Volcanic Strata-Hosted Gold Deposits

in Quaternary Volcanoes:
The “Sandwich-Style” Model
Alberto Lobo-Guerrero S.
Geologist, M.Sc., Min.Ex, Ph.D.

Operations Vice-President
LOGEMIN S.A., Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
ageo@logemin.com; ageoyy@gmail.com SS001
 Yacimientos auríferos alojados
en estratos volcánicos cuaternarios:
El Modelo ‘Estilo Sánduche’
Alberto Lobo-Guerrero S.
Geologist, M.Sc., Min.Ex, Ph.D.

Operations Vice-President
LOGEMIN S.A., Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
ageo@logemin.com; ageoyy@gmail.com SS001
Sandwich-Style

Take-Home Message
1.Porous, permeable volcanic strata (pyroclastics)
limited by impermeable strata (lava layers or welded tuffs)
provide a good trap for epithermal Au mineralization.

2. Sandwich-style mineralization may be well exposed by

lateral explosions in young volcanic edifices. SS002
TR04
Sandwich-Style
-1 Introduction >
Contents -2 Volcano Expelling Au: Galeras, Colombia >
-3 Ladolam Au Deposit, Papua-New Guinea >
-4 Volcanoes, their rocks and deposits >
-5 Volcanic Explosions & Lateral Explosions >
-6 Guagua-Pichincha Volcano, Ecuador >
-7 Round Mountain Au Deposit, Nevada, USA >
-8 Colombian Examples >
-9 Ecuatorian Examples >
-10 Kamchatkan Examples >
-11 General Exploration Strategy >
-12 Objective Observation, Turkish Example >
-13 Conclusions >
References SS003
Sandwich-Style

Shortened & updated version

of day-long presentation
for exploration company
looking for epithermal Au deposits
in Kamchatka, Russian Far East

Basics:
-Volcanoes
-Volcanic geomorphology (lots of photos)
-“Sandwich-style” model for Au exploration
-A few case-studies
-Simple, low-tech exploration methodology
-Most images were updated by better ones >
SS004
Sandwich-Style

Who and I?
Born curious and still am.

Love nature.

Interested in practically all of it.

U.S. and Colombian citizen.

Consultant and entrepreneur.

>
SS005
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About the speaker

Geologist, Departamento de Geociencias,
Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota

M.Sc. in Mineral Exploration Geology,

Queen´s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Ph.D. in Geology,
Economic Geology Research Institute
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

International consultant in mineral exploration

and mining business, LOGEMIN S.A., Bogota.>
SS006
 3 generations
Sandwich-Style

of consulting
experience
in applied geology
Family corporation dedicated to study subsurface resources.
1. Mining Company
2. Consulting Firm
-Mineral Exploration (main activity)
-Groundwater, Hydrogeology
-Engineering Geology
>
-Environmental Geology SS007
Sandwich-Style

Various types of volcanic rocks may be found in Africa and >

around the Pacific coasts of Asia and the Americas.
Sandwich-Style

General Aspects
Talk focuses on: volcanic geomorphology & basic exploration
not on petrochemical aspects or ore grades
contains non-confidential information

Volcanoes may not always be explored & mined

-Most attractive prospect became a world heritage site
-Costa Rica prohibited mineral exploration (had many prospects)
-Colombia prohibited exploration & mining above 3000 m
Sandwich-Style

How did you start on volcanoes?

My father, who is a geologist, taught me about volcanoes.
-I played with kinder classmates to build a volcano.
-“corporation” called Lobo-Guerrero, Mey, Porras Volcán.
-Even had printed stationery.
-National Geographic collection of my grandfather
-Books at home and in school libraries
-Read everything that I could find

-During university years, I joined any field trip to volcanoes.

-Devoted a special fund to visit volcanoes and explore them.
Sandwich-Style

Most Volcanoes = Remote

Difficult to reach. Remain cloudy. Hard to photograph & study

-I began to work with air photos, SkyLab photos, SPOT &

LandSat images, then ASTER.
-Buying topo maps, digital elevation models, B/W field photos
-Not available: Free Google Earth, Sentinel images or internet.
-Purchased many RadarSat images in cloudy areas.
-Sought oil paintings and photos of volcanoes from books,
albums, collections.
Sandwich-Style

Contents -1 Introduction >

-2 Volcano Expelling Au: Galeras, Colombia >
-3 Ladolam Au Deposit, Papua-New Guinea >
-4 Volcanoes, their rocks and deposits >
-5 Volcanic Explosions & Lateral Explosions >
-6 Guagua-Pichincha Volcano, Ecuador >
-7 Round Mountain Au Deposit, Nevada, USA >
-8 Colombian Examples >
-9 Ecuatorian Examples >
-10 Kamchatkan Examples >
-11 General Exploration Strategy >
-12 Objective Observation, Turkish Example >
-13 Conclusions > SS010
Sandwich-Style

Galeras Volcano, Nariño, Colombia

One of the best studied in the northern

Andes

Expells 0.5 kg of gold per day

to the atmosphere in its fumaroles.
>
It is probably depositing more than 0.06
kg Au/day
in the volcanic edifice. SS011
From Goff et al., 1994
Sandwich-Style

Galeras Volcano

If such rates remain constant,

a moderately sized gold deposit
(>200 tons of contained Au)
may form in only 10,000 years.
>
If an equivalent amount is
left behind in porous volcanic rocks,
a short lapse of hydrothermal activity
SS012

may produce large Au deposits.

Sandwich-Style

Galeras Volcano

These observations
do not take into account
moments of great activity and explosive vulcanism, when
fumarolic activity increases
>
and several type of hydrothermal breccia are formed. SS013
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Do any of you notice anything special on this photo? >

Is there something out of the ordinary? SS014
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The back side is missing. Why? >

SS015
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Galeras
Volcano

>
Satellite view Pasto SS016
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Galeras
Volcano

>
Color-coded satellite image
SS017

Galeras Volcano, Nariño, Colombia

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Pasto

This is the other

side of
Galeras Volcano,
Nariño, Colombia

>
SS018
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Pasto
Blown-up caldera rim

S-N view of
Galeras Volcano,
Nariño, Colombia
1866
lavas

>
SS019
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Pasto
Side view of previous
image.
Pasto on the background.

The lateral explosion

blew up away from
Pasto.

A significant portion of
the original volcanic
>
edifice is missing. SS020
Sandwich-Style
E view of Galeras Volcano caldera rim, Nariño. Lateral
explosion towards left.

>
SS021
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NW view of Galeras Volcano caldera rim, Nariño.

>
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View of Galeras Volcano from Pasto.

>
SS023
Sandwich-Style
View of Galeras Volcano from Pasto.

>
SS024
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Another view of Galeras Volcano from Pasto.

>
SS025
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Contents -1 Introduction >

-2 Volcano Expelling Au: Galeras, Colombia >
-3 Ladolam Au Deposit, Papua-New Guinea >
-4 Volcanoes, their rocks and deposits >
-5 Volcanic Explosions & Lateral Explosions >
-6 Guagua-Pichincha Volcano, Ecuador >
-7 Round Mountain Au Deposit, Nevada, USA >
-8 Colombian Examples >
-9 Ecuatorian Examples >
-10 Kamchatkan Examples >
-11 General Exploration Strategy >
-12 Objective Observation, Turkish Example >
-13 Conclusions > SS026
 Ladolam
Au deposit, Lihir,
Papua-New Guinea
Sandwich-Style

>
SS027
Sandwich-Style

NASA vertical photo of

Lihir caldera,
Papua-New Guinea

Caldera is open to the

ocean.

A violent explosion
exposed the “guts” of the
volcanic system and
hydrothermal >
mineralization. SS028
Sandwich-Style

Ladolam Au Deposit, Lihir, Papua New Guinea

Estimated to contain 320 Mt of combined proven and probable reserves
grading at 2.3 g/t Au
23 million ounces of in situ
gold, by December 2019.

Mill throughput rate of 15

million tons/year (June, 2019)
Production of 933,000 oz
during 2019
187,245 oz of gold
in first quarter of 2020.

Aniolam Island. 900 km from SS029

Port Moresby, >

References on last
Papua New Guinea. slide of presentation
Sandwich-Style
Lihir caldera
open to the sea

>
SS030
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>
SS031

Ladolam mine pit inside caldera

Sandwich-Style
Ladolam mining operation, 2020

>
SS032
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Air view of Ladolam Au >

mine, Lihir SS033
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>
Lihir gold mining operation, 2020 SS034
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Contents -1 Introduction >

-2 Volcano Expelling Au: Galeras, Colombia >
-3 Ladolam Au Deposit, Papua-New Guinea >
-4 Volcanoes, their rocks and deposits >
-5 Volcanic Explosions & Lateral Explosions >
-6 Guagua-Pichincha Volcano, Ecuador >
-7 Round Mountain Au Deposit, Nevada, USA >
-8 Colombian Examples >
-9 Ecuatorian Examples >
-10 Kamchatkan Examples >
-11 General Exploration Strategy >
-12 Objective Observation, Turkish Example >
-13 Conclusions > SS035