REVISITING THE PORPHYRY COPPER

MODEL

March 2024
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 A Bit of History

PORPHYRY derives from the Greek word “purple” originally applied to a rare purple dye, Tyrian
purple, extracted by the Phoenicians from murex shells. It was later applied to the purple igneous
rock with large crystals of plagioclase prized for monuments and building projects in Imperial Rome
because of its color and hardness. Subsequently, the name was given to any igneous rock
characterized by a large size difference between the tiny matrix crystals and larger phenocrysts
regardless of color.

Mining of disseminated or low-grade copper deposits started in 1905 at Bingham Canyon, Utah. As
a result of the close spatial and genetic relationship of these disseminated deposits with porphyry
stocks, they were termed PORPYHRY COPPER deposits in W. H. Emmons 1918 textbook “The
Principles of Economic Geology”. Although the name was used in an “Economic Geology” article
in 1947, it did not gain widespread use until the 1970s following the publication of the seminal paper
on porphyry models and genesis by Lowell and Guilbert (1970).

Although “Porphyry Copper” deposits were not described as a deposit type in 1913, W. Lindgren
recognized that copper skarns were generally associated with mineralized “monzonites or quartz
monzonites or granodiorites”.

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 Discarded 1970’s “Light-bulb” Model

No Stratavolcano

Not a single event

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 Not Related to Stratavolcanos

Model falsified by the Yerington district deposits.

Contemporaneous volcanic rocks overlie the Ann Mason deposit where subareal andesitic lava
flows, breccias, sandstones, and ignimbrites are intruded by the 169.4 my Yerington batholith.
These rocks are uncomformably overlain by unaltered 166.9 Ma latitic to dacitic lava flows and
ignimbrite. Age of mineralization is constrained from 167.4 to 167.0 Ma. There is no evidence of
an overlying stratovolcano and 400k years is too short of a time to have completely obliterated
evidence of any stratovolcano.

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 Layered Earth Depth Model

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 Potassium Depth Model

Morenci, Escondida Bingham Canyon

(Cu-Mo) (Cu-Au)

Keith, Rasmussen & Swan, 2020, Magma-Metal Series Approach,

As lithospheric thickness increases, hotter isotherms are displaced away from the trench, and the depth
of mantle melting (and thus pressure) increases.

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 Calc-alkaline Porphyry Model

Keith, Rasmussen & Swan, 2020, Magma-Metal Series Approach, Summary of Research

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 Ann Mason Deposit - Yerington District

Ann Mason

Ann Mason target (untested)

Displaced
Bear-Lago
deposits
Blue Hill Plate

Ann Mason

Ann-Mason
target in Blue
Hill Plate, +400
m deep

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 A Real Porphyry Deposit - Ann Mason

The batholith consists of three major equigranular intrusions, each progressively smaller in
volume, more deeply emplaced and more silicic in composition.

Dilles, 1987, Petrology of the Yerington Batholith, Nevada: Evidence for Evolution of Porphyry Copper Ore Fluids

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 Ann Mason - Hydrothermal Alteration Assemblages

Post-mineral Cover

See Keith - Slide 7

Early stage 3 - MCAho
Mesothermal, high-sulfur, porphyry Cu/
Ag/Mo(Rh) with fringing mesothermal
Pb-Zn-Ag-Au(Sb-Hg-As-W-Mo-Ti) veins,
skarns and replacements. Associated
with biotite granodiorite porphyries.

Halley et al, 2015

Footprints: Hydrothermal Alteration and
Geochemical Dispersion Around
Porphyry Copper Deposits

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 Ann Mason - Hydrothermal Fluid Flow

Potassic alt’n
Phyllic alteration: plagioclase > sericite & mafics >
chlorite. Both are time equivalent and dependent on
rock mineralogy.

Phyllic alteration represents hydrous retrograde

alteration produced by heated formational or
meteoric water that often redistributes metals.
skarn along Variable intensity. In many porphyry systems, phyllic
margin of Phyllic alt’n alteration is weak or lacking.
early
pluton Qtz-ser-py alteration, which usually post-dates copper
mineralization, may leach and remobilize chalcopyrite
and is due to collapse of fracturing toward pluton
margin.

NOTE: Argillic alteration in porphyry

systems is supergene.

Dilles & Einaudi, 1992

Wall-Rock Alteration and Hydrothermal Flow Paths about

the Ann-Mason Porphyry Copper Deposit, Nevada--A 6-
Km Vertical Reconstruction

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 Pluton Vectoring - Structure Important

Rasmussen and Keith, 2018,

Future Exploration for Arizona
Porphyry Copper Deposits: Do’s
Chapi, Peru
and Don’ts
El Indio, Chile

Bagdad, USA

El Teniente, Chile

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 Arizona Case Study - Pluton Vectoring

Pluton classification & vectoring based on detailed field work

1:24,000 scale geologic compilation

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 Features to Look For

K-spar megacrysts Immiscible melt inclusions of earlier stage intrusions

Hostile natives

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 Generalized Vein Sequence

Alteration
of
hornblende
to biotite
EARLY

late magmatic
event in semi- releases
ductile
environment water,
(sinuous
veins) initiating
mineralizing
event
cooling with
volume loss,
brittle
fracturing, main
mineral event,
magmatic
main
hydrolysis
event
LATE

(retrograde
altn)
Note: For any
mineralizing event,
OVERPRINT pyrite comes in
late.

Gustafson & Hunt (1975), Meyer & Hemley (1967)

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 Propylitic Alteration

The key disfncfon of propylifc alterafon is that its mineral assemblage reflects
the primary rock composifon, not that of the fluid. The bulk chemical
composifon is not extensively changed except for addifon of water, a small
amount of hydrogen metasomafsm, and minor subsftufons of carbonate and
sulfide for silica. Mineralogical and geochemical studies indicate alterafon
occurred at below 300˚C and nearly neutral to slightly alkaline pH.

In the Magmachem scheme, propylifc alterafon occurs during stage 2

hydrolysis event following steep decline in hornblende maximum occurrence.

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 Something to remember

1. Porphyry copper deposits are associated with shallow plutons. If no exposed intermediate
dikes or plutons, it is probably something else.

2. Qtz-sericite-pyrite (QSP) is not exclusively associated with porphyry copper deposits. It is

common to many deposit types.

3. Propylitic alteration (mainly Na feldspar, epidote, chlorite, magnetite, actinolite) is not a fringe
time-equivalent halo of porphyry copper mineralization; it predates the copper mineralization.

4. It’s the water!! Faster convergence rates = wetter plutons = bigger hydrothermal systems
(hornblende stable intrusions indicate wet intrusions)

5. Multiple, overprinting mineralizing events generate larger deposits!

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 Magma Fertility Index

Loucks, 2013

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 Magma Fertility Index Explained

1. Since Sr substitutes for Ca in plagioclase, but the Y content of plagioclase is low compared
to most K, Na rich minerals (i.e. Kspar), the Sr/Y ratio measures fractional crystallization of
mantle-derived melts.

2. The enhanced fertility of arc magmas relates primarily to their high water content, which is
required for the formation of magmatic-hydrothermal systems upon shallow crustal
emplacement. Magmatic water contents >4 wt percent H2O cause abundant amphibole (+/-
garnet) fractionation but suppression of plagioclase crystallization at deep crustal levels,
resulting in increasing Sr/Y ratio with differentiation, commonly into "adakitic" ranges. Thus,
arc magmatic suites with high Sr/Y ratios and evidence for the presence of hydrous
phenocryst phases (hornblende and/or biotite) are prospective for porphyry Cu +/- Mo +/- Au
deposits, but only because these parameters indicate high magmatic water content.

3. CAUTION: The Loucks diagram mixes data from Calc-alkaline, Alkaline and “pseudo”
porphyries

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 Avoid Cartoon Models

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 Exploration Considerations

1. Mineralized porphyry stocks rarely exceed 0.5% Cu grade. Therefore need enrichment to
generate superior deposits - usually multiple porphyry stocks, skarns (reactive wallrocks) or
supergene enrichment (desert climates).

2. The cost of transporting rock mass increases by 20-30% on average for every 100 m of
depth. Deeper deposits will require higher grades unless we can develop in-situ leaching.

3. Deposits deeper than ~500 m must be mined by underground methods, below ~1000 m
deposits become increasingly harder to find and mine. Considering all deposit types, only
exceptionally rich deposits justify mining below 2000 m as only a handful are profitable below
3000 m, and none have yet exceeded 4000 m.

4. Chalcopyrite stability field lies between pyrite and magnetite, so don’t automatically drill the
I.P. high.

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 Think about what you are trying to achieve and develop an appropriate plan.

Record the geology in as much detail as possible and construct your own model based on facts.

Do not discard data that may conflict with established paradigms.

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 About the Author

1. My first in-depth exposure to porphyry copper deposits was in 1969 drilling the LAGO
deposit at Yerington, Nevada, for Phelps Dodge Corp. at the same time John Proffett was
finishing his classic Ph.D. dissertation, which later explained all the low-angle faults we were
finding. In the following years, I was involved in extensive exploration for porphyry deposits
in the southwestern USA were I was exposed to some of the leading research coming from
the Univ. of Arizona along with a short stint working with S. A. Williams as a petrographer at
the Phelps Dodge Research Laboratory in Douglas, Arizona. Based on thousands of thin
sections and cadre of field geologists, “Sid” developed a classification of porphyry deposits
and indicator minerals that Phelps Dodge was using in the 1970’s, which was never
published, although a few disciples still maintain some “notes” and diagrams.

2. Over the years, I have worked with severable notables in the porphyry copper field, including
Richard “Dick” Beane and Stan Keith, as well as followed advances in the discipline while
spending literally thousands of days mapping at a district and detailed scale. All of this has
led me to believe that the published paradigm on porphyries needs to be clarified. In
particular, I cringe at the cartoons that keep appearing in the N.I. 43-101 reports and wonder
if most geologists really understand porphyry copper systems.

3. Open to discussion - Ron Luethe (ronluethe@gmail.com)

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