away
biotite and actinolite are found together, biotite overprints from the stock, diopside flooding diminishes, and the rocks
the actinolite, which is also the paragenetic sequence seen in become decalcified and leached, representing the most distal

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 GEOLOGY OF THE BINGHAM CANYON PORPHYRY Cu-Mo-Au DEPOSIT, UTAH 135

alteration of the calcareous rocks (Atkinson and Einaudi,

1978). Strong skarn alteration of limestones is discussed in a
later section.

Mineralization
Distribution of copper, molybdenum, and gold porphyry ore
The zone of >0.35% Cu mineralization at Bingham (de-
fined as the copper shell) resembles a molar tooth with a mas-
sive subhorizontal crown and deep, steeply dipping roots
(Figs. 5, 6). The upper portion of the copper orebody, the
crown, contains most of the higher grade (>0.7% Cu) copper
mineralization and is ~450 m thick with plan dimensions of
1,700 × 1,100 m. Deep roots of copper mineralization, grad-
ing >0.15 to 0.70% Cu, extend from the base of the crown at
2,390 m elevation to sea level (Fig 5B). A zone of >1 g/t Au
mineralization is restricted to the crown immediately above
the base of the zone of >0.7% Cu mineralization (Fig. 6B).
An inverted cup-shaped zone of >0.05% Mo mineralization
(the molybdenum shell) sits inside the copper shell at depth
but its apex substantially overlaps the inner and lower part of
the copper orebody within the open pit (Figs. 5C, 6C). The
top of the molybdenum shell is located at 1,790 m elevation,
and coherent molybdenum mineralization persists to the lim-
its of drilling, with the deepest intersection of >0.05% Mo to
date at –490 m elevation. The limbs of the molybdenum shell
typically have widths of >200 m. Below the bottom of the cur-
rent open pit (1,350 m elevation), much of the molybdenum
shell is cored by a narrow zone of >0.15% Mo (Fig. 6C).
Molybdenum grades are highest in equigranular monzonite
but molybdenum mineralization occurs in all rock types, in-
cluding the youngest dikes. Strong molybdenite mineraliza-
tion locally cuts copper-gold skarn mineralization but unlike
copper, molybdenum is not enriched in the carbonate units.
Inward from the molybdenum shell is a barren core with
grades of <0.012% Mo and <0.15% Cu (Figs. 5–8). Sulfides
are sparse in the barren core (<0.25 vol %) and are predomi-
nantly pyrite. The barren core is elongate in a northeast-
southwest direction parallel to the long axis of the QMP and
is centered near the southeastern margin of the QMP. More
than half of the barren core is hosted by the QMP and most
of the remainder is hosted by equigranular monzonite (Fig.
6). The top of the barren core is at ~1,430-m elevation and
has been intersected by the open pit (Fig. 7). The copper
shell, molybdenum shell, and barren core share a common
axis that plunges 65° at 290° azimuth.
Distribution of mineralization by rock type
Table 2 shows a breakdown by rock type of the current
Bingham ore reserves. As shown, equigranular monzonite is
the predominant ore host. Table 3 provides a breakdown by
rock type of the ore mined to date. The table presents an in-
ventory by rock type of the 2011 resource model from the
FIG. 5. Oblique view of copper and molybdenum mineralization zones
pre-mine surface to the December 2011 pit surface. The looking toward 335° at –15°. A) View of the >0.35% Cu (pink) and >0.70%
grades and tonnages of this inventory do not precisely match Cu (red) grade shells. B) View of the >0.05% Mo (light blue) and >0.15% Mo
production (Table 1) because the inventory was made with a (dark blue) grade shells. C) View of the >0.05% Mo (light blue) grade shell
fixed cutoff grade, whereas historical cutoff grades have var- together with the >0.70% Cu (red) grade shell.
ied. Table 3 shows that equigranular monzonite has been the
main ore host, having provided 53% of the ore mined to date,
averaging 0.72% Cu.

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 136 PORTER ET AL.

N TABLE 2. Open-Pit Ore Reserves for the Bingham Mine by Rock Type
00
A -5

0E
00
0E 50

Tonnes Rock Cu Mo Au Ag
0N Rock Type (M) Type (%) (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t)

QZ 192 22.9% 0.56 0.019 0.16 1.92

00
N A’ LS 52 6.3% 0.69 0.015 0.27 4.36
50
MZ 550 65.9% 0.44 0.051 0.20 1.94
QMP 22 2.7% 0.39 0.044 0.39 2.44
LP 18 2.2% 0.50 0.038 0.22 1.83
QLP 1 0.1% 0.47 0.022 0.22 2.15
Total 835 100% 0.48 0.041 0.20 2.10
A
LP = latite porphyry, LS = limestone, MZ = monzonite, QLP = quartz
latite porphyry, QMP = quartz monzonite porphry, QZ = quartzite
N
-5
00

-0
0E

0N

E
A A’ TABLE 3. Porphyry Ore Mined Through 2011 by Rock Type
B
-5000 E

0E

Tonnes Rock Cu Mo Au Ag
Rock Type (M) Type (%) (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t)
2000 m
Current
Pit QZ 513 17.4% 0.50 0.017 0.20 1.72
LS 208 7.0% 0.70 0.002 0.36 4.94
2028
MZ 1569 53.3% 0.72 0.033 0.36 2.59
Pit QMP 538 18.3% 0.91 0.039 0.59 3.72
1325 m
LP 102 3.5% 0.65 0.046 0.51 3.03
QLP 15 0.5% 0.42 0.039 0.45 2.16
1000 m

Total 2944 100.0% 0.71 0.030 0.38 2.82

LP = latite porphyry, LS = limestone, MZ = monzonite, QLP = quartz

latite porphyry, QMP = quartz monzonite porphry, QZ = quartzite
? ?

A A’ Copper-gold skarns
C
-5000 E

0E

Copper-gold skarns are common at Bingham wherever

2000 m
limestone hosts are present within 500 m of the QMP. The
Current
Pit
thickest and highest grade skarns occur within the Commer-
cial and Jordan limestone beds (Fig. 2). Estimates of total
2028 skarn mineralization in the district exceed 400 Mt (Table 1 of
Pit
1325 m Harrison and Reid, 1997), but grades vary widely. Moderate-
grade, skarn-hosted mineralization (<2% Cu and <1 g/t Au) is
1000 m
associated with garnet-diopside skarn with minor to intense
late-stage actinolite-chlorite-carbonate ± phlogopite alter-
ation (Atkinson and Einaudi, 1978; Reid, 1978). Higher grade
skarn mineralization (>2% Cu and >1 g/t Au) is associated
? ? with massive pyrite-chalcopyrite replacement bodies and iron
skarns, the latter typically consisting of alternating layers of
magnetite, hematite, pyrite, siderite, and minor pyrrhotite,
Midas Fault >0.15% Cu 0.012% Mo 0.156 ppm Au with abundant chalcopyrite and bornite and lesser chalcocite
LP dikes >0.35% Cu 0.05% Mo 0.31 ppm Au
(Friehauf, 1997; Harrison and Reid, 1997; Inan, 2003). The
high-grade massive sulfide replacement bodies, which cut the
QMP >0.7% Cu 0.15% Mo 1 ppm Au
other skarns, appear to have required not only proximity to
Monzonite the QMP but also the presence of structures such as pre-
Quartzite
1000 m mineral faults, dikes, and anticlinal folds to channel the ore
Limestone
fluids.

FIG. 6. A) Plan view at mine level 4390 (1,323-m elev), just below the bot-
tom of the current open pit, showing simplified geology and Cu and Mo grade
shells. B) Cross section A-A' showing simplified geology and distribution of
Cu and Au mineralization. C) Cross section A-A' showing Cu and Mo miner-
alization. Easting and northing coordinates in the plan and sections are in the
Bingham mine grid. The elevation of plan A is marked on the cross sections.
Sulfide mineralogy and zoning
Chalcopyrite: Chalcopyrite is the predominant copper sul-
fide mineral within the copper orebody. The ratio of dissem-
inated to vein-hosted chalcopyrite is generally higher in
equigranular monzonite than in the more felsic porphyries,

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 GEOLOGY OF THE BINGHAM CANYON PORPHYRY Cu-Mo-Au DEPOSIT, UTAH 137

FIG. 7. Photograph looking southwest across the Bingham Canyon open pit showing the barren core exposed as an un-
mined partial dome within the pit. The flat area coinciding with the top of the barren core lies at an elevation of 1,430 m.

but disseminated chalcopyrite is present in all intrusive rocks
where it is concentrated within aggregates of secondary bi-
otite. The distribution of chalcopyrite mineralization corre-
sponds closely to that of secondary biotite.
Bornite: Bornite-chalcocite ± digenite mineralization is
typically restricted to the uppermost, highest grade portion of
the Bingham deposit where bornite and chalcopyrite abun-
dances are locally subequal (Phillips et al., 1997); other than
in late veins, pyrite is absent in this zone. Bornite becomes
markedly less abundant outward and at depth. Bornite and
chalcocite are locally present together with pyrite in a re-
stricted area of late-stage high-sulfidation mineralization that
is hosted in quartzite at the northeast end of the deposit
(Phillips et al., 1997; Inan and Einaudi, 2002).
Pyrite: Other than in the bornite zone described above,
pyrite is ubiquitous. Visual estimates of pyrite/chalcopyrite
volume ratios decrease from >20:1 in a pyrite halo beyond the
orebody to an average of 1.6:1 within the 0.7% Cu boundary.
John (1978) suggested that the average pyrite content of the
pyrite halo is 3.5 wt %.
Magnetite, pyrite, and chalcopyrite paragenesis: Bray (1969)
examined igneous rocks at varying distances from the center
of the Bingham deposit in the southwest sector. Based on
mineral textures and abundances from point counting, he
concluded that from a point 5.2 km from the center of the
orebody inward, pyrite progressively replaced primary mag-
netite grains in igneous rocks, and that within 1 km from the
center of the orebody, all igneous magnetite was destroyed.
Bray also concluded that within 1 km of the center of the ore-
body inward, chalcopyrite progressively replaced much of the
earlier pyrite.
Molybdenite: Molybdenum grades are higher at Bingham
than at most large porphyry copper deposits (Seedorff et al.,
2005), and molybdenite has been an important byproduct
since the first molybdenite flotation plant was installed in
1936 (Table 1). The molybdenum grade of the open pit ore
reserves as of December 2011 is 0.041% Mo (Table 2), i.e.,
higher than the 0.035% Mo average grade for ore mined since
1936 (Table 1). More than 90% of the molybdenite occurs in
quartz-molybdenite veins.
Gold and silver in porphyry ore
Gold: The average gold grade for the open pit ore reserves
is 0.20 g/t (Table 2) versus a mined-to-date grade of 0.45 g/t
(Table 1). In 1997, the portion of the pit surface with >1 g/t
Au approximately coincided with the bornite zone (Phillips et

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 138
al., 1997). Microprobe studies indicate that most of the gold
occurs in high-fineness gold particles, <25 μm across, within
and on the boundaries of chalcopyrite and, more commonly,
bornite grains (Ballantyne et al., 1997). Secondary ion mass
spectrometry analysis of the copper sulfides indicates submi-
croscopic gold at concentrations that are orders of magnitude
lower than the solubility of gold at the precipitation tempera-
ture of the sulfides, suggesting that the gold exsolved and mi-
grated over submillimeter distances upon cooling (Redmond,
2002).
Silver: The average silver grade for the open pit ore reserve
is 2.10 g/t (Table 2) versus an average life-of-mine grade of
3.29 g/t (Table 1). Sequential extraction results and spatial
correlations suggest that most silver occurs in solid solution in
bornite, digenite, chalcocite, and chalcopyrite; a negligible
amount occurs in the gold particles.
Lead-zinc-silver mineralization
Lead-Zn-Ag mineralization occurs in a halo to the Bingham
porphyry copper deposit (Fig. 1C; Babcock et al., 1995) and
prior to 1971 was mined intensively around the western, south-
ern, and eastern flanks of the Cu deposit (Rubright and Hart,
1968). The Pb-Zn-Ag ore consists principally of massive galena
and sphalerite and lesser tetrahedrite-tennantite in a gangue
of quartz and pyrite. Lead-Zn-Ag ore is both structurally and
lithologically controlled. On the west side of the porphyry cop-
per deposit (Carr Fork sector), Pb-Zn-Ag ore occurred as mas-
sive replacements of the Jordan and Commercial limestone
beds flanking copper-gold skarns; on the south side (U.S. mine),
it occurred in minor faults (the fissures) and as mantos where
the fissures intersected receptive limestone host rocks; and on
the east side (Lark mine), it occurred as an almost complete
replacement of a 3- to 4-m-thick, W-dipping, sandy limestone
bed over an area of ~1 km2 (Rubright and Hart, 1968).
Vein types and chronology
Veins types present within the Bingham orebody are de-
scribed below in approximate chronologic order.
Biotite veins: Veins of biotite without quartz or sulfides are
the earliest veins in the equigranular monzonite (Phillips et
al., 1997) and in the porphyry intrusions, where Redmond
and Einaudi (2010) refer to them as whispy biotite veins.
Early dark micaceous (EDM) veins: EDM veins were first
described from Bingham by Redmond (2002). They are un-
filled fractures with alteration halos 5 to 40 mm wide within
which plagioclase is variably replaced by andalusite, biotite,
sericite, and K-feldspar (Redmond and Einaudi, 2010). EDM
veins occur in equigranular monzonite, QMP, and LP; the
EDM halos in QMP and LP in the high-grade copper-gold
zone carry abundant bornite ± digenite and chalcopyrite;
however, because the EDM veins are sparse, they contribute
a negligible proportion of the copper mineralization.
Quartz-stockwork veins: Quartz veins with variable sulfide
contents that broadly correspond to the descriptions of A
quartz veins by Gustafson and Hunt (1975) are present in the
equigranular monzonite and all of the porphyries. Redmond
(2002) and Redmond and Einaudi (2010) described a se-
quence of quartz veins (A1-A4 veins) that occur in all por-
phyry types but are most abundant in the QMP, where they
locally comprise >25 vol % of the rock. They noted that when
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PORTER ET AL.
subjected to cathode luminescence (CL), quartz in the early
veins is brightly luminescent (“Q1” quartz of Landtwing et al.,
2005, 2010) and that later quartz, which partially fills voids
resulting from local dissolution of the early quartz, is dimly
luminescent (“Q2” quartz). Redmond and Einaudi (2010)
noted that most or all of the sulfide minerals in the A veins
occur in microfractures and vugs (A5 veinlets) that partially
fill voids that result from dissolution of earlier quartz and are
spatially associated with the later quartz.
Quartz-stockwork veins in the equigranular monzonite have
not been precisely correlated with the A1-A4 veins in the por-
phyry intrusions but are probably broadly time equivalent. The
sequence seen in the porphyries, i.e., Q1 quartz followed by
local quartz dissolution, deposition of sulfides, and deposition
of later Q2 quartz, is also seen in the equigranular monzonite
(C. Heinrich, pers. commun., 2012). Landtwing et al. (2010)
noted that fluid inclusions trapped in veins in the equigranu-
lar monzonite are compositionally similar to those in the QMP.
Sulfide-only veins in equigranular monzonite: The veins
that make the largest contribution to the copper grade of the
equigranular monzonite lack quartz, consist mainly of chal-
copyrite ± pyrite, and have selvages of secondary biotite.
Chalcopyrite is abundant in the selvages as well as in the
veins. The age of these veins relative to the quartz stockwork
veins has not been established.
Quartz-magnetite ± sulfide veins in equigranular monzonite:
Quartz-magnetite veins with variable amounts of chalcopyrite
and pyrite are present in the equigranular monzonite at or
immediately beyond the outer boundary of >0.35% Cu. Mag-
netite veins have also been seen in drill core in quartzite and
hornfels where they are cut by younger pyrite-chalcopyrite
veins (R. Franklin, pers. commun., 2012).
Anhydrite veins: Anhydrite veins appear to be restricted to
elevations below sea level on the northwest side of the QMP.
The anhydrite veins are pale lavender in color, comprise up to
5% of the rock, lack sulfides, and predate the quartz-molyb-
denite veins. Gypsum veins are uncommon and there is no
clear evidence that the anhydrite veins were once present at
higher elevations but have now been converted to gypsum or
leached.
Quartz-molybdenite veins: Most molybdenite, in both the
equigranular monzonite and porphyry intrusions, occurs in
quartz-molybdenite veins, 0.5 to 10 cm wide, that broadly
correspond to the descriptions of B quartz veins by Gustafson
and Hunt (1975). Molybdenite frequently, but not always, oc-
curs in bands, and molybdenite grains vary in size from barely
visible to flakes up to 1 cm across. Minor molybdenite occurs
along microfractures that lack quartz. Quartz-molybdenite
veins typically contain scarce grains of paragenetically late
chalcopyrite or pyrite as isolated grains or in centerline vugs,
but bornite has not been reported (Landtwing et al., 2010;
Seo et al., 2012). Assaying of individual vein samples indicates
that the gold and silver contents of quartz-molybdenite veins
are very low. The quartz-molybdenite veins cut all of the por-
phyry intrusions and postdate the stockwork quartz veins
(Redmond, 2002; Redmond and Einaudi, 2010).
Stilbite-calcite veins: Late veins containing abundant pink-
ish-orange stilbite, with or without associated apophyllite, are
ubiquitous in the equigranular monzonite below approxi-
mately 1,000-m elevation.
138
 GEOLOGY OF THE BINGHAM CANYON PORPHYRY Cu-Mo-Au DEPOSIT, UTAH
Quartz-sericite-pyrite veins: Pyrite ± quartz veins with seri-
cite halos cut all the vein types described above (Gruen et al.,
2010; Landtwing et al., 2010) except that in rare cases quartz-
sericite-pyrite veins are cut by quartz-molybdenite veins.
Quartz vein distribution and orientations
Systematic studies of the density and orientation of quartz
veins were carried out between 1999 and 2000 (Redmond,
2002) and 2006 (Gruen et al., 2010). The study by Gruen et
al. grouped veins into three sets: quartz-stockwork veins,
quartz-molybdenite veins, and quartz-sericite-pyrite veins.
Quartz-stockwork vein densities reach a maximum of ~10 vol
% near the center of the QMP intrusion and range from 1 to
4 vol % in the portion of the equigranular monzonite that
hosts >0.35% Cu. Quartz-molybdenite vein densities show a
spatial pattern similar to that of the quartz-stockwork veins
except that the maximum density is 8 vol % near the center of
the QMP and 1 to 2 vol % in the well-mineralized portion of
the equigranular monzonite. Total vein densities are even
higher in the barren core than in the high-grade crown of the
deposit: ~10 vol % in QMP and 5 to 10 vol % in equigranular
monzonite. Vein densities for quartz-sericite-pyrite veins
show erratic patterns with maxima along the southwest and
northeast strike projections of the QMP (Gruen et al., 2010).
Quartz-stockwork veins are predominantly steep but lack
preferred strike directions; no strongly preferred orientation
has been recognized for the quartz-molybdenite veins.
Quartz-sericite-pyrite veins are predominantly steep, and
strike preferentially northeast to east (Gruen et al., 2010).
These results correspond with our observations that most
quartz-copper sulfide veins are steep, but that it is not un-
common to see subhorizontal quartz-molybdenite veins.
Fluid inclusion studies
Recent fluid inclusion studies have been reported by Red-
mond et al. (2004), Landtwing et al. (2005, 2010), and Seo et
al. (2012). Dozens of samples and hundreds of fluid inclu-
sions have been studied petrographically, by CL imaging, mi-
crothermometry, LA-ICP-MS analysis, and evaluation of
phase proportions. The results are summarized briefly below
with emphasis on spatial variations observed in the fluid in-
clusion characteristics.
Inclusions in the deep barren core: Fluid inclusions within
the deep barren core trapped an intermediate density (~0.6 g
cm–3), moderate salinity (~7% NaCl equiv) fluid with sube-
qual concentrations of Na, K, Fe, and Cu. The inclusions
trapped a single phase fluid mostly at >500°C and >800 bars.
Inclusions in the uppermost barren core and the high-grade
zone: In the bornite- and gold-rich, upper part of the deposit,
and in the 500-m interval below the base of that zone, the in-
termediate density fluid separated into brine and low-density
(0.2 g cm3) vapor. Bornite, chalcopyrite, and native gold were
precipitated as temperatures decreased from ~430° to 350°C
(Landtwing et al., 2005). The ore minerals occur in mi-
crofractures and vugs created by dissolution of earlier bright-
luminescing Q1 vein quartz and are surrounded by later, dull-
luminescing Q2 quartz. Landtwing et al. (2005) noted that
younger fluid inclusions, with lower homogenization temper-
atures, contain up to two orders of magnitude less copper
than earlier, hotter inclusions.
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139
Inclusions from the deep flanks of the copper shell: Inter-
mediate-density fluid inclusions within the deep southeastern
flank of the copper shell are compositionally indistinguishable
from inclusions in the barren core; however, in the deep pe-
ripheral samples, the vapor inclusions are denser and the
brine inclusions are less saline, suggesting a lower degree of
phase separation.
Inclusions in quartz-molybdenite veins: Seo et al. (2012)
compared copper and molybdenum concentrations in fluid
inclusions from the quartz-molybdenite stockwork and from
veins in the high-grade copper-gold orebody. They noted that
fluid compositions in these different parts of the deposit are
similar, but that where molybdenite is dominant, the fluids
are more reduced and acidic, thereby favoring molybdenite
precipitation.
Deep molybdenum exploration
Various campaigns of deep drilling have been carried out at
Bingham since the 1960s, aimed at delineating deep skarn
and porphyry orebodies amenable to underground mining. As
of 2002, drilling directed at identifying block-cavable copper
mineralization had defined three deep zones of >0.7% Cu
below the high-grade zone on the north and east sides of the
deposit. At the 615-m elevation, below the bulk of the >0.7%
Cu zones, molybdenum mineralization was modeled similarly
to three isolated zones of moderate Mo grade extending
deeper than the high-copper zones (Fig. 8A).
In 2005, a new campaign of deep drilling commenced to re-
fine the distribution of deep copper and molybdenum miner-
alization that might be amenable to block cave mining. The
drilling improved definition of the copper mineralization but
also better defined the distribution of molybdenum mineral-
ization. Hole D548, drilled in 2005, was the first hole aimed
at exploration for additional deep molybdenum mineraliza-
tion. The grade and continuity were better than expected and
confirmed that high-grade molybdenum mineralization is
present inside and below the northern deep flank of the cop-
per shell. Hole D557, drilled later in 2005, tested the gap be-
tween the northern and southeastern roots and intersected a
629-m interval that averaged 0.14% Mo. These holes indi-
cated that high-grade molybdenum mineralization extends at
least 600 m farther south than previously known, and pro-
vided the first suggestion that higher grade (>0.15% Mo)
mineralization might take the form of an annulus (Fig. 8B).
Drilling between 2006 and 2010 targeted gaps in the drill
pattern, extended the >0.15% Mo shell ~400 m farther south,
and demonstrated the continuity of the >0.15% Mo zone
(Fig. 8C). Deep drilling in 2011 and 2012 focused on the
western end of the QMP and showed that deep molybdenum
mineralization does indeed form a complete annulus, and that
it persists to below sea level at grades of >0.05% Mo (Figs. 6,
8D).
Characteristics of selected deep core intervals
Deep flanks of the copper shell: Although definition and
characterization of the deep flanks of the copper shell are on-
going, common characteristics are observed in several drill
holes. Hole D556, collared near the southern margin of the
Bingham stock, intersected quartzite, siltstone, and weakly
skarn altered limestone intruded by equigranular to weakly
139
 140 PORTER ET AL.

porphyritic monzonite. The last 360 m of the hole, from 1,212
m to 1,572 m, averaged 0.62% Cu, 0.044% Mo, and 0.081 g/t
Au. The host rock is dark-green to dark-gray, medium-
grained, equigranular monzonite with pervasive actinolite al-
teration, minor epidote, and wide overprinting halos of sec-
ondary biotite along sulfide-filled fractures that lack quartz
and contain more chalcopyrite than pyrite (Fig. 9A). Esti-
mates of total sulfide abundance range from 0.75 to 2 vol %.
Quartz-sulfide veins are sparse (2–4 per m), narrow (2–4
mm), and poorly mineralized. Magnetite, estimated at 2 vol
%, occurs as disseminations and in magnetite ± quartz ± chal-
copyrite ± pyrite veins.
Deep molybdenum mineralization: Drill hole D548 is typi-
cal of holes drilled on the east side of the deposit to test deep
molybdenum mineralization. The last 760 m of the hole has
an average grade of 0.132% Mo, including 305 m that average
0.215% Mo. The 760-m interval in D548 is hosted by dark-
gray, medium-grained, equigranular monzonite with perva-
sive secondary biotite alteration. Biotite in the rock matrix has
a paler brown color adjacent to the quartz-molybdenite veins.
The estimated total sulfide content of the rock is ~1 vol % and
pyrite and chalcopyrite abundances are subequal. Molybden-
ite occurs in quartz veins with a wide variety of appearances.
Quartz-molybdenite veins cut earlier, barren, discontinuous
quartz veins with nonplanar vein boundaries and wider and
more opaque veins with lower molybdenite contents are cut
by narrower, more vitreous-looking higher-grade veins (Fig.
9B). Additional molybdenite occurs within fractures that lack

A B
-40

-40
2002 2006
00

00
E

E
?
?

N N
00 00
40 40

0N 0N

N 00
N
00
N

0E
0E

-40 -40

C N D
0E

00
-40

-40

40
2010 2012
00

00
E

0N

N N
00 00
40 40

N
00
-40

0N 0N

N N
00 00
0E

0E

-40 -40

QMP 0.012% Mo
>0.15% Cu
Monzonite Midas Fault Existing DH 2000 m
>0.35% Cu 0.05% Mo
Quartzite Lower Plate Fault New DH
>0.7% Cu 0.15% Mo
Limestone

FIG. 8. Plans at the 2015 mine level (615-m elev) showing drilling, geology, and Cu and Mo porphyry-style grade shells
as of the beginning of A) 2002, B) 2006, C) 2010, and D) 2012.

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 GEOLOGY OF THE BINGHAM CANYON PORPHYRY Cu-Mo-Au DEPOSIT, UTAH
FIG. 9. Photographs of deep drill core. A) Chalcopyrite ± pyrite veins cut-
ting pervasively actinolite-altered equigranular monzonite with a strong sec-
ondary biotite overprint. This is the predominant type of deep copper min-
eralization. Sample is from hole D556 at a depth of 1,301 m (393-m elev). B)
Two generations of quartz-molybdenite veins cutting earlier nonparallel bar-
ren veins in equigranular monzonite. Sample is from hole D548 at a depth of
1,499.6 m (320-m elev). C) Abundant barren quartz veins cutting QMP
(light-colored) and QLP (dark-colored) from the barren core. Sample is from
hole D591 at a depth of 941 m (735-m elev).
appreciable quartz, and as molybdenite paint on slickensided
surfaces. Total vein density is estimated is 15 to 20 vol %.
Deep barren core: Drill hole D591 was drilled vertically to a
depth of 1,524 m (155 m elevation) to explore the barren core.
The hole intersected pale-green QMP cut by numerous
medium- to dark-gray QLP dikes (Fig. 9C). The QMP shows
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141
pervasive secondary biotite alteration and illite-smectite alter-
ation of plagioclase phenocrysts, and hosts ~15 vol % barren
quartz veins and sparse quartz-molybdenite veins over the en-
tire length of the hole. The QLP dikes show less intense sec-
ondary biotite alteration and fewer quartz veins. Disseminated
sulfides are sparse, typically constitute <0.25 vol % of the rock,
and are dominated by pyrite. There is no obvious change in
the style or intensity of alteration, veining, or mineralization
over the length of the hole. The abundance of QLP in hole
D591 is much greater than seen at the pit surface; the hole in-
tersects 400 m of QLP in numerous intervals, cutting the core
axis at angles between 25° and 30°. These intervals probably
represent dikes that parallel the strike and dip of the QMP.
Age of alteration and mineralization
Parry et al. (2001) reported 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages of 37.57
± 0.09, 37.60 ± 0.11, and 37.45 ± 0.11 Ma for secondary bi-
otite from three samples of equigranular monzonite at vary-
ing distances from the QMP. They also reported an 40Ar/39Ar
isochron age of 37.07 ± 0.21 Ma for secondary biotite from
QMP overprinted by illite-smectite-kaolinite alteration.
Because copper occurs in veins that cut porphyry phases of
the Bingham stock and because the QMP does not appear to
truncate copper-bearing veins, copper mineralization is as-
sumed to be contemporaneous with the intrusion of the por-
phyry phases. The best estimate of the age of those porphyry
intrusions is the 38.10 to 37.78 Ma range determined by von
Quadt et al. (2011) by considering only the youngest zircon
ages.
Because QLP dikes do not truncate quartz-molybdenite
veins, the molybdenite mineralization is younger than the
QLP dikes. Previously published Re-Os molybdenite ages
range from 37.27 ± 0.26 to 36.77 ± 0.26 M (Chesley and Ruiz,
1997). These ages do not contradict either the 40Ar/39Ar ages
for QLP (37.74 Ma; Deino and Keith, 1997) or U-Pb zircon
ages for the porphyry intrusions (38.10–37.78 Ma; von Quadt
et al., 2011), but the youngest molybdenite ages are almost 1
m.y. younger than the youngest dikes, suggesting a cooling in-
terval at the long end of the range suggested by cooling mod-
els (Cathles et al., 1997).
Discussion
Tectonic setting
The Bingham porphyry copper deposit lies along the E-
trending Uinta Arch, which became the locus of a belt of in-
trusive and volcanic activity and mineralization in the Eocene
and Oligocene. The 38.5 to 37 Ma age of the Bingham deposit
implies that it formed several million years after compressive
faulting ceased at the end of the Cretaceous to mid-Eocene Se-
vier orogeny and after the first half grabens in the region began
accumulating sediments (Constenius, 1996). Small volumes of
nepheline-bearing basalt lava 10 km from Bingham and narrow
discontinuous intramineral biotite minette dikes within the
open pit attest to mantle contributions to the magmatism and
are consistent with an extensional regime (Keith et al., 1997).
Characterization of deep parts of the deposit
Deep drilling now permits a preliminary characterization of
the Bingham deposit from the pre-mine (but post-erosion)
141
 142 PORTER ET AL.

top of mineralization at 2,390 m to below sea level. The

equigranular monzonite shows no obvious compositional or A
textural changes with depth but the QMP changes from a
porphyry with about 50% phenocrysts, including K-feldspar
crystals up to 2 cm size, in an aphanitic groundmass, to a
phaneritic rock with the same large K-feldspar crystals. Con-
tacts of the intrusions generally show continuity with depth. >0.35 Cu
The overall 65° dip of the dike-like QMP intrusion and simi-

D013
< 0.35 Cu
larly inclined contacts between equigranular monzonite and

D593
sedimentary rocks remain roughly constant to the lower lim-

D178

D066

D583

D336

D064

D319

D128

D109
its of the current drilling. Recent drilling into the center of
the barren core has intersected many more QLP dikes than
are encountered at the pit surface.
Only modest changes in hydrothermal alteration have been B
encountered with depth. Early pervasive actinolite alteration,
commonly with relict magmatic magnetite, is present in all
deep intervals of equigranular monzonite, and secondary bi- >0.7 Cu
otite partially to completely overprints the actinolite alter-

D782
ation at depth just as it does at the pit surface. Secondary bi- < 0.7 Cu

D224
otite replaces all primary mafic phenocrysts in the QMP
(other than biotite phenocrysts, which are compositionally

D751

D604

D466

D100

D049

D198

D170
modified) to the bottom of the deepest drill holes, including
the QMP within the barren core. Surprisingly, argillic alter-
ation of plagioclase phenocrysts, characteristic of the QMP in
the open pit, continues to below sea level. ROCK TYPES
Wt % Cu
The deeper drilling has shown that previously identified Monzonite QLP dikes

zones of copper and molybdenum mineralization continue at
depth. Copper grades decrease downward such that consistent
>0.7% Cu mineralization is absent below 800-m elevation,
and it seems unlikely that >0.35% Cu mineralization will ex-
tend much below sea level except in skarns (Fig. 6). The zone
of >0.05% Mo mineralization, on the other hand, persists at
least to sea level (Figs. 5, 6). There are no obvious changes in
copper sulfide mineralogy at depth. Quartz-magnetite-sulfide
veins on the south side of the deposit grade to quartz-mag-
netite veins without sulfides with increasing depth.
The regular shape and continuity of the copper and molyb-
denum grade shells suggest that only a single center of min-
eralization is present and demonstrate that there has been no
significant postmineral fault displacement. The common axis
of the copper and molybdenum shells plunges at 65° at 290°
azimuth, suggesting that the deposit has been tilted 25° to the
east-southeast by Basin-and-Range style postmineral faults
located beyond the boundaries of the orebody.
Timing of veining and mineralization
Redmond and Einaudi’s study of veining in the QMP and
younger porphyry intrusions established a detailed sequence
of vein types within the QMP (Redmond and Einaudi, 2010).
They noted that the younger porphyry intrusions truncate
most of the earlier veins such that the successively younger
porphyry intrusions have markedly lower vein densities. They
also noted that at least part of the vein sequence was repeated
following the emplacement of each intrusion (Redmond,
2002; Redmond and Einaudi, 2010). We concur with their
observation that “most A veins (> 90%) in QMP are truncated
by LP…” but note that that there is no consistent change in
copper grades at LP-QMP contacts or at contacts of the LP
with equigranular monzonite (Fig. 10A, B). The copper dis-
tributions we observe in equigranular monzonite, QMP, and
1.5
0
Quartzite LP dikes 100 m
Siltstone QMP
Skarn Hybrid Porphyry
FIG. 10. Modified cross sections showing geology and copper assays. A)
Geology and copper assays for drill holes that contain LP dikes within 100 m
of the Bingham mine 400 South section. Because strong vertical copper zon-
ing is present, the drill hole traces have been moved vertically so that they are
aligned relative to the 0.35 wt % Cu grade shell boundary. Note that there is
no consistent change in copper grades at LP-QMP contacts. B) Geology and
copper assays for drill holes that contain LP and within 100 m of the Bing-
ham mine 300 West section. Drill-hole traces have been moved vertically so
that they are aligned relative to the 0.7 wt % Cu grade shell boundary. Note
that there is no consistent change in copper grades at LP-equigranular mon-
zonite contacts (traces for inclined drill holes in each section have been ro-
tated to vertical to avoid superimposition so the vertical scale is indicative
only).
LP suggest that the mineralizing process affected all three
rock types similarly, and that it continued unabated until post-
LP time. It appears that the ascending ore fluid did not pref-
erentially focus in any rock type where it dissolved earlier
quartz and deposited copper sulfides and gold.
The mineralizing plume
Petrographic, microthermometric, and LA-ICP-MS studies
of fluid inclusions provide compelling evidence that the cop-
per and molybdenum mineralization at Bingham are the
product of an ascending column of predominantly magmatic
fluid (Henley and McNabb, 1978; Hedenquist and Lowen-
stern, 1994).
Vein density studies (Redmond, 2002; Gruen et al., 2010)
together with fluid inclusions studies (Redmond et al., 2004;
Landtwing et al., 2005, 2010) unambiguously identify the
strongly quartz-veined barren core as the main upflow zone

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 GEOLOGY OF THE BINGHAM CANYON PORPHYRY Cu-Mo-Au DEPOSIT, UTAH 143

for ore fluids at Bingham. Deep in the barren core most in-
clusions are intermediate density inclusions trapped as a sin-
gle phase at temperatures >500°C. However, in the bornite-
and gold-rich, upper part of the deposit, and in the 500-m
interval immediately below the base of that zone, the inter-
mediate-density ore fluid separated into brine and low-den-
sity vapor. Bornite, chalcopyrite, and native gold were pre-
cipitated in microfractures and vugs formed by dissolution
of earlier quartz as temperatures decreased from 430° to
350° C. Later, inclusions formed at lower temperatures
trapped strongly metal-depleted fluids (Redmond et al.,
2004; Redmond and Einaudi, 2010; Landtwing et al., 2005,
2010). The vapor in inclusions trapped in the deep flank of
the copper shell on the eastern side of the deposit remained
denser and the brine was less saline compared to vapor and
brine in the bornite- and gold-rich, upper part of the
deposit, suggesting a lower degree of phase separation
(Landtwing et al., 2010).
Controls on mineralization
The shape of the copper shell broadly mimics the ~400°C
isotherm along the path of the upwelling plume (fig. 16 of
Landtwing et al., 2010) and is interpreted to reflect a zone
where the pressure-temperature conditions permitted retro-
grade quartz solubility and copper deposition. However,
there are also important lithologic controls on copper grade:
copper grades in wall-rock and xenolith quartzite are lower
than those in adjacent equigranular monzonite, even where
the grade zone lies within the favorable pressure-temperature
regime (Fig. 11). The lower grade quartzite volumes disrupt
the copper shell and give rise to the distinctive molar tooth
shape of the >0.35% Cu zone (Figs. 5, 6). Because calcareous
rocks, whether limestones or calcareous siltstones, have the
opposite effect, i.e., exert a positive effect on grade, we inter-
pret the low grades in the quartzites to be a function of host-
rock composition rather than permeability.
The overall shape of the molybdenum shell does not appear
to be controlled by intrusive contacts, but within the shell,
molybdenum grades tend to be higher in the equigranular
monzonite than in the porphyries or the sedimentary rocks.
Our understanding of molybdenite mineralization at Bing-
ham Canyon is evolving rapidly. Redmond and Einaudi
(2010) noted that quartz-molybdenite veins cut all porphyry
intrusions, and Chesley and Ruiz (1997) provided Re-Os

QMP QLP N
00
20
0E

Monzonite LP
Quartzite and
Siltstone Fault,
Limestone/Skarn modeled

Blast 0 % Cu 1.0
holes 0N

N
00
20

0N
00
-2

0N
0E
-2

0N N
00

00
0

-2
E

FIG. 11. Plot of copper grades for blast holes collared at the 1,551-m elevation. The plot shows two very low-grade areas
(<0.1% Cu; red arrows) which merge two benches below this elevation to form a single large barren zone. Note the litho-
logic control of copper mineralization. Copper is low in a quartzite xenolith (orange arrow) within equigranular monzonite
in the southwest sector. An east-west alignment of higher copper grades marked with a blue arrow reflects the presence of
more calcareous beds. High-grade copper mineralization in the northern part of the Bingham stock (green arrow) is inde-
pendent of modeled faults but is hosted by both equigranular monzonite and anastomosing LP dikes. Coordinates are in
Bingham mine grid.

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 144
dates consistent with molybdenite being post-QLP in timing.
The detailed vein study reported by Redmond (2002) clearly
established that quartz-molybdenite veins are younger than
the copper-bearing veins. Landtwing et al. (2005, 2010) and
Seo et al. (2012) showed that fluid inclusions in quartz-molyb-
denite veins have similar copper concentrations to those in
copper-rich veins. Seo et al. (2012) suggested that other fac-
tors, such as increased acidity and lower oxidation state, led to
the initial precipitation of molybdenite in the quartz-molyb-
denite veins.
Emplacement of the Bingham stock
Modeling of detailed magnetic data suggests a large, upper-
crustal, subhorizontal tabular pluton with its top at a depth of
3 to 5 km beneath the current surface (Steinberger et al., in
press). The earliest batches of magma to reach the site of the
orebody from this chamber are represented by large, steep-
sided intrusions of equigranular monzonite, including the
Bingham and Last Chance stocks. The equigranular mon-
zonite does not appear to have generated any mineralization.
The 2-km-long QMP dike was the first strongly mineralized
porphyry intrusion, and the presence of early, wavy, and dis-
continuous quartz veins indicates that abundant veining de-
veloped while it was still sufficiently hot to deform in a duc-
tile fashion. The intrusive rock that makes up the 16-km-long
LP dike swarm is mineralogically and chemically similar to
the QMP and cuts but is not chilled against the QMP. The LP
contains many fewer veins than the QMP, even in the center
of the deposit, but copper grades in the LP are similar to
those in the immediately adjacent QMP (Fig. 10A). The
plume of ascending ore fluid responsible for mineralization at
Bingham apparently developed concurrently with or immedi-
ately following QMP emplacement and persisted during and
following LP emplacement.
The QLP dikes represent the youngest volumetrically sig-
nificant batch of magma to reach the site of the orebody.
While the QLP is indistinguishable from the QMP or LP by
means of U-Pb zircon dating, conditions within the mineral-
izing plume had changed by QLP time. The QLP dikes trun-
cate most of the copper-bearing veins but they host quartz-
molybdenite veins. Seo et al. (2012) reported that fluid
inclusions in the QLP contain copper-rich fluids, but that
conditions had changed such that molybdenite was the first
sulfide mineral to precipitate. We speculate that emplace-
ment of the QLP triggered a change in the temperature, pres-
sure, and chemistry of the mineralizing plume that favored
first precipitation of molybdenite.
Conclusions
Deep drilling of the Bingham porphyry copper deposit has
largely confirmed that intrusive rock and alteration bound-
aries as well as the boundaries of the zones of copper and
molybdenum mineralization all extend without sharp discon-
tinuities from the pre-mine surface at 2,390-m elevation to at
least sea level. Lower grade quartzite breaks up the continu-
ity of the copper mineralization at depth, giving the zone of
>0.35% Cu a shape similar to that of a molar tooth. The grade
of the deep copper roots decreases downward, but molyb-
denum grades show no obvious decrease with depth, and
>0.05% Mo mineralization hosted by quartz-molybdenite
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PORTER ET AL.
stockwork veins persists to the lower limits of drilling at about
490 m below sea level.
Intensive vein and fluid inclusion studies by university re-
searchers have demonstrated that the copper and gold min-
eralization was precipitated from a plume of ascending inter-
mediate-density copper-, gold- and molybdenum-rich fluid
that separated into low-density vapor and dense brine phases
~500 m below the base of the high-grade copper-gold zone.
Fluid inclusion thermometry suggests that chalcopyrite, bor-
nite, chalcocite, digenite, and gold precipitated as the ore
fluid cooled from 430° to 350°C; open space was generated
via dissolution of small volumes of earlier quartz due to the
pressure and temperature lying in the field of retrograde
quartz solubility. Younger fluid inclusions, with lower homog-
enization temperatures, contain up to two orders of magni-
tude less copper than earlier, hotter inclusions.
The main stage of copper mineralization commenced with
emplacement of the QMP, the earliest major porphyry intru-
sion, and continued until after emplacement of the LP dikes.
During or immediately following intrusion of the younger
QLP dikes, the chemistry and/or physical conditions of the
plume changed such that copper mineralization diminished,
and molybdenite became the first sulfide mineral to precipi-
tate. Potassic alteration persisted throughout the copper min-
eralization stage and most of the molybdenite mineralization
stage, giving way to later illite-smectite alteration only after
most of the molybdenite had been deposited.
After more than 106 years of open pit mining, geologic
knowledge of the Bingham deposit is still growing rapidly.
Drilling has extended the limits of the known mineralized
areas and outlined new resources. Scientific work through
both internal and university studies continues to provide new
geologic insight into the formation and controls of the de-
posit, and ongoing work to extend the mine life will facilitate
better characterization of the mineralization. The future of
Bingham promises to continue the tradition of discovery, both
scientific and economic, that helped define the deposit in its
first century of mining.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank SEG reviewers Marco Ein-
audi, Patrick Redmond, and Ken Krahulec for detailed re-
views, and Jay Hammitt, Chris Heinrich, and Russ Franklin
for informal reviews. We are indebted to Geoff Ballantyne for
tireless efforts to improve the paper. The Rio Tinto Explo-
ration group has made welcome contributions to our knowl-
edge of the district, and illuminating discussions with Marco
Einaudi, Chris Heinrich, John Dilles, and their students have
been appreciated. Michael DePangher provided skilled pet-
rographic assistance, Donald Hinks modeled geophysical data,
Rudy Ganske compiled the geology map, and Craig Hansen
helped access drill core. We thank Richard Sillitoe and Jeffrey
Hedenquist for editorial guidance, and the management of
Kennecott Utah Copper for permission to publish.
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