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Mineralium Deposita: R. H. Sillitoe
Mineralium Deposita: R. H. Sillitoe
Porphyry copper deposits carrying more than 0.4 gin/ton gold are briefly described
from northwest Argentina, northwest Pakistan, the Intermontane belt of British
Columbia, the Philippines, Sulawesi, Papua New Guinea, Sabah and Puerto Rico.
Gold is normally present in potassium silicate alteration, which commonly carries
an unusually high magnetite content. High gold content is not directly related to geo-
tectonic setting, composition of the host intrusive, nature of the wall rocks, age of
mineralization, erosion level, size of the ore body., or the presence or absence of
sericitic alteration. Conditions conducive to a high gold content are likely to have
developed in porphyry copper systems at or near to their present sites in the crust
rather than at deeper levels during magma generation and ascent.
0026-4598/79/0014/0161/$02.80
162 R.H. Sillitoe
denum is omitted (Fig. I). Kesler's gold- defined as those containing +0.4 gin/ton
rich category was made up mainly of gold, irrespective of whether or not they
porphyry copper deposits with low total are molybdenum-bearing. In fact, of the
gold contents and minor or no molybden- deposits considered, only Saindak and
um, although a few, such as Panguna, Bajo de La Alumbrera, with molybdenum
Bougainville Island, were substantially present in peripheral annuli, and Ok Tedi,
richer in gold. Here attention is con- Papua New Guinea, are reported to pos-
fined to recently documented gold-rich sess significant molybdenum values
porphyry copper deposits, arbitrarily (more than about 30 ppm). Gold-rich
contact-metasomatic deposits in cal-
careous rocks adjoining weakly mineral-
I. BAJODE LA ALUMBRERA, Argentina. ized stocks, as for example at Ertsberg,
2. SAINDAK{South Body), PQkiston. Irian Jaya, and Battle Mountain, Nevada,
3. CARIBOO-BELL, B.C. IO. MOUNTAINMINES,Phifippines
4. AFTON,B.C. 11. BONENG, ,,
U.S.A., are excluded from consideration
5. GALORECREEK,B.C. 12. AMACAN, " although they are sometimes assigned to
6. FISH LAKE, B.C. 13. MAMUT, Sabah the porphyry copper category.
7. SANTOTOMASIf, Philippines t4. PANGUNA,Bou(Jo(nvillels.
8. DIZON, 15. CABANG KIRI, Sulgwes(
9. MARIAN, - 16. OK TEOI, PQpua-NewGuinea
estimate of tonnage and grade, but re- prospect is somewhat similar to Mamut,
stricted volumes of rock are believed to with a copper-bearing biotite-chlorite
possess hypogene values of about 0.6 % shell enclosing a low-grade core char-
Cu and 0.7 gin/ton Au. The relation, if acterized by amphibole and magnetite,
any, between the distribution of magne- the latter present in quantities up to
tite and gold contents has not been re- i0 vol. % in veinlets with quartz and as
ported, although a close association of disseminations (Cox et al., 1975~ D.P.
gold and hypogene copper is apparent Cox, written comm., 1977). Although an
(Lowder and Dow, 1978). average gold grade for the Tanama de-
posit is not available, twelve drill-core
_Mamut, Sabah: Malaysia samples of magnetite-rich rock assay-
ing more than 0.3% Cu possess a mean
T h e M a m u t deposit is centred on an iso- gold content of 0.57 gin/ton, nearly
lated adamellite porphyry stock carry- twice that of the feldspar-destructive
ing large K-feldspar phenocrysts. It is altered rock, and available data confirm
late M i o c e n e - early Plioeene in age, that the highest gold values are associat-
assays 0.43% Cu and 0.63 gin/ton Au ed with the magnetite-rich, pyrite-poor
(K. Wakita, pers. comm., 1977), and oc- material (D.P. Cox, written comm., 1977).
cupies an island-arc setting. Most of
the ore occurs in an inclined and invert-
ed jar-shaped shell of quartz-biotite al- SYNTHES~
teration, with a central, low-grade core
being characterized by hydrothermal The above descriptions of gold-rich por-
tremolite and actinolite (Kosaka and Wa- phyry copper deposits highlight features
kita, 1975, 1978). Detailed information common to the deposits considered and
presented by Kosaka and Wakita (1975) emphasize a number of local and regional
demonstrates a close coincidence be- parameters, which, because they are
tween the distributions of chalcopyrite not consistent for all the gold-rich de-
and native gold in the ore shell, and vin- posits, are apparently not prerequisites
dicates the earlier conclusions of Kirk for their generation. Some of these par-
(1967). The chalcopyrite, accompanied ameters are summarized in Table I.
by pyrite and pyrrhotite, is largely dis-
seminated in a quartz stockwork and in Features characteristic of gold-rich
the widespread, transparent, fine-grain- deposits
ed quartz which replaces adamellite por-
phyry and siltstone and serpentinized The high gold values are mainly present
peridotite wall rocks between the quartz in feldspar-stable alteration, common-
veinlets. The sulphides are accompanied ly assignable to the potassium silicate
by an indeterminate quantity of very type. Biotite and, normally in subordi-
fine-grained magnetite, in places inter- nate amounts, K-feldspar are the char-
grown with actinolite. acteristic alteration minerals, although
an albite-sericite assemblage occurs
at Cabang Kiri and propylitic minerals
Tanama, Puerto Rico
accompany ore in the Iniermontane zone
At Tanama, porphyry copper-type min- deposits. Gold, although in lesser
eralization is associated with three amounts, also accompanies advanced
quartz diorite porphyry stocks of Eocene argillic alteration at Cabang Kiri, al-
age. They occur in an inactive island though it could be inherited from pre-
arc. Sericitic alteration largely overlies existing albite-sericite alteration. Gold
feldspar-stable assemblages in which is closely associated with chalcopyrite
quartz, chlorite, biotite, amphibole, (_+bornite) mineralization. For those de-
epidote, alkali feldspar, magnetite, posits from which appropriate information
chalcopyrite and bornite are dominant is available, gold is present, at least
(Cox et al., 1975). The North Tanama partly, in the native state and, in a crude
168 R.H. Sillitoe
as well -
B a j o de l a continental late dacite shoshonitic andesitic developed 200
Alumhrera margin Miocene porphyry affinity volcanics halo
late
Intermontane island arc diorite to shoshonitie andesitic absent 25 - 125
Triassic -
Zone~ B.C. syenite volcanics
early
Jurassic
Lake, continental U p p e r
quartz greywacke,
Fish cale - as halo several I0~
diorite shale,
B.C. margin Cretaceous alkaline
porphyry pyroelastics
diorite to
grano -
Panguna island arc Pliocene
diorite
calc - andesitic as central 900
alkaline volcanics patch
porphyry
Philippines andesitic
(except island a r c probably
quartz volcanics
calc - present 12- 210
Marian) Miocene
diorite + volcano-
porphyry
alkaline locally
clastics
late
Miocene - siltstone,
adamellite calc - serpentinized
Mamut island arc early as cap 180
porphyry alkaline peridotite
Pliocene
quartz
talc - andesitic
Tanama island arc Eocene diorite as cap 140
alkaline volcanics
porphyry
quartz andesitie
Cabang island late calc - )resent at least
diorite + rhyolitic
Kiri arc Miocene alkaline sow, ral lO's
porphyry volcanies
sense, in quantities proportional to the gold values than the associated potas-
copper grade. No direct relationship be- sium silicate alteration. T h e gold-rich
tween gold and pyrite exists, and in deposits tend to be poor in m o l y b d e n u m
some of the gold-rich ore zones pyrite but are far f r o m being devoid of it, es-
is uncommon. Where present, sericitic pecially at Saindak, Bajo de L a A l u m b r e -
alteration carries substantially lower ra and O k Tedi.
Gold-Rich Porphyry Copper Deposits 169
The independence of intrusive com- poor east body at Saindak. This conclusion
position and gold content is further em- accords with that of Titley (1978), who
phasized by observations at Saindak, stated that the metal contents of porphyry
where the south and east bodies, both copper deposits in the west and south-
hosted by identical tonalite porphyry west Pacific are unrelated to wallrock
stocks, contain widely different gold type.
contents.
Erosion level:
Occurrence of sericitic alteration:
Although the gold in gold-rich porphyry Although it is inherently difficult to com-
copper deposits is commonly present in pare erosion level between different por-
a centrally located zone of feldspar- phyry copper districts or provinces, it
stable alteration, it does not appear to seems reasonable to assume that close-
be influenced by whether or not an en- ly spaced, contemporaneous deposits
veloping sericitic zone is developed. No possess approximately the same level.
defineable sericitic zone is present at Therefore differences in the level of
Santo Tomas II, Boneng, Marian, Ok erosion of deposits cannot be responsible
Tedi and the Intermontane zone deposits, for the widely different gold contents of
whereas a well-developed sericitic halo the south and east bodies at Saindak, as
is present at Bajo de La Alumbrera, a little as i00 m apart, or the Lobo and
sericitic core at Panguna, and sericitic Boneng deposits~ only 1.5 km apart.
caps at Marnut and Tanama. Therefore These observations cast serious doubt
absence of sericitic alteration (Hollister, on the general applicability of Titleyls
1975) is not a requirement for a high (1978) suggestion that the gold contents
gold content. of deposits in the west and southwest
Pacific are dependent on the erosion
Size of deposit: level exhibited by porphyry systems
vertically zoned with respect to hypo-
This parameter is clearly unrelated to gene gold.
gold content since gold-rich deposits,
as defined herein, range from 5 million
to 900 million tons (Fig. i), roughly the
extremes for all porphyry copper de-
posits. SPECULATIONS
Available evidence seems adequate to
Composition of wall rocks:
eliminate the seven parameters listed
Andesitic volcanic rocks commonly com- above as fundamental controls for the
prise the wall rocks for gold-rich de- development of gold-rich porphyry cop-
posits (Bajo de La Alumbrera, the Inter- per deposits. However, the mechan-
montane zone, the Philippines), as they ism(s) for gold enrichment is not yet
do for all porphyry copper deposits, but clear, although the fact that many known
other rock types also occur: Rhyolites gold-rich deposits are unusually rich in
are present at Cabang Kiri; siltstones magnetite might be taken to suggest that
at Saindak and Mamut, accompanied at the physicochemical conditions conducive
the latter deposit by serpentinized peri- to deposition of above-average amounts
dotite; siltstone, sandstone and limestone of this mineral under feldspar-stable
at Ok Tedi, greywacke and shale at Fish conditions also favour the introduction
Lake; and an earlier monzonite pluton and precipitation of large quantities of
at Marian. Therefore wall-rock compo- gold. These conditions would include an
sition is eliminated as a control of gold abnormally high fO~/fS~ ratio.
content, a point further emphasized by
the exactly similar siltstone wall rocks The high fluid temperatures and sal-
around the gold-rich south body and gold- inities indicated for gold-rich potassium
Gold-Rich Porphyry Copper Deposits 171
argillie, were identified in highly weath- BarrD.A., Fox, P.E. Northcote, K.E.,
ered outcrop but no firm information on Preto, V. A. : The alkaline suite por-
their relation to gold mineralization or phyry deposits - A summary. In:
on magnetite contents is yet available. Porphyry Deposits of the Canadian
Cordillera. Sutherland Brown,A. (ed.).
Acknowledgements. The writer's work at Canadian Inst. Mining Metall. Spec.
Bajo de La Alumbrera was part of Plan Vol. 15, 359-367 (1976)
NOA- 1 Geol6gico-Minero of Argentina, Baumer, A., Fraser, R. B. : Panguna
and at Saindak was part of an exploration porphyry copper deposit Bougain-
programme carried out with the assis- ville. In: Econ. Geol. of Australia
tance of the United Nations by Resource and Papua New Guinea. i. Metals,
Development Corporation of Pakistan; C. L. Knight Ed. Australasian Inst.
personnel of these organizations, es- Mining Metall. Monogr. Ser. 5 855-
pecially O. Gonz~tlez and S. N. Khan re- 866 (1975)
spectively, are thanked for their cooper- Carr, J.M. ReedA.J.: Afton: a super-
ation. Gold Fields Asia Ltd., Benguet gene copper deposit. In: Porphyry
Consolidated Ltd., Philex Mining, Vul- Deposits of the Canadian Cordillera.
can Industrial and Mineral Exploration Sutherland Brown, A. (ed.). Canadian
Corp., Western Minolco Corp., and Inst. Mining Metall. Spec. Vol. 15,
Overseas Mineral Resources Develop- 376-387 (1976)
ment Sabah Bhd., and their personnel, Chou, I. -M., Eugster H. P. : Solu[~ihty
are thanked for assistance and hospitality; of magnetite in supercritical chloride
the organizational support of R. A. Shakes- solutions. Am.J. Sci. 277, 1296-1314
by and J. P. McKibben in the Philippines (1977)
was particularly valuable. Reviews of Cox~ D. P., Learned, R. E. : Geochemical
the original manuscript by D. P. Cox and expression of porphyry copper de-
R. W. Henley and Cox's provision of un- posits in Puerto Rico (abst.). Mining
published data for Tanama resulted in Eng. 2_9, n o . l , 80 (1977)
improvements and are gratefully acknow- Cox, D. P . , W i g g i n s , L. B . , O ' N e i l , J. R. :
ledged. Amphibole-quartz-magnetite assem-
b l a g e s in h y d r o t h e r m a l a l t e r a t i o n
z o n e s in the T a n a m a p o r p h y r y c o p p e r
d e p o s i t , P u e r t o Rico. Geol. Soc.
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Gold-Rich Porphyry Copper Deposits "173