doi: 10.1111/rge.12165 Resource Geology Vol. ••, No.

••: 1–13

Thematic Article

Role of Potassic Alteration for Porphyry Cu Mineralization:

Implication for the Absence of Porphyry Cu Deposits
in Japan

Yasushi WATANABE, Ryuya SATO* and Adi SULAKSONO

Graduate School of International Resource Sciences, Mining Museum of Akita University, Akita, Japan

Abstract
The role of potassic alteration and associated quartz veins for porphyry Cu mineralization in two representa-
tive porphyry systems (El Salvador, Chile, and Grasberg, Indonesia) was examined to evaluate the potential
of porphyry Cu mineralization in Japan. The reactions between the aqueous magmatic–hydrothermal fluids
and host rocks during potassic alteration at El Salvador and Grasberg includes (i) reduction of SO42− in the
aqueous fluids due to oxidation of ferrous iron in mafic minerals and (ii) disproportionation of SO2 in the
fluids by elevated concentrations of Ca2+ leached by the fluids from igneous plagioclase and hornblende.
These reactions resulted in an increase of reduced S species (H2S) in the fluids and promoted Cu sulfide
precipitation during the potassic or subsequent chlorite–sericite alteration in the temperature range of
600–400 C.
Although numerous magnetite-series, calc-alkaline intrusive stocks of dioritic or granodioritic composition
are exposed in the Sanin belt of the Cretaceous–Paleogene Southwestern Japan arc and late Miocene North-
east Japan arc, potassic alteration represented by abundant hydrothermal biotite, magnetite, and K-feldspar
is uncommon in these rocks. However, the intrusive rocks may have undergone molybdenite mineralization
in association with phyllic alteration, represented by quartz, sericite and pyrite, or chalcopyrite in chlorite–
sericite alteration in the subepithermal and epithermal environments at <400 C. The absence of porphyry
Cu deposits in the Japanese islands in petrochemically and compositionally favorable intrusive rocks is
ascribed to the lack of early quartz veins and poor development of potassic alteration that prevented Cu
sulfide precipitation at high temperatures. The lack of early quartz veins and scarcity of potassic-altered
intrusive rocks in Japan is explained by the noncompressional stress field throughout the Japanese islands,
which was incapable of maintaining lithostatic pressures during fluid exsolution from the intrusive
magmas.
Keywords: El Salvador, Grasberg, Japan, porphyry Cu deposit, potassic alteration, tectonic regime.

1. Introduction magmas related to subduction of oceanic plates

(Sillitoe, 1972; Ishihara, 1977), although there are
Porphyry Cu deposits form largely from calc-alkaline, exceptional deposits that form from alkaline and calc-
oxidized (magnetite-series), intermediate to felsic alkaline magmas in a collision or postcollision setting

Received 4 September 2017. Revised 6 January 2018. Accepted for publication 9 January 2018.
Corresponding author: Y. Watanabe, Graduate School of International Resource Sciences, Akita University, Mining Musium of Akita
University, Osawa, Tegata, Akita 010-8502, Japan. Email: y-watanabe@gipc.akita-u.ac.jp
*Present address: JX Nippon Exploration and Development Co. Ltd., 9, Kandanishikicho 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan.

© 2018 The Society of Resource Geology

1
Y. Watanabe et al.
(e.g. Hou et al., 2009). When such magmas solidify at
shallow levels of the crust (2–6 km) as porphyry dikes
and stocks without volcanic eruption, the crystalliza-
tion process increases the vapor–liquid pressure close
to magmatic temperatures at the apices of the dikes
and stocks, forming the early quartz veins that char-
acterize porphyry centers. Hydrothermal fluid
exsolves from the large parental magma chamber
located below the mineralized porphyry dikes and
stocks and move upward along the permeability
induced by the early quartz veins. On its way up, this
magmatic supercritical fluid separates into immiscible
brine and vapor phases (Hedenquist & Lowenstern,
1994). The first phase separation process and the
decrease in the temperature of the metal-rich brine
promote hydrothermal alteration and precipitation of
Cu sulfides within the porphyry stocks and in sur-
rounding host rocks, resulting in the formation of por-
phyry Cu deposits (Ulrich et al., 1999; Rusk et al.,
2008a).
In these porphyry Cu systems, the reactions
between the hydrothermal fluids and host rocks form
various alteration zones, which include potassic, pro-
pylitic, phyllic, and advanced argillic. With increasing
acidity and sulfidation state, potassic with peripheral
propylitic alteration changes through phyllic to
advanced argillic (Sillitoe, 2010). Potassic alteration,
characterized by the dominant presence of K-feldspar
and biotite, together with early-stage quartz veins
hosts as much as 75% of the Cu in the El Salvador
deposit in northern Chile (Gustafson & Hunt, 1975).
Because Cu sulfides (chalcopyrite and bornite) are
mainly hosted in early-stage quartz veins in the potas-
sic alteration zone, this early-stage hydrothermal
activity was considered to be responsible for the Cu
mineralization at El Salvador (Gustafson & Hunt,
1975). Thus, the presence of early-stage quartz veins
associated with different degrees of intensity of potas-
sic alteration defines the porphyry environment,
although potassic alteration is not restricted only to
porphyry systems but also occurs in other hydrother-
mal systems that involve K-rich fluids reacting with
upper crustal rocks between 400 and 600 C under
close to neutral conditions.
In this paper, we report the results of reactions dur-
ing the potassic alteration process to evaluate how
this alteration is related to the Cu mineralization in
the El Salvador and Grasberg, Indonesia deposits.
Then, we present a summary review of the main
styles of mineralization temporarily and spatially
associated with intrusive igneous rocks that fulfill the
2
petrochemical characteristics favorable for the devel-
opment of porphyry systems in the Late Cretaceous
to Paleogene Southwest Japan and late Miocene
Northeast Japan arcs. The last part of this paper dis-
cusses and rationalizes the lack of potassic alteration
and the absence of porphyry Cu deposits within pet-
rochemically favorable igneous rocks, with links to
the stress field conditions prevalent during the evolu-
tion of these magmatic arcs in Japan.
2. Reactions of igneous minerals and
hydrothermal fluids in the potassic
alteration zones at El Salvador and
Grasberg
2.1 El Salvador
In the El Salvador district, at least five intrusive cen-
ters are aligned in an NNE direction for a distance of
4.5 km: Cerro Pelado, Old Camp, Copper Hill, Indio
Muerto, and Granite Gulch from north to south
(Gustafson et al., 2001; Fig. 1). All these intrusive
centers are variously altered and mineralized. The
potassic alteration zone, with a biotite-K-feldspar-
albite-chlorite-sericite-kaolinite assemblage, is the
largest at Indio Muerto, followed by Copper Hill. The
potassic alteration at Old Camp and Granite Gulch is
limited in extent. The size of the potassic zones is
reflected by the Cu tonnage and grade of the intrusive
centers (Gustafson et al., 2001; Fig. 1), and until 2000,
the Indio Muerto center constituted the only minable
deposit.
The El Salvador deposit is located in the Indio
Muerto center, where two major intrusive rock units
are present: middle Eocene rhyolite porphyry and
granodiorite porphyry. The Cu–Mo mineralization is
associated with the granodiorite porphyry as stocks
emplaced at 42 Ma (Lee et al., 2017). The hydrother-
mal alteration in the Indio Muerto center comprises
potassic, phyllic, and propylitic assemblages from the
core to the periphery of the deposit (Fig. 1). Sulfide
minerals are also zoned from inner chalcopyrite–
bornite and intermediate chalcopyrite–pyrite to outer
pyrite, and the majority of the Cu sulfides occur in
the central potassic zone (Gustafson & Hunt, 1975).
Quartz veins associated with the mineralization
are classified into A, B, and D types on the basis
of the occurrence of quartz and associated sulfide
and gangue minerals (Gustafson & Hunt, 1975). A-
veins are the earliest of these three types and are
© 2018 The Society of Resource Geology
Role of potassic alteration in porphyry system
Fig. 1 Alteration zoning and hypogene Cu grade map of
the El Salvador district, Chile, simplified from Gustafson
et al. (2001).
characterized by the assemblage quartz-K-feldspar-
anhydrite-sulfides (mainly chalcopyrite and bornite
with minor molybdenite), with distinct K-feldspar
halos. The K-feldspar halos become vague where the
host rocks underwent pervasive K-feldspar alteration.
B-veins are intermediate in the vein sequence and are
characterized by the occurrence of quartz-anhydrite-
sulfides (mainly molybdenite) without alteration
halos, and the latest D-veins by sulfides (mainly
pyrite with lesser amounts of chalcopyrite)-anhydrite-
quartz, with distinct sericite and chlorite halos. In
addition to these vein types, chalcopyrite veins char-
acterized by chalcopyrite-quartz-anhydrite with seri-
cite and chlorite halos are also observed.
© 2018 The Society of Resource Geology
Our petrographic observations of the drill core sam-
ples from the center of the orebody show that chalco-
pyrite, bornite, and molybdenite are associated with
biotite and K-feldspar in the host porphyry and occur
in intergranular spaces of mosaic quartz in the A-
veins (Fig. 2a), with or without K-feldspar, anhydrite,
sericite, and chlorite. Molybdenite and chalcopyrite in
the B-veins mainly occur between quartz and anhy-
drite bands and in quartz and anhydrite as spherical
to euhedral crystals. Chalcopyrite veins have sericite
and chlorite alteration halos, and in addition to chal-
copyrite, the veins are composed of minor quartz and
anhydrite, which occur interstitial to chalcopyrite or
included in chalcopyrite.
The CL texture of the quartz in the A- and B-veins
indicates that sulfides in A-veins are hosted in CL-
dark quartz, which cuts the homogeneous CL-bright
quartz that composes the major part of the A-veins
(Fig. 2a, b). The CL texture of quartz and related chal-
copyrite in A-veins indicates that chalcopyrite precipi-
tation occurred later than the main CL-bright quartz.
It is also observed that albite veinlets, which cut
plagioclase phenocrysts in the potassic alteration,
include anhydrite, quartz, K-feldspar, chalcopyrite,
bornite, and molybdenite (Fig. 2c, d). This mineral
assemblage within the veinlets is interpreted to show
that the hydrothermal replacement of plagioclase by
albite and K-feldspar released Ca2+ into the aqueous
solution, in which the increased concentration of the
Ca ion promoted disproportionation of SO2 in the
solution (Henley et al., 2015; Mavrogenes & Blundy,
2017), resulting in precipitation of anhydrite and sul-
fides. Similarly, the Ca ion supplied by the decompo-
sition of hornblende and titanite (Gustafson & Hunt,
1975) may also have contributed to the precipitation
of anhydrite and sulfides. These reactions took place
at ~500 C and continued to 400 C, as estimated by
oxygen and sulfur isotopic temperatures determined
for the K-feldspar, biotite and quartz, and sulfide–
sulfate mineral pairs (Sheppard & Gustafson, 1976;
Hedenquist & Watanabe, 1998; Zimmerman et al.,
2014). In contrast, the estimated temperature for the
D-veins is lower than 400 C (Field & Gustafson, 1976;
Sheppard & Gustafson, 1976; Hedenquist & Wata-
nabe, 1998; Watanabe & Hedenquist, 2001).
2.2 Grasberg
The Grasberg porphyry Cu–Au deposit in Indonesia
is hosted within the Pliocene Grasberg Igneous Com-
plex (GIC) that consists of the premineral Dalam
3
Y. Watanabe et al.

Fig. 2 Occurrence of igne-

ous and hydrothermal
minerals during the potas-
sic alteration at El Salvador
and Grasberg. (a) and
(b) Occurrence of chalco-
pyrite (cp) in A-vein
quartz (qtz) at El Salvador
(a: BSE image, b: CL
image). Red-colored areas
represent chalcopyrite.
Sample from DH1948
(49.2 m). (c) and
(d) Occurrence of albite
(ab) veinlets in plagioclase
(pl) phenocrysts at El Sal-
vador. The albite veinlets
contain anhydrite (anh),
bornite (bn), chalcopyrite,
and K-feldspar (kf ). Sam-
ple from DH1104 (68.0 m).
(e) Occurrence of anhydrite
in igneous biotite at Gras-
berg. Sample from KL98-
10-21 (1394.9 m). (f )
Occurrence of chalcopyrite,
magnetite (mt), and biotite
(bt) in a quartz vein at
Grasberg. Sample from
INF41-02 (178.2 m).

Intrusion, intramineral Main Grasberg Intrusion
(MGI) and Early Kali Intrusion (EKI), and postmineral
Late Kali Intrusion (LKI); it is emplaced into the Cre-
taceous and Tertiary siliciclastic and carbonate rocks
(MacDonald & Arnold, 1994). These intrusive rocks
are dioritic to monzodioritic in composition
(MacDonald & Arnold, 1994). The GIC are hydrother-
mally altered and mineralized, except for the LKI,
and potassic alteration represented by the assemblage
K-feldspar, biotite and magnetite is widespread
(Pollard & Taylor, 2005). The common presence of
igneous anhydrite in the relatively fresh EKI (Fig. 2e)
indicates that the GIC magma was saturated with sul-
fur and oxidized (fO2 > FMQ + 2) (Jugo, 2009).
Hydrothermal alteration associated with the GIC
includes potassic, phyllic, and advanced argillic. The
potassic alteration is dominated by K-feldspar, quartz,
biotite, and magnetite, with stockwork quartz veins,
similar to the A- and B-veins in the El Salvador
deposit described above. Phyllic alteration is charac-
terized by disseminated pyrite, quartz, and sericite
and by the abrupt and complete disappearance of
magnetite (MacDonald & Arnold, 1994). Hydrother-
mal anhydrite is present not only in the potassic alter-
ation but also in the phyllic alteration (Sulaksono
et al., 2017). Detailed mineral paragenetic study shows
that, during the potassic alteration, formation of the
hydrothermal magnetite veins predated that of the
anhydrite–quartz veins (Pollard & Taylor, 2002).
In the potassic zone of the Grasberg deposit, the
high-grade (>1 wt.%) Cu mineralization is character-
ized by abundant hydrothermal magnetite (~15 vol.%)

© 2018 The Society of Resource Geology

4
Role of potassic alteration in porphyry system
(Fig. 2f ), which is in inverse proportion to the abun-
dance of hydrothermal anhydrite (Sulaksono et al.,
2017). This relationship suggests that the sulfide min-
eralization was triggered by the reduction of SO42− in
the fluids by the oxidation of ferrous iron in mafic
minerals.
3. Hydrothermal alteration associated
with Japanese intrusive systems
The proto-Japanese islands have been situated at the
active convergent margin of the Eurasian continent
since late Paleozoic times and, consequently, have a
long history of oceanic plate subduction and arc mag-
matism. In the early Miocene, the proto-islands were
separated from the main continent due to back-arc
spreading, resulting in the formation of the Sea of
Japan (Watanabe et al., 2016). Among the various
epochs of arc magmatism in the Japanese islands, the
hydrothermal alteration and mineralization associated
with the intrusive rocks in the Sanin belt of the Late
Cretaceous to Paleogene Southwest Japan arc and the
late Miocene Northeast Japan arc (Fig. 2) are investi-
gated as potential sites for porphyry Cu mineraliza-
tion. These arcs were selected because the intrusive
rocks have chemical and mineralogical characteristics
(calc-alkaline, magnetite-series, intermediate to felsic
in composition) favorable for porphyry Cu minerali-
zation (Sillitoe, 2010) and are commonly associated
with advanced argillic alteration (Watanabe et al.,
1997; Watanabe & Ohta, 1999; Sato et al., 2016), which
is inevitably present in porphyry Cu systems if they
are not deeply eroded (Sillitoe, 1995, 2010).
3.1 The Sanin belt of the Southwest Japan arc
The granitoids of the Sanin belt are Late Cretaceous
to Paleogene in age and are dominated by the
magnetite-series (Ishihara, 1977). In the Sanin belt, the
mineralization ages of metallic deposits associated
with these granitoids range from 76 to 37 Ma, with
the majority in the range of 66–56 Ma. An initial
phase of W–Mo mineralization (76–64 Ma) was fol-
lowed by solely Mo mineralization (63–37 Ma)
(Watanabe et al., 1998). The relatively large Sanin
deposits are characterized by molybdenite-bearing
quartz vein deposits, such as the Higashiyama (2200 t
approximate total production as molybdenite concen-
trate), Seikyu (3000 t), Hirase (2300 t), Daito (4300 t),
and Komaki (140 t), and polymetallic Ag–Pb–Zn–Mo
© 2018 The Society of Resource Geology
skarn deposits, such as the Kamioka (3.69Mt Zn as
total production) and Nakatatsu (0.66Mt Zn) (Fig. 3).
These granitic rocks are also associated with a num-
ber of metal-free sericite and/or pyrophyllite deposits
(Kitagawa et al., 1988; Sudo & Murao, 2004).
The molybdenite-bearing quartz veins in the Daito
area are hosted in the Kawai Hybrid Rocks, which
consist of fine-grained hornblende–biotite quartz dio-
rite, tonalite and granodiorite, and the Rengeji grano-
diorite. These units are intruded and underlain by the
Ouchidani porphyritic biotite granite (Fig. 4a), which
occurs as three major isolated bodies and small dikes.
The Ouchidani stocks are granodioritic to granitic in
composition (Ishihara, 1971; Matsuura et al., 2005),
and biotite in the granite is generally altered to chlo-
rite, and plagioclase is partly replaced by K-feldspar
(Ishihara, 1971). The overlying wall rocks (Kawai
Hybrid Rocks & Rendaiji granodiorite) of the Ouchi-
dani granite host molybdenite-bearing quartz veins in
the Daito, Higashiyama, and Seikyu deposits. The
veins are gently dipping (~20 ) (Fig. 4a), generally
<30 cm thick, and associated with alteration halos a
few tens of centimeters wide, consisting of quartz,
biotite, sericite, chlorite, and pyrite  K-feldspar 
andalusite, among which biotite and sericite are
dominant.
In these Mo deposits, the majority of the molybde-
nite occurs as molybdenite-quartz veins (83%) and
molybdenite-sulfide (chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and
galena)-quartz veins (10%) (Ishihara, 1971). Hydro-
thermal alteration associated with these veins is
classified into various assemblages, including (i) -
andalusite-biotite-K-feldspar, (ii) andalusite-biotite-
muscovite, (iii) sericite-quartz, and (iv) calcite-albite.
The andalusite-biotite-K-feldspar assemblage occurs in
pegmatitic veins in the eastern Daito deposit. In this
assemblage, plagioclase is replaced by K-feldspar,
and igneous biotite is modified to hydrothermal bio-
tite. The andalusite-biotite-muscovite assemblage is
observed only in the Hinotani orebody, in the eastern
part of the Daito deposit, where igneous K-feldspar
and plagioclase are replaced by andalusite and then
sericite and muscovite. The sericite-quartz assemblage
is most common in the Seikyu and Higashiyama
deposits, where it is characterized by the replacement
of feldspars by sericite and quartz (Ishihara, 1971). The
fluid inclusions in the molybdenite–quartz veins in the
Higashiyama deposit are two-phase liquid-rich and
homogenize at 220–350 C (Yoshida, 1975).
The molybdenite-wolframite-scheelite orebody in
the Komaki deposit is a pod of quartz, a few meters
5
Y. Watanabe et al.

Fig. 3 Map showing the

locations of the Late Creta-
ceous to Paleogene Sanin
Belt of Southwest Japan
arc and late Miocene
Northeast Japan arc. The
locations of mineral
deposits referred to in the
text and porphyry Cu
potential areas are also
shown. Abbreviations of
mineral deposits: AG,
Agawa; AK, Arakawa;
AN, Ani; AS, Ashio; DT,
Daito; HG, Higashiyama;
HR, Hirase; KK, Komaki;
KM, Kamioka; KY,
Koyama; NB, Nabeyama;
NG, Nagamatsu; NK,
Nako; NT, Nakatatsu; OK,
Ohkura; OS, Osarizawa;
SK, Seikyu; SH, Shinyo;
TT, Tatemata; YJ, Yoji; YN,
Yonago.

in diameter, hosted by biotite granite. The hydrother-
mal alteration around the orebody is associated with
quartz–muscovite greisen, containing garnet, topaz,
axinite, biotite, zircon, and fluorite (Tsubotani & Ishi-
hara, 1958).
The Hirase Mo deposit consists of high-angle,
molybdenite-bearing quartz veins, which are hosted
by aplite and biotite granite or hornblende-bearing
biotite granodiorite. These veins are subparallel, and
the maximum strike and dip extent is 400 and 250 m,
respectively. The veins have alteration halos ~5 cm
wide, which include calcite and sericite, replacing pla-
gioclase. Igneous biotite in the halos is replaced by
chlorite and calcite. The veins also contain sulfides
(sphalerite, galena, pyrite, and chalcopyrite) and trace
amounts of uraninite, monazite, allanite, and xeno-
time (Ishihara, 1971).
There are a few Au–Ag deposits associated with
diorite intrusions in the Sanin belt, such as the Agawa
prospect, located at the western end of the Honshu
island (Fig. 3). At this prospect, placer gold was
extracted in the 17th century, and small-scale open pit
and underground mining was conducted until 1940.
The Agawa Au prospect is hosted in the 87–85 Ma
Agawa diorite porphyry and crystalline tuff beds of
the Abu Group, the latter occurring as a roof pendant
in the Agawa porphyry. The prospect comprises an
alteration zone, approximately 500 m in diameter,
consisting of an intensely sericitized core that grades
outward into illite–chlorite followed by an external
illite/smectite mixed-layer clay zone. Pyrophyllite
occurs in the shallow parts of the alteration zone. The
center of the alteration zone contains trace amounts
of chalcopyrite, pyrite, molybdenite, pyrrhotite, and

© 2018 The Society of Resource Geology

6
Role of potassic alteration in porphyry system

Fig. 4 Examples of geologi-

cal cross sections showing
the relationship of intru-
sive bodies and minerali-
zation. (a) Section showing
the relation between the
Ouchidani granite and
molybdenite orebodies at
Daito and Seikyu in the
Sanin Belt, Southwest
Japan arc, from Matsuura
et al. (2005). (b) Geological
section with Cu grade con-
tours along the No. 4 vein
of the Ani Cu deposit in
the Northeast Japan arc
from Kamiyama et al.
(1958).

native gold, which are hosted in stockwork quartz
veinlets or disseminated with illite in the host crystal-
line tuff and diorite. Fluid inclusions in the veinlet
quartz are two-phase and liquid-rich and have
homogenization temperatures ranging from 310 to
380 C and salinities of 1.0–3.0 wt.% NaCl equivalent.
The salinity of the fluids decreases with decreasing
temperature, which suggests that mixing of a high-
temperature, high-salinity fluid with meteoric water
triggered the metallic mineralization (Sato et al., 2016).
3.2 Miocene Northeast Japan arc
The Northeast Japan arc extends for 1600 km from
western Hokkaido to central Honshu, where it con-
nects to the Izu-Ogasawara arc (Fig. 3). The arc is
slightly concave toward the Pacific Ocean side of
Japan. The Pacific plate subducted beneath the North-
east Japan arc continuously since the early Miocene,
resulting in arc volcanism. This volcanism is divided
into early-middle Miocene rift-related activity, includ-
ing bimodal basalt and rhyolite associated with the
Kuroko deposits in the back-arc, and subsequent
subduction-related intermediate to felsic activity since
the late Miocene (Watanabe et al., 2016).
The late Miocene intrusive rocks in the Jozankei
district (Fig. 3) in southwestern Hokkaido are grano-
dioritic and dacitic rocks of the magnetite series,
including the Ogawa granodiorite and dacite por-
phyry stocks at Jozankei, Otarunaigawa, and Asari-
gawa. The stocks are a few kilometers in size and
elongate in an N or NNW direction. They host Cu–
Pb–Zn prospects that comprise chalcopyrite-, galena-,
and sphalerite-bearing quartz veins. These stocks are
associated with sericitic and/or epidote–chlorite alter-
ation at depth and advanced argillic and argillic alter-
ation at shallower levels. The Ogawa granodiorite is
the only stock that underwent potassic alteration in
which hornblende is replaced by hydrothermal biotite
(Watanabe & Ohta, 1999).
There are a number of late Miocene intrusive rocks
in the Tohoku district of Honshu, some of which are
associated with Cu mineralization, including the
Osarizawa, Tatemata, Ani, Arakawa, Ohkura, Naga-
matsu, Koyama, and Ashio deposits (Sudo & Igarashi,
1997; Sudo, 1998; Fig. 3). These Cu deposits are

© 2018 The Society of Resource Geology

7
Y. Watanabe et al.

vein-type and hosted by the intrusions and volcanic
and sedimentary rocks that overlie them (Fig. 4b).
They are associated mainly with chlorite-dominated
propylitic alteration (Table 1).
4. Discussion
4.1 The role of potassic alteration for
porphyry Cu mineralization
Petrographic observations from the porphyry systems
of El Salvador and Grasberg indicate that the reac-
tions between the hydrothermal fluids and igneous
minerals during potassic alteration promoted the
production of reduced S species (H2S) in the fluid by
(i) the disproportionation of SO2 by supply of Ca2+ to
the fluids and (ii) reduction of SO42− by oxidation of
ferrous iron in mafic minerals to form magnetite. The
increased H2S concentration in the hydrothermal fluid
is one of the factors that decreases the solubility of
chalcopyrite and triggers Cu mineralization
(e.g. Fontboté et al., 2017), although the timing of the
Cu mineralization is not always simultaneous with
biotite and K-feldspar precipitation during the potas-
sic alteration.
Potassic alteration in the porphyry systems was
contemporaneous with emplacement of A-veins that
formed at approximately 500 C or higher at El

Table 1 List of late Miocene Cu deposits in the Northeast Japan arc

Deposit Associated Deposit Host rock Sulfide Gangue Main Reference

name intrusive rock type minerals minerals hydrothermal
alteration
Osarizawa Unknown Vein Middle Miocene cp, py qtz, chl Shimizu and
sedimentary (ga, sp) chl, brt Matsunaga
rocks and (1964)
rhyolite
Tatemata Diorite, grano- Vein Miocene cp, py, sp, mt, qtz, chl Yoshida (1967)
diorite, sedimentary ga, po chl,
granite rocks and cal, ser
underlying
diorite
Ani Diorite to Vein Miocene cp (sp, qtz, cal, chl Orimoto (1964),
granodiorite andesitic tuff ga, py) chl, Nambu et al.
breccia, basalt, ser, hm (1978)
and
underlying
granitic
porphyry
Arakawa Diorite Vein Early and Middle cp, py qtz chl Satori
Miocene et al. (2017)
sedimentary
rocks
Nagamatsu Rhyolitic Vein Middle Miocene cp, py (sp) qtz, chl, chl Okubo
breccia sedimentary ser and Kanda
rocks, andesite (1961)
and dacite
Koyama Unknown Vein Middle Miocene sp, ga, cp, qtz, chl, chl Isobe et al.
sedimentary py, au cal, (1967)
rocks and tuff brt, ka
breccia
Ashio Quartzdiorite Vein Middle Miocene cp, bn, py, cst, qtz, ser, ser, chl, Nakamura
porphyry rhyolite frb, bis, chl advanced (1961)
asp, sp argillic

Abbreviation of minerals: asp, arsenopyrite; au, native gold; bis, bismuthinite; bn, bornite; brt, barite; cst, cassiterite; chl, chlorite; cal, calcite;
cp, chalcopyrite; frb, ferberite; ga, galena; hm, hematite; ka, kaolinite; mt, magnetite; po, pyrrhotite; py, pyrite; qtz, quartz; ser, sericite; sp,
shalerite.

© 2018 The Society of Resource Geology

8
Role of potassic alteration in porphyry system
Salvador (Rusk et al., 2008b) and 500–600 C or higher
at Grasberg (Ulrich et al., 1999; Rusk et al., 2008b). The
earliest vein formation is ascribed to a sudden reduc-
tion in quartz solubility due to a pressure drop from
lithostatic to near-hydrostatic conditions (Rusk &
Reed, 2002). To maintain the high fluid temperature
conditions that promote potassic alteration at shallow
crustal levels (e.g. 2 km at Far Southeast, 3 km at
Grasberg, 6–8 km at Butte), lithostatic pressure is
required (Hedenquist et al., 1998; Ulrich et al., 1999;
Rusk et al., 2008a). In contrast, the late phyllic alter-
ation is believed to have occurred under hydrostatic
conditions and lower temperatures and pressures, as
shown by fluid inclusion studies (Hedenquist et al.,
1998; Rusk & Reed, 2002).
In the Cretaceous to Paleogene calk-alkaline gra-
nitic rocks of the Sanin belt, the intrusive rocks (dio-
rite, granodiorite, and granite) are commonly
associated with phyllic alteration, from which both
sericite and pyrophyllite have been mined as indus-
trial minerals at several localities. However, potassic
alteration is poorly developed in these intrusive rocks,
except in association with molybdenite veins in and
near the Ouchidani stock. Another difference between
typical porphyry Cu systems and the intrusions in the
Sanin belt is the lack of a brine phase in fluid inclu-
sions. The spatial relationship of the Mo-W-base metal
or Au-pyrrhotite mineralization and the salinity and
temperatures reported from fluid inclusions suggest
that the mineral occurrences and deposits located
within this magmatic arc are intrusion-related but not
of porphyry type. These observations suggest that the
host magmas were reduced compared to the por-
phyry Cu-associated magmas; that the hydrothermal
fluids exsolved from the magmas of the Sanin belt
rapidly cooled to <400 C or less, without separation
of vapor and metal-rich brine phases; or that the
observed erosion levels are distal from the heat and
fluid source.
In common with the granitic rocks of the Sanin
belt, the intrusive rocks of the late Miocene North-
east Japan arc lack potassic alteration. Some of them
are associated with vein-type Cu mineralization,
mainly in rocks overlying the intrusive rocks. Fluid
inclusion data indicate subepithermal and epither-
mal temperature (350–200 C) for the Cu mineraliza-
tion (Shikazono, 1985).
The absence of porphyry Cu mineralization in the
Cretaceous to Paleogene intrusive rocks of the Sanin
belt and late Miocene Northeast Japan arc is ascribed
to the scarcity of potassic alteration, which could have
© 2018 The Society of Resource Geology
increased reduced S species in the hydrothermal
fluids at high temperatures. The scarcity of potassic
alteration and lack of associated A-type quartz veins
in the intrusive rocks in these Japanese arcs may be
due to the fact that the lithostatic pressure was not
maintained at the apices of the intrusions long
enough to cause extensive hydrofracturing and potas-
sic alteration by the exsolving hydrothermal fluids.
Some of the intrusive rocks in the Northeast Japan
arc are associated with nearby vein-type Cu deposits,
implying that these magmas had Cu-mineralizing
potential, although the mineralization was vein style.
The different mineralization styles can be explained
by the pressure conditions prevailing near the apices
of the magmatic intrusions, where pressure conditions
rapidly changed from lithostatic to hydrostatic, and
the exsolved magmatic fluids were quickly cooled
and entered the surrounding rocks through fractures.
4.2 Relationship among potassic alteration,
porphyry Cu mineralization, and regional
stress field
There is no apparent difference in igneous rock miner-
alogy and chemistry among the intrusive rocks in the
El Salvador district, except at Cerro Pelado, which is
rhyolitic (Gustafson & Hunt, 1975), and those at Old
Camp, Copper Hill, and Granite Gulch, which have
more contaminations by wall rocks than that at Indio
Muerto, as revealed by zircon trace element geochem-
istry (Lee et al., 2017). The distinct differences between
the Indio Muerto intrusion and the others are its age
and configuration. The U–Pb zircon age of the intru-
sions at Old Camp, Copper Hill, and Granite Gulch is
in the range of 44–43 Ma, whereas that at Indio
Muerto is younger (42.5–42 Ma) (Lee et al., 2017). The
elongation direction of the intrusions at Old Camp,
Copper Hill, and Granite Gulch is NNE, whereas that
at Indio Muerto is WNW, a difference that is inter-
preted to be due to a change of the regional stress
field from WNW-directed tension to compression
with time (Zimmerman et al., 2014). The change of
stress field is compatible with WNW-directed contrac-
tion, reflected by the reverse faulting and folding that
had started by 42 Ma (Cornejo et al., 1997; Tomlinson
et al., 1999). Therefore, the focus of porphyry Cu min-
eralization at Indio Muerto occurred just before the
major porphyry intrusive activity had ended and in a
dynamic, transitional stress field (Zimmerman
et al., 2014).
9
Y. Watanabe et al.
The change of the elongation direction of the intru-
sive bodies before, during, and after the porphyry
mineralization is also observed in a number of other
porphyry systems (e.g. Bajo de Alumbrera, Climax,
Bingham). In the Bajo de Alumbrera deposit in Argen-
tina, a premineral, NE-trending porphyry dike was
intruded into late Miocene andesite, which was fol-
lowed by intrusion of several porphyries (P2, P3, and
Quartz-Eye porphyries) that formed a composite,
cylindrical stock, containing a major porphyry Cu–Au
deposit at 7.1 Ma (Buret et al., 2017). The postmineral
northwest porphyries intruded into cylindrical stock
and host andesite in an NW direction (Ulrich & Hein-
rich, 2001). The change of strike of the pre- and post-
mineral dikes reflects a change of the stress field from
arc-normal tension to compression (Nakamura &
Uyeda, 1980), similar to the case of the El Salvador
deposit.
Fig. 5 Schematic figure showing the relations between subduction style, tectonic regime, style of volcanism, and associated
hydrothermal alteration and mineralization, modified from Watanabe (2003).
10
The El Salvador and Bajo de Alumbrera examples
suggest that a dynamic change of regional stress field,
from tension to compression, and of tectonic regime,
from weak extension to stronger contraction, is con-
ducive to potassic alteration and associated porphyry
Cu mineralization (Fig. 5).
4.3 Potential areas of porphyry Cu
mineralization in Japan
Porphyry Cu deposits commonly form in clusters
during well-defined metallogenic epochs, which
radiometric dating shows to have typical durations of
10–20 My. (Sillitoe, 2010). These epochs may corre-
spond to local and/or regional tectonic events, such
as (i) fast plate convergence (>15 cm year−1)
(e.g. convergence between the Farallon-Kula plate
and the North American plate along the Kluane belt
© 2018 The Society of Resource Geology
Role of potassic alteration in porphyry system
in Alaska-Yukon from 75 to 65 Ma); (ii) subduction
of an aseismic ridge or seamount chain
(e.g. Tehuantepec ridge beneath southern Mexico,
Cocos ridge beneath Panama, Juan Fernandez ridge
beneath central Chile-Argentina); or (iii) subduction
of thick, cold, oceanic or microcontinental terranes
(e.g. Wrangellia composite-terrane accretion along
central and eastern Alaska belts from 100 to 80 Ma)
(Watanabe, 1998). These tectonic regimes contribute
to shallow subduction of oceanic plates (Cross & Pil-
ger, 1982), which strengthens the coupling force
between the slabs and overriding plates and reduces
the tensional stress in volcanic arc and back-arc
regions. The resultant compressional stress field is
favorable for the formation of porphyry Cu deposits
because relatively large crustal magma chambers and
subvolcanic porphyry stocks can form, compressional
stress can prevent eruption of subvolcanic magma
chambers, and lithostatic pressure is maintained near
the apices of porphyry stocks during fluid exsolution
and mineralization (Sillitoe, 1998; Watanabe, 1998).
Despite the lack of apparently favorable tectonic
settings in the Cretaceous to Paleogene Sanin belt and
late Miocene Northeast Japan arc, three areas may
comply with one of the three tectonic regimes men-
tioned above. These areas are (i) southern Kyushu,
where the Kyushu-Palau ridge has been subducted
since 5 Ma (Yamaji, 2003); (ii) central Honshu, where
the Izu-Ogasawara arc collided and accreted (Amano,
1991); and (iii) the Muine-Toyoha magmatic–
hydrothermal system in southwestern Hokkaido
(Fig. 3), where the frontal Kurile arc is colliding
(Tada & Kimura, 1987). Although the volcanic rocks
that conceal the underlying intrusive rocks in these
areas are only shallowly eroded, there are minor indi-
cations of porphyry Cu mineralization, that is, pres-
ence of high-sulfidation epithermal Au deposits in
southern Kyushu, felsic intrusive rocks associated
with Cu prospects and pyrophyllite-sericite-diaspore-
bearing advanced argillic alteration (Yonago, Shinyo,
Yoji; Fig. 3) in central Honshu, and a present-day
magma  hydrothermal reservoir 2 km beneath the
Pliocene Muine lithocap, as detected by magnetotellu-
ric investigations (Takakura & Matsushima, 2003).
5. Conclusions
In porphyry Cu systems, potassic alteration contributes
to the supply of reduced sulfur species to magmatic–
hydrothermal fluids by fluid–rock reactions. The
© 2018 The Society of Resource Geology
absence of porphyry Cu deposits in the Japanese arcs
may be explained by lack of early quartz veins and the
poor development of potassic alteration in the intrusive
rocks, although some of the intruded magmas have
petrochemical and mineralogical characteristics (calc-
alkaline, magnetite-series, intermediate to felsic in
composition) considered favorable for porphyry Cu
mineralization. The lack of early quartz veins and scar-
city of potassic alteration in the Japanese intrusive
rocks may be due to the fact that lithostatic pressure
was not well maintained at the apices of magma bodies
during the exsolution of the magmatic fluids: pressure
conditions that may be related to the regional tectonic
regime and resultant stress field.
Acknowledgments
This paper was presented at the International Sympo-
sium “The Japanese Porphyry Copper Enigma” dur-
ing the 67th Annual Meeting of the Society of
Resource Geology. Dr. Richard Sillitoe, the convener
of the symposium and the invited editor of this issue
of Resource Geology, kindly provided us the opportu-
nity to present this work. We are greatly indebted to
the pioneering work of Prof. Shunso Ishihara and
Dr. Sillitoe, which assisted with preparation of the
manuscript. We thank CODELCO and PT Freeport
Indonesia for their help during our field surveys and
sampling. Reviews provided by Rubén Padilla, José
Perelló, and Richard Sillitoe significantly improved
the manuscript.
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