EconomicGeology

Vol. 86, 1991, pp. 1317-1345

Geologic,Structural,andFluid InclusionStudiesof E1Bronce

EpithermalVein System,Petorca,CentralChile
FRANCISCO CAMUS,
Caminodel Valle Alto 1327, Los Dominicos,Las Condes,Santiago,Chile

RICARDO BORIC,
CompaniaMineraDisputadade Las Condes,Pedrode Valdivia291, Santiago,Chile

MILKA ALEXANDRA SKEWES,

Casilla 970, Correo Central, Santiago,Chile

JUANCARLOSCASTELLI,
EmpresaNacionalde Petroleo-Magallanes,
loseNogueira1101,PuntaArenas,Chile

ENRIQUE REICHHARD, AND ANDRESMESTRE

CompaniaMineraEl Bronce,Carmencita240, Santiago,Chile

Abstract

The E1Bronceepithermalveinsystem,locatedin the westernfoothillsof the AndeanCor-

dillera of centralChile, contains25 metrictonsof gold, 105 metric tonsof silver,and 16,000
metrictonsof copper.The veinsare hostedby volcanicrocksof the Cerro Morado(Early
Cretaceous)andLasChilcas(Earlyto Late Cretaceous) Formationswhichconsistchieflyof
breccias,tuffs,and lavasof andesiticcomposition.The subcircularMorro Hediondocaldera,
with a diameterof 14 to 16 km and of Late Cretaceousage,is locatedimmediatelynorth of
the district. Dacitic tuffs and andesitic flows and breccias associated with the caldera are
assigned to the Lo Valle Formationon the basisof K-Ar agesof 83 to 80 Ma.
Two groupsof Early to Late Cretaceousintrusiverocks,occupyingnorth-trendingbelts,
are recognizedin the area.The older,a quartzmonzodioritebodywestof Petorca,intruded
the Cerro MoradoFormation.The youngercomprisesdioriticto granodioriticstocks,dikes,
andsillsandincludesthe PetorcaPorphyry(86 _ 3 Ma) andthe dioritic-tonaliticring dike.
The latter definesthe marginof the Morro Hediondocaldera(80-79 Ma). Large zonesof
hydrothermal silicification
andargillicalterationareassociated
withthe twogroupsof intrusive
rocks.
The Morro Hediondo caldera is the mostprominent geologicfeature in the area. Faults
andfracturesrelatedto the calderaprovidedstructuralcontrolsfor the mineralization.Several
northeast-to northwest-trendingfaults are either radial or concentricwith respectto the
caldera.The mostoutstanding structuresarethe Quebradade CastroandE] Broneestructural
systems.
The E] Broneestructuralsystem,containingmostof the minera]izationin the district,consists
of extensionalfaults,dikes,andveinsexposedwithina 3-km-wideanda 17-km-long,northeast-
trendingzone delimitedby the north-northwest-south-southeast Quebradade Castroand
Petorca-E1Durazno dextral strike-slipfaults.
The relative movementof this fault pair was responsiblefor the structuralpattern at E1
Bronce,whichinvolveddevelopmentof a first-orderdilationaljog. Within thisjog, two major
groupsof veinsare recognized:the El Bronce-Guanaco-La Olla-SanLorenzogrouplocated
north of the E1BronceCreek fault and the Pedro de Valdivia-E1EspinoNorte group located
southof this structure.Bothgroupsof veinsare verticalto subverticaland strikenorthwest
to northeast.
Detailed studiesof the orebodieshave shownthat each ore shootis composedof several
lenseswhich containas many as four ore types and a dike: (1) hydrothermalbrecciaore
cemented,(2) massiveore, (3) stockworkzone,and (4) disseminated zone.Orebodiesmay
alsocontainbarren andesitcdikes.The contactsbetween the four ore types are generally
abruptbut arelocallygradational.The andesitcdikesgenerallydisplaysharp,locallysheared
contacts.

0361-0128/91/1272/1317-1953.00 1317
 CAMUS ET AL.

Ore mineralsare dominatedby coarsecrystallinepyrite, sphalerite,chalcopyrite, galena,

tetrahedrite-tennantite, and minorbornitc.Ganguemineralsconsistof quartz,carbonates,
barite,andchlorite.Fiveparagenetic stages arerecognized:(1) quartz-pyrite-gold,
(2) quartz-
pyrite-sphalerite-chalcopyrite-gold,
(3) tetrahedrite-tennantite-galena-silver,
(4) barite, and
(5) carbonates-chlorite-sphalerite.
Hydrothermalalteration,with the formationof sericite,
kaolinitc,chlorite, and carbonates,mainly affectedthe hostrocksof the stockworkand dis-
seminatedore types.Carbonatesare the principalalterationmineralsin the andesitcdikes.
Fluid inclusionsassociatedtemporally with the preciousmetal mineralizationshow ho-
mogenizationtemperaturesthat range from 235 ø to 344øC and salinitiesfrom 4 to 10 wt
percentNaC1equiv.Goldmineralization underliesa shallowzoneof boilingof thehydrothermal
fluids.The fluid inclusiondata suggestthat the preciousmetal zone wasgenerated400 to
1,200 m beneaththe palcosurface.
Temperatureandsalinitytend to decreasein the shallowlevelsof the veins.The calculated
verticalvariationsin enthalpyof the hydrothermalfluidssuggest thata fluidmixingmechanism
wasresponsible for ore deposition.Hot, relativelysaline,metal-richfluidsascended
andmixed
with coolermeteoricfluidsto causeprecipitationof the iron, copper,and zinc sulfides,and
subsequently
thegold.Preliminary
sulfurisotope
studies
(/•4S;0.5-2.3%0)suggest
a magmatic
source for the sulfur in sulfides at E1 Bronce.

Introduction Spaniardsduring the 16th to early 19th century.

Scopeof work During the late 19th century, the E1 Bronce,E1 Es-
pino,andPedrode Valdiviaminesof the districtwere
THIS paper presentsthe resultsand interpretations in production.In 1939, A. Callejasfoundedthe Com-
of geologic,mineralogic,petrographic, structural,
and paniaMineraE1BroncedePetorca,andapproximately
fluid inclusionstudiesundertakensince 1985 by 500,000 metrictonsof ore averaging11 g/metricton
CompaniaMineraE1Broncein the E1Broncemining Au were minedfromthesethreeminesthrough1955,
districtandsurroundings.Thesestudieswere oriented when miningwas discontinuedbecauseof low gold
towardunderstanding the geologicenvironmentand prices. The companyrecommencedoperationsin
processes involvedin the depositgenesisin orderto 1980, and up to 1989 about 2.5 million metric tons
generategeologicand geneticmodelsfor usein ex- of ore averaging4.8 g/metricton Au, 20 g/metricton
plorationfor additionalore in the district. Ag, and0.30 percentCu hadbeenextractedfromthe
Location new RosarioIII ore shoot.The total goldproduction
fromthe districtis estimatedto be approximately3.3
The E1 Broncemining district is located 150 km million metric tons(630,000 oz). Presentmine pro-
northof Santiago(Fig. 1) and8 km northof the small ductionandplant capacityat E1Bronceis 1,200 met-
townofPetorca.The approximate geographic location ric tonsper day.
is 32011' Slat and 70056' W long. Altitude varies
between 600 and 2,700 m above sea level. RegionalGeology
The vein orebodies in the district are located on
The E1 Bronce district is located in the western
the steepflanksof the E1BronceValley and extend foothills of the Andean Cordillera in an area where
eastwardtowardthe high peaksof the area.
outcroppingrocks are volcanicsand intrusionsof
Previous studies Cretaceousage (Fig. 2). The numerouspolymetallic
There are no detailed,publishedgeologicreports (Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, andZn), epithermalveinsin the dis-
coveringthe E1Broncedistrict.Recently,Camuset trict were emplacedwithin a north- to N 20 oE-strik-
al. (1986) and Skewesand Camus(1988) described ing structuralsystemcuttingvolcanicrocksof Early
specificaspectsof the districtgeology.Unpublished Cretaceousage. The structuralsystemextendsfrom
but readily availabledocumentationincludesRuiz Petorca in the south to Morro Hediondo hill, 17 km
(1945) on the geologyof the E1Broncedistrictwith farthernorth(Fig. 2). The epithermalveinsarerelated
emphasis onthe RosarioII ore shoot,Baranovsky and geneticallyto a Late Cretaceous(86-79 Ma) magmatic
Fresno(1940) on the geologyof the Pedrode Valdivia event characterizedby emplacementof subvolcanic
mine,andCamus(1982) summarizing the then-avail- intrusions,developmentof a collapsecaldera,andex-
able geologicknowledgeof the E1BronceandPedro tensivehydrothermalalteration.
de Valdiviadeposits. Stratigraphy
History and production Dacitic to andesitic volcanic and volcaniclastic
Accordingto Vicuna-Mackena(1881), veinsin the rocksof Early to Late Cretaceousage,whichassigned
E1Broncedistrictwereworkedsurficiallyfor goldby to the Cerro Morado, Las Chilcas, and Lo Valle For-
local Indiansin precolonialtimesand then by the mations,are exposedin the E1 Bronce district and
 EL BRONCEEPITHERMALVEIN SYSTEM,CENTRALCHILE 1319

FIG. l. Location of the E1 Bronce district, central Chile.

surroundingareas(Fig. 2). The lithology, thickness, ationandthe presenceof calcite.The easternbelt

attitude, and age relationsof thesethree formations consists
of a sequenceof andesiticrocksthat uncon-
are summarized in Table 1. Their distinction can be formablyoverliethe northwestern
portionof the
rather difficult because of the absence of marker ho- Morro Hediondo caldera.
rizons and tectonic disruption. Intrusive rocks
The El Broncedistrictis hostedby the Cerro Mo-
radoFormation,whichstrikesnortherlyandunderlies Several plutons of intermediate compositionin-
conformably,and in part interfingerswith, the Las trudedthe Cretaceousvolcanicsequences of the area
ChilcasFormationimmediatelynorth of the district. (Fig.2). Theplutonsareeitherpartofthebatholithic
The Las ChilcasFormation, which cropsout east as Illapelsuperunit
ofEarlyto LateCretaceousage(86-
134 Ma; K-Ar) or stocksanddikesof the SanLorenzo
well as north of the district, underlies the Lo Valle
Formation.Units of this latter formationcrop out as superunit of LateCretaceous age(86-79 Ma;K-Ar).
two compositionallydifferent north-trendingbelts Bothintrusivephaseswere definedanddatednorth
northeast of the district. The rocks of the western of the districtby Rivanoet al. (1985).
belt constitutepart of the Morro Hediondocaldera Quartzmonzodiorite intrusions of the Illapel su-
complex(Boric, 1986): a sequenceof interfingered perunitcropoutwest,south,andup to 100 kmnorth
lava flows, andesiticvolcanic breccias, and dacitic la- of the district and cut the Cerro Morado Formation
pilli tuffs characterizedby weak chlorite-clayalter- (Fig. 2). The intrusiverocksare light colored,pha-
1320 CAMUS ET AL.

A,•X•A A A•
J v •o oo o o o EXPLANATION
AI A

/ oocO o oo
Unconsolidated debris

A A A

A A A
A•--• fAndesitic
lows/br ec cia

• • Andes•te
tuffs

_• Oacite
porphyry
V

V
V
V

(T•,•
Andesire/porphyry

• Hydrothermal
olfero•ion zone

Contact

Vein
Fault
Strike and dip of
bedding
o
o o ] Cu mine
o

o (• Au-Ag-Cu-Pb-Zn
mine
o
o "' ,2•'• K-Ar age

o o Do• o
AAAAA•__
o
o o
o
o
o o
A A

oo\ ooøoo o o
A A A A A

A A \ o

A A A A A A• A A A o

o 5km
o
i i

A A A A A A A• A A A A
X X A A A A
X X X X
X X X A A A ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

FIG. 2. Regionalgeologicmapof the E1Bronceminingdistrictshowingstructure,]ithology,alteration

zones,and mines.Also shownare the locationsof samplesdatedby the K-Ar method.
 EL BRONCE EPITHERMAL VEIN SYSTEM, CENTRAL CHILE 1321

TABLE 1. GeologicCharacteristics
of the Cerro Morado,Las Chilcas,andLo Valle Formations

Formation Lithology Attitude Thickness Age

Cerro Morado Lavas and andesitic breccias,
intercalations of tuffs and
tuffaceous sandstones;
gray to purple and
greenishcolored rocks
Las Chilcas Conglomerate,tuffs, lavas,
andesitic breccias; brown
to reddish colored
Lo Valle West belt: Lavas, andesitic
volcanic breccias; dacitic
lapilli tuffs (Morro
Hediondo volcanic
center); light brown to
gray colored
East belt: Porphyritic
andesRes and andesitic
breccias;gray to greenish
colored
N-S 10ø-30 ø E >1,000 m Early Cretaceous;intrudedby Petorca
Porphyry (K-Ar: 86 +_3 Ma) and by
N-S 10ø-30 ø E quartz monzodiorite(109-96 Ma);
overlies post-NeocomianVeta
Negra Formation
N-S 10ø-30 ø E >12,000 m Early to Late Cretaceous;intruded by
dikes of 82 to 79 Ma; underlies
lavasof Lo Valle Formation (82-80
Ma)
? >1,000 m Late Cretaceous;K-Ar dating of tuffs
and andesites; 89 to 79 Ma
N-S 10ø-30 ø E >700 m Late Cretaceous;67 to 60 Ma plutons
intrude this formation to N and S

neritic, and mediumgrainedand are affectedby in- annuluswith a diameterof 14 to 16 km. The ring dike
cipient alterationto chlorite, epidote, clays,and/or definesthe externalmarginof the Morro Hediondo
hematite. Where these intrusive rocks are in contact caldera,dips vertically, and averages10 to 20 m in
with volcanic rocks of the Cerro Morado Formation, width. However, widths of over 100 m are observed
the latter displaysthe effectsof contact metamor- locally(Fig. 2). The ring dike hasa daciticto quartz
phism. monzodioritic composition,a porphyritictexture,and
The dioritic (andesitic)to granodioritic(dacitic) is very weakly altered. The ring dike yielded K-Ar
stocksand dikesof the SanLorenzosuperunitcrop agesof 80 ___ 3 and 79 ___3 Ma (Camuset al., 1986).
out in the E1 Bronce district and also to the east and The Dulcineacopperbrecciaorebody,emplacedad-
up to 100 km farther north. These rocksintrude the jacentto the ring dike nearits southeastern end (Fig.
volcanicsof the Cerro Morado, Las Chilcas, and Lo 2), is thoughtto be geneticallyrelatedto it.
Valle Formationsand are light colored,porphyritic, Structure
andalteredweaklyto chlorite,epidote,clays,sericite,
prehnite, and/or calcite. The outcrop areas of the Numerous structures occur in the E1 Bronce area,
stocks are less than 7 km 2. the most outstandingof which are the northwest-
The goldveinsof the E1Broncedistrictandother strikingQuebradadeCastrosystem,thenorth-striking
gold, silver,and/or copperveinswithin the general E1Broncesystem,and the Morro Hediondocaldera
area shownin Figure 2 were emplacedaroundand (Camuset al., 1986; Fig. 3).
locallywithinintrusions of the SanLorenzosuperunit. The Quebradade Castro structuralsystemcom-
Vein mineralizationcanthereforebe relatedgeneti- prisesa regionallineament,which strikesN 22 ø W,
callyto emplacementof specificintrusionsof the San and extends between latitudes 31 ø and 33 ø S. It is
Lorenzounit, includingthe PetorcaPorphyryandthe located3 km eastof E1Bronceasa seriesof subparallel
ring dike. dextralwrenchfaultsthat canbe followedalongstrike
The PetorcaPorphyry(86-79 ___ 3 Ma) cropsout for about 27 km. The faults intersect the Cerro Mor-
on the easternmarginsof the E1Broncedistrict(Fig. adoFormationandplacethisformationin contactlo-
2), where it intrudes the Cerro Morado Formation, callywith the LasChilcasF9rmation(Fig. 2), thereby
producinga narrow metamorphichalo. The south- suggesting a relativedownthrowof the easternblock.
ernmostoutcropsof the porphyryappearto constitute A few faults in this systemhost Au, Ag, and/or Cu
a stockwhereasthe northernmostoutcropsare sill- vein-type mineralization.
like. Bothintrusivebodiesare likely to be connected The E1 Broncestructuralsystemhoststhe main
at depth. The porphyry is porphyritic,tonalitic to veins in the district and extends for almost 18 km
granodioriticin composition,and affectedby weak (Fig. 2). The systemcomprisesa seriesof tensional
alteration and numerous carbonate veins and veinlets. fractures,dikes,andveinsdelimitedby the Quebrada
The ring dike cropsout in the north and eastof de Castro and the Petorca-E1 Durazno dextral wrench
the area (Fig. 2) and formsa discontinuous partial faults(Fig. 3).
1322 CAMUS ET AL.

E=$15.000
I
E=$19.000 The Morro Hediondocalderaanditsassociated ring
dike, which is believed to follow a fault along the

ix•
Morro
Hediondo
calderamargin(Camuset al., 1986), isassociated with
the followingfeatures:(1) a sequenceof over 1,000
m ofdaciticpyroclastic flows(86 _ 3 Ma; K-Ar)within
- N=6.446.000
the annular structure which is interpreted as an in-
ca•l
dera _ tracaldera accumulation;(2) numerousporphyritic
/ intrusivebodieswithin andbeyondthe ring structure,
ß

which may representsubvolcanic activityrelated to

the postcollapse periodof the caldera;(3) a possible
stratovolcano on the northernflankof the ring dike--
i /•'•. Ring
dike apparentlya postcollapse volcanicsequencewhichis
composed of andesitcflows(82-80 _ 3 Ma; K-Ar) and
intercalatedpyroclastichorizons;(4) polymetallic
•'/
•,,'San •
Lorenzo epithermal depositsand hydrothermalalteration
zones(82-79 _+3 Ma; K-Ar); (5) changesin compo-
sitionandstructuralattitudeof the volcanicsequence
in proximityto the ring dike; (6) megabreccia com-
posedof blocksof volcanicrocksalongthe inner side
of the ring dike; and (7) minor structures,including
' faults,veins,anddikes(Fig. 2), whichare radialand
concentricwith respectto the ring dike.
K-At dating
Ten samplesfor K-Ar datingwere collectedfrom
-43
unweatheredoutcrops of thevolcanicunitsthatdefine
the caldera,intrusiverocks,alterationzones,andhy-
El Espino drothermalalterationassociated directly with the E1
Bronceepithermalsystem.
The K-Ar datingwasperformedat the ServicioNa-
cionalde Geologiay Mineria'slaboratoryin Santiago,
Ii Chile. Whole-rocksamplesandplagioclase, sericite,
biotite,andamphibole
separates
wereanalyzed.
Table
2 summarizesthe results, some of which were pre-
sentedby Camuset al. (1986).
Two groupsof ages,interpretedascorresponding
to two mainevents,are recognizable.The olderevent
(109 _+4 Ma) isrelatedto the formationof alteration
zonesassociated with the Illapel superunitmagmatic
eventof Early to Late Cretaceousage,probablyin
/
associationwith volcaniccenters.A secondgroupof
<• • otdn
de
Oro Late Cretaceous(86-79 Ma) agesdefinesa younger
event which resulted in the Morro Hediondo caldera
and the epithermalmineralization.The age (79 _+3
KEY
Ma) obtainedfor a sericitesample(SD-316) taken
from altered volcanicandesitchostingone of the E1

-.;6.43o.
ooo•// .• Bronceore shootsis the sameasthe agesof the ring
dike,therebysuggesting a closerelationship
between

.• • FAULT
0
• MINE

2.•Om
gold mineralizationandpostcollapse
Metallogenicsetting
magmatism.

t I
i I I About 150 polymetallic,vein-type deposits,one
copper-bearingbrecciapipe (Dulcineamine), and
FIG. 3. Structuralmap showingdistributionof veinsand faults >30 hydrothermalalterationzonesarerecognizedin
in the E1Broncestructuralsystemand relationswith the Morro the E1Broncedistrictand surroundings, the mostim-
Hediondo caldera. portantof which are shownin Figure 2.
 EL BItONCE EPITHERMAL VEIN SYSTEM,CENTRAL CHILE 1323

TABLE 2. K-Ar Data for Volcanic and Intrusive Rocks and Alteration Zones in the E1 Bronce District

Sampleno. Coordinates Sampledescription K (%) Age (Ma)

RB-200 32ø02'2" S Basaltic andesitc from the Lo Valle Formation; 2.501 80 +__ 3
70ø53'3"W marginof the Morro Hediondocaldera;
whole rock
RB-203 32003'2"S Andesitcfrom the Lo Valle Formation;margin 1.728 82 +__3
70ø53'3" W of the Morro Hediondo caldera; whole rock
EB-600 32ø05'6" S Dacitic lapilli tuff; intracalderasequence;biotite 6.052 86 +__3
70ø52'0" W separate
RB-6 32ø14'2" S Granodiorite porphyry; PetorcaPorphyry; 2 km 0.984 86 +__3
70ø54'2"W from Petorca(Fig. 2); plagioclaseseparate
RB-149 32ø04'3"S Dacite porphyry;ring dike; whole rock 3.144 80 +__3
70055'6" W
RB-157 32ø06'4"S Monzodioriteporphyry;ring dike; plagioclase 2.352 79 +__3
70ø55'6" W separate
RB-502 32ø05'6"S Argillized rock; Morro Hediondoalterationzone 0.183 81 +__
14
70ø54'2"W (Fig. 2); whole rock
RB-126 32ø05'1" S Argillized tuff; Morro Hediondo alteration zone 0.416 82 +__9
70054'3" W (Fig. 2); whole rock
RB-91 32011'2" S Argillized and silicifiedlava flow; El Durazno 1.753 109 __+4
70ø59'2"W alterationzone (Fig. 2); whole rock
SD-316 32ø11'9" S Sericite; alteration envelope of the RosarioIII 6.577 79 +__3
70ø56'17" W ore shoot;drill hole sericite separate

The polymetallic deposits predominate in the convergeor divergeto form multiplecymoidloops

westernpart of the districtand the copperdeposits (e.g., Guanacoarea) or crossone other and conse-
are concentratedin the easternpart and within the quently undergodisplacementor truncation.Some
Morro Hediondo caldera. structurestrend east-northeast
(Espinomine area;Fig.
The hydrothermalalterationzonesare predomi- 3), and someminor west-northwestdiagonalexten-
nantlyof the argillictype andare presentin volcanic sionalstructuresmay alsobe recognized.
rocks,particularlynear intrusions,in the vicinity of Many of the faultsare normaland showvertical
majorfaults,and/or alongmore permeablehorizons. displacements of up to 250 m. The displacementshave
The economically mostimportantmetallicdeposits producedhorstsand grabens.There are alsodextral
in the area are the E1Bronce-Guanaco,Pedro de Val- and sinistralstrike-slipfaultsshowingdisplacements
divia, and E1 Espino-Botonde Oro epithermalvein of up to 50 m as demonstrated by horizontalslick-
systems(Fig. 3). ensides and dike offsets.
The faultsrelatedto the Quebradade Castrosystem
Geologyof the E1BronceEpithermalSystem displacedthe SanLorenzovein of the E1Broncesys-
Distributionand structuralcontrolof veins tem (Fig. 3). On the otherhand,the northernend of
the SanLorenzovein intersectsthe ring dike, giving
The E1 BroncestructuralsystemtrendsN 10ø E rise to a series of veins within the caldera in the Morro
and is exposedover an area 3 km wide and 17 km Hediondo area (Figs. 2 and 3).
long(Fig. 3). In thisstructuralsystem,the E1Bronce On the basis of the distribution of ore shoots,the
epithermalveinsystemcontainsmajorconcentrationsE1Broncesystemis subdividedinto four sectors:El
of preciousmetals.The principalcomponents of the Bronce,Guanaco,La Olla, and SanLorenzo. The best
E1Broncesystemare the E1Bronce-Guanaco-La Olla- known sectorsare the first two, whereas the last two
San Lorenzo and the Pedro de Valdivia-E1Espino are under explorationand consequentlyless well
Norte structures. Both structures are subvertical and known(Fig. 3). The four sectorsstrikenorthwardfor
north to N 10ø E striking.The E1Bronceveinsare a total of 7 km and consistof a complexset of tension
separatedfrom the Pedro de Valdivia veins to the fractures, dilational jogs, or cymoid loops, and
southby the N 45ø E strikingQuebradaE1 Bronce brancheswhichhavecontrolledthe emplacementof
fault. The main veins of the Pedro de Valdivia area a series of lenticular ore shoots and barren andesitc
are controlledby north- to N 10øW- and N 45o-60 ø
dikesof variablesizesand morphologies(Table 3).
E-striking premineralizationfaults.There are alsoaThe E1 Bronce sector consistsof a single,major
seriesofminorsubparallel
structuresstrikingbetween complexstructure,extendingfor 2 km, whichcontains
N 20ø W and N 30ø E and dipping45ø or more to three major ore shoots:RosarioI, II, and III. At its
either eastor west.Thesedifferentstructuresmay northernend, the structuresplitsinto a seriesof par-
1324 CAMUS ET AL.

TABLE 3. Ore Shoot Dimensions

the Central andMaria Isabelveins(Fig. 5), were dis-
placed downward.
Length Depth Thickness
•
Sector Ore shoot (m) (m) (m) Ore shootsand their morphology
E1Bronce Rosario I 250 150 1-3 The E1 Bronce and Guanaco sectors contain well-
Rosario II 250 280 1-5 differentiated ore shoots: three at E1 Bronce and six
Rosario III 550 400 1-20 at Guanaco(Table 3).
Guanaco Guanaco N 450 200 0.9-6.8
In the E1Bronce sector, in the three individual ore
Guanaco S 250 450 0.7-8.2
Paulino 90 220 0.4-4.8 shoots,the width hasbeen influencedby vein dupli-
Central 300 350 0.7-4.7 cationdue to postmineralization
faulting;the original
Del Medio 330 240 0.5-6.9 averagewidth is estimatedto be 6 to 8 m. At the
Maria Isabel 500 500 0.9-8.6
elevationof the Carmenlevel (1,090 m; Fig. 6), the
three ore shoots are interconnected, with Rosario I
Range:maximumandminimum the smallestandRosarioIII the largest(Table3). The
latter ore shoot is the best known in this sector, and
all three are shownin the longitudinalisopachsection
allel to subparallelveinsor extensionalfracturesthat of Figure 7a. Note that only originalthicknesses
have
extend500 to 600 m alongstrikeandencompass an been usedin the constructionof the isopachsection.
area 200 to 250 m wide (Figs. 4 and 5); this is the The Rosario I and II ore shoots are not as well known
Guanacosector and includes sixveins, the samenum- due to intense exploitationin the past, and partial
ber of ore shoots,and several barren dikes. The six reconstructionis basedon mapsand sectionstaken
veins are Guanaco Norte, Guanaco Sur, Paulino, Del from Ruiz (1945) and companyrecords.
Medio, Central,andMaria Isabel(Figs.4 and5). To- In the Guanacosector (Table 3; Figs. 4 and 5),
ward the northern limit of the Guanaco sector, the their morphologies are similarto thoseof the Rosario
veinsmergeto formthreemainstructures recognized ore shoots,but they are smallerin size and extend
onlyonthebasisof explorationdrill holes.Thesethree farther downdipthan alongstrike. Figures8a and 9a
main structuresconstitute the La Olla sector which, are longitudinalisopachsectionsof the Central and
in turn, toward the northern end of the systemhas Maria Isabel ore shoots. Note that the roots of both
developedinto what is knownasthe SanLorenzosec- ore shootsare poorly knownbelow the Rosariolevel
tor, wherethere is a singlemainstructureextending (1,232 m) due to lack of dataandthat both ore shoots
for 2.5 km and endingat the Morro Hediondoring plunge southwardat 50 ø to 55 ø
dike (Fig. 3). In the La Olla sector, no ore shoot has been found
The strikeof the structuralsystemin theE1Bronce to date, whereas the San Lorenzo sector shows the
sectorvariesbetweenN 10ø W and N 20ø E, pre- presenceof at least one ore shootwhich has been
dominantlythe latter, anddipsrangefrom70øto 85ø intersectedby explorationdrill holes.
E at Guanaco to 60 ø to 85 ø E elsewhere. At San Lo- The constructionof the longitudinalisopachsec-
renzo,the strikeis northerlyandthe dipsvary from tions(Figs.7a, 8a, and9a) isbasedalmostentirely on
vertical to 75 ø W at the northern end to vertical to diamond drill hole data. Ore shoot widths based on
60 ø W at the southernend, and approximately45ø channelsamplingwere not usedbecausetrue vein
W in the central part of the sector. widthsare rarely depictedin undergroundworkings.
In additionto the premineralizationor evenintra- In contrast,drill core data give more reliable infor-
mineralization displacements, postmineralization mation on the true widths of ore shoots.Moreover,
faultingalsooccurred.This wasvery important,es- the regulardrilling patternat E1Bronceis conducive
peciallyin the E1Broncesector,where postmineral- to accuratethicknesscontouring.Basedon the 1-m
ization movementcausedtranscurrentand gravity contour,the upper limit of the RosarioIII ore shoot,
faultingwhichduplicatedpartsof the orebodies.Net just abovethe Capotelevel (1,450-1,500 m), is reg-
verticaldisplacements of 50 to 100 m havebeenmea-
ular with few inflectionsor digitations(Fig. 7a). In
suredin partsof the RosarioIII ore shoot.The post-
contrast,its lower limit isvery irregularandpossesses
mineralizationfaults are characterizedby clayey severaldigitations.The southernlimit is alsoregular,
gouge,1 m wide, whichlocallyencloses vein andhost-
whereasthe northern limit is rather irregular and
rock fragments.The barren andesitcdikesintruded formslobesandwedgestoward the upper part of the
alongthe veinswere utilizedasdisplacement surfaces
shoot(Fig. 7a). The RosarioI and II ore shootsare
by thepostmineralization faultsandconsequently are
best known near their lower limits where they show
shearedor brecciatedin places.The principalpost- the samekind of digitationsas doesthe RosarioIII
mineralizationfault affectingthe Rosarioore shoots
ore shoot.The upperlimitsare poorlyknownbecause
extends northward and divides the Guanaco sector of a lack of informationfrom the old stopes.
into severalblocks.The easternblocks,containing A consistentrelationshipexistsbetween the con-
EL BRONCE EPITHERMAL VEIN SYSTEM, CENTRAL CHILE 1325
13 2 6 CAMUS ET AL.

I
 EL BRONCE EPITHERMAL VEIN SYSTEM,CENTRAL CHILE 1327

oø

o g o
1328 CAMUS ET AL.

• E=•IZ4OO

// •

d SECTION
38800--N
E=lZ500 E=•7.700
w

/
/

SECTION
3!

KEY

•]Vein ...• zone

Disseminated
• Andes
dike ire• Fault-[•[• Tuff 0I lOOm
I

FIG. 5. Vertical sections(markedin Fig. 4) showingdistributionof veinsandandesitedikesin the

E! Bronce and Guanaco sectors,[] Bronce district.

touredvein widths,the sinuosityof the structuresin Each ore shootis composedof a seriesof small,len-
which the orebodieswere emplaced,and the con- ticular bodies or lenses of various sizes. In the Rosario
toured analyticaldata (Figs. 7b and c, 8b, and 9b). III ore shoot,a total of 17 suchlensesmay be rec-
 I I I I I

- 2.000 m. GUANACO ORE SHOOTS

S GUANACO
NOR•
ELBRONCœ
ORESHOOTS •U•NACOSU•

-•MARIA
ISABE
___
% %.ooo ": /
FIG. 6. Longitudinalsectionshowinglocationand morphologyof the main ore shootsin the El
Broncesystem.Note that the three ore shootsare in different vertical planes,the Maria Isabel is east
of the Guanaco.

i i i i [ i i i i
N=37.200 N=37.600 N=38.OO0 N=39.400 N= 39.200

-1.500m
-1.•0Om KEY
• <•m
• t-3m
• 3-5m
• 5-8m
rmTm 8-1om
• > •Om
-900m

- 1.500m

-1.•00m

KEY
[--1 < I g/t Au
-1:lOOm
• • 'l--Sg/t Au
• 5-30g/tAu
IT[1TmlO- 2Og/t Au
- 900m • > 20g/t Au

-1.50Om

KEY
c
[•] <; a/tAg
• 2--5 g/tAg
• 5--15 g/tAg
ffrlTm 15-EOg/t Ag
I > EOa/t Aa

- 900m
I I I I I I I I I I I

FIC. 7. Longitudinal
sectionof El Broncesectorshowing
(a) originalthickness
isopach,
(b) gold
distribution,and (c) silver distribution.

1329
1330 CAMUS ET AL.

~=s•:ooo ~=s•.'•oo ~=s•:•oo ~=se.'soo N=•1000 N=Se'.•00 N=Se'.=00 N=Se;•00

1.700 m-

1.600 m -

KEY i) 'K•Om KEY

•.o---- (m) ß Drill hole •l.O•(g/t Au) .Drill hole

FIG. 8. Longitudinalsectionof the Central vein, Guanacosector,showing(a) thicknessisopachs,

and (b) gold distribution.

ognized.Figures7b andc, 8b, and9b andfieldob- lensesin eachore shoot,a statisticalanalysiswascon-

servations thateachindividuallensrepresents ducted for the Guanaco South and Maria Isabel ore-
suggest
a zone of extensionthat arosefrom strike and/or dip bodies,which were chosenbecauseno obviouspost-
changesforming second-orderdilationalfault jogs mineralizationfaulting occurred.Accordingto the
(i.e., <1 km wide; Sibson,1987) where high-grade results from Guanaco South, the distancesbetween
mineralization was concentrated.In contrast,the areas lensrangesvaryfrom 10 to 80 m, with the meanvalue
with reducedthicknesses representmore linear sec- between 40 and 50 m. At Maria Isabel, the distances
tions of the main structure where lesser amounts of rangefrom 10 to 50 m, with the meanvaluesin the
metal were deposited.For example,in the central 30- to 40-m interval(Fig. 10a,b). In general,the dis-
part of the RosarioIII ore shoot(Fig. 7), a zonelow tances between lenses fall in the 10- to 40-m interval.
in goldand silvercoincideswith the intervalwhere With regardto the longestlensdimensionin both ore
the structurepinchesandindicates a lowpermeability shoots,the smallesthorizontallength measuredwas
zone which did not allow goodfluid accessand ap- 10 m (in 50% of the cases)and the greatestlength
preciablemetaldeposition.Consequently, in a gen- attainsslightlyover 30 m (Fig. 10c, d).
eral sense,the vein width is a measureof the per- Eachore shootlensdisplayscombinations of four
meabilityof the fissure,andthe thickness trendsde- interrelatedore types:(1) hydrothermalbrecciaore,
pictedin the isopachsectionscanbe interpretedin (2) massiveore, (3) stockworkzone, and (4) dissem-
termsof patternsof hydrothermalflow. In order to inatedzone.Lensesmayalsocontainbarrenandesitc
quantifythethickness variationsandthe sizesof the dikes.The four ore typesshowno crosscutting rela-
 EL BRONCE EPITHERMAL VEIN SYSTEM, CENTRAL CHILE 1331

,,!.

I I I I i I i ! I
N = 38.900 N= 39.100 N=39.300 N=39.500 N:38.900 N=39.100 N:39.300

.800
m-
1.700m -

0 lOOm
I I KEY
KEY

•2.o j ß Drill hole .-- to • (e/t A,•) ß Orill hole

FIG. 9. Longitudinalsectionof the Maria Isabelvein, Guanacosector,showing(a) thicknessisopachs,

and (b) gold distribution.

tionships.Relativechronologyindicatesthat the hy- Thistype of brecciacontainsthe highestgoldgrades

drothermalbrecciaand massiveore typeswere the
first to develop,followedby the stockworkand dis-
seminatedzones(Fig. 11). The dikesare generally
pre- or intramineralizationin age, althoughone dike
in the RosarioIII ore shootcontainsmassive ore frag-
mentsandis thereforepostmineralization in age.
Hydrothermalbrecciaore:Thisore type generally
occursin dilationaljogsassociated with sinuousfault
planes.In plan view, brecciaore shootwidthsvary
from 0.2 to 2.0 m and lengthsfluctuatefrom 3.0 to
20 m. The hydrothermalbrecciaore may be subdi-
vided into that cementedby sulfidesand that ce-
mentedby gangueminerals.
Brecciascemented by sulfide minerals are com-
posed of rounded to subangularfragmentsof tuff,
ocoitas(andesiticlavaswith large plagioclasephe-
nocrysts), andesitedike,andlocallyquartz.Fragments
rangein sizefrom I to 10 cmandaregenerallyaltered
to sericite,quartz,hematite,chlorite,epidote,and/
or kaolinite.The cementis commonlysphaleriteand
chalcopyritewith minorpyrite. The brecciasare cut
by multidirectionalquartzand/orcarbonateveinlets.
(> 10 g/metricton Au) in the ore shootsof all sectors.
The hydrothermalbrecciaore cementedby gangue
mineralsconsistsof roundedto subangular fragments,
I to 10 cm in size, of the samelithologiesasthe sul-
fide-cementedbrecciaspluslocalquartz and sulfide
fragments.The cement generally consistsof silica,
barite, and minor carbonates.
In some areas of the Guanaco sector, the breccias
containaltered clastssurroundedby sulfide(sphal-
erite or pyrite) rims but also cementedby silica.
Therefore brecciationwas followedby periodicde-
positionof sulfideand gangueminerals.In general,
the gangue-cemented brecciascontainlessgoldthan
dothe sulfidebreccias(i.e., <4 g/metrictonAu), and
their goldgradeisa functionof the quantityof sulfide
fragmentsin the breccia.
Massiveore:This ore type occursalongrectilinear
faultswith a preferednorthto N 15ø E strikedirec-
tion. Fracturewidthsvary from severalcentimeters
to 2 m and their lengthsfrom 1 to 20 m. In general,
the massiveore zonesoccuradjacentto hydrothermal
breccia ore and close to sinuous,vertical, and hori-
1332 CAMUS ET AL.

GUANACO SOUTH
ORE SHOOT

2'0 3'0 4'0 5'0 6'0 7'0 8'0 9b

Distancebetween lenses (in)
I 0 7or-•8o
9• ,•-
Distance between lenses (in)

50.
GUANACO SOUTH MARIA ISABEL
45.
ORE SHOOT ORE SHOOT
40'
•35'
•-30'

.20-
ß;, 15.

.10'
...a 5'

'D-•30
4•5•)
6'07b
8'0
Length of lens
9'0(in)
4;0 ,Sb 6'0 7b 8b' 9b--
Length of lens (in)

FIG. 10. Frequencyhistograms

showinglensdistributionin ore shoots,includingthe numberof
lenses and the distances between them.

zontal fractures. The massive ore is subdivided into Stockworkzone:This mineralizationtype is located
sulfide-andgangue-bearingzones. adjacentto hydrothermalbrecciaore and/or massive
The sulfide-bearing
massive
orecontains
morethan ore. It consists of stockworks of multidirectional vein-
50 percentsulfidesby volume,whichconsistmainly letsof shear,hybrid,or extensionorigin.The veinlets
of pyrite,sphalerite,
andminorchalcopyrite
andga- are filled with oneor moreof quartz,barite, carbon-
lena.The zonesare alwaysboundedby faultplanes ates,pyrite, and subordinatesphalerite,chalcopyrite,
betweenwhichthemassive
orelocallydisplays
sym- galena, and tetrahedrite-tennantite.Veinlet thick-
metric depositionalfeatures,with the latest mineral nessesrange from 1 to 15 mm, althoughlocallythey
precipitated in the central part of the vein. Com- reach 40 cm. The densityof veinletsincreasesin the
monly, quartz or ankerite veinsare intercalatedwith vicinityof the brecciaandmassiveoresbut diminishes
or transectmassivesulfideore andprovideevidence graduallyaway from them. The widthsof the stock-
forlate-stage
hydraulic
and/ortectonicfracturing.
As work zonescan attain 5 m, and the adjoininghost
in the caseof the sulfide-cemented
ore breccias,the rock is altered to quartz, sericite,and kaolinite.The
goldcontentof themassive oreishigh(• 10 g/metric stockworkzonesare gold bearing, but gold grades
ton Au) andlocallyattains2 kg/metricton. are much lower than those of the breccia or massive
The gangue-bearing massiveore containsat least ores as is the sulfide content.
50 percentby volumeof gangueminerals,mainly Disseminatedzone:Thesezonescomprisehydro-
subhedralquartz,barite,andcarbonates (ankeriteand thermally altered rocks around the hydrothermal
minorcalciteandsiderite).Locally,thesezonesoccur breccia, massiveore, and stockwork zone. Dissemi-
with thin bands(1-5 cm) of sulfides.Generally, natedzonesare 2- to 1O-m-wideenvelopesof quartz,
gangue-richmassive ore lackscontinuityandgrades sericite, kaolinite, and carbonates with abundant
into gangue-cementedhydrothermal breccia. Thecoarsegrainsof disseminated pyrite. Gold contentof
goldcontentof gangue-rich
massive
oreisextremely thesezonesis essentiallynil.
low,exceptwheremicrocrystalline
quartzispresent. Andesitedikes:The dike rocksare light to dark
 EL BRONCE EPITHERMAL VEIN SYSTEM,CENTRAL CHILE 1333

KEY
183.9 • Massive
ore
,•r• -] Hydrothermal
breccia
(ore)
*.;• Hydrothermal
breccia(gancJue)
• Stockwork
zone
• Andesire
dike
•N • Hostrock
?y Fracture
• Fault

FF Fracture fre•;uency
(froCtures/m)

820 156o •0

•.•^/ ^ / •

STRUCTURAL
DOMAIN
Z

• STRUCTURAL
DOMAIN
o • / FF:2 73
i I

FIG. 11. Exampleof a typicallenspresentin an El Bronceore shootshowingore typeswithin a

second-orderdilationaijog. Alsoshownis a gold distributionhistogramthat reflectsthe metal content
of thedifferentoretypes.The histogramisbasedonchannelsampling. The lensbelongsto theGuanaco
Southore shootandhasbeensubdivided intotwo structuraldomainsfor whichfracturefrequencydata
are shown.Note that the highestgoldgradesare concentratedin the hydrothermalbreeeiaandmassive
ores.

green in color, aphaniticto porphyriticin texture, unitsin the districtand average>1,000 m in thick-
andcontainabundantplagioclase crystalsalteredto ness.
calciteand siderite.The widthsof the dikesrange The brecciasconsistof andesitic,generallyangular
from0.5 to 20 m.In general,thedikesaresubvertical, fragmentsin an aphaniticor clearlytuffaceousmatrix.
tabularbodiesemplaced alongtensionandshearfaults Tuffsandtuffaceoussandstones occuraselongate,
andfractures.They canalsooccuraseast-trending, lenticular horizons of reddish- to violet-colored rocks
50 ø- to 70ø-dippingbodieswhichcut the ore shoots, composedof pyroelasticfragmentsin an ash-bearing
or assills.Fracturingwithinthe dikesis generallyof matrix stainedby iron and manganeseoxides.The
extensional origin,withcarbonatefillingsin all cases. tuffaceousrocks exerciseda strongstructuraland
lithologiccontrolon the alterationandmineralization
Host-rocklithology and causedpinchingof the ore shoots.
Flow rocks: The andesitic flows are characterized
TherockshostingtheEl Bronceveinsystem consist by plagioclase andferromagnesian phenocrysts in an
of andesiticflows,andesitic
breccias, agglomerates,aphaniticgroundmass. Their coloris dark gray,red-
porphyriticandesites(ocoitas),lapillituffs,andtuff- dish,or dark green.They usuallydisplayamygdules
aceoussandstones. All belongto the Cerro Morado containingchlorite andcalcite.The thicknessof each
Formationof EarlyCretaceous age(Boric,1986). andesitc flow is about 40 m. Weak alteration to ohio-
Fragmentalrocks:Thesearethe predominant rock rite, epidote,and hematiteis widespread.
1334 CAMUS ET AL.

Ocoita, as noted above, is a local name for an an- tionalpolishedanddoublypolishedthin sections,

with
desite with a markedly porphyritic texture charac- more detailed work concentrated on the E1 Bronce,
terizedby large(1-3 cm)plagioclase phenocrysts in Guanaco,and SanLorenzo sectors.Thirty X-ray dif-
anaphaniticgroundmass. Generally,ocoitaconstitutes fraction and ten electron microprobeanalysiswere
flowsbut locallymay be intrusivesillsor dikes. alsodone.Thesemineralogicstudieswere performed
in the laboratories of the Servicio Nacional de Geo-
Hydrothermal alteration 1ogiay Mineria, Centro de InvestigacionesMinero
Hydrothermal alteration at El Bronce affected Metalurgicas,and the Departamentode Geologiaof
mainlythe rockshostingstockworkanddisseminated the University of Chile.
zones as well as the andesite dikes. The wall rocks of The ore mineralogyof the systemconsistsof sul-
fidesand sulfosalts.The oxidationzone is weakly de-
the veins and brecciasare only weakly altered for
velopedand extendsno deeper than 40 m (Fig. 12).
distancesof 1 or 2 m from vein margins.
Alteration of andesite and ocoita was not texture The bestsurfaceexposures of the oxidationzoneoccur
in the San Lorenzo sector, where limonitic boxworks
destructive.Plagioclase was totally or partiallyre-
placedby quartz,carbonates,and/orsericite,whereas after pyrite, chalcopyrite,sphalerite,and galenacan
the marlcswere altered to chlorite and, to a lesser be recognized.The presenceof cerussiteand smith-
degree, epidote. soniteplus a few oxidized copper mineralsare the
In the brecciasand tuffs, fragmentswere altered evidence for underlyingore. In Figure 13, a summary
to sericite whereas the matrix was transformed to an of the hypogene mineralogyof the E1Broncesystem
aggregateof clay and carbonates. is presented, which is relatively simplein terms of
both the number of speciesand their spatialdistri-
The andesitedikeswerealteredpervasively to car-
bonates(up to 70 vol %), with lesseramountsof ser- bution.The principalmineralsare, in decreasing order
icite, kaolinire, chlorite, and montmorillonite. These of importance, quartz, pyrite, sphalerite,chalcopy-
mineralsoccurtogetherwith late, coarsepyrite. The rite, and carbonates.Minor barite, galena,tetrahe-
drite-tennantite,hematite, andbornite are alsopres-
originaltextureof the dikeswascompletelydestroyed
near ore.
ent. The relative proportionsof thesemineralsvary
within the ore shoots(Fig. 14).
In the orebodies,the mostintensehydrothermal
alteration occurs in the stockwork and disseminated Quartz is the most abundantmineral in all ore
shoots and is present in all the parageneticstagesas
zonesin whichoriginalrocktextureswere obliterated.
three varieties: chalcedonicquartz, coarse-grained
The principalalterationtype isquartz-sericite, which
is followedwith decreasingintensityby argillization euhedral quartz, and anhedral granular quartz. In
and carbonization. Towardthe marginsof the veins, general,in the upper portionsof the veins,chalce-
propylitization predominates to form well-defined donicquartz predominates
and occursin crustified
form with coarse-grainedeuhedralquartz developed
envelopes.Modal analysisof alterationproductsin-
dicate80 to 85 percentsericite,6 to 10 percentcar- aswell-definedinterbanding.In the deeperpartsof
bonates,and 2 to 4 percent chlorite. Kaolinite and shoots,bandingtendsto decreaseand the quartz oc-
montmorillonitewere recognizedon the basisof X- cursassmalleranhedralgrainswith granulartexture.
ray diffractionanalysis,
but their modalproportions Pyriteisthe mostabundantsulfidealongtheentire
are still unknown. system and amountsto about 70 to 75 percentby
Figure 12 showsthe distributionof sulfidesand weight of total sulfides.It is one of the earliestmin-
alteration minerals in the Rosario III ore shoot, El erals deposited and is replacedand/or cut by other
Broncesector.Quartz-sericite,clays,and carbonates base metal sulfides. Pyrite is the mainhostfor gold,
occur ubiquitouslythroughoutthe depositand are which occurs fillingcracks or fracturesin pyrite grains
notshownin thefigure.Chloriteoccursmainlyin the or rimming them. The early pyrite isfine grainedand
lower part of the ore shoots,below the 1,200-m ele- locallypulverulent, generally associatedwith granular
quartz, and locally with euhedral coarse-grained
vation.The chlorite(ripidoliteaccording to X-raydif-
fractionanalysis) hasa radialhabitandoccursfilling quartz.A late stageof coarse-grained pyrite, ascubic
cavitiesasa late phasenot only in the stockworkand crystals up to 1 cm in size, is completely barren of
disseminated zones but also in druses in the breccia preciousmetals.It is concentratedin the vein sel-
vages.
and massiveores.Propylitizationis not shownin the
figure but extendsaroundthe orebodiesas narrow Sphaleriteisthe secondmostabundantsulfide(10-
envelopescontainingchlorite, epidote, and calcite15 wt %) and occursasmassive,coarse-grained crys-
suite. tals. Color variesfrom black throughreddishbrown
to almosttranslucentgreen.The blackto darkbrown
Mineralogyand paragenesis sphaleritebelongsto the earlier parageneticstages
and occurscloselyassociatedwith chalcopyrite.Its
The primarymineralogyof the entire epithermal distributionis shownin Figure 12. Locally, gold oc-
systemhas been studied on more than 250 conven- cursin fracturesin the blackto dark brown sphalerite.
 EL BRONCE EPITHERMAL VEIN SYSTEM,CENTRAL CHILE 1335

N=18.•00 .= •8.S00 N=•.•00

KEY
Bose of oxidation

•.•kl.z.•,.•.• Chlorite:outer limit

-- 1.800m-
_...•--•.•....•----fi.__
Bar•te:lowerlimit
• • Sphalerite:
outer
limit N
.....
"%..-""**.
Zn
and
Cusurfldes:
lower
limit
C•G• Galena:
outer
limit
• Hematite
:outer
limit • __
_

- ...'¾k .

• • • I I /• .....
'•
•->,.• ...........
•.....-¾...-.?•
...................• - • '...y
- .•'
'...,• .....
............ -.
• I • I

FIG. 12. Distribution and zonation of ore, gangue,and alteration mineralsin the RosarioIII ore
shoot. Quartz, pyrite, ehaleopyrite, serieite, and kaolinitc distribution are not shown becausethey
occurthroughoutthe deposit.Alsoshownfor referenceis the presenteconomiclimit of the orebody.

Chalcopyrite(8 wt %) occursasa replacementof occur as coarsetetrahedral crystalstogether with

pyrite but more commonlyasirregularlydistributed crystallinequartz.All the sulfosalts
are silverbearing.
blebsin dark-coloredsphalerite.This textureresem- Schwarzitcreplaced chalcopyrite and is cogenetic
blesverymuchthe chalcopyrite disease in sphalerite with the other sulfosalts.
recentlydescribedby BartonandBethke(1987) and Gold occurs as the native metal and as electrum.
explainedasa possiblereplacementof chalcopyrite Gold grainsvary in sizefrom 5 to 28 #m, but locally,
in sphalerite. 1-mmgrainswere observed.It occursmainlyin frac-
Of the remainingsulfides,galenaoccurslocallyin turesand asinclusionsin pyrite, galena,chalcopyrite,
associationwith tetrahedrite-tennantiteor pyrite. sphalerite,and uncommonlyin tetrahedrite-tennan-
Locally,goldwasobservedassmallblebsin galena. tite.
In places,galenawasreplacedby late chalcopyrite, Barite occursonly in the upper levels of the de-
tetrahedrite-tennantite,and sphalerite.The assem- positsastypical elongate,prismaticcrystals.
blagegalena,tetrahedrite-tennantite,andbornitc ac- Carbonates of the siderite, ankerite, and calcite va-
countsfor 4 wt percentof the total sulfidesandtendsrietieswere depositedduring the late stagesof min-
to be more importantin the Guanacoore shoots.Of eral depositionand after the barite. They occur as
thesethreeminerals,bornitcis especially importantfine- to coarse-grained
crystals,coatingthe lastquartz
becauseits abundance causesan increasein the cop- depositedand filling open spaces,especiallyin the
per content of the Guanacoore shoots. upper partsof the veins,andlininggeodesor druses.
The sulfosalts,tetrahedrite-tennantite
andlocally, Carbonatesare closelyassociatedwith the late-stage,
schwarzitc(mercuriantetrahedrite),the latter im- low iron, green sphalerites(Fig. 13).
portant in the shallow parts of the Guanacosector, Hematiteoccursasacicularcrystalsassociated with
1336 CAMUS ET AL.

STAGE I I II III IV V
TEMPERATURE 235-344øC 200øC ? <150 øC

Quartz

Pyrite xx xxxx

Sphalerite ... F. xxxx ,o,•Fo

Chalcopyrite xxxx
Galena x ooo

Tetra/term ....

Bornire

Schwazite

Barite

Carbonates

Hematite

Chlorite
x x Gold deposition ooo Silver deposition

FIG. 13. Paragenesis

of the E1Bronceveins,indicatingthe five mineralizationstagesandassociated
temperatures.

coarse-grained euhedralquartzandgenerallyasrims Mineral zoning

to the euhedralquartzcrystalswhichin turn overgrow
hematite. The verticalzoningmodelof the E1Broncesystem
The epithermalveinsmay be subdividedinto five (Fig. 14) wasdevelopedonthe basisof geologicstud-
parageneticstages(Fig. 13). ies and explorationcampaignsof the RosarioIII ore
Stage1 mineralogyisdominatedby quartzandpy- shoot and the Guanaco and San Lorenzo sectors. Sur-
rite. The pyrite commonlycontainsgold asfracture faceoutcrops,deep explorationdrilling, andmining
fillingsandis partiallyreplacedby later sulfides. dataprovidedinformationonthe mineralzoningpat-
Stage2 containsmost of the ore in the form of tern.
chalcopyriteand dark-coloredsphalerite.The latter Four mineralzonescanbe recognizedin a typical
locallycontainsgold blebsand was depositedafter ore shoot(Fig. 14). The uppermostzoneA is char-
pyrite. Bornite may alsobe presentin stage2 as a acterizedby the presenceof stockworkzoneswhere
replacementof chalcopyrite. veinlets were filled with barren chalcedonicquartz
Stage3 containssulfosaltsand galena,the former andcarbonates. Thisupper zoneis presentin the La
replacingchalcopyriteand the latter replacingchal- Olla sector. Zones B and C are well developedat
copyrite,sphalerite,andtetrahedrite-tennantite. Ga- GuanacoandE1Bronceand are characterizedby the
lena containsnative gold assmallinclusions.Most of presenceof differentproportions of the fouroretypes
the silverwas introducedduring this stageas solid describedaboveplusandesitedikes.The RosarioIII
solutionsin galenaandespeciallythe sulfosalts. ore shootcanbe takenasrepresentativeof thesetwo
Stage4 containsbarite in the upper levelsof the zones(Fig. 12). The mineralogy of zoneB consists of
ore shootsanderraticpatchesof hematitewhichwere quartz,barite,carbonates, andpyrite.Goldandsilver
depositedfollowing quartz deposition.In general, arepresentonlyin subeconomic quantitiesandbase
hematiteis restrictedto the deeperpartsof the veins metal minerals are scarce. The lower limit of barite
(Fig. 12). depositionisshownin Figure12 anddefinesthelower
Stage5 is characterizedby the presenceof abun- limit of zoneB. Presentdatasuggestthat zoneC con-
dantcarbonates, lightgreensphalerite,andlate chlo- sistsof quartz, pyrite, sphalerite,and chalcopyrite
rite. The lasttwo stagescontainno preciousmetals. throughoutthe entire vertical extent of the zone.
 EL BRONCE EPITHERMAL VEIN SYSTEM, CENTRAL CHILE 1337

METAL VALUE
ZONE DESCRIPTION g/t Au

Upper barren zone

A with cholcedonic quartz

_+ carbonate
Hydrothermal
breccio
ore Zone with
carbonates quartz -t-
_+barite,
a _+subeconomic
Ag +_.bose gold
content
metals+

']• .,
x
pyrite
• • Host
rock -- - X
X High-grade
with
zone
economic values

C ofAu
+Ag+
Quartz
base
metals. -
+- pyrite + sphole-

•x
x
rite
+chalcopyrite
+
carbonates
/
Andesitc oX /
dike X
X
X
/
I OOOm X
/
Lower
zone
with
onhedrol
Vein
structure
D +chlorite.
Subeconomic
granular quartz

gold-silver
+pyrite

volues. No
bose metols present

FIG. 14. Verticalzoningmodelof El Bronceepithermalsystem

showing
veincomponents,
mineral
distribution, and relative metal content of each zone. The metal value curve indicates that zone C is
the oreinterval.X = the approximate
limitsof the oreshoot,and///= subeconomic
grades.

Sphaleriteoccursonlysporadically in the lowerlevels structureindicatedonly by chloritizationand traces

of zoneC. The galena-sulfosalt association, together
with the late chalcedonicquartz,tendsto be located
in the uppermost100 m of the ore shoot,near the
top of zone C and closeto the lower limit of barite.
Locally,however,someisolatedpatchesof galena-
sulfosaltsare foundin the centraland deeperparts
of the ore shoot(Fig. 12). Near the bottom of zone
C, there is a gradualincreasein coppercontentas
chalcopyrite.Pyrite becomesrelativelymore abun-
dantin the deeperpartsof zoneC dueto the decrease
in sphaleriteandchalcopyriteandextendsevenbelow
the baseof the economicmineralization.Ripidolite
increasesin abundancealongwith pyrite. The com-
plete absenceof basemetalsulfidesbelow the bottom
of zoneC marksthetopof zoneD. Hematiteispatch-
ily developedin the basalpart of zoneC (Fig. 12).
ZoneD is definedby the disappearance of hydro-
thermalbrecciaore and massiveore and by an in-
crease in the stockwork and disseminated zones car-
rying coarse-grainedquartz, pyrite, chlorite, and car- The E1 Bronce
bonates.In the deeper levels of the system,the
stockworkzonestend to give way to a well-defined is located in an area delimited by the Quebrada de
of pyrite.
Gold and silver distributionswithin the four depth
zones(Fig. 14) are illustratedby a preciousmetal
value curvethat indicatesthe tenor of goldandsilver
expressedas gold equivalent. As shown, the gold
equivalentcontent of zonesA and D is subeconomic
(<0.5 g/metric ton Au equiv). ZonesB and C are best
illustratedby the RosarioIII ore shoot(Fig. 7b, c)
and the Central and Maria Isabelore shoots(Figs.8b
and 9b).
Analysisof the contoured longitudinal sections
(Figs.7, 8, and9) showssimilardistributionpatterns,
lenticularin shape.The highergradegold and silver
zonesare concentratedin the middleandupperlevels
of the deposit,diminishingprogressivelywith depth
and toward the margins.This pattern is depictedin
Figure 14 for zone C and the lower part of zoneB.
Structural Analysis
fault jog
As shownin Figure 3, the E1 Bronce vein system
1338 CAMUS ET AL.

Castro and Petorca-E1 Durazno en echelon, dextral reactivation of sinuous faults, whereas breccia ore
wrench faults. The relative movement of this fault within thesejogs is interpreted to have been gener-
pair is responsiblefor the structuralpattern in the E1 ated when contemporaneoushydrothermal fluids
Bronce vein system,which developed a first-order convergedtowardthesejogs.Under favorablephys-
(• 1-km-wide)dilationalfaultjog (Sibson,1987) with ico-chemicalconditions,these fluids may have then
a length of more than 20 km. The tensionalfractures precipitatedgangueand/or sulfidemineralsthereby
are the loci for the ore shoots in the various miner- cementingthe fault brecciafragments.
alized sectors. Commonly,the wider and economicallymore im-
Based on structural studies of the Guanaco ore portant hydrothermalbreccia bodies at El Bronce
shoots(Castelli,1989), majorfaults,minorjoints,and showevidenceof havingbeen hydrothermallybrec-
veinsmay be distinguished in a typicaldilationaljog ciatedand cementedby gangueand/orsulfidesmore
asthe two main typesof structurescontainingeither than once. This suggeststhat there were several
massiveore, brecciaore, or faultbreccia-gouge. These phasesof shearingand/or extensionalreactivation
two fracture types at E1 Bronce are interpreted as during the period of hydrothermalfluid circulation
beingtheresultof anincreasein eitherthe differential and depositionof gangueand sulfideminerals.
tectonicstressand/orin the fluid pressureto exceed Massiveore associatedwith rectilinear faultsmay
the minimumhorizontalprincipal stress(S3).A local be presentasbanded,syntaxialfillings,suggestingthat
increasein fluid pressureat E1 Bronce could have fracturefilling extendedfrom the center towardthe
arisenfrom the heatingof hydrothermalfluidsby the margins.Bandedveinsare interpreted at E1 Bronce
PetorcaPorphyry.The minor fracturesand faultsat asbeing syntectonic(Castelli,1989). Generally,the
E1Broncecouldbe the productsof brittle rupture in lessimportantore shootsat El Bronce,asat Guanaco
the near-surface environment when such a differential South,are related to slightlysinuousfaultswith no
stresswaspresent.In thisregard,fluid inclusionstud- significantdisplacements followingvein generation.
ies (Skewesand Camus, 1988) suggestthat the min- Zonesof stockworkveinletsat E1Bronce(Fig. 11)
eralization at El Bronce took place 400 to 1,200 m occurbothadjacentto dilationalfaultjogsand/orhy-
beneaththe palcosurface(seebelow), levelswhere drothermalbreccias,andadjacentto the massivesul-
inhomogeneous deformationandbrittle failureare to fide zone of the ore shoot.Both types of stockwork
be expected. are a network of multidirectionalveinlets that may
havebeengeneratedthroughtectonicreactivationor
Faultsand associated
fillings hydraulicfracturing(seeabove)either in preexisting
The faults of the Guanaco sector have strikes of N andsyntectonic extensional,
hybrid,or shearfractures
5 ø W to N 26 ø E with subverticalto 60 ø dips. The which were filled later by variousminerals.
faultsextendalongstrikefor 0.2 to 5 km andvertically
for 80 to 600 m. They canbe dividedon the basisof Fracturesand their fillings
morphologyinto three types with characteristicfea- Fractures(veinsandjoints)differfromfaultsin that
tures, which can be extrapolatedto the entire epi- they have not been affectedby tectonicreactivation
thermal system:rectilinearfaults,fault swarms,and andsubsequentdisplacementand shearingalongthe
second-orderfault jogs. structuraldiscontinuity.Three typesof fracturesare
Rectilinearfaultshavestrikeextensions no greater identified in the Guanacoore shoots:extensional,hy-
than 5 to 30 m and strike and dip variationsof only brid, andshear.Thesethree typesof fracturescanbe
+__5 ø. The fillings of these faults are narrow (5-50 explainedwithin the context of the effective stress
cm) which indicatesthat the physicalconditions(fluid components (o'1• 0'2• 0'3)anddihedralangle(20)
pressure,uniaxial strength,and porosity)prevailing under which thesefracture types may develop. Han-
within the hydrothermalconduitswere suchthat fur- cock (1985) proposedan interrelationshipbetween
ther dilationbecameimpossible. the magnitudeof the differentialeffectivestresses
and
Fault swarmsoccurover strikelengthsof 5 to 20 the tensilestrengthof eachrock to predict the gen-
m and consist of multidirectional faults and fractures eration of thesethree fracture types.
associatedwith major structures and generating Veins and joints show rectilinear patternsat E1
stockworkpatterns. Bronce.Their trace architecturalstylesare of V, X,
Second-orderfault jogs occur along main struc- or I shapeswhich indicate, for the first two cases,
tures, showingthe former strike changesover dis- conjugatefractures(hybridor shear)and,for the third
tances of 5 to 15 m. case,extensionalfractures.This lastcasegenerallyis
The four ore types,brecciaore, massiveore, stock- associated with the andesitc dikes.
work zones,and disseminatedzonescanoccurin any The veins are of various compositions,although
oneof thesethree typesof structuresin the E1Bronce quartz, pyrite, and carbonatespredominate(see
hydrothermalsystem. above).
Massive ore is restricted to the second-order di- Thin section studies of veins demonstrate that the
lationalfault jogs. Thesejogs formedthroughthe effective stresses related to these structures are of
 EL BRONCEEPITHERMALVEIN SYSTEM,
CENTRALCHILE 1339

extension and shear. Extension veins in andesite dikes Fluid Inclusions

showundeformed calcitefiberswithsyntaxial growth
textures,whereasshearveinsshowquartzandcalcite Primary,pseudosecondary, andsecondaryfluidin-
crystalsgrowingat obliqueangleswith respectto the clusionsin quartz,calcite,sphalerite,andbaritefrom
vein margins,denotingthat the externalstresses var- the E1Bronceveinswere analyzedthermometrically
ied during crystal precipitationand syntectonic using a Linkham 600 heating and freezing stage.
growth. Where possible,fluid inclusionsin mineralsfrom dif-
ferentparageneticstages--theearlypyrite-quartzto
Ore shootemplacementmechanism the late carbonates--were studied. More than 400
inclusionswere studiedin 12 samplesover a vertical
The first-orderdilationalfaultjog system,with its intervalof 400 m in the Guanacosector(Figs.3 and
multiplestrikeanddip orientations andrepeateddif- 17; Skewes, 1986a, b, and c, 1988; Skewesand Ca-
ferentialmovements, produced thestructuralpatterns mus, 1988). Other samplesfrom the RosarioIII ore
that providedthe necessary permeabilityfor the cir- shootin the E1Broncesectorandfrom the E1Espino
culationof hydrothermalfluids.Thesesamedilational (south of the QuebradaE1 Bronce fault, Skewes,
openingspermitted the emplacementof barren dikes 1987), La Olla (Skewes,1988), and San Lorenzo
as well. (Skewes,1986a) sectorswere alsoanalyzed.
Figure 15 is a schematicillustration, based on Sib- Fluid inclusions fromthe E1Broncesystemconsist
son(1987), to showthe four stagesthat canbe in- of two phases:vaporandliquid.The eutecticminima
ferredfor the development of an individualore lens for the fluid inclusionsis closeto -20.5øC, indicative
alonga sinuousstrike-slipfault;it incorporates the of solutionsin the H20-NaC1 system(Potter et al.,
variousstructuraland morphologiccomponents to- 1977). Neither liquid CO2 nor clathrateswere ob-
getherwith the associated ore andganguemineral- servedupon cooling.Most inclusionsare liquid rich
ization. (<20% vapor). Only in the shallowerlevels of the
The structural emplacementmechanismcom- deposit do vapor-rich inclusionsappear, and these
menceswith a dextral senseof the fault shearwhich, coexisttypically with liquid-rich inclusions.
alongthe sinuoussegmentof the plane,formsthe In the deepest(<1,563 m a.s.1.)and intermediate
jog. Fluid pressuregradientswill favorlocalbreccia- (1,563-1,628 m a.s.1.)levels of the Guanacosector,
tion within the jog and the precipitationof ore and the inclusions within the earlier quartzstagesare all
ganguemineralsto form a hydrothermalbreccia.In liquid rich (<20% vapor). No evidenceof boiling is
the morelinearsegments of the faultplane,massive foundat theselevelsof the Guanacoore shoots,which
andbandedore is precipitated.Towardbothendsof is where mostof the goldmineralizationoccurs.The
the jog, there is stockworkdevelopmentwith multi- earliestpyrite-quartzstagein the deepestlevelsof
directionalshearandhybridfractures produced by the Guanacosectorhas both high homogenization
hydraulicfracturedueto circulationofhydrothermal temperatures,whichrangefrom 327ø to 344øC, and
fluids(Phillips,1972).Thehigherpreciousmetalval- salinities,whichrangefrom 6 to 10 wt percentNaC1
ues are concentratedin the hydrothermalbreccias equiv (Fig. 18). Secondaryinclusionshomogenize
andmassive partsof the lens(Fig. 11). between 228 ø and 260øC and have salinities between
As describedabove,the thickestpartsof the ore 7.4 and 9.3 wt percentNaC1equiv (Fig. 18). In the
shootscorrelatewell with the highestgoldor silver intermediatelevelsof the Guanacosector,homoge-
concentrations(Fig. 7). Thiscorrelationshowswhere nization temperaturesof primary inclusionsrange
therupture-induced extensional fracturingoccurred from 260 ø to 336øC and salinities between 4 and 8
and, consequently,the favoredconduitsfor the cir- wt percent NaC1 equiv (Fig. 18). Homogenization
culationof hydrothermal fluids.In Figure16, a fluid temperaturesof secondaryinclusionsrangebetween
circulationmodelis presented,in which the rootsof 207 ø and 260øC and salinities between 4 and 7 wt
the ore shootsare interpretedasthe pointsof fluid percent NaC1equiv. Thusboth temperaturesand sa-
inflowinducedby extensional fracturing. linitiesdecreasefromthe deepestto the intermediate
Hydraulicfracturingappearedto haveplayedan levelsin the Guanacosector.The temperaturesand
importantrole in the developmentof the E1Bronce salinitiesof the fluidinclusions withinthe upperpor-
epithermalsystemandprobablyoccurredwhenhy- tionsof the zoneof goldmineralization suggest depths
drothermal solutionsrosetoshallow levels.
According of formation,assuminghydrostaticconditions,not
to Phillips(1971), partoftheenergyofhydrothermal greaterthan 400 m below the paleosurface(Skewes
fluidsand/ormagma isusedin displacing or hydrau- and Camus,1988).
licallyfracturing the rocksencountered. Hydraulic In the upper levelsof the Guanacosector,nearthe
fracturing,as alreadyexplained,is considered re- current topographicsurface(1,738-1,810 m a.s.1.)
sponsiblefor the generationof stockworkzonesor where goldmineralizationis only weaklydeveloped,
hydrothermal breccias wherefluidsrosealongstruc- the fluid inclusionshavevariablevapor/liquidratios
tural discontinuities(Fig. 15). andincludebothvapor-andliquid-richtypes.No ev-
1340 CAMUS ET AL.

E4
A A
•A A • •--'-'-- A
• ---.__•A
_A. -• •.•.'•-'.•__..
--•.e...:.....:••.•___•-• Outer
limit
ofalteration
ond

'"• ,--.....
,..._..
• •

E3

E2

E1 A

o 5m
I

KEY

Hosfrock ••____•_•Stockwork
fractures ) (mainly
shear
Fault
Hydrofhermal
(ore) breccia Conta ct (defined,inferred)
Principal extension
Hydrothermal
(gangue) breccia orientation :

Directionof hydrothermal
fluid inflow

FIG. 15. Schematicrepresentationof the four rupture stagesduringthe developmentof a dilational

jog at E1 Bronce. E1 is the prerupture stage,E2 and E3 are intermediate stages,and E4 is the final
(presentlyobserved)stage.E4is a real casetakenfrom the GuanacoSouthore shoot.Note the presence
of hydrothermalbrecciain the jog andbanded,massiveore in the more linear sectorsof the fault. The
small arrowsindicate inferred fluid inflow directionsand the large arrowsin E4 indicate the direction
of the leasteffectivehorizontalprincipal stress(S3)direction.
 EL BRONCE EPITHERMAL VEIN SYSTEM, CENTRAL CHILE 1341

i i i i i i i i i i i

N=$7.200 N=
$7.600 N=$8.000 N=38,40•,800 _ N=3•.200

'Ira thickness contour

Fluid inflow channelwaits

I I I I I I I I II I I I

FIG. 16. Hypothetical model of fluid inflow channelwaysin the RosarioIII ore shoot,El Bronce
district.

idenceof neckingwasobserved. Theseinclusionswith that alsohomogenizeat about150øC(Fig. 18). Thus,

highlyvariableliquid/vaporratioshomogenize within
the samerangeof temperatures suggestingboilingof
the hydrothermalfluids(RoedderandBodnar,1980).
Primaryinclusionsat thislevelhomogenized between
235 ø and 270øC and had salinities between 4 and 7
wt percentNaC1equiv(Figs.18 and 19). Secondary
inclusionshomogenizeat about200øC and have sa-
linitiesbetweeni and5 wt percentNaC1equiv(Fig.
18). Late-stagecarbonates
at thislevelhaveinclusions
from the intermediate to the shallow levels of the
Guanacosector,a decreaseis observedonly in the
homogenization temperatureswhile the rangesfor
salinitiesoverlap (Fig. 19). For fluid inclusionsin
samples thatshowevidenceofboilingandarelocated
at the presentsurfaceoverthe Guanacosector,min-
imum homogenization temperaturesof 235øC and
salinitiesof 5 wt percentNaC1equivindicatea depth
of formation,under hydrostaticconditions,closeto

GUANACO SECTOR

ELEVATION
meters
L • OLL • SECTOR

"'"'-

• Guanaco oreshoot

i• Fluid
inclusion
hornogenizafion

ßFluid
inclusion
sample
site
temperature
h{stogroms

1000 ? i,•m __250ø.__

Isotherm
(• Sornples
showing
boiling

FIG. 17. Distribution of fluid inclusionsamplesin the Guanacoand La alia sectorsat E1Bronce.
The paleosurface,definedon the basisof the fluid inclusionstudy,is shown.
1342 CAMUSET AL.

TIME
Stableisotopeanalysesand temperaturedetermina-
F.I. IN QUARTZ F,I. IN CARBONAT•'•
PRIMARY SECONDARY
tions are summarized in Table 4.
PRIMARilY
235-270øC
Si 02
The threesulfidesstudiedshowa relativelynarrow
4 -7% rangeof •34Svalues:-0.5 to -0.6 per mil for chal-
copyrite, -2.3 to +0.7 per mil for sphalerite,and
-3.8 to +2.1 per mil for pyrite. The narrowrangeof
u.I •a4Svaluesforthesulfides
andtheproximityto 0 per
mil suggestsa magmaticsourcefor the sulfurinvolved
in the E1Bronceepithermalsystem.Spiroand Puig
(1988) arrived at similarconclusions usingsamples
of galena,sphalerite,andchalcopyrite fromthe upper
portionsof the RosarioIII ore shoot.The enrichment
of •34Svaluesfor the late-stage
baritesample(9.1%0)
indicatesa near-surfaceincreasein the sulfide/sulfate
ratiosin the ore fluid (OhmotoandRye, 1979).
/ Discussion

Depth of formation
• p¾ Based on the thermometric information of fluid in-
clusions,it is estimatedthat the top of the zone of
goldmineralizationdevelopedno more than 400 m
beneaththe paleosurface. The depthcalculations are
basedon the dataof Haas(1971), assuming that hy-
FIG. 18. Generalizedparageneticdiagramfor the E1Bronce drostaticpressureconditions prevailedin the upper
epithermalsystem.The horizontalaxisrepresentstime and the levelsof the depositassuggested by open-space tex-
verticalaxisrepresentsthedepthduringthevariousevolutionary tures.
stagesof the system.The verticalbarsrepresentthe mostimpor-
tant mineralsin the different parageneses(PY = pyrite, CPY The fluidinclusion
evideneesuggests
thatthe gold
-- chalcopyrite,SPH -- sphalerite,TET/TEN = tetrahedrite-ten- mineralization
stagewasnot relatedto boilingpro-
nantite,BAR -- barite, CAR = carbonates).Silicawasdeposited eessesashascommonlybeen reported elsewherefor
throughoutthe sequenceas quartz. The homogenization tem- epithermaldeposits (e.g.,Buchanan,1981). Evidenee
peraturesof primary and secondaryfluid inclusions(FI) are in-
dicatedat differentelevations
in the deposit.The segmented line forboilingwasreeognized atE1Broneeonlyat levels
showsthelevelabovewhichboilingtookplaceduringthedifferent abovethe zoneof eeonomie mineralization
(Figs.17
parageneticstages.The rectanglewith diagonallinesrepresents and 18). Thisboilingzone,in the earlyparagenetie
the areaof goldmineralizationin both time and space. stages,reaehed a maximumdepth of 350 m below
the paleosurfaee.In the Guanaeoseetor,where evi-
deneeforboilingeanbe reeognized readily,it iseon-
(SkewesandCamus, eludedthatonlyabout350 m of erosionhaveoeeurred
300 m beneaththe paleosurface
1988; Fig. 18). duringthe last 80 m.y.
StableIsotopeStudies Enthalpiesof thefluids and mechanismof gold
precipitation
Preliminarysulfurandoxygenisotopestudies
were
undertakenon mineralsamplesfrom the RosarioIII Enthalpyversussalinityplotsare usefulfor deter-
ore shoot at the Geochron Laboratories Division of miningthe eoolingmechanisms of aseendanthydro-
KruegerEnterprises.Six •34Sdeterminations were thermalfluids(Fig. 20a; Fournier,1979). Coolingof
madefromchalcopyrite, pyrite,sphalerite,andbarite the fluidscanoeeurby mixingwith eooler,moredilute
separates.Analyses
of two of the sulfidepairs,sphal- fluidwhiehdeereasesbothsalinityandenthalpy(path
erite-pyriteandchalcopyrite-pyrite,
were evaluated OA; Fig. 20a),boilingwhiehdeereases enthalpybut
for usein geothermometry. The two mineralpairs inereasessalinity (path OC), eonduetionof heat to
were from massiveore and were hoped to have thehostroekswhiehdecreases onlytheenthalpy(path
formedunder equilibriumconditions.However, sul- OB), or by a eombination
of theseproeesses.
fur isotopeequilibrationtemperaturesfor the two For the Guanaeosectorat E1Bronee,a plot of en-
pairscalculatedusingthe fractionationequationsof thalpyversussalinityshowsthat the highestenthalpy
OhmotoandRye (1979) were muchlower than fluid andhighestsalinityoccurin the deepestlevelsof the
inclusionhomogenization temperatures, suggesting depositand that both deereasetowardintermediate
thatneitherpairformedin sulfurisotopeequilibrium. levelsof the veins(segment1; Fig. 20b). Comparing
 EL BRONCE EPITHERMAL VEIN SYSTEM,CENTRAL CHILE 1343

ELEVATION (above sea level)

1 738 -1 810m

ELEVATION (above sea level ) 12

1 738 - 1810m 8

2 4 6 8 10 12

26o 24Q
2•0 3•0 3•0 •
I 563-1 628m

16.
1563-1628m • 1

12,

4.
nn 2 4 6 8 10 12

200 240
I
280 320 3•0 Z

16- I 500m

I 500m 12.
12

8.

4-

2{)0 ' 2•,0 ' 280 320 360 2 4 6 8 10 12

HOMOGENIZATION TEMPERATURE (øC) SALINITY (weight •NaCI equivalent)

F•G. 19. a. Homogenizationtemperatures(øC). b. Salinity(wt % NaCI equiv). Fluid inclusiondata
for primaryinclusions
in quartzfrom stages2 and3 at differentlevelsof the Guanacosector,E1Bronce
district.

TABLE4. SulfurandOxygenIsotopeData, RosarioIII Ore thisto the pathsfor differentcoolingmechanisms

(Fig.
Shoot, E1 Bronce District
20a) suggests that coolingwas causedby mixingof
hot, saline fluids with cooler, more dilute fluids.
Sample Mineral Stage •34S(%0) •180(%0)
From the intermediate to the shallowest levels of
CH-1 Chalcopyrite II -0.5 to -0.6 the Guanacosector,enthalpycontinuesto decrease
CH-1 Sphalerite II +0.7 but the salinityremainsconstant(segment2; Fig.
CH- 1 Pyrite II +2.1
R2-1 Pyrite II -3.8 20b). In the shallowest levels,the coexistence of liq-
CH~2 Sphalerite V -2.3 uid-rich and liquid-poor fluid inclusionsand their
CP-1 Quartz IV-V samerangeof homogenization temperatures, suggest
CH-2 Barite IV +9.1 +11.9
that boilingoccurred.However,it is not possibleto
explainthe observedchanges in enthalpyandsalinity
Calculatedtemperatures(sampleCH- 1) by boilingalone,becausethere is no increasein the
Mineral pair T (øC) salinityof thefluids.A combination ofboilingfollowed
Sphalerite-pyrite 192 ñ 30
by mixingof fluidswouldproducethe observedcom-
Chalcopyrite-pyrite 143 _+ 25 binationof decreasing enthalpyandconstant salinity.
Becausemixingof hot, salineandcooler,dilute fluids
1344 CAMUS ET AL.

CONDUCTIVE
COOLINõ sulfides
probably
precipitated
asaconsequence
ofthe
coolinganddilutionof the hydrothermalfluidswhen
A B C
they mixedwith coolerdilute waters.After the pre-
cipitationof pyrite, the hydrothermalfluidswould
have had a lower H2S content relative to total metal
I-
z
content.This would causethe sulfidecomplexes,
uJ which were likely responsiblefor gold transport
(Seward,1984), in the hydrothermalfluidsto become
0 unstableresultingin the precipitationof gold.
SALINITY Acknowledgments
We thank CompaniaMinera El Bronce for sup-
porting
thework
reported
here
andforpermission
to

1000
t
publishthispaper.Criticalcomments
by R. H. Sillitoe,
A. Tobar,N. Lindsay,andJ. Skarmetaimprovedthe
manuscript.G. Alarconpreparedthe illustrations.
1100,
REFERENCES

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1200 de Valdivia de la SociedadMinera Pedro de Valdivia: Santiago,
Chile, Caja de Credito Minero, unpub. rept., 20 p.
Barton, P. B., Jr., and Bethke, P.M., 1987, Chalcopyrite disease
in sphalerite:Pathologyand epidemiology:Am. Mineralogist,
1300' v. 72, p. 451-467.
<• Boric,R., 1986, GeologiaCuadranguloPetorca,Hoja Quillota,V
-I- Region: Santiago,Chile, Servicio Nacional de Geologiay Mi-
F-
z neria, unpub. rept., 70 p.
1400 Buchanan,L., 1981, Preciousmetal depositsassociatedwith vol-
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1500
t
Camus, F., 1982, Evaluaciongeologica-economicade los yaci-
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salinity (wt % NaC1 equiv.) for different mechanismsof coolinga en las vetas del area Guanaco. Distrito minero E1 Bronce, V
hydrothermal fluid. See text for explanation.b. Enthalpy and sa- Region:Unpub. tesisde grado,Santiago,Univ. Chile, 146 p.
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ECON. GEOL., v. 66, p. 940-946.
Hancock,P. L., 1985, Brittle microtectonics:Principle and prac-
tice: Jour. StructuralGeology,v. 7, p. 437-457.
is inferred for the deeperlevelsof the Guanacoore Ohmoto, H., andRye, R. O., 1979, Isotopesof sulfurandcarbon,
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