Bissig 2015 Au Ag

Ore Geology Reviews 65 (2015) 327364
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Ore Geology Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/oregeorev
Review
Physiographic and tectonic settings of high-suldation epithermal

goldsilver deposits of the Andes and their controls on
mineralizing processes
Thomas Bissig a,, Alan H. Clark b, Amelia Rainbow b, Allan Montgomery c
a
b
c
Mineral Deposit Research Unit, University of British Columbia, 2020-2207 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Queen's University, Bruce Wing/Miller Hall, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
Riverside Resources Suite 1110, 1111 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC V6E 4M3, Canada
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 6 July 2014
Received in revised form 10 September 2014
Accepted 17 September 2014
Available online 28 September 2014
Keywords:
High-suldation
Epithermal
Andes
Landscape evolution
Erosion
Uplift
Flat subduction
Neogene
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: tbissig@eos.ubc.ca (T. Bissig).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2014.09.027
0169-1368/ 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
a b s t r a c t
Gold and silver ores in the vast majority of Andean high-suldation epithermal AuAg deposits occur at high
present day elevations and typically 200500 m below low relief landforms situated at 3500 to 5200 m a.s.l.
Most deposits are middle Miocene and younger and include, El Indio, Tambo, PascuaLama, Veladero (El Indio
belt, Chile/Argentina), Cerro de Pasco (Central Peru), Pierina, Lagunas Norte, Yanacocha (northern Peru),
Quimsacocha (Ecuador), and the CaliforniaVetas mining district (Santander, Colombia), jointly accounting for
N 130 Moz Au resources. Slightly older examples are only preserved in the Atacama Desert and include the middle
Eocene El Guanaco and El Hueso and the late Oligocene/early Miocene La Coipa deposits. The absence of Paleocene and older high-suldation epithermal deposits can be explained by limited preservation potential imposed
by transpressional tectonics within overall contractile episodes and surface uplift. These conditions prevailed predominantly in segments of shallow-angle subduction of the Nazca or Caribbean plate below the South American
continent, a tectonic setting also common for porphyry-style Cu (Au, Mo) deposits. Stratovolcanoes are uncommon ore hosts and volcanic rocks coincident with mineralization are in most cases volumetrically restricted or
absent, recording the terminal stages of local arc magmatism. However, dacitic domes are important at,
e.g., Yanacocha and La Coipa. At Lagunas Norte, a small stratovolcano largely pre-dating but temporally overlapping with mineralization occurs immediately east of the deposit and volcanic sector collapse may have occurred
during hydrothermal activity.
Mineralization is typically located near the backscarp of pediments or the heads of valleys incising now highelevation, low-relief surfaces. In the CaliforniaVetas Mining District and El Indio belt, hydrothermal alunite
ages become generally younger upstream along the incising valleys, indicating that hydrothermal activity and,
by inference, ore deposition were facilitated by erosion. The lowering of the water table and reduction of hydrostatic and lithostatic pressure at these sites of high local relief are believed to have enhanced both boiling and
mixing of magmatic with meteoric uids, ultimately enhancing ore deposition.
The host rock composition, permeability and location of the water table control the distribution of alteration
zones and ore. Intermediate volcanic rocks are the most common ore-hosts but they typically pre-date mineralization by several Ma. However, high-suldation epithermal mineralization can be hosted in any conceivable
rock type including high grade metamorphic rocks (CaliforniaVetas mining district), signicantly older plutonic
rocks (PascuaLama) or quartzites (Lagunas Norte). Large vuggy quartz alteration zones and commonly oxidized
low-grade large-tonnage mineralization are best developed in relatively permeable volcaniclastic rocks or hydrothermal breccia bodies, whereas coherent volcanic, plutonic, or metamorphic rocks may host fault- and brecciacontrolled ores. The near-surface steam-heated zone can attain a thickness of several hundred meters in dry
climates (e.g. Veladero, PascuaLama, Tambo) but is typically poorly developed and less than 20 m thick in
humid climatic zones.
The physiographic and tectonic settings of high-suldation epithermal deposits are distinct from low-suldation
epithermal districts such as those of Patagonia, El Pen (Chile) or Fruta del Norte (Ecuador). The latter range to
signicantly older ages (Jurassic to early Eocene) occur at mainly lower elevations and were emplaced in extensional settings. A temporal coincidence between uplift, erosion and mineralizing processes as well as a spatial and
temporal association with porphyry style mineralization is not evident for these low-suldation districts.
2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
328
T. Bissig et al. / Ore Geology Reviews 65 (2015) 327364
Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Epithermal deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Distribution of high-suldation deposits in the Andes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
El Indio belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.1.
The Tambo deposit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2.
El Indio deposit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.
PascuaLama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.4.
Veladero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.
Maricunga belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.1.
La Coipa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2.
La Pepa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.
High-suldation epithermal deposits of the Domeyko fault system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.1.
El Hueso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.2.
El Guanaco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.
Late Miocene high-suldation epithermal Au deposits of the western Cordillera of northern Chile and southern Peru
8.
Central to northern Peruvian at slab segment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.
High-suldation epithermal deposits of the central Peruvian polymetallic belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.1.
Julcani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.2.
The MarcapuntaColquijirca district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.3.
Cerro de Pasco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.4.
Quicay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.
The high-suldation epithermal Au (Cu, Ag) deposits of northwestern Peru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.1.
Pierina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.2.
Lagunas Norte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.3.
Yanacocha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.4.
Tantahuatay, Sipan and La Zanja . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.
The northern Andes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.1.
Quimsacocha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.2.
California Vetas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.
Summary and comparison to low-suldation deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.
Controls of geomorphic processes and climate on mineralization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.
Igneous rocks, volcanology and magmatic uids related to high-suldation epithermal deposits . . . . . . . . .
15.
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1. Introduction
The Andes are the world's most endowed region with respect to
giant magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposits (Cooke et al., 2005). They
host the largest-known porphyry copper deposits (e.g., Rio BlancoLos
BroncesLos Sulfatos, El Teniente, Chuquicamata) as well as many of
the world's largest epithermal AuAg deposits (e.g., Yanacocha, Lagunas
Norte, PascuaLama, Veladero: Sillitoe, 2008). The vast majority of
Andean epithermal deposits containing N 10 Moz Au are of highsuldation type. These deposits have a close link to a magmatic source
for uids, volatiles and metals (e.g., Deyell et al., 2004; Rye, 1993) but
form at depths of typically less than 1 km (e.g. Sillitoe, 2010) and consequently mineralizing processes are inuenced by the near-surface physicochemical environment. The main focus of this review is on deposits
and districts where the bulk of the precious metal is contained in
the epithermal environment, i.e., the shallow part of magmatichydrothermal systems, and concentrates on the physiographic environment of epithermal mineralization. This paper does not discuss major
porphyry Cu deposits in detail, although the shallow portions of many
of these have been overprinted by epithermal mineralization or alteration (e.g., Masterman et al., 2004; Ossandn et al., 2001). Similarly,
the deposits hosting Sn, W, Ag and Au ores in the eastern Cordillera of
Bolivia and Peru are not discussed. Following a general summary of
epithermal deposit types and their terminology, this article presents a
comprehensive overview of the major high-suldation epithermal districts and mineral belts of the Andes. It focuses on the links between
landscape evolution, climatic setting, volcanology and tectonics, and
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361
discusses the inuence these factors can have on both mineralizing

processes and the preservation of the deposits.
2. Epithermal deposits
Epithermal deposits are usually classied into sub-types based on either ore sulde assemblage or characteristic associated alteration; both
schemes have inherent limitations. Some of the most widely referenced
review papers on the topic (Hedenquist et al., 2000; Sillitoe and
Hedenquist, 2003; Simmons et al., 2005) prefer a classication into
high, low and intermediate-suldation types. This classication scheme
can, however, be problematic, because sulde assemblages may be difcult to classify in a eld exploration setting, particularly if the deposit
has been oxidized. Moreover, sulde assemblages within a single deposit may represent precipitation over the entire breadth of suldation
state, from high to intermediate and low-suldation, depending on
uidwall rock interaction (e.g., El Indio: Heather et al., 2003a, 2003b;
Cerro de Pasco: Baumgartner et al., 2008; Lagunas Norte: Cerpa et al.,
2013). Alternative classication is based on dominant alteration
and gangue assemblages and includes quartzadulariasericite and
quartzalunite or acid sulfate type epithermal deposits (Heald et al.
1987, Tosdal et al., 2009), the former typically including low to
intermediate-suldation sulde assemblages and the latter associated
with high-suldation deposits. The limitation of this classication
scheme is that, particularly in high-suldation deposits, alteration may
pre-date and may not be directly related to mineralization (see below).
For this paper we use the widely applied classication scheme of

high-suldation (normally associated with acidic quartzalunite
alteration) and low-suldation type (associated with near neutral
quartzadularia gangue and illiteadularia alteration) deposits. The
term intermediate suldation is used to describe suldation state but
is not used in the sense of a distinct subtype of epithermal deposit due
to the inherent variation of sulde assemblages within a single deposit
or vein.
In most high-suldation epithermal deposits, two hydrothermal
stages can be distinguished (e.g., Simmons et al., 2005). An early stage
of intense acid leaching of the wall-rock by a magmatic vapor that condensed into groundwater, cooled to temperatures below 300 C and
was acidied by dissociation of acids such as HCl, or H2SO4
(Hedenquist and Taran, 2013); and, a subsequent stage of weaklyacidic uid incursion, from which the bulk of the suldes and precious
metals, together with euhedral quartz, precipitated (e.g., Heinrich
et al., 2004, 2007; Holley, 2012; Stoffregen, 1987). The intense acid
leaching generates the zoning from vuggy quartz to quartzalunite
and more distal kaolinitic alteration. This assemblage is commonly referred to as a lithocap because it caps potential porphyry Cu mineralization (Sillitoe, 1995). Although mineralization is widely related to the
inltration of the less acidic uids into the precursor lithocap
(e.g., Holley, 2012; Stoffregen, 1987), it has been shown that the acidic
magmatic vapors can also transport gold into the shallow epithermal
environment (Scher et al., 2013; Taran et al., 2000). At PascuaLama
such uids were responsible for at least some of the gold mineralization
(Chouinard et al., 2005). Conversely, there are examples of highsuldation epithermal deposits where vuggy quartz alteration is largely
absent (e.g., La Bodega, Colombia: Rodriguez, 2014).
The precipitation mechanisms for precious metals in highsuldation epithermal deposits are not as well understood as for lowsuldation systems. For the latter, ample textural and uid inclusion evidence leaves little doubt that uid boiling leads to precipitation of
metals due to the loss of the dominant ligands (H2S) to the gas phase
(Moncada et al., 2012; Simmons et al., 2005). In contrast, uid inclusion
studies of high-suldation deposits are difcult, as the appropriate
transparent minerals are rare. Several possible precipitation mechanisms such as boiling, and uid mixing of a magma derived uid with
oxidized groundwater have been proposed (e.g., Rye et al., 1992;
Jannas et al., 1999). Recent work on the La Bodega deposit in
Colombia, where the high-suldation sulde assemblage is hosted in
veins with similar textures as described for low-suldation deposits
(see below), supports that boiling is a viable mechanism to precipitate
suldes (Rodriguez, 2014). Moreover, steam-heated alteration, present
above many Andean high-suldation systems, forms by H2S-rich steam
that condenses and oxidizes to form sulfuric acid in the vadose zone,
and is considered evidence for uid boiling at depth (Simmons et al.,
2005).
A close association of high-suldation epithermal deposits with a
parent intrusion and porphyry-style mineralization has been proposed
by Hedenquist and Loewenstern (1994) and documented in detail
for the LepantoFar Southeast porphyry system in the Philippines
(Hedenquist et al., 1998). In earlier literature, stratovolcanoes, calderas
and extrusive or subvolcanic dacitic to andesitic domes have been
considered the dominant hosts, and large volcanic centers have been
presumed to be temporally and genetically associated with highsuldation epithermal deposits (e.g. Hayba et al. 1985, Arribas, 1995).
Indeed, stable S, H and O isotopic evidence (e.g., Deyell et al., 2005a,
2005b; Rye, 1993, 2005) as well as thermodynamic considerations
(Heinrich, 2005, 2007) clearly indicate that magma-derived uids or
condensed magmatic vapors constitute the dominant component of
the mineralizing uids. However, as will be discussed below, better geological understanding and new geochronological information, together
with exploration discoveries made since 1995, suggest that stratovolcanoes and calderas are uncommon hosts to epithermal ore in the
Andes.
329
3. Distribution of high-suldation deposits in the Andes

High-suldation epithermal deposits occur mostly in the Central
Andes (~ 34 to 3 Lat. S) with few examples in the Northern Andes
(~3 Lat. S to 11.3 Lat. N) and no known example in the southern volcanic zone of the Central Andes (south of 34 Lat. S) and the southern,
a.k.a. Patagonian Andes, south of 46 Lat. S (Fig. 1). The overwhelming
majority of high-suldation epithermal deposits are Miocene or younger, and are located in segments of the Andean arc where magmatism
is now absent or subdued (e.g., Bissig et al., 2008; Kay and Mpodozis,
2001; Rosenbaum et al., 2005). The lack of magmatism is attributed to
two zones of shallow angle subduction of the Nazca plate below the
South American continent in the Central Andes (the Pampean at slab
in northern Chile and the Peruvian at slab in central and northern
Peru: Ramos, 2009) as well as the Bucaramanga at slab where Caribbean plate is subducting below northern Colombia (Vargas and Mann,
2013). Flat subduction coincides with shortening and crustal thickening
of the overriding continental plate (Martinod et al., 2010) and has been
spatially linked to the subduction of aseismic ridges or oceanic plateaus
on the oceanic plate (e.g. Gutscher et al., 1999b; Yaez et al., 2001).
However the causative relationship between ridge impingement and
onset of at subduction remains a matter of debate (Skinner and
Clayton, 2013). Thus, crustal shortening, uplift and porphyry Cu
mineralization pre-dates the arrival of the subducting aseismic Juan
Fernndez ridge in Central Chile (Deckart et al., 2013), a situation
comparable to northern Peru where high-suldation epithermal gold
mineralization at Lagunas Norte occurred at 17 Ma, coincident with uplift, but several Ma prior to the inferred onset of Nazca ridge subduction
(Montgomery, 2012, see below).
The Northern Andes are characterized by a series of oceanic terranes
accreted to the South American continent dominantly between the Mesozoic and Miocene (Cediel et al., 2003). The Central Andes, in contrast,
consist of a collage of terranes accreted during the Proterozoic-toPaleozoic (Ramos, 2008). Here, Andean type subduction has dominated
the active continental margin since Permo-Triassic times (Ramos,
2009), and in both the Northern Andes south of ~ 5.5 Lat. N and the
Central Andes, the Nazca plate is currently subducting eastward
beneath the South American continent.
High-suldation epithermal deposits occur in the same segments of
the Andean arc as porphyry-style deposits (e.g. Sillitoe, 2008, 2010).
However, a direct temporal, spatial and genetic relationship to porphyry
deposits containing economic Cu mineralization, as demonstrated at Far
Southeast and Lepanto (Hedenquist et al., 1998), has not been documented for any Andean high-suldation epithermal deposits discussed
herein, although the two mineralization styles may overlap either
spatially or temporally (e.g. Yanacocha district: Longo et al., 2010, La
Pepa, Maricunga belt: Muntean and Einaudi, 2001).
All high-suldation epithermal deposits of the Andes now
crop out at high elevation, and with few exceptions, above
~ 3500 m a.s.l. Most are also located near the water-shed along the
crest of the orogen, or what appears to have been the water-shed
at the time of hydrothermal activity, in areas dominated by relatively
at landforms which are interpreted as uplifted sub-planar
paleosurfaces. In the semi-arid and arid portions of the Andes,
these paleosurfaces probably represent pediplains (regionally interconnected pediment surfaces) formed under semi-arid conditions
and several pulses of pediment erosion separated by uplift pulses
can commonly be distinguished (Bissig and Riquelme, 2009; Bissig
et al., 2002a; Riquelme et al., 2007; Rodriguez et al., 2014; Sillitoe
et al., 1968), resulting in a series of pediment surfaces, vertically separated up to several 100 m by steeper back-scarps. Similar relationships between high-level sub-planar landforms incised by broad,
at bottomed valleys are present in southern Peru (Quang et al.,
2005; Tosdal et al., 1984) and northern Peru (Montgomery, 2012).
The major high-suldation deposits and districts are described within their geomorphologic and volcanologic context from south to north
330
70 W
80 W
90 W
60 W
50 W
epithermal deposits
20 N
10 N
23/24
CoR
des
n An
CaR
22 Norther al Andes
ntr
Ce
IP
21 20 19
18
17
16 15
14
13
12
10 S
1: Tambo
2: El Indio
3: Pascua-Lama
4: Veladero
5: Famatina
6: La Coipa
7: El Hueso
8: El Guanaco
9: Choquelimpie
10: Santa Rosa
11: Tucari
12: Julcani
13: Marcapunta/Colquijirca
14: Cerro de Pasco
15: Quicay
16: Pierina
17: Lagunas Norte
18: Yanacocha
19: Tantahuatay
20: Sipn
21: La Zanja
22: Quimsacocha
23: La Bodega
24: Angostura
Active volcano
Flat slab segments
Aseismic ridges
Subducted aseismic
ridges/plateaus
11
10
9
10 S
NR
IR
30 S
7
6
4 35
2
1
JFR
Fig. 1. Map of South America, showing locations of major high-suldation epithermal deposits discussed in this paper. Also indicated are segments of at subduction (dashed black lines),
volcanoes, aseismic ridges and inferred subducted portions of aseismic ridges and oceanic plateaus. The boundary between the northern and central Andes is indicated. Abbreviations:
CoR: Cocos Ridge; CaR: Carnegie Ridge; IP: Inca Plateau; NR: Nazca Ridge; IR: Iquique Ridge; JFR: Juan Fernandez Ridge.
in the following section. Key characteristics, locations, ages and approximate contained resources are summarized in Table 1.
4. El Indio belt
The El Indio belt straddles the ChileArgentina Border between 29
and 30 Lat. S. which corresponds to the middle of the Pampean at
slab segment. The belt is named after the El Indio Au (Ag, Cu) deposit
which was mined between 1978 and 2001. The belt also includes the
small Tambo and the giant Veladero and PascuaLama deposits as
well as other prospects (Fig. 2), jointly accounting for ~ 40 Moz of Au
resources. Additionally, the belt contains numerous alteration zones
ranging in age from Eocene to late Miocene but, with the exception of
Veladero (12.710.3 Ma; Holley, 2012), economic mineralization is
only known to have occurred between 9.5 and 5 Ma (Bissig et al.,

2001; A.H. Clark, unpubl. data). Alteration and mineralization ages quoted herein for the El Indio belt are all 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages on alunite or
sericite mostly with analytical errors of b1 to 5% on individual dates. It is
worth noting that the small epithermal CuAu district at Famantina
(Table 1), is located in the same Andean segment, albeit some 220 km
E of Veladero in Argentina, and is at 5 to 3.8 Ma just slightly younger
than El Indio (Lozada-Caldern et al., 1994; Pudack et al., 2009).
Volcanism in the Oligocene and early Miocene was voluminous in
the El Indio belt (Bissig et al., 2001; Martin et al., 1995; Winocur et al.,
2014) initially generating the 2723 Ma Tilito Formation dacitic-toandesitic pyroclastic and volcaniclastic rocks and small volumes of
basalts in an extensional setting (Winocur et al., 2014). The Tilito
Formation is unconformably overlain by the dominantly-andesitic
Escabroso (2117 Ma) and Cerro de las Trtolas (16.614 Ma) Formations (Fig. 2), both associated with large volcanic edices and
subvolcanic intrusions (Bissig et al., 2001; Martin et al., 1995). Erupted
magma volumes decreased markedly after ca. 14 Ma and volcanism
was conned to isolated eruptive centers at ~ 12.711 Ma (Vacas
Heladas formation andesite to dacite) and the rhyodacitic Pascua
(87.6 Ma) and Vallecito (65.5 Ma) Formations (Bissig et al., 2001).
An upper Pliocene rhyolite dome (Cerro de Vidrio) has been documented ~7 km E of the Veladero deposit (Bissig et al., 2001, 2002a, 2002b).
The voluminous upper Oligocene to middle Miocene andesites show
an increasing modal abundance of phenocrystic hornblende, relative to
clinopyroxene, with time (Bissig et al., 2003). Further, igneous rocks
younger than ca. 14 Ma are characterized by elevated Sr/Y (N40) and
depleted HREE contents, indicative of garnet fractionation at the base
of the crust and elevated pressure equivalent to N 45 km crustal thickness (Bissig et al., 2003). This change in both the erupted volumes and
chemistry of the igneous rocks is attributed to the onset of at subduction and associated increased coupling between the Nazca slab and
overlying continental plate, which led to contractile deformation and
crustal thickening (Bissig et al., 2003; Kay et al., 1999). Epithermal mineralization is generally hosted in Cerro de las Trtolas Formation and
older rocks but occurred several Ma after the emplacement of the host
rocks. Mineralization of the Filo Federico ore zone of the Veladero
deposit is partly hosted in volcaniclastic deposits of the Vacas Heladas
Formation (Holley, 2012).
The geomorphology in the El Indio belt preserves evidence of a history of episodic uplift and pediplain erosion throughout the middle to
late Miocene (Bissig et al., 2002a; Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6). Relics of three lowrelief erosional surfaces, vertically separated from each other by
200400 m, have been documented. These are the 1715 Ma
FronteraDeidad surface, the 1412.5 Ma AzufrerasTorta surface and
the 106 Ma Los Ros surface (Bissig et al., 2002a). The FronteraDeidad
surface dominating the higher interuves is a relic of a regionally extensive pediplain on the western Andean slope at the latitude of the El Indio
belt (Aguilar et al., 2011; Rodriguez et al., 2014), subsequently incised
by the AzufrerasTorta and Los Ros pediment surfaces. These nested
paleosurfaces in the main Cordillera are now separated from the landforms of the Coastal Cordillera by the north striking, west verging VicuaSan Flix fault system (Aguilar et al., 2011, 2013). Vertical
displacement along this fault system starting in the earlymiddle Miocene is thought to be responsible for the three distinct paleosurfaces observed in the El Indio belt (Aguilar et al., 2011). Steam-heated alteration
associated with epithermal mineralization in all deposits of the El Indio
belt is almost exclusively exposed on the AzufrerasTorta surface
(Figs. 3,4,5, 6), whereas the top of the mineralized zone typically occurs
~200 m below this surface (Bissig et al., 2002a).
4.1. The Tambo deposit

At Tambo, mineralization is hosted mainly in three diatreme
breccia bodies (Wendy, Kimberly and Canto Sur; Figs. 3, 4), as well
as a number of satellite breccia bodies and replacement veins, all of
which were emplaced into dacitic pyroclastic and volcanoclastic
rocks assigned to the upper Oligocene Tilito Formation. The ore
zone has an overall vertical extent of about 300 m (Deyell et al.,
2005a; Jannas et al., 1999). The paleosurface level is located at
4500 m a.s.l. for Kimberly and Wendy and has been downfaulted
~ 100 m relative to Canto Sur, located at 4600 m a.s.l. elevation
(Deyell et al., 2005a). Alunite, some intergrown with native Au, has
been dated at 8.8 to 8 Ma although at Canto Sur it yields ages as
young as 7.1 Ma (Bissig et al., 2001; Deyell et al., 2005a). Alunite
ages coincide with the inferred age of the Los Ros surface incision
(106 Ma) and the Tambo area is situated near the back scarp of a
Los Ros valley where it incises the older AzufrerasTorta surface
(Figs. 3, 4).
331
4.2. El Indio deposit

Mineralization at El Indio, in contrast to Tambo, is hosted in veins
(Jannas et al., 1999) and includes sulde-rich massive enargite pyrite
veins as well as quartz-rich veins with tetrahedrite/tennantite and
chalcopyrite. For some veins, an along-strike zonation from high- to
intermediate-suldation sulde assemblages, and from pyrophyllite
sericitediaspore alunite to illite-dominated alteration has been documented (Heather et al., 2003a; K.B. Heather, pers. commun. 2012). El
Indio is world-renowned due to exceptional bonanza grades of up to
N1% Au in the quartz-rich, intermediate-suldation El Indio Sur 3500
vein which permitted shipping of the ore directly to the smelter (direct
shipping ore) in the early days of exploitation. Gold occurred mainly as
native Au, auricupride and as tellurides (Heather et al., 2003a; Jannas
et al., 1990, 1999). As is the case for Tambo, the top of the mineralized
zone at El Indio is located about 200 m below the AzufrerasTorta Surface, here located at ~4400 m a.s.l. Steam-heated alteration is exposed
locally on Cerro Campana above the western part of the deposit
(Fig. 3). The mineralized zone has a vertical extent of 500 m extending
down to 3700 m a.s.l, below which the gold grade decreases markedly
(Bissig et al., 2002a; Jannas et al., 1999). The veins are best developed
in dacitic pyroclastic rocks of the Tilito Formation, which in the area of
the deposit are uncomformably overlain by andesitic lavas and
volcaniclastic rocks of the lower Miocene Escabroso Group. Most veins
also cross-cut the Escabroso Group but typically horsetail out above
the contact (Bissig et al., 2002a; Heather et al., 2003a). Low volumes
of ca. 8 Ma dacitic hypabyssal intrusions spatially associated with mineralization have also been reported (Heather et al., 2003b). The mineralization ages range from 8 to 5 Ma and are inferred from sericite
immediately adjacent to and alunite from within veins (Bissig et al.,
2001; A.H. Clark and K.B. Heather, unpubl. data) and a late stage 3.5
2.5 Ma barren hydrothermal overprint has also been identied (A.H.
Clark and K. B. Heather, unpubl. sericite 40Ar/39Ar data). The age range
indicates that multiple hydrothermal pulses related to successive pressure release, likely facilitated by erosion, from a sizeable batholith scale
magma system were responsible for mineralization. Contrary to the
conclusion of Jannas et al. (1999) enargite-rich veins are not systematically older than gold-rich veins, since the youngest data come
from 6.2 Ma alunite in the enargite-rich Campana B vein (Bissig et al.,
2001) and sericite from the 5 Ma Viento Oeste/Cuarzo Uno high to
intermediate-suldation veins whereas the El Indio Sur 3500 vein
yielded the oldest sericite ages of ca. 8 Ma (A.H. Clark and K.B. Heather
unpubl. data). The geochronological data demonstrate a signicant
age gap of at least 7 Ma between volcanic rock deposition (~ 26
15 Ma) and mineralization (85 Ma). Only small amounts of igneous
rocks contemporaneous with mineralization are known and these include ca. 8 Ma dacitic plugs and 5.5 Ma Vallecito Formation rhyolite
tuffs in the vicinity of El Indio (Bissig et al., 2001; Heather et al.,
2003a; A.H. Clark and K.B. Heather unpubl. data). Like Tambo, it is
plausible that El Indio formed near the back-scarp of the incising Ro
Malo valley (part of the Los Ros surface) and is hosted below the
AzufrerasTorta surface (Bissig et al., 2002a; Fig. 3).
4.3. PascuaLama
PascuaLama is the largest deposit in the El Indio belt and is located
some 50 km N of El Indio on the ChileArgentina border. It is hosted
within an uplifted Paleozoic basement block (Figs. 5, 6), with mineralization centered on a series of diatreme breccia complexes. The most important of these is Brecha Central, which cuts Paleozoic and Jurassic
granitoids (Chouinard et al., 2005). Hydrothermal activity is constrained
to 9.18 Ma based on 40Ar/39Ar dating of alunite and jarosite; alunite
from pyriteenargite veins constraining the gold mineralization to
8.8 0.6 Ma (Bissig et al., 2001; Deyell et al., 2005b). Slightly older alunite of 9.5 Ma is documented from the Penelope ore zone some 2 km
SE of Brecha Central (Bissig et al., 2001; Deyell et al., 2005b). No igneous
332
Table 1
Summary of main HS deposits.
Mineralization
Total
resources
(approx.)
Host rocks
Volcanology
Selected references
8.5 to 8 Ma
0.8 Moz
Au
Hydrothermal breccia hosted AuAg

mineralization associated with
intense acid sulfate alteration.
Subordinate replacement veins.
Late Oligocene Tilito

Formation dacite tuffs
Bissig et al. (2002a,

2002b); Deyell et al.
(2005a); Jannas et al.
(1999)
40
8 to 5 Ma
Ar/39Ar,
alunite, sericite
4.2 Moz
Au
Largely vein hosted Au (Cu, Ag)

mineralization. Most gold produced
from quartz rich veins with sulde
assemblage of intermediate
suldation state, most Cu produced
from massive enargite veins.
Dominant alteration is advanced
argillic to phyllic (sericite, diaspore,
locally pyrophyllite, alunite).
Mineralization in two principal ore
zones and associated with intense
acid sulfate alteration and
silicication: Amable (12.1 to
12.7 Ma) and Filo Federico (10.7
11 Ma). Apart from minor argentite
no primary suldes recognized. Most
Ag in jarosite at Amable.
Breccia and stockwork vein-hosted
mineralization associated with high
suldation state sulde assemblage
and intense acid sulfate alteration
Vein hosted mineralization above
porphyry center. Ore mineralogy
indicates high-suldation state and
includes famatinite, enargite, pyrite
and lesser, tennantite, tetrahedrite,
sphalerite, gold, tellurides,covellite,
and chalcopyrite.
Primary suldes include pyrite
enargite, at depth also bornite,
covellite, fahlore, galena and
spalerite. Much of the ore is oxidized
Late Oligocene Tilito

Formation dacite tuffs and
overlying early Miocene
Escabroso Group andesite
lavas and breccias
No igneous rocks age equivalent to

mineralization recognized, dacite
tuffs of the Tilito Formation pre-date
mineralization by N 14 m.y. Minor,
undated pre-mineral diorite
porphyry has locally been
intersected below mineralization.
Phreatomagmatic activity pre to syn
mineralization evidenced by breccia
bodies.
mineralization recognized, except for
possible 8 Ma dacite dyke. Host rocks
pre-date mineralization by ~7 to
17 m.y.
Elevation of Mineraliza-tion
Elevation of
mineralization paleosurface age (method)
(if known)
(m.a.s.l.)
Deposit/
district
Lat.
Long.
Tambo
29.8
69.95 43004100
4500
El Indio
29.74 69.97 42003700
4400
29.36 69.95 43003900
4600
12.710.7 Ma
(40Ar/39Ar,
alunite)
12.2 Moz
Au; 180
Moz Ag
Pascua-Lama
29.32 70.01 48504550
50005150
9.18 Ma
(40Ar/39Ar,
alunite)
17.6 Moz
Au; 585
Moz Ag
Famatina
29.00 67.78 47504350
3.8 Ma
(40Ar/39Ar,
sericite)
0.4 Moz
Au; 3
Moz Ag
La Coipa
26.81 69.27 41503800
4350
2017 Ma K/Ar,
alunite
3.5 Moz
Au; 230
Moz Ag
El Hueso
26.49 69.53 39503700
n/a
4036.2 Ma
(40Ar/39Ar,
alunite)
0.84 Moz
Au; 3.9
Moz Ag
Mineralization is associated with

illitesericite and quartz alteration.
Sulde minerals include pyrite,
chalcopyrite, galena, native bismuth
and BiPb sulde minerals. This
assemblage is overprinted by
advanced argillic alteration (alunite,
pyrophyllite) and pyrite. Most gold
was introduced during the rst stage
Cerro de las Trtolas

Formation (1614 Ma)
volcano sedimentary breccias,
subvolcanic domes
Permo-Triassic to Jurassic
granitic rocks
Volcano sedimentary host rocks

pre-date hydrothermal breccias and
mineralization by ~ 24 Ma. Locally
12.1 Ma andesite dykes cutting
mineralization at Amable zone
Phreatomagmatic breccias, pre and

syn mineralization. Post mineral
dacitic dyke (7.8 Ma) cutting
mineralization.
Dacitic porphyries dated at 5 Ma are
Cambrian weakly
metamorphosed marine shale associated with porphyry
mineralization but no extrusive
and siltstones of the Negro
volcanic rocks known from the
Peinado formation
district but ash-ow tuffs from the
eastern ank of the Famatina range
may be age equivalent to porphyries.
Black shales and sandstones of Domes and lava ows of
the Triassic Ternera formation intermediate composition were
dated at 2422 as well as 1614.7 Ma
and overlying Oligocene
dacitic domes and pyroclastic and thus both pre- and post date
rocks. Diatreme breccias are a hydrothermal alunite ages. No
common ore host throughout volcanic rocks coincident with
mineralization known
the district as well
Calcareous silt and
Host rocks pre-date mineralization
sandstones, limestones of the by ~15 m.y. No age equivalent
Asientos Formation (u.
volcanic rocks known but
Jurassic) and overlying
subvolcanic porphyries are
Paleocene andesite lavas and
widespread and associated with
volcaniclastic rocks
porphyry Cu mineralization at
Potrerillos
Charchaie et al. (2007);

Holley (2012)

2002b); Chouinard et al.
(2005); Deyell et al.
(2005b)
Lozada Caldern et al.
(1994); Pudack et al.
(2009).
Cecioni and Dick (1992);

Oviedo et al. (1991)
Marsh et al. (1997)
Veladero

2002b); Heather et al.
(2003a); Jannas et al.
(1999)
25.1
n/a
4842 Ma
(K/Ar, alunite)
1.6 Moz
Au
Choquelimpie 18.49 69.39 48604700
n/a
6.6 Ma?? (K/Ar,

host rock)
0.5 Moz
Au
Santa Rosa
(Aruntani)
16.63 70.02 49504750
n/a
7.2 Ma
(40Ar/39Ar,
alunite)
0.5 Moz
Au
Tucari
(Aruntani)
16.57 70.19 52004900
n/a
4.6 Ma
(40Ar/39Ar,
alunite)
2.1 Moz
Au
Julcani
12.95 74.95 45004000
~9.7 Ma (K/Ar
on biotite)
8 Moz Ag
Marcapunta/
Colquijirca
10.78 76.27 44504850
n/a
11.910.6 Ma
(40Ar/39Ar,
alunite)
Quicay
10.7
n/a
37.5 Ma (K/Ar)
alunite (?)
2345 kt
Zn, 910
kt Pb,
1510 kt
Cu,
6620 t
Ag, 64 t
Au
n/a
76.26 4350?
Vein hosted mineralization of

enargite, pyrite and minor
chalcopyrite with quartz gangue in
andesite, smaller irregular veins in
overlying pyroclastic rocks. Oxidaton
and supergene enrichment affected
the ore to ~ 300 m depth and is
characterized by the presence of a
variety of rare arsenate minerals.
Mineralization associated with
hydrothermal breccia bodies in the
core of a late Miocene stratovolcano
Mineralization is hosted in vuggy
quartz zones centered on magmatic
hydrothermal breccia bodies and is
surrounded by quartzalunite
alteration zones. Primary suldes
include pyrite and enargite but the
deposit has been oxidized to a depth
of 300400 m below surface. Highgrade mineralization is controlled by
NNE oriented fractures.
Mineralization is hosted in vuggy
quartz zones centered on
hydrothermal breccias and is
surrounded by quartzalunite
alteration zones. Primary suldes
include pyrite and enargite but the
deposit has been oxidized to a depth
of 300400 m below surface.
Pre-ore acid sulfate alteration with
vuggy quartz core and surrounding
quartzalunite zone in the center of
the district, cut by discontinuous
quartztourmalinepyrite breccias.
Mineralization is hosted by laterally
zoned veins with quartzpyrite
wolframiteenargitetetrahedrite
galena and barite rich zones. Zoning
is from high suldaton near the core
to distal intermediate suldation
assemblages).
Zoned polymetallic district with a
high-suldation AuAg prospect and
distal carbonate replacement
PbZnAg mineralization.
Mineralization is hosted in an
oxidized diatremedome complex.
Highest grades up to 3 g/t are hosted
in a central vuggy quartz zone.
Andesite lava ows and

overlying dacitic pyroclastic
rocks. Both units were dated
by KAr at ~60.260.7 Ma
Volcanic host rocks pre-date

mineralization by 12 or more m.y. No
volcanic rocks age equivalent to
mineralization known.
Puig et al. (1988);

http://
www.australgold.com.au
accessed Nov 2013.
Late Miocene andesite lavas

and dacite subvolcanic dome
Andesitic stratovolcano.
Mineralization largely hosted in late
dacitic subvolcanic dome
Mineralization occurs adjacent to
rhyolitic ow/dome complex and is
closely associated with magmatichydrothermal breccias.
Groepper et al. (1991)
Miocene (97 Ma) felsic

pyroclastic deposits are
dominant ore host.
Barreda et al. (2004);

Morche et al. (2008)
Intrusions and domes of

dacitic composition.
Mineralization is spatially associated

with magmatic-hydrothermal
breccias emplaced at the margin of
dacitic domes. The latter were
emplaced in the core of an andesitic
stratovolcano.
Barreda et al. (2004);

Morche et al. (2008)
10.1 Ma andesitic to dacitic

domes overlying paleozoic
phyllites of the Excelsior
group
Voluminous extrusive domes of

andesitic to dacitic composition,
covering 16 km2. Syn mineralization
9.7 Ma dykes and post
mineralization 7 Ma rhyolite dome
are also documented.
Deen et al. (1994);

Noble and Silberman,
1984
Eocene limestone and marls

and 12.912.4 Ma diatreme
dome complex.
Mineralization is spatially associated

with a 12.912.4 Ma diatreme dome
complex (Marcapunta) pre-dating
alunite by N0.8 m.y. A dacite dyke
dated at 14.1 Ma has been
documented W of Marcapunta. No
other igneous rocks recognized.
Bendezu et al. (2008);

Vidal and Ligarda
(2004);
Intermediate volcanic rock

and hydrothermal breccias
Subvolcanic to extrusive dome

complex of uncertain age hosting
mineralization. Apparently no postmineral volcanic rocks.
Rossell et al. (2006);

Ingemmet.gob.pe,
accessed Jan 2014.
69.53 24002900
El Guanaco
(continued on next page)
333
334
Long.
Elevation of Mineraliza-tion
Elevation of
mineralization paleosurface age (method)
(if known)
(m.a.s.l.)
Mineralization
Total
resources
(approx.)
Host rocks
Volcanology
Selected references
Late Triassic to early Jurassic

Pucara group limestone and
mid Miocene diatreme
breccias.
Mineralization occurs at eastern

border of a large 15.4 to 15.15 Ma
diatremedome complex pre-dating
stage II mineralization by N 0.8 Ma
but with unclear temporal
relationship to stage I mineralization.
No volcanic rocks pre-dating the
dome complex known.
Late dacite ow dome complexes
immediately pre-date
mineralization. No post mineral
volcanic rocks reported.
Baumgartner et al.
(2008, 2009)
Deposit/
district
Lat.
Cerro de
Pasco
10.68 76.27 43503900
n/a
15.414.4
(40Ar/39Ar,
alunite)
12,250 kt
Zn, 3500
kt Pb,
15,750 t
Ag, 1000
kt Cu
Pierina
9.46
77.59
n/a
14.214.7
(40Ar/39Ar,
alunite)
Oligocene to Middle Miocene

(29.314.8 Ma) andesitic to
dacitic tuffs, lavas and
subvolcanic domes of the
Huaraz group
Lagunas
Norte
7.95
78.25
n/a
17.416.5 Ma
(40Ar/39Ar,
alunite)
9 Moz Au Mineralization hosted in permeable

pumiceous rock units and associated
with intense acid sulfate alteration,
including vuggy quartz and quartz
alunite. Suldes include enargite,
pyrite as well as galena, sphalerite
and stibnite, and lesser
paragenetically late digenite and
covellite.
13.1 Moz Disseminated and fracture hosted
Au
mineralization, centered on diatreme
breccias. Mineralization in volcanic
rocks hosted in vuggy quartz and
quartzalunite zones. Dominant
sulifdes include enargite, pyrite and
digenite.
Yanacocha
78.58 41003500
~4200
118.2 Ma
(40Ar/39Ar
Alunite)
N70 Moz
Au
Calipuy group (19.515.1 Ma)

andesitic to dacitic lavas and
pyroclastic deposits and
14.58.4 Ma Yanacocha unit
dacite lavas and pyroclastic
rocks
Early pyrrhotite-pyritegalenaFe
rich sphalerite (stage I) and later
CuAg (AuPbZn) enargitepyrite
veins as well as carbonate
replacement PbZn ore (stage II).
Massive and vuggy quartz zones

hosting pyrite enargite
tennantitecovellite
Lower Cretaceous Chim

Formation quartzites (two
thirds) and early Miocene
dacite tuffs and breccias (one
third).
Volcanic rocks hosting

mineralization were emplaced
between early and main
mineralization stage. Volcanic rocks
were likely derived from diatreme
breccias which also host
mineralization. Andesite lava and
dome adjacent to main diatreme has
same age as mineralization.
Mineralization overlaps in age with
voluminous andesitic to dacitic
volcanic rocks. Most mineralization
(N47 Moz Au) emplaced in the
waning stages of volcanism
represented by the felsic Coriwachay
dacite domes (10.98.4 Ma).
Fifarek and Rye (2005);

Rainbow et al. (2005,
2006)
Cerpa et al. (2013);

Montgomery (2012).
Longo et al. (2010)
Table 1 (continued)
6.9
6.83
78.79 ~3500
78.89 37003400
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0.73 Moz
Au, 6
Moz Ag
Tantahuatay
6.72
78.67 40503800
n/a
12.4 Ma
(K/Ar alunite)
Quimsacocha
3.04
79.22 37003450
3900
7.57.3 Ma
(40Ar/39Ar
Alunite)
Gold is mostly associated to pyrite

5.1 Moz
Au; 108.3 enargite hosted in intensely quartz
pyrophyllitealunite and vuggy to
Moz Ag
massive quartz alteration. Much of
the ore is oxidized
Stratabound Au-Ag mineralization
3.6 Moz
associated with pyrite and enargite,
Au, 27
hosted in vuggy quartz zones
Moz Ag
La Bodega/La
Mascota
7.38
72.9
29002300
~3600
3.51.7 Ma
(40Ar/39Ar,
alunite, sericite)
3.5 Moz
Au
Angostura
7.39
72.88 35002600
~3600
41.9 Ma
(40Ar/39Ar,
alunite, sericite)
2.7 Moz
Au
n/a
n/a
Dominantly structurally controlled

breccias cemented by quartz, alunite
and high-suldation sulde
assemblage, overprinting earlier
quartzpyrite chalcopyrite veins
in phyllic alteration. Most AuAg in
late stages. Banded, colloform and
lattice textures normally typical for
low to intermediate suldation
deposits are common.
Widespread sheeted quartz
pyrite chalcopyrite veins
associated with pervasive quartz
sericite alteration. Locally cut by
enargiteCu sulde bearing breccias
and veins associated with quartz
alunite alteration. The latter hosts
highest grade Au zones.
n/a
n/a
Miocene andesite domes and

to a lesser degree underlying
pyroclastic rocks
Mineralization located in
pyroclastic units between less
permeable coherent andesite
lava ows of the Quimsacocha
Formation
Proterozoic gneisses and late

Triassic leucogranite.
Proterozoic gneisses and late

Triassic leucogranite.
n/a
n/a
Gustafson et al. (2004)

Compaa minera
Buenaventura 2012
Annual report, Gustafson
et al. (2004)
Gustafson et al. (2004);
Volcanic domes hosting the
Noble and Mckee
mineralization are not age
(1999); Compaa
constrained. Post mineral dyke of
minera Buenaventura
restricted volume was dated at
2012 Annual report
8.6 Ma (K/Ar, biotite).
MacDonald et al. (2011,
Andesite lavas and intercalated
pyroclasitc units associated to a large 2012)
stratovolcano complex. Andesite
is ~ 9 Ma, pre-dating mineralization
by 1.5 Ma. A central caldera and
dacite domes were emplaced at
6.7 Ma, 0.5 Ma after mineralization
Rodriguez (2014)
mineralization recognized. No
juvenile clasts in breccias observed.

mineralization recognized.
Felder et al. 2005,

Rodriguez (2014).
Sipan
La Zanja
335
6,800,000
336
El Indio belt geology
Cerro del Toro (6168 m)
6-5.5 Vallecito Fm. rhyolite
Au mineralization
6,780,000
2 Ma Cerro de Vidrio rhyolite dome
8-7.6 Ma Pascua Fm. dacite

12.7-11 Ma Vacas Heladas Fm. dacite
21-14 Ma Escabroso and Cerro
de las Trtolas Fm. andesite
and subvolcanic diorite
Cordille
ra Ortg
a
6,760,000
27-23 Ma Tilito Fm. and equivalents

dacite, andesite and minor basalt
Pascua-Lama
Paleozoic and Mesozoic basement

Thrust/reverse fault (symbol on
hanging wall side)
Fault (unspecified)
Lineament from satellite image
High-sulfidation epithermal deposit
Major Mountains
6,720,000
Cordille
ra Zanc
Sancarrn
Cordille
ra de la
arrn
Brea
6,740,000
Veladero
Tambo
6,700,000
Cerro Doa Ana

(5625 m)
Cordille
ra Cola
ngil
El Indio
Cerro de las Trtolas (6160 m)
6,680,000
N
20 km
380,000
400,000
420,000
440,000
460,000
Fig. 2. Geological map of the El Indio belt and location of principal epithermal deposits. Compiled from Martin et al. (1995), Bissig et al. (2001), Zappettini (2008), and Winocur et al. (2014).
Coordinates in UTM Zone 19S, Provisional South American Datum 56.
rocks contemporaneous with mineralization have been conrmed but

low volumes of juvenile igneous material probably played a role during
emplacement of the diatreme complexes and rare, locally weakly
argillically altered, 7.8 Ma rhyodacitic dykes post-dating mineralization
have been recognized at Pascua (Bissig et al., 2001).
The alteration and sulde paragenesis reveals that unusually acidic
uids were responsible for alteration and some of the mineralization.
Gold mineralization is associated with pyrite and enargite, as well as
alunite, jarosite and szomolnokite (Chouinard et al., 2005). Jarosite
is locally overprinted by hypogene aluniteenargite bearing veins
(Chouinard et al., 2005). Based on light stable isotope evidence, jarosite

precipitated from mixed meteoric and magmatic uids whereas alunite
has a magmatic uid signature (Deyell et al., 2005b). This indicates that
uid sources varied through time, plausibly as a function of a uctuating
but overall decreasing water table and short lived magma-derived uid
pulses, as also documented for El Indio (see above).
Near PascuaLama, the FronteraDeidad surface reaches elevations
of 52005300 m a.s.l. (Fig. 5) The AzufrerasTorta surface is incised
into this high-elevation pediplain at 49505100 m and extensive
steam-heated alteration and clastic deposits, both probably related to
337
El Indio/Tambo Area, Chile & Argentina

6958'0"W
6956'0"W
2942'0"S
2944'0"S
Cerro Campana
6952'0"W
6950'0"W
Argentina
Chile
Ro del Medio
6954'0"W
LR
AT
6710000
700'0"W
2940'0"S
702'0"W
El Indio
LR
2946'0"S
AT
AT
Canto Sur
2948'0"S
Kimberly
FD
Veta Veronica
Tambo
Wendy
6700000
2950'0"S
AT
2952'0"S
LR
5 km
400000
410000
Elevation (m)
Slope (Degrees)
420000
Paleosurfaces
High : 6107
Los Ros (LR); 10-6 Ma

0 - 10
Azufreras-Torta (AT); 14-12.5 Ma
Low : 1775
Frontera-Deidad (FD); 17-15 Ma
Fig. 3. El Indio Tambo area topography and landscape elements. Paleosurfaces after Bissig et al. (2002a). UTM Zone 19S, WGS84.
phreatomagmatic eruptions derived from the mineralized breccia pipes,

are exposed on this landform (Bissig et al., 2002a). Mineralization occurs
below the steam-heated zone at 4850 to 4600 m (Chouinard et al., 2005).
As at El Indio and Tambo, a valley (Ro Turbio valley: Fig. 5) incised the
AzufrerasTorta surface from the east. Ferricrete-cemented conglomerates at the valley-bottom display glacial striations, showing that this valley pre-dated Plio-Pleistocene glacial erosion. Further, steam-heated
alteration also overprints the eastern side of the deposit to lower
elevations (to 4800 m) than to the west (to 5000 m: Chouinard et al.,
2005) indicating that incision of the Ro Turbio valley from the east
may have occurred during hydrothermal activity.
4.4. Veladero
Veladero is situated about 8 km to the SE of Pascua in a NNE striking
graben (Charchai et al., 2007). Gold and silver mineralization is
338
Veta Vernica
Co
Ele
fan
te
Co
T de la
rto
las s
Deidad
Steam-heated alteration
Frontera Deidad surface (17-15 Ma)
Azufreras-Torta surface (14-12.5 Ma)
Los Ros surface (10-6 Ma)
Tambo
(Kimberly pit)
Azufreras
C Doa Ana
Canto Sur pit
Looking S from Canto Sur, Tambo
Fig. 4. Landscape in the Tambo area. A) Panoramic view to the south, B) line drawing of the photograph in A) showing the principal landscape elements, locations of steam-heated
alteration zones as well as the Kimberly and Canto Sur orebodies. See Fig. 3 for locations.
hosted in two principal breccia bodies: Amable and Filo Federico

(Fig. 6). Ore mineralogy comprises electrum and silver-bearing jarosite
which were deposited together with euhedral quartz, and are
superimposed on earlier acidic residual quartz alteration (Holley,
2012). Jarosite is abundant, especially at Amable, whereas suldes are
exceedingly rare. At Amable, jarosite forms euhedral crystals and
grows in open spaces and veins, and is locally overgrown by barite.
Stable-isotope evidence indicates that most jarosite precipitated from
meteoric uids above the water table, with sulfur derived from precursor suldes. However, one location in the Fabiana zone to the east of
Veladero (Figs. 5, 6) shows unambiguous hypogene jarosite, replacing
plagioclase and biotite phenocrysts in the host rock and displaying
stable isotope signatures of magmatic uids (Holley, 2012).
Mineralization at Amable is constrained between a 12.7 Ma alunite
40
Ar/39Ar age and a 12.14 Ma U/Pb zircon date of a narrow andesite
dyke that cross-cuts mineralization (Holley, 2012). Mineralization at
Filo Federico is at 11.1 to 10.3 Ma (40Ar/39Ar, alunite, n = 4) somewhat
younger than at Amable (Bissig et al., 2001; Holley, 2012). Jarosite ages
at Amable range from 11.8 to 8.6 Ma and overlap with hypogene alunite
and gold deposition at Filo Federico (Holley, 2012). These data are
interpreted as evidence for an overall lowering of the water table with
time, episodically interrupted by pulses of magma derived uids.
Jarosite at Veladero almost entirely pre-dated hypogene alunite alteration and sulde mineralization at nearby PascuaLama.
The host rocks of the Amable ore zone consist of crudely stratied
volcaniclastic breccias assigned to the Cerro de las Trtolas formation,
unconformably overlying Tilito Formation andesites and dacites as
well as Permian felsic tuffs (Charchai et al., 2007; Holley, 2012). The
Filo Federico ore zone is partly hosted in volcaniclastic deposits assigned
to the Vacas Heladas Formation (Holley, 2012). Mineralization is closely
associated with hydrothermal breccias intruding the volcaniclastic deposits and occurs between 4400 and 3900 m a.s.l. in a subhorizontal,
N S elongated ore body, extending extends to lower elevations at
Filo Federico than at Amable. A steam-heated alteration zone of up to
200 m thickness overlies the orebodies and denes the paleosurface at
~44004600 m a.s.l. At Filo Federico, steam-heated alteration is localized along fracture zones, and overprints the mineralized zone down
to more than 500 m below the inferred paleosurface (Holley, 2012).
Here, the FronteraDeidad surface is marked by the lower contact of
the Cerro de las Trtolas formation which here has been downfaulted
from 5300 m to about 4100 m in the NS oriented Ro de las Taguas

graben (Charchai et al., 2007, Fig. 6), whereas the AzufrerasTorta
surface has been cut into Cerro de las Trtolas volcaniclastic deposits
at an elevation of ~ 4500 m (Charchai et al., 2007, Fig. 6), i.e. at the
time of, or immediately prior to, hydrothermal activity in that area.
Conversely, the Filo Federico mineralization probably formed at a time
when incision of the Los Ros surface was well advanced, as evidenced
by the steam-heated overprint of the ore zone and the mineralization
extending to lower elevations than at Amable. The lowering of the
water table in the Veladero area during Los Ros surface incision is also
reected in the formation of jarosite in the vadose zone at Amable
between 11.8 and 8.5 Ma.
5. Maricunga belt
The Maricunga belt is dened as the region of the Andean Cordillera
between 26 and 28 Lat S (Vila and Sillitoe, 1991), located at the northern margin of the Pampean at slab segment. Gold-rich porphyry type
deposits (e.g., Cerro Casale (a.k.a. Adelbarn), Caspiche, Lobo, Marte)
are the dening mineralization style and the gold-rich nature of
porphyry-style mineralization is thought to be related to the shallow
emplacement of the porphyry intrusions (Muntean and Einaudi,
2001). Although barren quartzalunite alteration is commonly found
in the shallow portions of these porphyry systems, La Pepa is the only
porphyry deposit where signicant gold mineralization hosted in
quartzalunite veins that overprint porphyry-style mineralization has
been documented (Muntean and Einaudi, 2001). In contrast, La Coipa,
located at the northern end of the Maricunga belt, hosts AgAu mineralization exclusively as epithermal mineralization of largely highsuldation type (Cecioni and Dick, 1992; Oviedo et al., 1991).
Porphyry and epithermal deposits of the Maricunga belt occur in
two partly overlapping parallel NS striking belts, with mineralization
traditionally considered to have been emplaced during two distinct episodes at 2520 Ma and 1513 Ma (Sillitoe et al., 1991). However, more
recently published, but still limited geochronology requires modication of this model. The Caspiche porphyry Au deposit was dated at
~25.4 0.01 Ma by Re/Os on molybdenite (Sillitoe et al., 2013) whereas
the Caserones porphyry Cu deposit in the southern Maricunga belt
formed at 2018 Ma (Mpodozis and Kay, 2003). Further, alunite K/Ar
ages from the La Coipa district range from ~ 20 to ~ 17 Ma (Oviedo
339
Pascua-Lama/Veladero Area, Chile & Argentina

700'0"W
6955'0"W
Chile
6760000
Argentina
AT
AT
2920'0"S
Pascua-Lama
Ro
Tu
rbi
o
Lama Central
Penelope
LR
Veladero
Fabiana
AT
Cerro de Vidrio
6750000
AT
FD
2925'0"S
LR
AT
AT
0
400000
Elevation (m)
1.5
6 km
410000
Slope (Degrees)
High : 5678
Paleosurfaces
Los Ros (LR); 10-6 Ma
0 - 13
Azufreras-Torta (AT); 14-12.5 Ma

Frontera-Deidad (FD); 17-15 Ma
Low : 2877
Fig. 5. Veladero and Pascua area topographic map and landscape elements. Paleosurfaces after Bissig et al. (2002a) and Charchai et al. (2007). UTM Zone 19S, WGS84.
et al., 1991) which disagree with the range between 25 and 20 Ma

established on the basis of alunite K/Ar ages (Sillitoe et al., 1991) and
biotite and hornblende K/Ar ages for dacite domes that were thought
to be closely related to mineralization (Oviedo et al., 1991; Sillitoe
et al., 1991).
The large-scale morphotectonic features of the Andes are different at
the latitude of the Maricunga belt to those of the El Indio belt, probably
inuenced by the differing Paleozoic and older basement architecture
(Ramos, 2008). Thus, the Precordillera (a.k.a. Cordillera Domeyko),

resulting from the late Eocene Incaic deformation is present north of
29 Lat. S but absent south of it (Rodriguez et al., 2014), a location
which roughly coincides with the inferred southern limit of the
Antofalla massif and the northern limit of the Chilenia terrane (Ramos,
2008). Oligocene extensional tectonics are documented from south of
the Vallenar Orocline (Abanico basin, Tilito Fromation: Winocur et al.,
2014; Charrier et al., 2002) whereas a contractile tectonic regime at
340
Cerro Pelado
Amable
Filo Federico
Penelope
Lama Central
Ro Turbio
Cerro Nevado
B
Pascua/Lama
nb
grabe
oundin
g fault
Fabiana
Frontera Deidad surface (17-15 Ma)
Azufreras-Torta surface (14-12.5 Ma)
Los Ros surface (10-6 Ma)
Looking W from Fabiana
Fig. 6. Landscape in the Veladero and PascuaLama area. A) panoramic view from the Fabiana prospect toward the west. B) Line drawing of the landscape shown in A. Landscape elements
are shown as well as steam-heated alteration zones. See also Fig. 5 for locations.
roughly the same time is documented from the Cordillera Claudio Gay at
the latitude of the Maricunga belt during the late Oligocene (Mpodozis
and Clavero, 2002). The dominant landscape elements at the latitude of
the northern Maricunga belt include the probably Oligocene relict Sierra
Checos de Cobre surface which is incised by the upper Oligocene
to ~ 18 Ma Asientos pediplain in the eastern Precordillera (Bissig and
Riquelme, 2009; Mortimer, 1973). The Oligocene to early Miocene landscape was incised by the middle- to early-upper Miocene Atacama
pediplain and late Miocene canyons (Bissig and Riquelme, 2009)
which record a progressive tilting of the western Andean slope and uplift of the Andean Cordillera since the early Miocene (Riquelme et al.,
2007).
5.1. La Coipa
The La Coipa district contains multiple epithermal deposits of mostly
high-suldation type including Ladera Farelln, Can Can, Coipa Norte,
Purn, Purn Sur and Pompeya (Fig. 7). With the exception of Purn
and Pompeya, mineralization is hosted in the Triassic La Ternera formation, consisting of black shales and sandstones, as well as in overlying
upper Oligocene (2422 Ma) dacitic tuffs, volcaniclastic breccias and
domes (Cecioni and Dick, 1992; Oviedo et al., 1991). Hydrothermal
breccias hosting ore are probably penecontemporaneous with mineralization. Alunite K/Ar ages range between ca. 20 and 17 Ma (Oviedo et al.,
1991). A relict, large, upper Oligocene volcanic center, Cerros Bravos
341
La Coipa Area, Chile

6916'0"W
6914'0"W
6912'0"W
2646'0"S
7040000
6918'0"W
Purn
L. Oligocene/E. Miocene paleosurface
Purn Sur
Coipa Norte
2648'0"S
Pompeya
Can Can
2652'0"S
7030000
2650'0"S
Ladera Farelln
0.5
470000
Elevation (m)
5 km
480000
Slope (Degrees)
High : 4907
0 - 10
Outline of post-mineral
dacite domes and lavas
Low : 3013
Fig. 7. Topographic map and landscape elements of the La Coipa district. Some geological information from Cornejo et al. (1998). UTM Zone 19S, WGS84.
(Cornejo et al., 1993), is located 16 km N of Ladera Farelln. Unaltered,

1614.7 Ma dacitic domes and lavas post-date mineralization (Oviedo
et al., 1991) and locally overlie the mineralized zones at Pompeya
(Figs. 7, 8). The Pompeya and the Purn ore bodies were discovered
after 2010, and only Purn has been mined. Pompeya is located ~3 km
NE of Ladera Farelln and is of high-suldation type. Purn, 8 km
NE of Ladera Farelln features high grade PbZn mineralization
representing an intermediate suldation sulde assemblage, an absence
of advanced argillic alteration and the occurrence of various carbonates

including rhodochrosite as alteration minerals (S. Gamonal, pers.
commun. 2014). At Purn Sur, some 2.5 km south of Purn, native
sulfur associated with steam-heated alteration was historically mined.
Steam-heated alteration is also present at Pompeya, Purn and Coipa
Norte and is generally preserved at 4250 to 4400 m a.s.l. (Figs. 7, 8).
Mineralization at Ladera Farelln, Can Can and Coipa Norte is largely
controlled by subvertical fractures when hosted in Triassic shales, but
342
16 Ma dacite lava
16 Ma dacite dome
Pompeya
B
Steam-heated
alteration zone
Late Oligocene/early Miocene erosion surface
Ladera Farelln
Can Can
Coipa Norte
16 Ma
dacite dome
Fig. 8. Landscape and physical setting of mineralization in the La Coipa district. A) Panoramic view to the southwest from Pompeya. Dark unaltered rocks at left margin of photograph
belong to a post mineral dacite dome. B) Line drawing of photograph shown in A) highlighting the relationship of landscape and mineralization. Steam-heated alteration is exposed on
a late Oligocene to early Miocene erosion surface (light blue). C) Panoramic view looking northwest at the Ladera Farelln, Can Can and Coipa Norte ore bodies. D) Line drawing of the
photograph shown in C). Light blue indicates the late Oligocene to early Miocene paleosurface.
expands into mushroom-shaped zones in the overlying volcanic rocks.

The latter hosts higher Ag grades, whereas the former is relatively
Au-rich (Oviedo et al., 1991). The top of the exposed orebodies lies
around 4300 m a.s.l., with sulde oxidation extending downwards
to ~ 3800 m a.s.l. (Cecioni and Dick, 1992). The dominant alteration

is vuggyquartz and quartzalunite in the volcanic rocks and quartz
alunite dickite and pyrophyllite in the shale and sandstones.
There is a close association of alunite vein stockworks with gold
mineralization (Oviedo et al., 1991). The suldes observed at depth include pyrite, chalcocite, covellite, bornite, chalcopyrite, tennantite,
tetrahedrite, galena and sphalerite (Oviedo et al., 1991), representative
of precipitation at intermediate to high-suldation states. No porphyrystyle mineralization related to epithermal mineralization is known at La
Coipa.
The geomorphology of the La Coipa district is dominated by a planar,
slightly west-inclined landscape constructed on the upper Oligocene
pyroclastic rocks and domes, but covered by the post mineral
1614.7 Ma dacite lavas and extrusive domes which form the topographic highs in the district (Cornejo et al., 1998; Figs. 7, 8). This planar
surface is located at present day elevations of 44004200 m a.s.l., and
appears to have been the dominant paleosurface at the time of
epithermal mineralization as steam-heated mineralization is commonly
exposed on it (Fig. 8). The paleosurface that plausibly controlled
epithermal activity can be correlated with the upper Oligocene
to 18 Ma Asientos pediplain mapped on the northern side of the
Cerros Bravos volcanic complex (Bissig and Riquelme, 2009). The uplift
and subsequent erosion of the Asientos pediplain is probably related to
the late Oligocene contractile tectonic phase described from the Cordillera Claudio Gay some 50 km E of La Coipa (Mpodozis and Clavero,
2002). Gold and silver mineralization at Ladera Farelln and Pompeya
is located near the upper reaches of a NE oriented valley, incised into
the probable upper Oligocene to lower Miocene paleosurface, but the
timing of valley erosion is currently unknown.
5.2. La Pepa
Within the Maricunga belt, besides la Coipa, only La Pepa contains
signicant high-suldation epithermal mineralization. Here it is hosted
in NNW-trending quartz alunite veins that cross-cut porphyry-Au style
mineralization centered on the Cavancha porphyry (Muntean and
Einaudi, 2001). Similar quartzalunite veins are widespread in other
porphyry Au deposits of the Maricunga belt, but only those at La Pepa
contain gold grades high enough to sustain small-scale historic production (Muntean and Einaudi, 2001). La Pepa is also the only one of these
deposits where alunite precipitation (between 23.5 and 23.25 Ma,
based on 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages), did not overlap temporally with the
potassic alteration, here dated at 23.81 0.08 Ma (hydrothermal biotite
40
Ar/39Ar plateau age, Cavancha porphyry; Muntean and Einaudi, 2001).
The late Oligocene landscape at La Pepa is obscured by extensive upper
Miocene ignimbrite deposits through which La Pepa is exposed in an
erosional window (Muntean and Einaudi, 2001).
6. High-suldation epithermal deposits of the Domeyko fault system
Two noteworthy middle to late Eocene high-suldation epithermal
deposits, El Hueso and El Guanaco, are located in the southern Atacama
Desert. These deposits occur near the Domeyko fault system of the
Chilean Precordillera, which also contains the behemothian Escondida,
Chuquicamata, and Collahuasi porphyry Cu districts. All of these
deposits were emplaced during, or immediately after the late Eocene
Incaic orogenic event which has been ascribed to an inferred episode
of slab attening, crustal thickening, volcanic lull and subsequent eastward shift of the volcanic arc (Mpodozis and Cornejo, 2012; O'Driscoll
et al., 2012).
Regional uplift and formation of large scale erosional surfaces of
Incaic age are implied from constraints on supergene activity and
large scale morphotectonic features such as the Precordillera which
formed during the Incaic orogeny in the southern Atacama Desert of
northern Chile. Uplift in the Eocene to elevations similar to the present
day is also evidenced from stable-isotope paleoaltimetry for the Puna
plateau (Canavan et al., 2014) as well as for the pre-Cordillera at ~26
Lat. S (Bissig and Riquelme, 2010). Supergene oxidation and Cu enrichment in Paleocene to middle Eocene porphyry deposits in response to
uplift and erosion, initiated as early as 45 to 36 Ma at Cerro Verde
343
(Peru), Cerro Colorado, Spence and El Salvador (Bissig and Riquelme,

2010; Bouzari and Clark, 2002; Gustafson and Hunt, 1975; Quang
et al., 2003, 2005). The late Eocene climate was probably semi-arid
and considerably wetter than the present day since sufcient water is
necessary for economically signicant supergene enrichment and
erosion.
6.1. El Hueso
Arguably, nowhere in the Andes is the interrelationship between
major orogenic episodes and porphyry and epithermal mineralization
better demonstrated than in the PotrerillosEl Hueso district (Cornejo
et al., 1993; Marsh et al., 1997; Niemeyer and Munizaga, 2008;
Thompson et al., 2004). At El Hueso, epithermal mineralization is located about 3 km E of the Potrerillos porphyry Cu deposit, in the
hangingwall of the SE-verging Potrerillos Mine thrust fault which was
active during and immediately after porphyry and epithermal mineralization (Marsh et al., 1997; Niemeyer and Munizaga, 2008). The district
also hosts the Jernimo carbonate-hosted epithermal gold deposit
(Thompson et al., 2004), located some 1.5 km to the east of El Hueso,
in the footwall of the Potrerillos Mine Thrust fault.
Epithermal alteration and mineralization at El Hueso are hosted in
calcareous silt and sandstones of the Upper Jurassic Asientos formation,
as well as the uncomformably-overlying andesitic-to-rhyolitic lavas and
volcaniclastic rocks of the Paleocene Hornitos Formation (Marsh, 1997).
Hydothermal activity occurred in two stages. An early mineralization
stage spatially associated with a 40.8 Ma porphyry stock was dated at
ca. 40.2 Ma by hydrothermal sericite and alteration at this time was
dominated by sericite and illite, but incorporated only minor advanced
argillic alteration. A second stage of barren quartzalunite alteration
and silicication occurred at ca. 36.2 Ma (King, 1992; Marsh et al.,
1997; Olson, 1984). The early stage deposited gold, accompanied by
12% pyrite, stibnite, chalcopyrite, galena and arsenopyrite, all hosted
in quartz veinlets (Marsh et al., 1997). The principal porphyry CuAu
mineralization centered on the Cobre porphyry was emplaced about
3 km west of El Hueso and immediately after the epithermal mineralization and alteration at 35.535.9 Ma (Marsh et al., 1997). Structural analysis of the district suggests that the emplacement depth of porphyry
CuAu mineralization at the Cobre porphyry was shallow, as little as
1 km below the paleosurface (Niemeyer and Munizaga, 2008). Although
a number of Eocene porphyry stocks intrude the Jurassic and Paleocene
rocks in the district, no age-equivalent volcanic rocks are recognized
(Marsh et al., 1997). In the El Salvador porphyry Cu district, located
some 20 km NW of Potrerillos, hypogene mineralization occurred at
4341 Ma (Gustafson et al., 2001), but the deposit was exposed to oxidation and supergene modication at ca. 36 Ma (Bissig and Riquelme,
2010; Gustafson and Hunt, 1975; Mote et al., 2001). Thus, uplift and erosion exhumed porphyry style mineraliztion at El Salvador about 6 Ma
after hypogene mineralization, i.e. at the time of hydrothermal activity
at el Hueso and Potrerillos. The Precordillera (a.k.a. Cordillera Domeyko)
at the latitude of the present day southern Atacama Desert is located at
the southewestern boundary of the Puna Plateau and probably formed
part of the Andean crest from late Eocene until the late Oligocene, before
late Oligocene thrusting in the Cordillera Claudio Gay, some 70 km east
of the Precordillera, established the main Andean range as known today
(Bissig and Riquelme, 2010).
The geomorphology of the area around El Hueso is dominated by a
subplanar erosion surface, now situated at 39004000 m elevation
which has been cut into the Paleocene Hornitos formation (Fig. 9).
This erosion surface is interpreted as a pediplain and its age is uncertain
but probably represents a somewhat erosion-degraded relic of a
pediplain that formed in response to uplift related to the late Eocene
to early Oligocene Incaic orogeny (Fig. 9). In a broad context, El Hueso
is located below a topographic high, near a scarp that separates it
from topographically lower areas to the west and may have been
emplaced in a physiographic setting comparable, albeit less well
344
Cerro El Hueso
El Hueso epithermal Au Deposit
Late Eocene to Oligocene paleosurface
>18 Ma Asientos pediplain with gravel cover
Fig. 9. Panoramic view of the physiographic setting of the El Hueso epithermal Au deposit. Photograph taken from the East looking West. The Potrerillos porphyry Cu (Au) deposit is
located behind the Horizon West of El Hueso and is not visible in this view. See Bissig and Riquelme (2009).
preserved, to e.g., PascuaLama or El Indio. Given the widespread preservation of late Eocene to early Oligocene epithermal alteration and
mineralization styles at most about 200300 m of erosion occurred
since hydrothermal activity in the El Hueso area. Erosion modication
of the original Incaic erosion surface probably occurred after 33 Ma as
it affects the granodiorite stock of Cerro El Hueso dated at ca. 33 Ma
(Cornejo et al., 1993), but prior to 18 Ma, which is the age of the
~100200 m lower Asientos pediplain cutting into the high level post
Incaic surface at El Hueso (Bissig and Riquelme, 2009). The base level
of the Asientos pediplain is the Salar de Pedernales which was
established in the late Oligocene (Bissig and Riquelme, 2009). The
Oligocene to early Miocene landscape elements and underlying shallow
level epithermal mineralization in the El Hueso area are preserved due
to the arid climate. Erosion since the early Miocene was mostly concentrated in canyons and average denudation rates were low (~14 m/Ma:
Riquelme et al., 2008).
6.2. El Guanaco
El Guanaco is a second example of a high-suldation epithermal deposit spatially associated with the Domeyko fault system. It is located
30 km W of the crest of the Precordillera at 25.1 Lat. S. Mineralization
is hosted in roughly E to ENE-trending quartz replacement veins with
a narrow advanced argillic and argillic alteration halo. Suldes include
enargite, pyrite and subordinate chalcopyrite. Veins were emplaced
in andesite lavas and overlying dacite tuffs of Paleocene age (ca.
5460 Ma; Puig et al., 1988). The veins are well-dened, subvertical,
tabular structures when hosted in the andesite, but assume an irregular
behavior in the overlying, more permeable felsic pyroclastic rocks.
Supergene oxidation affected the deposit up to 300 m depth and gave
rise to a large variety of arsenate minerals, El Guanaco being the typelocality for some of these (Witzke et al., 2006).
At El Guanaco, hydrothermal alunite yields K/Ar ages between ~48
and 42 Ma (Puig et al., 1988). No age-equivalent intrusive or volcanic
rock or porphyry-style mineralization has been documented in the district. El Guanaco is the oldest-known high-suldation epithermal deposit of the Andes, but overlaps in age with the El Salvador and
Esperanza porphyry Cu (Au) districts (Gustafson et al., 2001; Perell
et al., 2004), similarly located west of the main Domeyko fault system.
Mineralization at El Guanaco is located below Cerro Estrella, a local
topographic high at ~ 2900 m a.s.l., and extends to depths of at least
2500 m a.s.l. Cerro Estrella rises about 300 m above surrounding relict
pediment surfaces of unknown age. However, El Guanaco's physiographic setting is consistent with a position below a high-level Incaic
or pre-Incaic erosion surface being incised by pediments either during
or after hydrothermal activity.
7. Late Miocene high-suldation epithermal Au deposits of the

western Cordillera of northern Chile and southern Peru
High-suldation epithermal deposits are rare in the Central Volcanic
zone, between ~25 Lat S in northern Chile and 15 Lat S in Central Peru,
an area that coincides with the major ChilePeru orogenic bend. Here,
the subduction angle is at ~ 30 steeper than in the present at-slab segments of northern Chile and central and northern Peru (Cahill and
Isacks, 1992). The current slab geometry resulted from steepening of
an Eocene shallow angle slab (Sandeman et al., 1995). The Andes at
the ChilePeru oroclinal bend are metallogenetically diverse and include W, Sn, Ag, Pb, Zn and U deposits in the Inner Arc (partly coinciding
with the Cordillera Oriental) ranging from Jurassic to Pleistocene age, as
well as porphyry and skarn type mineralization of Paleocene and
Eocene ages (Clark et al., 1990; Perell et al., 2003). However, a few
Miocene epithermal gold deposits occur in the Cordillera Occidental of
northern Chile and southern Peru, all of which are located at local topographic highs with mineralization exposed at elevations of 4800 to
5200 m a.s.l. Signicant deposits include the 6.6 Ma Choquelimpie
high-suldation deposit in Chile (Groepper et al., 1991) and the Santa
Rosa and Tucar high-suldation deposits of the Aruntani district in
southern Peru (Barreda et al., 2004; Morche et al., 2008). Hypogene
alunites from Santa Rosa and Tucari have been dated at 6.4 and
4.6 Ma, respectively (Morche et al., 2008).
Mineralization at Choquelimpie is hosted in the core of a stratovolcano interpreted as broadly cogenetic with epithermal mineralization
(Groepper et al., 1991). At Aruntani, multiple episodes of volcanism,
represented by dacitic plugs and subvolcanic intrusions as well as andesitic lavas both pre-dated and overlapped with epithermal mineralization (Barreda et al., 2004). Thus, the volcanologic setting of these
deposits is distinct from the deposits farther south in that mineralization is temporally more closely associated with voluminous volcanism
and does not post-date the age of their host rocks by 5 or more Ma.
The geodynamic setting of late Miocene high-suldation deposits of
the Cordillera Occidental also differs from the current at slab segments
in that magmatism is associated with contraction of the arc due to
slab steepening rather than arc-broadening and cessation related to
shallowing subuduction angles as observed in the Pampean and
Peruvian at slab segments (cf. Bissig et al., 2003, 2008; Kay and
Mpodozis, 2001; Sandeman et al., 1995).
The landscape evolution documented on the western Andean slope
indicates that multiple stages of pediment bevelling due to uplift of
the Incaic paleosurface occurred between ca. 24 Ma and 8 Ma (Quang
et al., 2005; Tosdal et al., 1984) followed by a major pulse of Altiplano
uplift and incision of deep Canyons (Thouret et al., 2007). The majority
of workers agree that most of the Altiplano uplift to average elevations
of 3800 m, occurred during the Miocene. Evidence from both
geomorphology (Hoke et al., 2007; Jordan et al., 2010; Schildgen et al.,

2007) and paleoaltimetry (based on stable isotope and paleobotany;
Garzione et al., 2008) suggest that at least 1000 m or more of this elevation gain occurred after 10 Ma, but prior to about 5 Ma. Thus, epithermal
gold deposits of the Central Volcanic zone formed during a major uplift
pulse.
8. Central to northern Peruvian at slab segment
The Andean segment extending from ~15 Lat S in Peru, to 2 Lat S in
southern Ecuador, lacks recent arc volcanism, which, as in Chile, has
been attributed to at-slab subduction spatially coinciding with subduction of aseismic ridges and oceanic plateaus (e.g., Gutscher et al., 1999a;
Martinod et al., 2010; Skinner and Clayton, 2013). The high-suldation
epithermal deposits of this region occur in two distinct belts (Noble
and McKee, 1999). The southeastern belt, located east of the Cordillera
Occidental, which forms the Continental divide, and extends from
Julcani (~13 Lat S) to the latitude of Antamina (~9.5 Lat S). It coincides
with the central Peruvian polymetallic province and contains a variety
of porphyry-related and carbonate hosted deposits emplaced at different paleodepths (Bissig and Tosdal, 2009; Escalante, 2008; Escalante
et al., 2010; Love et al., 2004). This segment includes the cordilleran
base metal lode deposits (i.e. sulde rich polymetallic deposits:
Bendez et al., 2003) of MarcapuntaColquijirca and Cerro de Pasco
which are centered on high-suldation epithermal deposits emplaced
in reactive host rocks (Bendez and Fontbot, 2009; Bendez et al.,
2008). The northwestern metallogenetic belt has its southern terminus
at Pierina at 9.5 Lat S, west of the Cordillera Blanca and is dominated by
high-suldation epithermal and porphyry CuAu deposits but also
includes a number of smaller vein hosted AgAu deposits such as
Quiruvilca (Gustafson et al., 2004; Noble and McKee, 1999). It includes,
from south to north, Pierina, Lagunas Norte and Yanacocha, the latter of
which contains upwards of 70 Moz contained Au (Longo et al., 2010;
Teal and Benavides, 2010) and which is by far the largest epithermal
deposit cluster of the Andes.
Subduction of the Nazca aseismic ridge in Peru commenced in the
middle Miocene at 1410 Ma (Hampel, 2002) and is the inferred
cause of at subduction (e.g., Martinod et al., 2010). However, estimates
on the timing of crustal thickening and uplift of the Cordillera Occidental in central and northern Peru vary from the early to the middle Miocene and do not coincide everywhere with the onset of aseismic ridge
subduction and at subduction. Thus, Noble et al. (1990) on the basis
of the age of tuff deposits in deeply incised paleovalleys in northern
Peru, suggested that uplift and erosion occurred in the earlylate
Miocene. Crustal thickening inferred from whole rock geochemical
data of volcanic rocks in the central Peruvian polymetallic province is
inferred to have occurred around 1215 Ma (Bissig and Tosdal, 2009).
In contrast, Montgomery (2012) proposed that a major episode of uplift
commenced at about 17 Ma, i.e., before the inferred onset of ridge subduction, but coincident with high-suldation epithermal mineralization
at Lagunas Norte (Cerpa et al., 2013; Montgomery, 2012).
9. High-suldation epithermal deposits of the central Peruvian
polymetallic belt
The central Peruvian polymetallic belt contains a number of late
Miocene silver and base metal-rich vein deposits that were emplaced
in the epithermal environment. These include: San Cristbal (Beuchat
et al., 2004), Morococha (Catchpole et al., 2011) and Uchucchacua
(Bussell et al., 1990; Escalante, 2008). At Morococha an evolution from
the porphyry to the epithermal environment occurred concurrently
with erosion, and late Miocene epithermal Ag mineralization probably
occurred only a few 100 m below the paleosurface (Catchpole et al.,
2011). All of these epithermal deposits have sulde assemblages of intermediate suldation state and veins are largely hosted in Mesozoic
carbonaceous rocks as well as Triassic volcanosedimentary rocks.
345
However, the polymetallic belt also contains a number of epithermal

deposits with important high-suldation characteristics; these are
described in the following.
9.1. Julcani
The Julcani district, mined since colonial times, consists of severalvein hosted deposits from which Ag and base metals, as well as subordinate Au, have been produced. The mineralization is hosted in coalescing
domes of andesitic-to-dacitic composition and postdates a large zone of
vuggy quartz and quartz alunite alteration in the center of the district, as
well as quartztourmalinepyrite breccia bodies (Deen et al., 1994;
Petersen et al., 1977). Veins are zoned along strike from higher
suldation state enargitetennantite bearing assemblages near the center of the district to lower-suldation assemblages containing galena
and tennantitetetrahedrite more distally (Petersen et al., 1977).
Magmatism largely predated the epithermal mineralization but a
9.7 Ma syn-mineral dyke and small, 7 Ma, post-mineral rhyolite
domes have been recognized (Deen et al., 1994; Petersen et al., 1977).
Julcani is hosted below a sub-planar, slightly east-inclined, land surface
situated at elevations of 40004500 m a.s.l.
9.2. The MarcapuntaColquijirca district
Marcapunta is a high-suldation epithermal Au (Ag, Cu) deposit.
The district also contains cordilleran base metal mineralization at the
Smelter deposit, northward contiguous to Marcapunta, and more distally the Colquijirca AgPbZn deposit, some 5 km north of Marcapunta.
The San Gregorio deposit is another cordilleran base metal deposit
southerly adjacent to Marcapunta (Bendez et al., 2008). Vuggy quartz
alteration, phreatomagmatic breccias and disseminated gold mineralization occur in the central Marcapunta dome, whereas stratabound
base metal and silver rich mineralization at Smelter and Colquijirca,
extending as far as 5 km north from Marcapunta, are hosted in Eocene
limestones and marls (Bendez et al., 2008). There is a district-scale
lateral zoning from proximal high-suldation mineralization containing
enargite and pyrite to intermediate pyrite, chalcopyrite and tennantitebearing ore, to a distal pyrite, sphalerite and galena dominated sulde
assemblage, the later reecting an intermediate suldation state
(Bendez et al., 2008; Vidal and Ligarda, 2004). Alunite associated
with the central high-suldation gold mineralization yielded ages of
11.9 to 11.1 Ma, whereas that associated with the base metal mineralization yielded slightly younger ages of 10.8 to 10.5 Ma (Bendez et al.,
2008). The dacitic dome complex hosting some of the epithermal
mineralization was emplaced at 12.9 to 12.1 Ma (40Ar/39Ar biotite
ages). No syn- or post mineral volcanic or intrusive rocks are exposed
in the district.
Colquijirca is located near the eastern margin of a regionally extensive low-relief plain situated at an elevation of 4200 to 4300 m a.s.l.
whereas the Cerro Marcapunta summit at 4450 m a.s.l. constitutes the
highest feature in the deposit area. Vuggy quartz hosted gold mineralization extends from 4450 m to about 4000 m a.s.l. or 450 m below surface, whereas distal base metal mineralization occurs at depths less than
~400 m below surface. Proximal enargite-rich mineralization adjacent
to the dome complex, however, has been drilled to a depth of N600 m
below surface and attains thickness of up to 100 m (Bendez et al.,
2008; Vidal and Ligarda, 2004).
9.3. Cerro de Pasco
Cerro de Pasco is located about 11 km N of Marcapunta and shares
many similarities to the geologic setting and mineralization style of
Colquijirca. The deposit is spatially related to a 15.4 to 15.2 Ma dacitic
diatreme dome complex which was emplaced at the boundary of Devonian phyllites to the west and Triassic-to-Jurassic limestones to the east
(Baumgartner et al., 2008, 2009). Mineralization occurred in two stages
346
(Baumgartner et al., 2008; Einaudi, 1977). Stage 1 was focused at the

eastern margin of the diatreme dome complex and is characterized
by a low-suldation sulde assemblage consisting of a massive
quartzpyrite pyrrhotite body with associated distal carbonate replacement ore containing galena and Fe-rich sphalerite. Alteration related to stage 1 is quartzsericite. The second mineralizing stage reects
high-suldation states and has proximal EW trending enargitepyrite
veins, hosted in part by the diatreme breccia body, and distal carbonatehosted PbZnAg veins and replacement bodies containing Fe-poor
sphalerite (Baumgartner et al., 2008). Alunite is part of the alteration assemblage of stage 2 and gives 40Ar/39Ar ages of 14.5 to 14.2 Ma, whereas
stage 1 is bracketed between 15.4 and 14.5 Ma (Baumgartner et al., 2009).
Like the nearby Marcapunta and Colquijirca deposits, Cerro de Pasco
is associated with a dome complex which forms a local topographic high
above the regionally-extensive, low-relief surface to the west of it. The
pre-mining land surface was situated at about 4350 m a.s.l. and mineralization extends about 450 m below this original land surface
(Baumgartner et al., 2008).
9.4. Quicay
Quicay is a high-suldation epithermal center located 14 km W of
Cerro de Pasco. It is being mined by the Peruvian private company
Chancadora Centauro SAC and little information on its geology and
resources is publically available. According to information obtained
through the INGEMMET website Peru (Rossell et al., 2006) gold mineralization is hosted in a diatremedome complex and the highest gold
grades are found in the central vuggy quartz zones (average 3 ppm).
The ore is oxidized. A mineralization age of 37.5 Ma based on a K/Ar alunite age is suggested by Noble and McKee, (1999) which is signicantly older than Cerro de Pasco, despite the similar inferred shallow level of
formation. Quicay mineralization is centered on a small hill that contains outcrops of vuggy residual quartz. It has a summit elevation of
4350 m, which is roughly 100 m above the same low-relief land surface
described for Cerro de Pasco. If the age constraint is reliable, it can be
inferred that no signicant erosion affected the area since the Eocene.
10. The high-suldation epithermal Au (Cu, Ag) deposits
of northwestern Peru
10.1. Pierina
Pierina is located in the Cordillera Negra, Ancash, west of the Cordillera Blanca. The coeval, dominantly intermediate suldation, Santo
Toribio Ag-base metal vein systems occur ~ 5 km south of Pierina
(Rainbow, 2009), and both deposits are located beneath the shoulder
of an erosional surface overlooking the Callejn de Huaylas valley
(Figs. 10, 11). At Pierina, disseminated mineralization forms a subhorizontal body, and is largely hosted in a lithologically-controlled
vuggy quartz alteration zone, focused in a ca. 16.9 0.6 Ma
(40Ar/39Ar, weakly chlorite-altered biotite total gas age) pumice tuff
and an underlying dacitic ow dome complex (Rainbow, 2009); both
members of the Oligocene to mid-Miocene Huaraz Group (Rainbow
et al., 2005; Strusievicz et al., 2000), the upper succession of the Calipuy
Supergroup subaerial volcanic arc. Hydrothermal breccias and small
dacitic domes cut these rocks but appear to pre-date mineralization
(Rainbow et al., 2005). Goldsilver mineralization was introduced
after initial acidic alteration, and is associated with enargite, pyrite,
bismuthinitestibnite, galena and low-Fe sphalerite (Rainbow et al.,
2005). However, suldes have largely been oxidized. Sub-microscopic
Au and Ag are now hosted in a goethitehematite dominated oxide assemblage (Rainbow et al., 2005), the formation of which was facilitated
by microbial activity during supergene oxidation. During this process,
the local reduction of supergene uids led to the formation of Aubearing acanthite (Rainbow et al., 2006). Supergene minerals at Pierina
do not include jarosite.
Hydrothermal alunite 40Ar/39Ar ages range from 15.08 0.09 to

13.89 0.13 Ma (n = 19), clustering in two pulses around 15 Ma and
14.4 Ma (Rainbow, 2009), whereas an age of rare, vug lling porcellaneous alunite from the oxide zone, yielded a large-error 14.12 1.59 Ma
plateau age and may be of supergene origin (Rainbow, 2009). This
suggests that oxidation closely followed hypogene mineralization. The
host rocks of the Huaraz group range in age from 29.3 to 14.8 Ma
(Rainbow et al., 2005; Strusievicz et al., 2000).
The mineralized part of Pierina is located between about 4000 and
3800 m a.s.l., starting about 100 below the nearest topographic highs.
A horizontally extensive steam-heated alteration blanket has not been
documented at Pierina, and the presence of any steam-heated alunite
remains controversial (Fifarek and Rye, 2005; Rainbow et al., 2005,
2006). However, paragenetic relationships and stable-isotope geochemistry demonstrate that meteoric waters played an increasingly important role in deposit formation, from early alteration to subsequent
oxidation, and that these uids became progressively less isotopically
exchanged over time (Rainbow et al., 2006). This suggests that the
water table was progressively lowered during the lifetime of the hydrothermal system (Fifarek and Rye, 2005; Rainbow et al., 2005, 2006).
In the PierinaSanto Toribio area, components of middle Miocene
planar erosional landforms both preceding and broadly contemporaneous with mineralization at Pierina can be recognized (Fig. 11). The deposit formed at the crest of the Cordillera Occidental and Calipuy arc
facing the Amazonian low-lands to the east, the latter not yet separated
hydrographically from the Cordillera Negra as the intervening Cordillera
Blanca was only uplifted in the late Miocene (Gonzlez and Pffner,
2012; Petford and Atherton, 1992). An erosion surface, marked by an
angular unconformity, now tilted and dipping at ~ 20 to the ENE, underlies the andesites below the Pierina deposit. The andesites have
been dated at ca. 21 Ma, suggesting that this angular unconformity records uplift and erosion in the late Oligocene to early Miocene, probably
representing the Aymar orogenic event (Sbrier et al., 1988).
The upper slope of the Cordillera Negra, immediately south of the
Santo Toribio deposit is faceted by four erosional surfaces, one of
which is constrained by the overlying 14.10 1.3314.99 0.50 Ma
(40Ar/39Ar hornblende plateau ages) lava ows of the unaltered Santo
Toribio Formation andesite package. This constrained surface also
intersects the extensive area of phyllic alteration surrounding the
Santo Toribio vein system. This shows that hydrothermal activity (at
both Santo Toribio and Pierina, dated at ca. 15 to 14.4 Ma) was
penecontemporaneous with both andesite eruption and the incision of
the pediment. Volcanism terminated after 14 Ma in the area. The mineralization at Pierina (and Lagunas Nortesee below), the cessation of
volcanism and onset of uplift around 14 Ma pre-dated the arrival of
the Nazca ridge at the subduction zone by at least 2 Ma (Hampel,
2002). Uplift in response to crustal thickening in central and northern
Peru has, instead, been linked to increased mid Miocene plate convergence and may not be directly related to initiation of at subuduction
(Montgomery, 2012; PardoCasas and Molnar, 1987).
10.2. Lagunas Norte
Lagunas Norte, La Libertad, is located about 200 km NNW of Pierina
and 100 km SSE of Yanacocha in the northeastern mineral belt of northern Peru. Mineralization is largely hosted in quartzites with scarce interspersed coal beds of the Lower Cretaceous Chim Formation and, to a
lesser degree, in overlying dacitic pyroclastic and volcaniclastic rocks
of the Lagunas Norte Formation (Fig. 12) Montgomery, 2012; Cerpa
et al., 2013). Lagunas Norte Formation volcanic units are volumetrically
minor and are restricted in distribution to the immediate Lagunas Norte
deposit area (Fig. 12) Mineralization is centered on at least 2 diatremes
which are also considered the source of the pyroclasitc rocks overlying
the quartzites (Cerpa et al., 2013; Montgomery, 2012). Hydrothermal
alunite 40Ar/39Ar data constrain the age of mineralization at Lagunas
Norte to between 17.4 and 16.5 Ma (Cerpa et al., 2013; Montgomery,
347
Pierina Area, Peru

7740'0"W
7735'0"W
7730'0"W
7725'0"W
Pierina
Co
rd
930'0"S
ra
Bl
8940000
ille
Santo Toribio
an
ca
no
rm
al
fa
ul
Huaraz
8930000
8920000
940'0"S
egra
935'0"S
Cordillera N
2.5
7.5
10 km
-450000
Elevation (m)
-440000
-430000
-420000
Slope (Degrees)
High : 6280
0 - 10
Low : 1565
Fig. 10. Topographic map at landscape elements and main physiographic features of the Pierina area. The approximate trace of the Cordillera Blanca normal fault is shown. Note that this
fault was not active prior to the late Miocene and areas to the east of it have been uplifting relative to the Cordillera Negra since the Late Miocene to the present (Gonzlez and Pffner,
2012; Petford and Atherton, 1992). UTM Zone 18S, WGS84.
2012), whereas a minimum age of 16.5 Ma and maximum age of

17.2 Ma for volcanic units of the Lagunas Norte Formation have been determined (Montgomery, 2012). Extensive lower Miocene (21.1 Ma to
16.4 Ma; Montgomery, 2012) andesitic-to-dacitic volcanic rocks of the
Sauco Volcanic Complex (age- and compositional-equivalent to Huaraz
Group strata of the Pierina district; Strusievicz et al., 2000; Montgomery,
2012) were deposited east of Lagunas Norte. These rocks largely predate hydrothermal activity at Lagunas Norte (Fig. 12) but mapping
together with geomorphology and geochronology suggests that the
Sauco volcanic complex is the result of sector collapse contemporaneous with mineralization at Lagunas Norte. At Lagunas Norte a reduction
of erupted magma volumes and increased SiO2 content over time is
348
Quebrada Pacchac
Quebrada Huellap (with heap leach facility)
Santo Toribio
Callejn de Huaylas
15.59 0.23
14.10 1.33
15.21 0.23
14.81 1.27
14.60 0.08
Looking S from Pierina

Surface IV (~3970 m)
Surface III (~4040 m)
Surface II (~4260 m)
Surface I (~4500 m)
andesite
hydrothermal alteration
hornblende Ar-Ar plateau age

sericite Ar-Ar plateau age
sericite Ar-Ar total fusion age
alunite Ar-Ar plateau age
Fig. 11. Field photograph of the landscape and physical setting of the Pierina area. A) Panorama photographs taken at Pierina looking south across Santo Toribio. B) Line drawing of
principal landscape elements and locations. See text for further detail.
documented leading up to the main period of high-suldation

epithermal activity, with restricted, dacitic eruptions overlapping temporally and spatially with mineralization (Montgomery, 2012). The volcanic rocks at Lagunas Norte exhibit alteration zonation typical of highsuldation epithermal deposits with a vuggy quartz core surrounded by
quartzalunite and kaolinitedickite alteration zones. The quartzites, in
contrast, are non-reactive, and display only subtle alteration that includes kaolinite, minor pyrophyllite and traces of alunite (Cerpa et al.,
2013; Montgomery, 2012). Mineralization in the quartzites is fracturecontrolled, and hypogene ore minerals include digenite, enargite and
pyrite, the latter hosting some of the gold. Locally, within coal beds,
low-suldation sulde assemblages are present (Cerpa et al., 2013).
The ore is oxidized to a depth of over 80 m.
The orebody forms a tabular body between ~4250 to 4000 m a.s.l.,
although sulde mineralization extends to greater depths. It occurs
below relics of the extensive ca. 2625 Ma subplanar erosional Pampa
La Julia surface (Montgomery, 2012) into which the ca. 1816 Ma Ro
Chicama surface, consisting of steep-walled, but at-bottomed valleypediment was cut. The Pampa La Julia surface may be correlative with
the upper Oligocene to lower Miocene angular unconformity recognized 200 km to the SSE at Pierina in the Huaraz District (see above), attributed to the regional Aymar orogenic event (Sbrier et al., 1988).
The eastern Sauco Volcanic Complex in the Lagunas Norte district
erupted onto the older Pampa La Julia surface, whereas the Lagunas
Norte deposit is laterally contiguous with pronounced scarp between
this older surface and the younger Rio Chicama valley pediment
(Figs. 13, 14). Active erosion and scarp retreat during hydrothermal activity are constrained in age by truncated a 17.05 Ma alunite veins of at
the western margin of the Lagunas Norte deposit and 16.75 Ma volcanic
rocks emplaced on the Rio Chicama surface immediately west of the deposit (Figs. 13, 14; Montgomery, 2012). Incision of the Rio Chicama
surface at Lagunas Norte occurred during, and was likely a response

to, the initial stages of an episode of major, mid- to late Miocene
(ca. 175 Ma) regional uplift (e.g., Montario et al., 2005a, 2005b) and
crustal thickening, during which, as much as 23 km of surface uplift
may have occurred (Montgomery, 2012).
Hydrothermal activity and ore deposition at Lagunas Norte occurred
during the latter stages of development of the Sauco Volcanic Complex,
centered 4 km east of the deposit, during waning volcanism, and immediately post-dated collapse of the volcanic edice. Regional contractile
tectonism and uplift may have ultimately triggered the collapse of this
volcanic edice, and may also have led to marked decrease in magmatic
activity which set the stage for development of the Lagunas Norte
ore body (Montgomery, 2012). Inferred emplacement of a shallow
intrusion subjacent to Lagunas Norte within this evolving tectonomagmatic setting, and its subsequent cooling, downward contraction
and associated uid release, is envisaged to have resulted in early acid
leaching and subsequent ore deposition at Lagunas Norte. Incision of
the Rio Chicama pediment at the margin of the Lagunas Norte deposit
at this time, would have favored decompression and uid release, and
subsequent uid mixing and/or boiling at the site of ore deposition.
10.3. Yanacocha
Gold mineralization occurs in about 10 individual centers within
broad NE-trending zones of residual quartz, massive quartz, quartz
alunitepyrophyllite and distal kaolinite alteration (Longo et al., 2010;
Teal and Benavides, 2010). Early pervasive alteration also includes
quartzpyrophyllite featuring the wormy or gusano texture characteristic of the lower portion of the lithocap environment (Sillitoe, 2010;
Teal and Benavides, 2010). Gold was introduced in several pulses and
is largely associated with permeable pyroclastic rocks, subvertical
5 km
810000 E
349
805000 E
795000 E
78 15' W
9130000 N
Unmapped
Lagunas Norte
CSVC
9120000 N
Shulcahuanga dome
9115000 N
Quiruvilca mine
8 S
Quaternary
Undifferenated glacial deposits
Middle Miocene
Las Princesas volcanic domes. 16.3-15.2 Ma
Quiruvilca-Tres Cruces Volcanic Complex (> 25 -18.4 Ma)

Andesite domes and lavas
Cretaceous
Undifferenated sedimentary rocks
Lagunas Norte Formaon, dacite to andesite,

domes lavas and tuffs. 17.3-16.4 Ma
Sauco Volcanic Complex (21.1-17.1 Ma)
Dacite to andesite lavas and domes
(CSVC - Central Sauco Vent complex)
Andesite volcaniclasc rocks
Structures
Reverse fault (observed/inferred)
Normal fault (observed/inferred)
Fault (observed/inferred)
Syncline
Ancline
Early Andesite Dome/Lava

Fig. 12. Simplied geological map of the Lagunas Norte area. Geology and age constraints from Montgomery (2012). Coordinates in UTM Zone 18S, Provisional South American Datum 56.
fractures or breccia zones as well as margins of domes (Teal and

Benavides, 2010). The highest gold grades are associated with replacive
cream-colored chalcedony veins containing barite and ne grained rutile
and Fe oxides. These are interpreted as representing precipitation under
intermediate-suldation conditions (Teal and Benavides, 2010). Much of
the ore mined to date came from the oxidized portion of the deposit
where gold is associated with supergene Fe oxides. Sulde assemblages
associated with precursor hypogene epithermal mineralization include
enargite and covellite and, at depth, chalcopyrite (Teal and Benavides,
2010). Late-stage veins of base metal suldes associated with rhodochrosite have locally been reported from the Cerro Yanacocha deposit and
reect higher pH and intermediate-suldation state uids (Teal and
Benavides, 2010). Besides high-suldation and intermediate-suldation
epithermal mineralization, porphyry style CuAu ore has been described
from Kupfertal, an area exposed at ~3800 m a.s.l., 300 m below the summit of Cerro Yanacocha (Gustafson et al., 2004; Teal and Benavides,
2010).
The rocks hosting the epithermal mineralization largely belong to

the 14.511.2 Yanacocha Volcanics (Longo et al., 2010) which consist
of andesitic-to-dacitic lavas and pyoclastics and associated subvolcanic
rocks. As at Lagunas Norte, the volcanic pile records a reduction of
erupted magma volumes and increased SiO2 content over time, with
over 90% of the volcanic rocks erupted prior to 11 Ma (Longo et al.,
2010). Hydrothermal alunite ages (13.6 to 8.2 Ma) temporally overlap
with the Yanacocha Volcanics, but less than 20% of the gold is associated
with hydrothermal activity older than 11 Ma. The bulk of the gold
was introduced after 10.9 Ma and temporally overlaps with the
volumetrically-minor Coriwachay dacite domes dated at 10.9 to
8.4 Ma (Longo et al., 2010). Thus, high-suldation epithermal gold mineralization clearly post-dated much of the volcanism and occurred in
multiple pulses over a period of 23 Ma. Additionally, hydrothermal biotite associated with porphyry CuAu mineralization at Kupfertal
yielded an 40Ar39Ar age of 10.7 Ma. Although both porphyry and
high-sulifdation epithermal style mineralization are present and
350
Lagunas Norte Area, Peru

78150W
7550S
RCh surface
18-16 Ma
Sauco volcanic complex

9120000
PLJ surface
26-25 Ma
Lagunas Norte
Q Constructional
surface
800S
PLJ surface
26-25 Ma
5 km
800000
Elevation (m)
810000
Slope (Degrees)
High : 4254
0-8
Low : 2275
Fig. 13. Topographic map, at landscape elements and main physiographic features of the Lagunas Norte area. PLJ: Pampa La Julia 2625 Ma paleosurface, RCh: Ro Chicama 1816 Ma
paleosurface, Q: Quesquenda constructional surface composed of lower Miocene volcanic rocks, including those of the Sauco volcanic complex which is indicated. Surfaces and location
of Sauco Volcanic complex from Montgomery (2012). UTM Zone 18S, WGS84.
spatially overlapping, they are probably formed in distinct magmatichydrothermal settings (cf. La Pepa, Muntean and Einaudi, 2001).
The Yanacocha deposits underlie a 3900 to 4000 m a.s.l. subplanar
land surface (Fig. 15) evident in digital elevation models, with local topographic highs, such as Cerro Yanacocha, reaching 4150 m. The high
planation surface has a similar elevation to the Pampa la Julia surface
in the Lagunas Norte district (Montgomery, 2012) and could conceivably be age-equivalent. The area hosting mineralization is incised by
at bottomed valleys of ~ 3500 m elevation to the west and south
which themselves have been incised up to 250 m by deep canyons. No
detailed documentation and direct age constraints on erosional surfaces
are available. However, steam-heated alteration is locally preserved
351
view looking southwest
Lower Miocene
Sauco volcanic
complex
Lagunas Norte
(early stages of open pit)
~ 16-18 Ma Ro Chicama valley-pediment network

~ 25-26 Ma Pampa La Julia pediplain
Alexa Zone
17.05 Ma alunite Shulcahuanga dome 16.95 Ma
Lagunas Norte orebody
Lagunas Norte Fm.
Looking south
Tres Amigos dome 16.75 Ma
4200 m a.s.l.
Pampa La Julia surface

Chim Fm.
4000 m a.s.l.
Tres Amigos
lava flows
Chim Fm.
Ro Chicama valley-pediment
Fig. 14. Field photographs of the landscape and physical setting of the Lagunas Norte area.
above mineralization (Teal and Benavides, 2010), suggesting that only

limited erosion has occurred since the late Miocene. Although glaciation
affected parts of the district above 3900 m a.s.l., glacial erosion was only
locally signicant and led to the formation of the detrital La Quinua gold
deposit hosted in glacial till (Mallette et al., 2004).
10.4. Tantahuatay, Sipan and La Zanja
Besides Yanacocha, northern Peru hosts a number of porphyry
CuAu and high-suldation epithermal deposits of latemiddle to late
Miocene age (Gustafson et al., 2004; Noble and McKee, 1999; Noble
et al., 2004). Most of these occur within 50 km of Yanacocha (Fig. 15).
The high-suldation epithermal deposits include Tantahuatay, Sipan
and La Zanja, whereas Cu Au Mo porphyry style mineralization
includes El Galeno and Cerro Corona (Gustafson et al., 2004). At
Tantahuatay, mineralization is hosted in an intensely vuggy to, locally,
massive quartz and quartzpyrophyllitealunite alteration zone, hosted
in andesitic domes and underlying pyroclastic rocks (Gustafson et al.,
2004). The andesites constitute the local topographic highs at
4050 m a.s.l. Gold is associated with pyrite and enargite and is concentrated in areas of secondary permeability (vuggy quartz or fracture
zones). The deposit has been affected to a more signicant degree

by glaciation than Yanacocha, and it is thought that a signicant
part of the mineralization has been eroded (Gustafson et al., 2004).
Little detailed geological information has been published for La Zanja,
operated by Compaia Minera Buenaventura and for Sipn. However,
Tantahuatay as well as Sipn and La Zanja lie beneath a high-elevation
planar landform similar to- and apparently contiguous with the one at
Yanacocha (Fig. 15). This surface is slightly inclined to the west and
Sipan and La Zanja are exposed at about 400 m lower elevation than
Tantahuatay and Yanacocha, the latter being located about 3040 km
to the E of Sipan and La Zanja.
11. The northern Andes

A major break in the basement architecture in southern Ecuador
separates the Northern Andes (3.5 Lat S. to 11 Lat N.) from the Central
Andes (Cediel et al., 2003; Gansser, 1973) and is reected in the differing metallogeny of the two regions. The western Cordillera of the northern Andes of Ecuador and Colombia is comprised of terranes accreted
during the Cretaceous and Miocene, whereas the basement of the
352
Yanacocha/Sipan/Tantahuatay/La Zanja Area, Peru

7850'0"W
7845'0"W
7840'0"W
7835'0"W
9260000
7855'0"W
650'0"S
Cerro Corona P. Cu-Au
9250000
645'0"S
Tantahuatay
9240000
La Zanja
9230000
655'0"S
Sipan
0 1 2
730000
9220000
70'0"S
Yanacocha District
10 km
740000
Elevation (m)
750000
760000
770000
Slope (Degrees)
High : 4203
0-8
Porphyry Cu-Au deposit
Low : 1041
Fig. 15. Topographic map, at landscape elements and geomorphologic setting of Yanacocha and other epithermal deposits of northern Peru. UTM Zone 18S, WGS84.
Central Andes was assembled during the Paleozoic and earlier (Cediel
et al., 2003; Ramos, 2009). In the northern Andes, in contrast to the
Central Andes, high-suldation epithermal deposits are scarce, although
numerous other gold-rich deposits are known. The latter occur along
the eastern margin of the western Cordillera in northern Ecuador and
particularly throughout Colombia (Leal Meja, 2011; Leal Meja et al.,
2011; Schuette, 2010) and include the late Miocene gold-only La Colosa
porphyry deposit (Lodder et al., 2010) as well as the Marmato (Tassinari
et al., 2008) and Buritic (Lesage, 2011) low-suldation epithermal deposits. Large high-suldation epithermal deposits include Quimsacocha
in Ecuador and the CaliforniaVetas district in the eastern Cordillera of
Colombia. The northern Andes are now dominated by humid tropical
climate and thus are wetter than the western cordillera of the Central
Andes. Areas at high elevations record 12 m annual rainfall, but some
of the adjacent low-lying areas record even higher precipitation rates
of up to 10 m/yr (Alvarez Villa et al., 2011).
The uplift history and landscape evolution of the Northern Andes is

less well established than in the Central Andes and the geomorphology
is inuenced by the terrane architecture. However, extensive planation
surfaces have been documented in the Ecuadorian Andes (Coltorti and
Ollier, 2000) and for the central Cordillera in Colombia (RestrepoMoreno et al., 2009). In Ecuador, relict planation surfaces are commonly
exposed at 35003800 m a.s.l. The nature of these and the timing of uplift are controversial. Coltorti and Ollier (2000) interpret them have
formed as planation surfaces near sea-level as recently as early Pliocene
and having been uplifted rapidly since the Pliocene. Conversely,
Steinmann et al. (1999) documented the onset of major uplift in the
earlylate Miocene on the basis of stratigraphic relationships in
intramontane basins. A major tectonic change and increased uplift and
contractile deformation in the Andes has been associated with the arrival of the Carnegie Ridge at the subduction trench but age estimates for
this event vary widely between 15 Ma (Spikings et al., 2001) and
2 Ma (e.g., Gutscher et al., 1999b). The Colombian Andes, comprise
three separate ranges, the Cordilleras Occidental, Central and Oriental,
each of which experienced differing geomorphologic histories. Planar
surfaces have been described from the Central Cordillera and the Eastern Cordillera. A high plateau, the Antioqueo Plateau, is located at
the northern limit of the central Cordillera (6 1 Lat. N). It consists
of an extensive upper Oligocene to lower Miocene planar erosion surface which was cut from the NE into an older, uplifted early Eocene
landscape (Restrepo-Moreno et al., 2009; Villagomez and Spikings,
2013). The Antioqueo plateau is separated from higher landscape elements by a relict back-scarp and may have formed originally as a
pediplain. A renewed late Miocene to early Pliocene uplift pulse and associated incision of deep canyons is identied on the basis of apatite
UTh/He data (Villagmez and Spikings, 2013). The magnitude of late
Miocene uplift and exhumation increases south of the Antioqueo Plateau and contiguous central Cordillera (Villagmez and Spikings,
2013) but there the planar nature of the uplifted surface is obscured
by recent voluminous volcanic deposits and presumably by more
intense landscape dissection in response to uplift. In contrast to the
central Cordillera, the Eastern Cordillera was established in the late
Oligocene when the tectonic regime changed from extensional to contractile and the frontal thrust separating it from the Llanos Foreland
was established (Horton et al., 2010). However, based on paleobotanical
evidence, much of the uplift to the present day elevations of around
26003600 m a.s.l. probably took place in the late Miocene-toPliocene (Gregory-Wodzicky, 2000). The northern extension of the
eastern Cordillera which hosts the California Vetas Mining District,
may have experienced uplift pulses in the Paleocene and early Miocene
but, most importantly, in the late Miocene-to-Pleistocene (Villagmez
et al., 2011).
11.1. Quimsacocha
Quimsacocha is located in the northern Andean block (sensu Gansser,
1973), about 20 km NW of the NE-trending Girn fault which constitutes
an important terrane boundary separating the Upper Cretaceous Pin
terrane to the northwest, from the Lower Creteaceous Anaime terrane
to the southeast (Ramos, 2009; Schuette et al., 2012). The Quimsacocha
deposit adheres closely to the model for high-suldation epithermal deposits (MacDonald et al., 2011). Mineralization is hosted within a large
vuggy quartz, massive quartz and quartzalunite pyrophyllite alteration zone which is centered on the N-striking Ro Falso fault zone. The
ore is conned in pyroclastic strata between subhorizontal andesite
lava ows of the 9 Ma Quimsacocha Formation (all age dates are
40
Ar/39Ar plateau ages: MacDonald et al., 2011, 2012). The host rocks
underwent intense acid leaching resulting in vuggy quartz alteration,
prior to the deposition of pyrite, enargite and associated gold and
minor quartz (MacDonald et al., 2011). Alunite associated with the
vuggy quartz and advanced argillic alteration is dated at 7.6 to 7.3 Ma
and biotite from a post-mineral dacite dome yielded an age of 6.7 Ma
353
(MacDonald et al., 2012). Steam-heated alteration zones of limited thickness have locally been preserved in the highest parts of the deposit. The
ore-controlling Rio Falso fault is located along the eastern margin of a
caldera in which the post mineral dacitic domes lie but is a districtscale feature and does not constitute the caldera margin (Fig. 16).
Mineralization at Quimsacocha is located between 3500 and
3700 m a.s.l. The paleosurface delimited by the steam-heated alteration
zone is located at 38003900 m a.s.l. The deposit is located near the
eastern margin of a large plateau at 3800 100 m elevation with
steep margins relative to the adjacent valleys (Fig. 16; Coltorti and
Ollier, 2000). Based on sedimentological evidence and zircon ssiontrack age data for tuff layers (Hungerbuehler et al., 2002; Steinmann
et al., 1999), the area was at sea-level as recently as 1511 Ma, with uplift to almost 4000 m a.s.l. occurring in the Late Miocene, broadly coeval
with mineralization. Quimsacocha also overlies the subducting Carnegie
ridge and no recent volcanism has been documented from the area
(Chiaradia et al., 2004; Schuette et al., 2010).
11.2. California Vetas
The California Vetas Mining District is located in the northeastern
Cordillera of Colombia, some 30 km N of the city of Bucaramanga. The
modern climate in the area is tropical and has two pronounced rainy
seasons per year, with annual rainfall of around 2000 mm. The location
corresponds to the southern tip of the triangular Maracaibo block which
is bounded by the NNW-striking sinistral Santa MartaBucaramanga
fault and the NE-striking dextral Bocon fault. Mineralization is hosted
by Grenvillia-aged Bucaramanga gneisses as well as upper Triassic
to lower Jurassic peraluminous granites (Mantilla Figueroa et al.,
2013). Locally, at the El Cuatro prospect (Fig. 17), small volumes of
metaluminous, coarsely-porphyritic granodiorite dykes of late Miocene
age (10.98.4 Ma: Mantilla F. et al., 2009, 2011; Mantilla Figueroa et al.,
2013; Bissig et al., 2014) are associated with porphyry Mo mineralization (Bissig et al., 2012).
Gold mineralization is mainly vein-hosted and is largely of highsuldation epithermal type, overprinting earlier porphyry-style Mo
mineralization (Rodriguez, 2014). Numerous artisanal mines have been
operating since colonial times, but most current resources are contained
in the La Bodega/La Mascota and contiguous Angostura deposits. Mineralization was largely controlled by the NE-trending La Baja fault trend,
Angostura focused in a dextral strike-slip sigmoidal loop (Fig. 17;
Rodriguez, 2014). Several hydrothermal stages can be distinguished.
Early quartzpyrite chalcopyrite veins associated with pervasive
sericitic alteration represent precipitation in the porphyry environment
and are associated with low-grade Au mineralization (b1 g/t). These
are overprinted by several stages of veins and fault-controlled breccias
which introduced the bulk of the gold mineralization (Rodriguez,
2014). Ore minerals of the epithermal stages include covellite, bornite,
chalcopyrite, hubnerite, enargite and pyrite, all of which are associated
with native gold and goldsilver tellurides, as well as late Fe-poor sphalerite. Epithermal veins and breccias have quartz and alunite gangue that
form banded, colloform and cockade textures (Rodriguez, 2014), such
as are more typically associated with low-suldation type deposits
(Simmons et al., 2005). Conversely, vuggy residual quartz and aeriallyextensive, pervasive, quartzalunitekaolinite alteration typical of
high-suldation deposits is largely absent in the CaliforniaVetas district.
Both uid inclusion and textural evidence indicates that boiling was an
important ore depositional mechanism, occurring at 200250 C
(Rodriguez, 2014). Early muscovite alteration associated with quartz
pyrite veins at Angostura and La Bodega gives 40Ar/39Ar ages of ca. 4 to
3.5 Ma and one alunite sample from Los Laches, at ~ 3500 m a.s.l.,
some 800 m above the muscovite sample locations, was dated at
4.02 0.06 Ma and likely was deposited close to the paleosurface
(Fig. 17, Rodriguez, 2014). The age of mineralization inferred from
alunite in mineralized veins and breccias ranges from 2.6 to 2 Ma at La
Bodega and Angostura, but alunite the La Plata, San Celestino and El
354
Quimsacocha Area, Ecuador

79100W
Quimsacocha
caldera
Ro Falso fault zone
300S
9670000
79150W
350S
9660000
Quimsacocha Deposit
0
690000
Elevation (m)
5 km
700000
Slope (Degrees)
High : 4079
0-8
Low : 2925
Fig. 16. Topographic map of the Quimsaochca area. The approximate trace and orientation of the Ro Falso fault is indicated.
Cuatro prospects downstream from La Bodega (Fig. 17) yielded ages of

3.5 to 3.2 Ma. Post-mineralization alunite associated with sphalerite
yielded ages from 1.9 to 1.6 with Ma (Rodriguez, 2014). Paragenetically
late U mineralization has been reported from San Celestino (Polania,
1980) 2 km SW of La Bodega, along the same mineralized trend. No
igneous rocks similar in age to the epithermal mineralization have
been documented, but stable-isotope data indicate a magmatic source
for the mineralizing uid (Rodriguez, 2014).
The geomorphology in the La Bodega and Angostura area is characterized by a deeply-incised, steep-walled valley paralleling the NEtrending dextral La Baja fault zone (Figs. 18, 19). Angostura is located
at the upper termination of this valley, La Bodega/La Mascota at 2800
to 2350 m, and Angostura between 3500 and 2700 m a.s.l. More
subdued topography characterizes the topographically-high areas
from ~ 3400 to 4000 m a.s.l. (Figs. 18, 19) representing the highest
parts of the northeastern cordillera of Colombia. This suggests that,
722'0"N
4.02 +/- 0.06 Ma

2.77 +/- 0.15 Ma
Fault
Rio Cucutil
la
fau
ill
a
Veta de Barro
ura
ost
Los Laches
Ang
La Picota
o
3.91 +/- 0.15 Ma
Perezosa
PaLa
ez f
ault
La Mascota
2.1- 1.8 Ma (n=2)
2.5 - 1.6 Ma (n=9)
El Cuatro
Pie de Gallo
ult
fa
La Bodega
San Celestino
ra
tu
e ralCu
cu
t
An
go
s
La
3.4 +/- 0.06 Ma
7252'0"W
lt
7254'0"W
Ba
ja f
aul
t
7256'0"W
355
3.26+/- 0.30 Ma
3.23+/- 0.06 Ma
1305000
La Plata
3.43 +/- 0.07 Ma
Violetal
Geologic Units
Pliocene
California
Hydrothermal breccia/veins
Late Miocene
Hydrothermal breccia
Faults & Contacts

Normal fault
Normal fault, inferred
Thrust fault
720'0"N
Strike-slip, dextral
Porphyry
Non conformity
Late Cretaceous
Santander
Tambor Formation
Late Triassic to Early Jurassic
Bucaramanga
Antioquia
Rosablanca Formation
California Vetas
Mining District
Bolivar
Arauca
Town
Prospect/Artisanal Mine
40Ar/39Ar ages
Diorite to Granodiorite
Alunite
Leucogranite
Sericite
Boyaca
Casanare
1125000
1300000
Proterozoic
Bucaramanga Gneiss
1130000
1135000
Fig. 17. Geological map of the La Baja Trend, California Vetas Mining District, Santander Colombia. Prospect locations as well as alunite and sericite ages are shown. Modied from
Rodriguez (2014). Coordinates given are geographic and Colombian Gauss with Bogota Observatory datum.
despite the wet climate, the topographically high areas are not in erosional equilibrium with the present day base-level, as in northern
Chile and Peru. This high elevation surface is interpreted as a relict
lower to middle Miocene paleosurface.
Based on apatite ssion track data, uplift and valley incision commenced around 17 Ma (Van Der Lelij, 2013) but the most important uplift pulse probably occurred in the Pliocene (Gregory-Wodzicky, 2000;
Shagam et al., 1984; Villagomez et al., 2011). Thus, uplift, erosion and
epithermal mineralization overlapping in age and the fact that the alunite ages along the La Baja trend become younger upstream strongly
suggests that erosion is directly stimulating epithermal mineralization.
12. Summary and comparison to low-suldation deposits
High-suldation epithermal deposits of the Andes occur over a geographically wide area, yet were emplaced in remarkably predictable
geologic and geomorphologic settings. Virtually all high-suldation
epithermal deposits formed during episodes of major uplift in the respective Andean segment in which they are hosted. The uplifted landforms hosting epithermal mineralization are mostly extensive low
relief surfaces, in many cases demonstrably pediplains, located at the

crest of the Andes at the time of mineralization. The low-relief surfaces
were commonly subject to erosion and valley pediments or valleys were
being incised during mineralization. A direct temporal and spatial
relationship of erosion and mineralization has been documented for a
number of epithermal districts including the El Indio belt deposits,
Pierina, Lagunas Norte and CaliforniaVetas.
Most high-suldation epithermal deposits were emplaced above
segments of at subduction where no volcanism is presently observed.
The few exceptions to the latter occur in the western Cordillera near the
Andean orocline in southern Peru and northern Chile. The vast majority
of deposits are 17 Ma or younger, but exceptions include the Eocene El
Hueso, and Guanaco deposits in the southern Atacama Desert near the
Domeyko fault system, and possibly the poorly documented Quicay
deposit as well as the late Oligocene to early Miocene La Coipa deposit
for which age constraints are ambiguous. Large volcanic edices are uncommon hosts to ore. Host rocks to high-suldation systems commonly
pre-date mineralization by several Ma to as much as 1 Ga, as at
La Bodega and Angostura in Colombia. However, examples exist
where the ages of ore-hosting volcanic rocks overlap with those of
356
California Vetas Mining District, Colombia

72500W
7250N
72550W
Angostura
La Bodega/La Mascota
El Cuatro
San Celestino
La Plata
7200N
California
Vetas
Elevation (m)
5 km
Slope (Degrees)
High : 4272
0 - 16
Low : 1358
High elevation low relief paleosurface
Town
Prospect
Fig. 18. Topographic map of the CaliforniaVetas Mining District, showing steep valleys incised into a high-elevation relatively low relief landscape. WGS84.
alteration and mineralization (e.g., Yanacocha, Lagunas Norte, Aruntani)

but where this temporal overlap exists, the volcanic rocks contemporaneous with mineralization are, with exception of Aruntani, of low
volume and volcanism ceased shortly after mineralization. Volcanic
rocks of signicant volume covering and/or post-dating mineralization
are reported from La Pepa and La Coipa.
Andean low-suldation epithermal deposits are commonly smaller

and many occur in geologic settings distinct from those of their highsuldation counterparts. Some of the larger examples include the Jurassic Fruta del Norte deposit in Ecuador (Henderson, 2009), the Paleocene
El Pen deposit of northern Chile (Warren et al., 2004, 2007). The Late
Jurassic to Early Cretaceous deposits of the Deseado and Patagonian
California
San Celestino
El Cuatro
La Mascota
La Bodega
Fig. 19. Photograph looking SW from Angostura, showing the approximate locations of
prospects. Note the steeply incised La Baja valley and the less rugged higher elevation
terrain.
Massifs (Dietrich et al., 2011; Echavarria et al., 2005; Fernndez et al.,

2008) are, strictly speaking, located outside the Andes but the Cerro
Bayo low-suldation deposit considered the westernmost deposit of
this low suldation epithermal province is located in the Chilean
Patagonian Andes (Poblete et al., 2014). Mineralization here took
place in several pulses between 144 and 113 Ma and partly overlaps
in age with the slightly older low-suldation epithermal deposits of
the Deseado and north Patagonian massifs (Poblete et al., 2014).
The low-suldation deposits mentioned above occur at elevations
below 2400 m a.s.l., are hosted by dominantly rhyolitic volcanic and
volcaniclastic rocks, lack a spatial or temporal association with porphyry
systems (as dened by Sillitoe, 2010) and occur in extensional tectonic
settings without documented contractile deformation and surface uplift
during mineralization. However, there are also examples of epithermal
deposits containing low-suldation mineralization that occur within
larger magmatic-hydrothermal systems in arc segments also containing
porphyry style or high-suldation epithermal mineralization. Examples
of these include Cerro de Pasco (Peru: Baumgartner et al., 2008),
Marmato and Buritic (Colombia: Tassinari et al., 2008; Lesage, 2011)
which are all mid to late Miocene in age. The low-suldation nature of
epithermal deposits of some contractile arc settings may be attributed
to more reactive, locally-reducing host or basement rock characteristics
(e.g., Marmato: Tassinari et al., 2008). Thus, as proposed earlier (Sillitoe
and Hedenquist, 2003) low-suldation deposits may be associated with
both, overall contractile arc as well as rift settings. Those associated with
rift settings and rhyolitic magmatism evidently are more likely to be
preserved over longer time intervals than epithermal deposits in
contractile settings.
13. Controls of geomorphic processes and climate on mineralization
Epithermal deposits are emplaced at shallow crustal levels, in the
case of high-suldation epithermal deposits at depths commonly less
than 500 m (see above). Such shallow hydrothermal environments
are directly inuenced by surface processes and climatic conditions.
Precious metals in the epithermal environment are typically precipitated by processes of boiling or uid mixing (Simmons et al., 2005). The
depth of boiling in the epithermal environment is controlled by the
hydrostatic pressure which depends on the elevation of the water
table. A lowering of the water table during hydrothermal activity such
as would occur during catastrophic erosion or volcanic sector collapse
would enhance boiling and can be important for the efciency of precious metal deposition (Bissig et al., 2002a; Simmons, 1991). This can
357
lead to the superposition of epithermal mineralization on the porphyry

environment during the life-span of a single magmatic-hydrothermal
system, a process commonly referred to as telescoping (Sillitoe,
1994). At the giant Ladolam deposit in Papua New Guinea, volcanic sector collapse eliminated more than 500 m of rock cover very rapidly, and
is thought to be integral to epithermal ore formation (Blackwell et al.,
2014; Carman, 2003; Sillitoe, 1994). While Ladolam has a lowsuldation sulde assemblage and is associated with alkalic magmatism
and has, thus, uid chemistry differing from that of Andean highsuldation epithermal systems, the gold transport and precipitation
processes are still comparable, Au bisulde complexes being probably
important in both (e.g., Heinrich et al., 2004). Sector collapse and
telescoping have also been proposed for Marte and other porphyry
Au deposits in the Maricunga belt (Muntean and Einaudi, 2001;
Sillitoe, 1994), indicating that catastrophic erosion during hydrothermal
activity is not unique to Ladolam. However, in the absence of large
volcanic landforms which are prone to rapid degradation, erosion in response to uplift events can enhance mineralizing processes (Bissig et al.,
2002a) and may exert a rst-order control on exsolution of uids from
magmas. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that Eocene and Miocene porphyry and high-suldation epithermal deposits in the Central
Andes were emplaced during contractile deformation, uplift and largescale erosion on the western Andean slope, which occurred during the
Eocene Incaic, late Oligoceneearly Miocene Aymar and Miocene Quechua orogenic phases. On a more local scale, valley or pediment incision
during hydrothermal activity can lead to lowering of the water-table
near the head of the incising valleys and, by generating local topography, may lead to increased lateral groundwater ow and enhanced
mixing of magmatic with meteoric uids. This process can enhance boiling and uid mixing especially near the shoulders or back-scarps of incising pediments (e.g. El Indio belt: Bissig et al., 2002a, Lagunas Norte:
Montgomery, 2012) or fault induced steep topographic gradients (potentially the case in the Famatina district: Losada-Caldern et al.,
1994; Pudack et al., 2009). The time scale of valley incision is well within
the proposed duration of hydrothermal activity of individual hydrothermal systems, which is in the order of 10 to 100 k.y. (e.g., Simmons, 2002;
Simmons and Brown, 2006). Erosion can in part inuence the locus of
mineralization over time. The example of Veladero and Pascua as well
as the deposits along the La Baja trend in the California Vetas district illustrate this relationship (Figs. 20, 21). In both cases, older mineralization occurs downstream from younger mineralization. Perhaps the
best temporal control is available for the La Baja trend where at
3.5 Ma, alunite and associated Au mineralization formed to the west
and downstream of contemporaneous higher temperature phyllic alteration, which formed under 500 m or more of cover rock (Rodriguez,
2014; Fig. 20). At a later stage, the La Baja valley incised northeastward
and subsequent epithermal hydrothermal alteration and mineralization
overprinted the phyllic alteration at La Bodega and Angostura (Fig. 20).
In the case of Veladero and Pascua, no constraints for phyllic alteration
overprinted by high-suldation epithermal mineralization are available.
However, mineralization at the Filo Federico zone at Veladero is at
1110.3 Ma distinctly older than 9.5 Ma mineralization at the Penelope
ore zone and 9.18.1 Ma mineralization at Pascua which occur upstream
from Filo Federico (Fig. 21). At the time of mineralization at Pascua,
Veladero was already subject to oxidation, as suggested by the jarosite
ages of Veladero, roughly contemporaneous with hypogene alunite formation at Pascua (Deyell et al., 2005b; Holley, 2012).
Andean high-suldation epithermal deposits occur over a wide
range of climatic zones from humid tropical to hyper-arid climate. The
Miocene climate of the Central Andes was probably slightly more
humid than at present but probably not fundamentally different as
South America was located at similar latitudes as at present (Clarke,
2006). Thus, the availability of meteoric uids during hydrothermal activity does not seem to be the principal controlling factor for mineralization. This is in agreement with the growing number of stable-isotope
studies, all of which propose a dominantly magmatic source for the
358
La Bodega
10 Ma
NE
Los Laches
Angostura
Paleosurface
es
en
td
ay
su
rfa
ce
Perezosa
La Bodega
La Mascota
El Cuatro
San Celestino
3,000
Pr
Elevation (m)
3,500
La Plata
California
SW
2,500
Cu?
2,000
0
Elevation (m)
3,500
Mo Mo
Cu?
500
1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 5,000 5,500 6,000 6,500 7,000 7,500
Distance (m)
4 - 3.25 Ma
4 Ma
3,000
3.
e
al
os
ur
e
ac
~
2,500
2
3.
Au
Ag
2,000
0
500
rfa
ce
Au
Au
3.25 Ma
3.9 Ma Cu
3.4 Ma
Au Au
Ag Ag
Au
Cu
1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 5,000 5,500 6,000 6,500 7,000 7,500
Elevation (m)
le
3.25 Ma
3.5 Ma
3,500
pa
u
os
Distance (m)
~ 2.5 - 2 Ma
2.7 Ma
Advanced argillic
Sericite/illite quartz
Potassic, K-feldspar, biotite
Porphyries
Ar/Ar on alunite age Alunite < 2 Ma
Ar/Ar on sericite
Re/Os molybdenite
U/Pb zircon
3,000
2,500
2.1 Ma
2.2 Ma
2.6-2.3 Ma
U
2,000
0
500
Au
Ag 1.9 Ma
Zn
1.6 Ma
Au
Ag
(Cu)
Au
1.8 Ma Ag
(Cu)
1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 5,000 5,500 6,000 6,500 7,000 7,500
Distance (m)
Fig. 20. Schematic relationships between erosion, tectonics and mineralization along the La Baja trend, CaliforniaVetas Mining District, Colombia. Based on data from Rodriguez (2014);
Refer to Figs. 17 and 18 for context. A) snap-shot of the landscape conguration in relation to hydrothermal systems at ~10 Ma, at the time of porphyry intrusion and Mo (Cu) mineralization. B) Distribution of hydrothermal alteration in relation to the eroding La Baja valley at ~3.5 to 3.25 Ma. Note that at La Bodega and Angostura sericite forms at a depth of
7001000 m below surface, whereas further downstream at alunite, spatially associated with Au mineralization forms at only a few 100 m depth at the same time. Alunite also forms
near the paleosurface at Los Laches which is the topographically highest prospect of the area. C) At 2.52 Ma, during the main stage of epithermal Au (Ag, Cu) mineralization at La Bodega,
La Mascota and Angostura, erosion is further advanced and overprints 3.53.9 Ma sericite. Note, Los Laches has not been affected by signicant erosion since the early Pliocene and 4 Ma
and 2.7 Ma alunite formed at the same place.
359
NW
Pascua
9.1-8 Ma
SE
Penelope
9.5 Ma
Ro de las Taguas
N-S valley
5000
4750
Lama Central
barren alteration
13.3 Ma
4500
4250
Filo Federico
11.1-10.3 Ma
4000
Frontera-Deidad surface
Azufreras-Torta surface
Los Ros surface
Present day Ro Turbio profile
16-~12.5 Ma volcaniclastic rocks

Mineralized zones
Future mineralized zones
Jarosite formation
B
5000
4750
4500
4250
4000
Valley profile at 9.5 Ma

C
5000
4750
4500
4250
4000
Valley profile at 10.5 Ma

Fig. 21. Schematic relationship between erosion, tectonics and mineralization at Veladero and PascuaLama, Argentina, Chile. The cartoon is based on data from Bissig et al. (2002a),
Charchai et al. (2007) and Holley (2012). A) Present-day conguration of landscape elements, faults, mineralized zones. B) Snap-shot of the landscape conguration at 9.5 Ma, i.e., at
the initiation of hydrothermal activity at Penelope. At that time, Veladero was already subject to oxidation and jarosite formation. C) Snap-shot of the landscape conguration at
10.5 Ma, during hypogene mineralization at Filo Federico.
precious metal-bearing uids (e.g., Cerpa et al., 2013; Deyell et al., 2004;
Rainbow et al., 2005; Rye, 2005). However, the hydrothermal systems
overall are inuenced by the climate. Thus, the position of the water
table is inuenced by the climate and the extent of near surface
steam-heated alteration formed in the vadose zone varies. Up to several
100 m thick steam-heated blankets overlying and overprinting mineralization are observed in the El Indio belt and La Coipa. These are
interpreted as evidence for dry climate at the time of mineralization
and general water table lowering during hydrothermal activity
(e.g., Bissig et al., 2002a; Holley, 2012), but short term water table uctuations due to episodic incursion of magmatic uid or periods of more
humid climate has been inferred from hypogene alunite or barite
overprinting jarosite (Chouinard et al., 2005; Deyell et al., 2005b;
Holley, 2012). In contrast to deposits of northern Chile, in the more
humid Miocene climates of Peru, Ecuador or Colombia where the
water-table was probably much closer to the land-surface, steamheated alteration blankets tend to be less well developed or even lacking (McDonald et al., 2011; Rainbow et al., 2005; Rodriguez, 2014;
Teal and Benavides, 2010). Although this difference may be due to
better preservation under dry climatic conditions, the persistence of
high-elevation paleosurfaces in northern Peru and Ecuador that predate hydrothermal activity suggests that steam-heated blankets should
have been forming but were probably never as extensive in those areas
as in dryer climatic zones, and could therefore have been removed by
modest erosion.
Most high-suldation epithermal deposits were emplaced between

17 and 6 Ma, irrespective of the climatic zone in which they are located.
There is no clearcut overall correlation of younger age with better preservation within this age range. The location and age of currently exposed Miocene high-suldation epithermal deposits is, thus, not only
a function of the preservation potential but also due to tectonomagmatic factors. However, the Eocene deposits of El Guanaco and El
Hueso are located in one of the most arid climatic zone of the planet,
whereas the youngest deposits La Bodega and Angostura in Colombia
are located in the wettest climatic zone in which high-suldation
epithermal deposits are known in the Andes. This indicates that a
longer-term control on preservation potential does exist. The fact that
no high-suldation epithermal deposits older than Eocene are known,
together with the fact that they generally were emplaced near surface
during uplift indicates that the preservation of high-suldation
epithermal deposits older than the Eocene is unlikely except in the driest climatic zones. Oxidation of primary sulde assemblages is an important factor for the economic viability of high-suldation epithermal
deposits, as it may liberate encapsulated gold. Oxidation occurs where
suldes are exposed to atmospheric oxygen and water and is favored
by decreasing water table as well as sufcient rock permeability. Some
examples of high-suldation epithermal deposits of Northern Peru as
well as the Pampean at slab are oxidized to considerable depth
(e.g., Yanacocha, Lagunas Norte, Pierina, Veladero), whereas others
(e.g., PascuaLama, Cerro de Pasco) have undergone considerably less
360
Although low-density magmatic vapor may be responsible for early

vuggy quartz alteration, later high-suldation epithermal mineralization hosted in vuggy quartz likely precipitated from contracted magmatic vapor exsolved from a deeper porphyry intrusion (Heinrich
et al., 2004; Pudack et al., 2009). This evolution from shallow toward
deeper locus of uid exsolution is consistent with waning magmatism
and increasing SiO2 content of magmas; as is evident for the majority
of Andean high-suldation epithermal districts. Large-scale tectonic
changes such as the onset of at subduction, increased plate coupling,
contractile deformation and uplift result in decreasing volumes of
eruptive magmatism and increasing depth of porphyry emplacement
and may favor high-suldation epithermal Au and associated deeper
porphyry Cu over porphyry CuAu mineralization.
extensive supergene oxidation. In the case of PascuaLama and

Veladero as well as the La Coipa district, oxidized and non-oxidized
deposits occur within b 15 km from each other, which indicates that
the degree of oxidation cannot simply ascribed to climatic factors.
Rock-permeability or physiographic setting as well as the posthydrothermal history inuence the oxidation and hence economic
viability of epithermal deposits as well.
14. Igneous rocks, volcanology and magmatic uids related
to high-suldation epithermal deposits
Although magmas are the primary contributors of metals and volatiles in porphyry systems (e.g., Audtat and Simon, 2012), extrusive
magmatism is commonly waning, of low volume or absent during the
formation of high-suldation epithermal AuAg deposits in the Andes.
Conversely, Au-rich porphyry deposits in the Maricunga belt and
in northern Peru are typically emplaced in volcanic centers or associated
with shallowly emplaced magmatic bodies (e.g. Cerro Casale: Muntean
and Einaudi, 2001). Murakami et al. (2010) showed that Cu/Au ratios increase with greater depth of emplacement of porphyry systems and
suggested that high-suldation epithermal Au mineralization occurs
where signicant amounts of Au has been physically separated from
Cu, a process which is apparently favored where the depth of intrusion
of the magma providing the magmatic volatiles is N 3 km (Murakami
et al., 2010). A compelling explanation for this is that precious metals
are better transported in high-density magmatic vapors released from
magmas emplaced at more than 34 km depth than in low-density vapors exsolved at depths of less than 2 km (Heinrich, 2005, 2007; Fig. 22).
Fluid evolution at depth can lead to porphyry Cu mineralization but
allows for efcient Au transport in contracted magmatic vapor. If
condensed magmatic vapors are efciently transported and focused, a
high-suldation epithermal Au deposit may form several km above.
High-suldation epithermal deposits of the Andes formed in predictable geological and geomorphological settings. They are located at
high elevation and largely near the crest of the Andean cordillera in segments where volcanism is currently absent or subdued and where subduction angles are shallow. All were emplaced during major periods of
contractile deformation and uplift and most coincided with the terminal
stages of local arc magmatism. The vast majority of deposits are between ca. 17 and 5 Ma old. Although the tectonic setting in which
these deposits form makes them prone to erosion, their restricted age
range is not only a function of preservation potential but also attributed
to favorable tectonomagmatic settings at the time of hydrothermal activity. Eocene high-suldation epithermal deposits are only known
from the driest regions of the Atacama Desert but they plausibly formed
under similar tectonomagmatic conditions as the Miocene ones. Conversely, the youngest deposits, La Bodega and Angostura, Colombia,
B
v
1 km
15. Conclusions
vvvv
vvvv
Au
v
v
v
Au
Cu
Au
Au
v
vvvv
vvvv
v
2 km
3 km
Cu
Mo
4 km
Cu
Mo
Cu
Mo
Diatreme breccia
High-sulfidation epithermal Au
Water table
Porphyry Cu-Au
vvvv
Volcanic rock
Porphyry Cu-Mo
Fig. 22. Schematic relationships between depth of intrusion volcanic setting and mineralizatiion style, inspired by Murakami et al. (2010) and relationships observed in the Andes. Three
scenarios are shown. A) Porphyry AuCu hosted in a volcanic edice such as observed in the Maricunga belt (e.g. Cerro Casale). Depth of intrusion and uid exsolution is b2 km, magmatic
vapor cannot dissolve signicant Au and temperature gradient to surrounding rocks is steep, leading to bulk co-precipitation of Cu and Au. B) High-suldation epithermal deposit forms
N34 km above porphyry intrusion. At that depth, magmatic vapor has a higher density and is, after contraction, capable of transporting signicant Au as bisulde complexes at low uid
temperatures (Heinrich et al., 2004), whereas Cu and Mo precipitate in the higher-T porphyry environment. Erosion at surface stimulates precipitation of precious metals but through
reduction of lithostatic load may enhance uid release from the magma and the structural pathways permitting efcient separation of magmatic vapor derived uids from the
porphyry Cu environment (this scenario reects the situation at La Bodega and Angostura, Colombia as well as El Indio and PascuaLama). C) A scenario where multiple pulses of
both, porphyry CuAu and high-suldation epithermal mineralization occurred. This scenario reects the situation at Yanacocha. Volcanism in the form of ow-domes and pyroclastic
ow deposits occurred intermittedly as well.
were emplaced in the late Pliocene in an area with pluvial tropical

climate with low preservation potential.
High-suldation epithermal AuAg deposits can be emplaced in a
range of host rocks, and volcanic rocks both pre- or syn-hydrothermal
activities, are not a pre-requisite for epithermal mineralization. However, a magma from which the mineralizing magmatic uids are derived
must have present, albeit uid exsolution typically occurred N34 km
below the surface at the time of hydrothermal activity.
Signicant erosion during hydrothermal activity is documented for a
number of districts (e.g., Lagunas Norte, Pierina, El Indio belt, California
Vetas Mining District) and mineralization ages generally become younger upstream in both, the El Indio belt and the California Vetas Mining
District. Fluid boiling and mixing with meteoric water are enhanced
near topographic breaks such as the heads of incising valleys or backscarps of pediments, ultimately stimulating mineralization in those
locations.
Acknowledgments
This paper reviews and summarizes many years of work on Andean
epithermal systems, much of it carried out at Queen's University. The
authors would like to express their special thanks to Barrick Gold
Corp. and former chief geologist Jay Hodgson for the continued support
and funding of TB's, AM's and AR's PhD theses at Queen's University.
Barrick also funded projects at MDRU and Universidad Catlica del
Norte, Chile in which the senior author continues to be involved. Without Barrick's support, our understanding of Andean high-suldation
epithermal deposits would be far less advanced.
We also acknowledge the contributions and student support from
NSERC in the form of grants to AHC and to Kurt Kyser, as well as from
many other companies who supported research at Queen's University
and MDRU, including (but not limited to) IamGold, Ventana Gold, Eco
Oro minerals and Kinross.
Sara Jenkins is acknowledged for help with the gures and we thank
the OGR editors Franco Piranjo and Tim Horscroft for the invitation of
this review article. Comments provided by reviewers Stuart Simmons
and Dick Tosdal helped improve clarity of the paper.
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Ore Geology Reviews 65 (2015) 327364

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Ore Geology Reviews

Physiographic and tectonic settings of high-suldation epithermal

T. Bissig et al. / Ore Geology Reviews 65 (2015) 327364

discusses the inuence these factors can have on both mineralizing

T. Bissig et al. / Ore Geology Reviews 65 (2015) 327364

For this paper we use the widely applied classication scheme of

3. Distribution of high-suldation deposits in the Andes

T. Bissig et al. / Ore Geology Reviews 65 (2015) 327364

only known to have occurred between 9.5 and 5 Ma (Bissig et al.,

T. Bissig et al. / Ore Geology Reviews 65 (2015) 327364

4.1. The Tambo deposit

4.2. El Indio deposit

Hydrothermal breccia hosted AuAg

Late Oligocene Tilito

Bissig et al. (2002a,

Largely vein hosted Au (Cu, Ag)

Late Oligocene Tilito

No igneous rocks age equivalent to

29.74 69.97 42003700

29.36 69.95 43003900

29.32 70.01 48504550

29.00 67.78 47504350

26.81 69.27 41503800

26.49 69.53 39503700

Mineralization is associated with

Cerro de las Trtolas

Volcano sedimentary host rocks

Phreatomagmatic breccias, pre and

Charchaie et al. (2007);

Bissig et al. (2002a,

Cecioni and Dick (1992);

Marsh et al. (1997)

T. Bissig et al. / Ore Geology Reviews 65 (2015) 327364

Bissig et al. (2002a,

Choquelimpie 18.49 69.39 48604700

6.6 Ma?? (K/Ar,

16.63 70.02 49504750

16.57 70.19 52004900

12.95 74.95 45004000

10.78 76.27 44504850

Vein hosted mineralization of

Andesite lava ows and

Volcanic host rocks pre-date

Puig et al. (1988);

Late Miocene andesite lavas

Groepper et al. (1991)

Miocene (97 Ma) felsic

Barreda et al. (2004);

Intrusions and domes of

Mineralization is spatially associated

Barreda et al. (2004);

10.1 Ma andesitic to dacitic

Voluminous extrusive domes of

Deen et al. (1994);

Eocene limestone and marls

Mineralization is spatially associated

Bendezu et al. (2008);

Intermediate volcanic rock

Subvolcanic to extrusive dome

Rossell et al. (2006);

T. Bissig et al. / Ore Geology Reviews 65 (2015) 327364

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