Early Magnetite-Amphibole-Plagioclase Alteration-Mineralization in The Island Copper Porphyry Copper-Gold-Molybdenum Deposit, British Columbia

Economic Geology
Vol.91, 1996,pp.402-438
EarlyMagnetite-Amphibole-Plagioclase
Alteration-Mineralization
in the IslandCopper
PorphyryCopper-Gold-MolybdenumDeposit,BritishColumbia
OLGA N. ARANCIBIA • AND ALAN H. CLABK
Department
of Geological
Sciences,
{h•een's
University,
Kingston,
Ontario,CanadaK7L3N6
Abstract
Theinitialhydrothermal
eventin theevolution
oftheca.377Mr, 0.41percentCu,IslandCopperporphyry
Cu-Au-Modeposit,northernVancouver Island,wasthe formationof an extensivealteration-mineralization
faciesdominatedby magnetite,
calcicamphibole,andintermediate to sodicplagioclase.Early-stage
quasi-
pervasive
magnetite-rich
alteration
andassociatedmagnetite-rich
veinlets in thisMiddleJurassic,
islandarc-
hosted, hydrothermal system developed in bothanaxialdaciticporphyry dikeandcontiguous basaltic flows
andpyroclastic strata.The magnetite-rich alterationzone,500to 700m wideandoriginally extending over
atleast450mvertically, exhibits anoutward zonationfromquartz-magnetite-albite (An_<6)-amphibole (trace)
-
apatite(trace),throughquartz-magnetite-amphibole-albite (Anr_•0) or oligoclase-andesine(An•5_3•)-apatite
(trace)_ scapolite (trace),to amphibole-magnetite-oligoclaseor sodicandesinc (An•5_39)
- quartz+_apatite
(trace)assemblages. Definition ofearly-stagemineralassemblages,impeded byunusually intenselaterinterme-
diateargillicalterationandmorelocalphyllicandadvanced argillicalteration,wasfacilitatedby the useof
novelpetrographic techniques, includingincident-light
Nomarski differentialinterferencecontrastmicroscopy.
Early-stagemineralization comprises several well-definedvein-veinlet typeswhichweredemonstrably era-
placedpriortothemain-stage chalcopyrite-p)•testockwork andassociated K silicate
alteration.
Minorchalco-
pyriteandpyriteoccurin someearly-stage veins,andmagnetite is a constituentof manylatermain-stage
sulfide-rich
veins,butthedistinction between thesetwomajorveinsystems is clear.
Mass-exchm•ge calculations demonstrate thatearlyalterationinvolved intenseironmetasomatism of both
felsicandmaficcountryrocks,withan Fe enrichment approaching 450percent(20 g/100cc)in the dacite
dike,andlesserandmorevariableNa enrichment, with bothTi andA1behaving asmobileconstituents.
Parageneticallyearlyfluidinclusions in the quartzphenocrysts of the dikearetentatively correlatedwiththe
magnetite-rich
alteration-mineralization
andimplythatthiseventwasinitiatedabove650øCandat pressures
of at least1 kbarandwasgenerated byFeCla-richbrines,at firstsingle
phaseandmoderatelysaline(avg15
vet% NaC1equiv),but latterlyboilingat ca.560ø to 645øCand -<ca.0.55kbars.The main-stage potassic
alterationzonehastheconfiguration
ofanannulus,ca.100to 150minwidth,whichwasentirely superimposed
on the moreextensive earlyalteration-mineralization
zoneat ca.430ø to 575øCandbelow450 bars.Gold,
although correlatedoverallwithCu andpotassic
alteration,
wasprobably extensively
introduced
in theearly
stage.
It is inferredthatthe scarcity
of sulfides
in the earlyalteration
assemblages
reflectsthe highlyoxidized
natureoftheinitialfluids,
inwhichSO•exceeded bothHaSandSOl-.Thedeposition ofabundant
magnetite
andthewidespread andintenseFe metasomatism whichdefinetheearly-stage
recordthehighsolubility
of
Fe asFeClaøin high-temperature brinesin equilibrium
withmagnetite-bearingquartzofeldspathic
rocks,as
wellasthe retrograde solubility
of magnetitebetweenca.550ø and750øC.Whereasthe highSO.•HaO+
SO4ratiosoftheinitialhydrothermalfluidsatIslm•dCopper,andin othersimilardeposits,
mayhaveresulted
fromthehighinherentoxygen fugacity
of the parentaldaciticmagmas,
theymayhavedirectlyreflected the
compositionof supercritical
fluidsexpelled on quenchingof underplating,
S-rich,maficmelts.The mineral
assemblagesof the early-stageveinsand associatedquasi-pervasive
alteration
cannotbe assigned to the
acceptedalteration-mineralization
faciesof porphyrysystems, suchasA veinsandpotassicalteration,
and
recordspecific
anddistinctconditionsof fluid-rock
interaction.
Introduction ity, but in whichthe documented earlyand proximalore

DESPITE
the experimental
evidence(Kilinc,1969;Whitney mineralassemblages arecharacteristicallybornitcandchalco-
et al., 1985; Fein et al., 1992) that considerableiron must pyriterich.Emphasis hasindeedbeenplaced ontheextensive
be extractedfromintermediate to acidicmagmas androcks precipitation of iron aspyritein late-stage, D vein settings
throughequilibrationwith high-temperature brinesduring (Gustarson andHunt, 1975),but evenin suchsettings much
and followingretrogradeboilingin the shallowcrust,the or all of the ironhasgenerally beeninferredto be inherited
earliesthydrothermalmineralassemblages identifiedin the fromthe commonly cafemiccountryrocks.Recentresearch
greatmajorityofshallow-seated,
granitoid-related,
oredepos- on fluidinclusions in ore deposits associated
with granitoid
its are comparatively
iron deficient.Thisis particularly magmatism (e.g.,Anderson et al., 1989;Rankinet al., 1992;
evi- Wilkinson et al., 1994) has, however, confirmed both the
dentin porphyry Cu(-Mo)centers, whicharerecognized as
displayingunusually
intimaterelationships
to magmatic activ- elevatedironcontentofsomehigh-temperature, saline,
aque-
ousfluidsandthewidespread occurrence ofFe-richdaughter
minerals.
* Present address: 1919 Simard Drive, Gloucester, Ontario. Canada Althoughincompletely
defined,the ironbudgetof hydro-
K1C 3B9. thermalprocesses
maybe criticalfromthe standpoint
of ore
0361-0128/96/1822/402-3755.00 402
ALTERATION-MINERALIZATION,
ISLANDCu-Au-MoDEPOSIT,B.C. 403
formation; thus, Candela (1989a and b) and Candela et al. copper sulfide introduction. Wemoreover emphasize thedis-
(1992)haveargued thathighconcentrations of Fe in magma- tinction ofthisalteration fromotherfacies in porphyry copper
togerie brinesmayadversely influence partitioning andtrans- systems, including thesodic-calcic alteration ofCarten(1986)
portof the lessabundant chloride-complexed basemetals, and Dilles and Einaudi (1992), which exhibitsomecommon
including theweaklyligatedCu,andthatthiseffectmaybe mineralogical features butrecord different conditions ofrock-
exacerbated atlowpressure (i.e.,belowca.2 kbars). However, waterinteraction.Magnetite-rich alterationzonesare also
despite thepotential forironto playtheroleof aninhibitor developed in Climax-type porphyry molybdenum deposits
of basemetalenrichment, several world-class magmatic hy- (e.g.,Seedorff, 1988),butdifferin theirmineral assemblages
drothermal Cu deposits, including OlympicDam,Australia andtimingfromtheIslandCoppersystem, evenallowing for
(2 Gt, 1.6%Cu,0.6ppmAu),andLa Candelaria, Chile(400 contrasts in host-rock petrology.
Mt, 1.3%Cu, 0.3ppmAu),exhibitmajorconcentrations of The terms "alteration zone" and "alteration facies" are em-
Fe oxides(WallandGow,1995).Suchdeposits tendto be ployedhereinessentially in the senseof Seedorff(1988):
enrichedin goldand/orto displaylow overallbasemetal/ thus,faciesare definedon the basisof equilibrium mineral
goldratios,andclarification of the roleof ironin the high- assemblages, commonly definable onlythroughmicroscopic
temperature hydrothermal environment therefore hasdirect petrography, whereas alteration zones,features apparent to
implications forthegeneticmodeling of Au-richmineraliza- superficial fieldobservation, mayrecordthesuperimposition
tion.Thisrequires precise documentation of theparageneticof severalalterationfacies."Mineralization" doesnot imply
relationships of the Fe oxideminerals. thepresence of economic concentrations of oreminerals.
We contribute hereinto theunderstanding of the deport-
mentof Fe in magmatic hydrothermal systems throughde- TheIslandCopperdeposit
scription ofanextensive, butpreviously inadequately defined, IslandCopper,anislandarc-type porphyry deposit (Young
zoneof magnetite-rich alteration-mineralization whichcon- and Rugg,1971;Cargillet al., 1976;Perell6et al., 1989,
stitutes a majorcomponent of the IslandCopperporphyry 1996),islocated16kmsouthof PortHardy,atlatitude50036 '
Cu-Au-Modeposit, northern Vancouver Island,BritishCo- N andlongitude 127028 ' 40"W (Fig.1). NorthernVancouver
lumbia,whereinit represents theearliest stageof rock-aque- Islandand adjacent areashost(Fig. 1) numerous Fe-rich
ousfluidinteraction for whichevidence survives. The major porphyry copperand magnetite skarndeposits (Meinert,
alteration and vein minerals of this alteration-mineralization 1984).The mine,onthe northernshoreof RupertInlet,was
facies in basaltic hostrocks, aremagnetite, calcicamphibole,operated untilitsclosure in August1995,by BHP Minerals
andsodicto intermediate plagioclase. Elsewhere (Clarkand CanadaLimited,a subsidiary of BrokenHill Proprietary
Arancibia,1995), we review evidencefor the occurrenceof Company Limited,andin its laterperiodof activitymain-
similaralteration-mineralization faciesin porphyrycopper tainedanannualproduction of ca.250,000metrictons(t) of
andallieddeposits globally. Magnetite-bearing alteration fa- Cu sulfideconcentrate and3,800t of molybdenite concen-
ciesbroadlysimilarto thatat IslandCopperhavebeende- trate.Theorebody is approximately 1,900m longandup to
scribedfromthe Tanamaporphyry Cu-Auprospect, Puerto 500m wide,andhastheformof a west-northwest-elongated
Rico (Cox, 1985), and from the subeconomicPark Premier domewith a low-grade to barrencore.Initial (1971)ore
Cu-Au-Moporphyry, Utah(John,1989),but detaileddocu- reserves, at a cutoffgradeof 0.3 percentCu, were257 Mt,
mentation is generally unavailable for suchrelationships in grading 0.52percentCu and0.017percentMo;reserves in
demonstrably economic deposits. Alteration of thistypeis 1993weresome60 Mt at 0.36percentCu and0.017percent
apparently developed in thePanguna, Bougainville, porphyry Mo.At thecutoffgradeof0.20percent Cuadopted in recent
Cu-Audeposit, buttheprecise natureandrelationships ofthe years,theorebody isestimated (J.A.Fleming,pers.commun.,
magnetite-rich mineralassociations thereremainuncertain 1994)to havecomprised 377 Mt at 0.41percentCu, 0.017
(Fountain,1972; Eastoe,1978;Ford, 1978), and it is evident percent Mo,ca.0.19ppmAu,andca.1.4ppmAg,andwould
that discrimination betweenmetasomatic, metamorphic,thusfallwithinthe verylargesizecategory (i.e., 1-3.16Mt
deutericor evenmagmatic origins for amphibole-magnetite- Cu) in the senseof Clark (1993). Some60,000 t of ore at ca.
plagioclase assemblages in cafemichostrocksis inherently 0.39percent Cuweremineddailypriorto closure. Thecop-
difficult (Clark and Arancibia,1995). per concentrate, averaging 24 percentCu, contained about
The aim of thispaper,the firstin a projected serieson 7 ppmAuand70ppmAg,andthemolybdenite concentrate,
alteration-mineralization relationships at IslandCopper,isto with an average of 45 percentMo, wasunusually rich in
improveunderstanding of suchmagnetite-rich alteration, rhenium(avg900ppm).Benchelevations in theopenpit are
whichmayrepresent a keystage in thedevelopment ofmany expressed, in feet,relativeto sealevel,whichis assigned a
gold-enriched porphyry copperandallieddeposits (Sillitoe, datumof +1,000;thus,e.g.,the-160benchis 1,160ft below
1979,1991;seealsoJohn,1989),butwhichin mostexamplessealevel.Theopenpit ultimately attained a depthof 1,320
remains poorlydefined withrespect toitsspatial and,particu- ft below sea level.
larly,temporal contexts. Suchfeatures arecriticalto the ex- Thedepositdisplays manyof the features typicalof calc-
ploration for,anddevelopment of,mineralization ofthistype. alkaline porphyry copper systems (e.g.,GullbertandLowell,
WhereasSillitoe(1979;but cf. 1992)and mostsubsequent1974;Gustarson, 1978;CoxandSinger,1986),butis distin-
authors (e.g.,HemleyandHunt,1992)haveinterpreted alter- guished frommostwell-documented representatives bythe
ationof thistypeasanintegralfacetof thepotassium silicate existence of anextensive hydrothermal alteration-mineraliza-
facies,we presentevidence thatthe bulkof magnetite em- tionfaciesrichin magnetite (Arancibia, 1978;Arancibia and
placement at IslandCopperpreceded K metasomatism and Clark,1990).Thisfeature prompts analogies withsomegold-
404 ABANCIBIA • CLAFtK
i o
129 W
COPPER
51øN
5Oø
VANCOUVER
49 ø
VICTORIA
FUCA8TRAir
0 50 100 150
) t I I km
48;
290 128
ø 127
ø 126
ø 125
ø 124
ø
FIg. 1. Location of theIslandCopperdeposit. Alsoshoxvn
areotherJurassicporphyry copper-t),l?e
prospectsandmajor
Fe and/orCu skamdeposits of the Insularprovince.
Indexto deposits:
ß = porphy .ryCu(-Mo,Au);ß = Fe and/orCu
skarns.1: BedDog,2 = Hep,or MountMcintosh, 3 = Hushainu;4 = Eureka[Cu(Ag,Au)],5 = CoastCopper[Cu,
Fe (Au)],6 = MerD,Widow[Fe (Cu,Au,Ag)],7 = Iron Crmxm (Fe),8 = Iron Mike (Fe),,9= ZeballosIron (Fe), 10 =
Iron Hill (Fe), 11 = MarbleBay(Cu, An, Ag), 12 = TexadaIslanddeposits (Fe, Cu, An, Ag):Prescott,
Paxton,Yellow
Kid,andLake,13 = Hesquiat Lake(Cu,Fe), 14 = Bumnor(Fe), 15 = BlueGrouse (Cu,Ag),and1(3= Conqueror (Fe).
rich porphyrycoppersystems(Sillitoe,1979; Sillitoeand and 1987,whichpermittedaccess to both the near-surface

Gappe,1984;Cox,1986),andxvithbasemetal-poor goldpor- portionof the hydrothermal systemand, as miningpro-
phyries(Sillitoe,1991;Vila andSillitoe,1991).However,the gressed, itsdeeperextensions. Petrographic work,involving
goldcontentof thedeposit isbelowthe0.4ppmleveladvo- the studyof over300polished thinsections, wasfocused on
catedby Sillitoe(1991)asdelimitingthe Au-riehporphyry the definition of alterationandoremineralassemblages and
coppersubclass, oreventhe0.3ppmgradefavored byPerell6 theirparagenetie relationships.
Hydrothermal alterationmin-
andCabello(1989).Moreover, onlyone-haft oftheAuin the eralassociations notoriouslyconstitute difficultpetrographie
copperorebody wasrecovered in the chaleopyrite concen- targets,particularly intheeaseofporphyry copperdeposits in
trates (Perell6, 1987). Nonetheless,considerablevolumesof whichfine-grained assemblages predominate andarexvidely
the depositassayed ca. 0.4 ppmAu, andproduction since superimposed. Indeed,texuralrelationships are not docu-
1971of over33 t (recently1,200-1,500kgperannum)estab- mentedin dettdlin the majori ,tyof suchstudies. Paragenetie
lishedIslandCopperasone of the mostimportantsources relationships amongthe hydrothermal mineralsat Island
of this metal in BritishColumbia(Perell6 et al., 1989, 1996). Copperat themicroscopic scalehavebeensignificantly clari-
Compared xvithmostgold-rich porphyries, IslandCopperhas fiedthroughthe useof photomesographs of entirepolished
a highmolybdenum content,but severalsimilartransitional thinsections (seebelow),andby application of incidentlight
Cu-Mo-Audeposits are known,namely,Bajode la Alum- Nomarski differenti'alinterference contrast (DIC) micros-
brera,Argentina(ca.0.007%Mo); SaindakSouth,Pakistan copy.Thelattertechnique (Nomarski andWeill,1954),origi-
(-< 0.024%);Kal'makyr,Uzbekistan (ca. 0.01%),Ok Tedi, nallyappliedto the studyof the texturalrelationships of
PapuaNew Guinea(0.011%);and Atlas(-< 0.027%)and opaque phases (e.g.,D'Orey,1970),wasadapted fortranspar-
Larap(0.05%),inter alia,in the Philippines (Kesler,1973; ent mineralsby Anderson(1983). The DIC apparatus,
Titley,1978;SillitoeandGappe,1984;SingerandCox,1986; attached to a petrographie microscope, detectsandimages
CoxandSinger,1988). variations(41 •m) in the elevationof a polishedsurface,
Our observations anda futuresynthesis derivefromtwo revealing bothintergrain relationshipsandintragrain zoning.
xvidely separated periodsof mapping andsampling, in 1977 In someapplications (ClarkandBlyth,1993),theminortopo-
ALTERATION-MINERALIZATION,ISLAND Cu-Au-MoDEPOSIT,B.C. 405
graphic features inherentin thepreparation of apolished thin interpretations. WhereasPerell6et al. (1996)delimita bio-
sectionmaysuffice,but for mostrock-forming transparenttite-magnetite alterationzoneasthehostforthemaincopper
mineralsan etchantis requiredto generatethe microtopo- orebody, we arguehereinthatthisrepresents a eonfiationof
graphicrelief (Clarket al., 1986).Concentrated fluorboric sulfide-poor magnetite-amphibole-plagioelase andlaterehal-
acidetching,introduced by Anderson (1983),is particularly copyrite-rich biotite(-K feldspar) alteration
facies.
effieaeeous in thatit differentially dissolvesthe moreealeie
zonesin plagioelase, therebypermitting unrivaled definition RegionalGeology
of zonationin individualgrains(e.g.,Pearceand Kolisnik, Vancouver Islandconstitutes a majorportionof theInsular
1990).The etchingtechnique alsoenhances intergrain con- tectonic belt(WheelerandGabrielse, 1972),itselfpartof the
tactsandclarifies overalltexturalrelationships in fine-grainedWrangellia terranewhichisconsidered tohavebeenaccreted
and/orglassy rocks(PearceandClark,1989),in thatit delin- to southernBritish Columbia in mid-Cretaceoustimes (Mon-
eatesgrainboundaries in twodimensions, whereastransmit- gerandPrice,1979).Muchof northernVancouver Islandis
ted-lightimagesinherently incorporate featuresfroma sig- underlain(Fig.2) by a thicksuccession of Mesozoic volcanic
nificantverticalinterval.In thepresent investigation, Nomar- andsedimentary rocks,the Vancouver Group,whichcom-
skiDIC imagingof fiuoborie acid-etched sections clarified, prises,
fromoldesttoyoungest, theTriassic Karmutsen, Quat-
in particular,
themodeofoccurrence ofhydrothermal plagio- sino,andParsonBayFormations, andthe Lowerto Middle
elase,revealingnumerous featuresundeteetable in routine Jurassic Bonanza Group(Bonanza Volcanics).The mostex-
transmitted-light illumination andproviding a texturalframe- tensive and thickestformation, the -<6,000-m Karmutsen,
workfor electronmicroprobe analysis. consistsof volcanicunitsof tholeiiticaffinity(Muller,1971;
The majorgeologic features of the IslandCopperdeposit Meinert,1984)erupted(Muller,1977)duringriftingof the
wereinitiallydescribed byCargillet al.(1976)who,however, Insular belt from the mainland, i.e., the California-Mexico
advanced a ]nodelfor alteration-mineralization relationshipscoastalterrane,in a northwarddirection.Paraconformably
differingsignificantly from that presentedhere. Later de- overlying the basaltsarethe reefoidlimestones of the Quat-
scriptionsby Fleming(1983),Perell6(1987),andPerell6et sinoFormation (upto 760m thick),thatin turngradeupward
al. (1989,1996)incorporate someof our observations and intothe fine-grained clasticandcarbonate rocksof the 600-
QUEEN CHARLOTTE
SOUND
PAClFIC ISLAND COPPER

MINE
OCEAN
:"•
:'i..:..Post-Jurassic
Units
,'• Island Inlrusions
i• Bonanza
Volcanics
• Parson
Bay
Formation
[• Quats•no
Formation
0 km 10
•..........
Karmutsen
Format,on
•) m,les
• ,GeologicalBoundary
tapproximate)
x• Faull Lineament
ß,.. (approxmate)
P"' Bedding
Attitude
FIe. 2. Simplified
geologic
mapof northernVancouver
Island(afterMulleret al., 1974).
406 ARANCIBIA & CLARK
m-thickParsonBayFormation, of earlyMiddleSinemurianindicatethatthe deposit wasemplaced about1,000m above

age(HaggartandTipper,1994).The subaerial to shallow the baseof the BonanzaGroup,doseto a transition from
marine, calc-alkaline,BonanzaVolcanics,which record the subaqueous to subaerial
eruption environments (Nixonet al.,
inception of plateconvergenceandisland-arcconstruction in 1994). However,we considerthat the fossiliferoussediments
EarlyJurassic times,consist
of a 300-to ca.6,000-mpileof directlyinterfingerwith the basalticflowsand tuffswhich
basalticto rhyoliticflowsandpyroclastic rocks,with a few hostmuchof theporphyry mineralization andwhichmaybe
marineclastic horizons.
Northof HolbergandRupertInlets axiallydisposed withrespect to the deposit. The flowsare
(Fig. 2), the Bonanza Volcanicsare up to 3,500m thick. therefore inferred to be marine rather than subaerial(ef.
The regionalmetamorphic gradedecreases fromprehnite- Nixonet al., 1994),anda lowerstratigraphic levelof hydro-
pumpellyitefaciesin the Karmutsen Formationto zeolite thermalactivityis possible.However,incremental-heating
faciesin the BonanzaVolcanics(Muller et al., 1974; Kuni- 4øAr?Ar
dating
of alteration
minerals
in thedeposit
(Aran-
yoshiandLiou,1976). eibia,unpub.data)delimitsa Bathonian age:plateauages
TheVancouver Grouptothenorthof RupertandHolberg rangefrom173.2___ 3.0Ma forhydrothermal biotiteto 169.0
Inletsisintruded bynumerous Jurassic granitoidplutons (Fig. __+3.3 Ma for serieite fromthephylliezone,withintheinter-
2). Thesemesozonal andepizonal islandintrusions,or Island mediate quartz-feldspar porphyry intrusion (seebelow); these
plutonicsuite,mainlyof granodioritic to quartzdioriticcom- agesoverlap withinerrorwiththeU-PbdatefortheRupert
position, areconsidered to be comagmatic withthe Bonanza Stock, which,however, isonlyweaklymineralized andcannot
Volcanics (Northcote andMuller,1972;DeBari,1992).Early withcertainty be shown to be continuous withtheporphyry
(181 __+8 Ma) to late(148__+ 8 Ma) Jurassic K-Ar dateshave intrusions in themine(ef.Archibald andNixon,1995).Hy-
been determined for the suite in northern Vancouver Island
drothermal activityat IslandCopperis inferredfromthe
by Mulleret al. (1974).Morereliably, 4øAr-39Ar datingof abovedatato havetakenplaceapproximately 10 to 15 m.y.
biotitefromthe Rupertstock,ca.3.5 km eastof the Island afteraccumulation of thehostBonanza Groupstrata.Thus,
Coppermine,yieldsa maximum ageof 174__+ 2 Ma (Archi- although it mayhaveoccurred in a shallow-marine environ-
baldandNixon,1995),sensibly coevalwith a U-Pbzircon ment,it moreprobably tookplaceshortlyafteremersion of
ageof 168+_.2sMa (Friedman andNixon,1995). theevolving islandare.Thestratigraphic relationships of the
Intenseupliftanderosionbeganin latestJurassic times, BonanzaGroup20 to 25 km west-northwest of the mine
generating Cretaceous clasticsediments whichunconform- (Nixonet al.,1994)implythatmineralization mayhavebeen
ablyoverlietheBonanza Group.Muller(1977)proposes that emplaeed at depthsof ca. 1 to 2 km, but the apparently
thepre-Cretaceous Insularbeltrocksrepresent anarc-trench distinctsuccession at IslandCopperrenderssuchestimates
gap,andthe Cretaceous clasticsediments a fore-arcbasin. inherently unreliable.
The regional structure of northern Vancouver Islandisdomi-
natedbyblockfaulting(MullerandCarlisle,1972;Mulleret The extrusive rocksexposed in the mine,althoughde-
al., 1974;Panteleyev andKoyanagi, 1993),theblocksbeing scribed as andesitie (Cargill et al., 1976),orbasaltic andesitie
bounded by prominent northwest- to west-northwest-trend- (Nixon et al., 1994), are mainly eale-alkaline,high alumina
ing,normalor strike-slip faultswhichdip steeplynortheast basalts (<52 wt % SiO.2; O.N. Araneibia, unpub. data): they
(Fig.2). conform for the most part to the K-poor and average series
The IslandCopperdeposit is oneof at leastfiveporphyry of IrvineandBaragar(1971),but severalunitsare K rich.
Cu-Mo(-Au)centers assigned by Perell6et al. (1996)to the Localinterealations of andesitie to rhyodaeitie, aswellasof
IslandCoppercluster,whichextends west-northwest from tholeiitie basaltic composition, are recognized. All analyzed
RupertInlet for at least10 km and coincides with an en samples contain normative orthopyroxene, but some arealso
echelon arrayof magnetic highs(>400 gammas aboveback- elinopyroxene, and a few, olivinenormative. The basaltic
ground: YoungandRugg,1971). flowsareusually massive, withtextures thatrangefromapha-
nitie,throughfine-grained, to medium-grained, andplagio-
Summary of Mine Geology clase-porphyritic. A typicalunit exhibitsplagioclase pheno-
Geologic relationships in the IslandCopperdepositare crysts, upto3 mmlong,displaying fineoscillatory
zoning and
outlined in Figure3, a mapoftheupperlevelsoftheopenpit withcorecompositions ranging fromAns6to Ans.2 (labrador-
based onfieldworkin 1977(Arancibia, 1978).Fieldaspects of ite-bytownite) andnarrowrimsof andesinc. Plagioclase also
themagnetite-rich alteration-mineralization underdiscussion occurs as swarms of microlites in the groundmass. The por-
areillustrated in Figure4. phyriticflowsadditionally containphenocrysts of augitc,at-
The bulkof the copperandmolybdenum mineralizationraining3 mmin length.Magnetiteandilmenitearecommon
exploited by the IslandCoppermineis hostedby flowsand accessory minerals, whereassphene(titanitc)occursmore
pyroclastic rocksof theBonanza Volcanics andhydrothermal erratically and isprobably secondary. Thematrixisof similar
breccias, surrounding a majorfelsicporphyrydike(Fig.3) mineralogy butalsocontains chlorite andcarbonate, replacing
whichcontains at least0.1percentCu butis largelysubore primaryferromagnesian minerals andglass. Someflowsare
grade.The volcanic hostrockscomprise tuffs,tuffbreccias,fragmental and/oramygdaloidal. Thetuffsarefineto coarse
volcanicbrecciasand lava flows,interbeddedwith a few thin grained, crystal tolithic,andmassive towell-bedded. In addi-
chertandargilliteunits.The occurrence of anAalenian(i.e., tionto rockfragments, theyarecomposed mainlyof silt-to
earlyMiddleJurassic: ca. 183-187Ma) trigoniidbivalvein sand-sized, angular to subrounded crystalsofplagioclase and
marinesedimentary rocksat the mine(Poulton,1980;Poul- ferromagnesian minerals, thelatteralteredmainlyto chlorite,
tonandTipper,1991)is inferredby Perell6et al. (1996)to carbonates, andgenerally minorquartz. Thevolcanic breccias
ISLAND Cu-Au-MoDEPOSIT,B.C. 407
/ 40 ø '•.
//v v v v v v v v •'•-•.• .............
-,
ß//' V v V v V v V v V v V v V v v v V vx v V v V',•'"'•.,, J 300meters
v v v •v v v v v • v v X,
x 1000feet
<• ,-.....
.
v v v v
.
v,,v
xv v v vv,,..,
xx %,,,../,•-,--•
....'•..,, •......
• • /•'- :..... • '-. , ¾ ?' v • ',. ..•-' v '•--.
v v "v v v v ¾ v v v '. v v v Xxv v• v "•'--'"''v v v v
v v v v v v v v v• v v v • ',,,v *\, v v'-.,v v v
v v v v v v v v v v v vv v v ¾ v "',v ¾ v xxx¾ v v ¾ v '.x.•,•x
vvvvv¾
v vv•O
øvi/•y•
•y•
vvvxx
vv"•..,.v
v¾vv".
v v v v v v v v v v v v v ¾ / v v v xx v v v v v ,,,•'•
60"
v v v v v v v v v v ¾ ¾ v v v v v v v v v v v
v v v v v v v ,• v v v v v v v v ¾ ¾ v v v v
v .•-' ¾ v v v v v v v v..-.'"q•'o
v v v v ¾ v v
/'v v v v v v v v v v .• v v v v ¾ ¾ v v
/v v v v•-x v v v v v v v v vi v v v v v v v
v'•-•?•_ov ß
v v v v v v v v v v v v v v
v v v ¾ v v v v v v v v
...... v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v
ß
v v
I. v v v
.
v vxv'• v v v v v v IJ•v v v ,.•v v v v v v v v v v v

•,• v v v ? v v v v 4•ø ¾ v v v v
v \ v v v v v v v v v v v
.
v v
v\\ v v v v v v v v v v
Lv v vo)..v jv v v v v v v v v v vI
'• v v v v v v
v
v
v
v v
v v v v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v v v v v
\ v v v v v v v v v v v v// ß
\ v v v v v v v v v v v v v /
/
L v v v v v v •.• v v
•', v v v v v v
v v f v v j
Overburden
Pebble
Dikes
LateQuartz
Feldapar
Porphyry
..•.•" PitOutline
andSelected
Bench
Levels
Pyrophyllite
Breccia /" Lithological
Cornact:
Known,
Inferred
•.•"" Fault,
Dashed
Where
Approximate
Intermediate
Quartz
Feldspar
Porphyry
Marginal
Breccias • Trend
ofFold
Axis
• BeddingAttitude
Main
Quartz
Feldspar
Porphyry 80ø
Bonanza
Volcanics
I i i i i i i i
Fro.3. Geologic mapoftheupperlevels oftheIslandCopper mine.Theboundariesofthegeologicunitsandalteration

faciespresented herein(andin Fig.6) weredelimited by O.N. Arancibia
in 1977andcoverthe 1,200-to 680-ftbenches
(i.e.,from200ft above, to 320ft belowsealevel).Thesedataareusedbecause ourinterpretation
of thenature,extent,
andsubunits of themagnetite-rich alteration-mineralization
zonediffersfromthatin morerecentlyprepared minemaps
(themajorlithologicunitsareunchanged). Geologic andalteration
relationships
alongsection
175areillustrated in Fig-
ure 17.
containpoorlysorted,
angular to subrounded,mono-or het- development
of significant
biotitethrough
isochemical
meta-
erolithologie
fragmentsin a lithietuff matrix. morphism.
Despitethe intensehydrothermal alterationoverprinton
theBonanza
basaltic
rocks
intheimmediate
minearea,
the Porphyry
intrusions
widespread preservationofundoubtedly magmatie oseillatory Atleastthreeepizonal felsieintrusiveunitsarerepresented
zoningin plagioelase
phenoerysts, andin augite(A.H.C.,un- (Fig.3) in the immediate mineareaandaredenoted(Aran-
pub.Nomarski DIC studies), demonstrates thattheserocks eibia,1978)themain,intermediate, andlatequartz-feldspar
werenot affectedby significant thermalmetamorphism by porphyries.The multistage emplaeement of the porphyries
eithertheporphyry dikesora subjaeent pluton.Allpostmag-andtheiragerelationships withrespect toalteration-mineral-
marieplagioelase(seebelow)is dearlyof hydrothermal ori- izationeventswerefirstestablished in thenear-surface zone
gin,andthereis no evidence for theoccurrence of strictly bythesenior
author (Araneibia, 1978),andsubsequently sup-
metamorphic, hornfelsiemagnetite, amphibole, orbiotite;in- portedbymapping at greaterdepths (Perell6,1987;Perell6
deed,whereas Cargillet al. (1976)assigned a contact meta- et al., 1996),but the agerelationships of severalintrusive
morphie originto the abundant biotitein the depositarea, bodiesremainuncertain (seeFig. 4). The quartz-feldspar
the K-poornatureof thebasaltic rockswouldpreclude the porphyries comprise phenoerysts of quartzandplagioelase
. . •
., ..,•.• ..", • . , • ';,680

MQFP
,• "•. -. , "-•'• 'QFP- MQFP 400

• • •; ..... . .
.... ...... - -;,--' .'- 280
FIG.4. Magnetite-enrichedmainquartz-feldspar
porphyry cutbyyounger (probablyintermediate-)quartz-feldspar
porphyry.a.View(July1987)ofthesoutheftwallofthepit(selected
levels
indicated)
takenfromthe320bench, showing
apost-mainquartz-feldspar
porphyry(QFP)plug(pale)
intrudingthemagnetite-
andchlorite-enrichedmainquartz-feldspar
porphyry dike(MQFP).Bonanza Volcanics(BV)overlieandflankthe porphyries,but the contact between Bonanza
Volcanicsandmainquartz-feldspar
porphyryisnotdefined.Thegeologicrelationships
shown in planin Figure3 pertain
onandabove the680bench, andtherefore,
donotrecord theyounger quartz-feldspar
porphyry body,butmapping by
Perell6(1987)showsthatthemainquartz-feldspar
porphyry andmarginalbrecciasurround thatintrusion.
b. Closeupof
theyounger quartz-feldspar
porphyry (QFP)intruding
intenselymagnetite-altered
mainquartz-feldsparporphyry (MQFP;
dark,right).Theintrusive
contact
is indicated
bythewhiteline.Sericite-clay-chlorite
alterationconstitutes
a pervasive
overprintonthemainquartz-feldsparporphyrymagnetite-rich
assemblages
andalsoextends forupto a meterintothe
younger quartz-feldspar
porphyry.Molybdenitecoats
some fractures
intheyounger quartz-feldspar
porphyry.400ft South
bench,July1987.
(An-20_35),
as well as subordinatebiotite and, in the earliest dike,is inferred(Arancibia,unpub.data)to havepostdated
body,hornblende, in a matrixof quartz,
plagiodase, andless the eraplacement of a largetourmaline brecciabody,now
abundant K feldspar. Accessory minerals include magnetite,extensively alteredto pyrophyllite (-dumortierite)
assem-
sphene,zircon,andapatite. blagesandhencepreviously unrecognized,whichcaps,and
The oldestandlargest bodyis the mainquartz-feldspar contains fragments of,theintermediate quartz-feldspar
por-
porphyry.Themagnetite-rich alteration-mineralization
to be phyry(Fig.3). Eraplacement of thelatequartz-feldspar
por-
describedhereindearlyaffected thisunitpriorto theera- phyrydikeoverlapped witha periodoftourmaline deposition
placement of theyounger porphyry intrusions (Fig.4a and andtheintrusion hostsquartz-tourmalineveins.
b). Themainquartz-feldspar porphyry exhibits phenocrysts Normative calculationsforfreshandslightly
alteredintru-
ofquartz(to1.2cmlong;10-30modal%),plagiodase (-•4.5 siverocksfromthemine,usingIrvineandBaragar's (1971)
ram; 15-35%) and marieminerals(to 3.5 ram; -•10%), set classification, showthatthe mainquartz-feldspar porphyry
in a 45 to 60 percentmatrix.Sparseovergrowth-inclusion
rangesin composition
fromdaciteto rhyolite,whereasthe
texturesdefine thefollowing sequence ofphenocryst develop- intermediate quartz-feldspar
porphyry is dacitic.Bothmay
ment:plagiodase, hornblende, biotite,and quartz.Horn- be assigned to the K-poorcalc-alkaline dan, but the low
blendeandbiotitearealmost pervasively altered.Incident- K20/Na20ratiosof someanalyzed samples mayreflectNa
lightNomarski interference contrast imaging of theplagio- metasomatism (seebelow).Because our analytical studies
dasephenocrysts revealscomplex, in partoscillatory,zoning reveala predominance of daciticcompositions, andin view
andone,or in somecases twoor three,episodes of strong of theevidence foralbitization
(seebelow),themainquartz-
magmatic corrosion andovergrowth bymorecalciccomposi- feldsparporphyryis considered hereinto be dacitic(i.e.,
tions("calcic spikes"),
indicative ofcomplex historiesofcrys- granodioritic)
ratherthanrhyodacitic (cf.Perell6et al. 1989;
tallization
involving dissolution of circulating crystals,
poten- Arancibiaand Clark, 1990).
tiallyduringincursion of hot unfractionated meltsintothe Outcrops ofprobably coevaldaciticporphyries 1.4kmeast
magmachamber(cf. Singeret al., 1995).The intermediateoftheeastern extremityofRupertInlet(Fig.2),representing
quartz-feldspar porphyry, thesecond largest body,is anin- a memberof theRupertInletcenterof Perell6et al. (1996),
tramineral intrusioneraplaced aftera periodofintense frag- exhibitmelanocratic, microgranular enclaves with igneous
mentation of theMainporphyry dikeandadjacent Bonanzatextures andwithdimpled contactsurfaces straddledbyboth
Volcanics,whichgenerated segments ofthemarginal brecciasplagiodase andquartzphenocrysts (A.H.C.,unpub.data).
(Cargillet al., 1976;Fig. 3). Considerable volumes of the The enclaves havemediumK andesitic (dioritic)composi-
intermediate quartz-feldspar porphyry contain ca.0.1to 0.2 tions.Theserelationships areindicative of cornmingling and
percentCu andminor(-•0.008%)Mo, occurring in quartz mixingof marie(probably basaltic)and felsic(rhyodacite)
veins.Molybdenite alsocoats fractures.Sphalerite dissemina-magmas at a stagewhenoligoclase andquartzhadbegun
tionsandveinsarealsolocally abundant in thisintrusion.The crystallization
in thelatter.Theporphyritic rocksdisplay lo-
youngest of theintrusions, thelatequartz-feldspar porphyrycallyintense sericite-clay-chlorite
alteration, butfreshspeci-
FIG.5. Megascopic features

of marginalbrecciaandalteredquartz-feldsparporph•Ty. a. Magnetitebreccia:magnetite-
rich,Fe-metasomatized fragmentsof Bonanza Volcanics(M, dark)in siliceous
matrix.It is notknownff the fragments of
phyllically
alteredporph•Ty (quartz-feldspar
porph•Ty,pale)representthemainquartz-feldspar porphyry.Variationin the
darknessof theclasts
is anindicationof magnetitecontent.480Westbench,July1987.Widthof fieldof view,65 cm.b.
Magnetite-enrichedmainquartz-feldspar porph•Ty withsuperimposed intermediate-stage sericite-clay-chlorite
alteration
(darkgray,right),cut by veinsandlenses of quartz(Q, mediumgray)withphyllicalteration envelopes, alsoof the
intermediate-stage
(Ph, off-white,center).Thin terminal-stage
carbonate veins(C, white)cut all otherfeatures.400
Southeastbench, 1987. Width of field of view, 30 cm.
mensareinterpreted to represent unaltered analoguesof the 1993;Perell6et al., 1996),occuralongor parallelto this
quartz-feldspar porphyries of the minearea.In twospeci- trendoutside theminearea(Figs.i and2). TheIslandCop-
mensfromthislocation, sphene formsmicrophenocrystic eu- per deposititselfliesin the centralpartof a strongwest-
hedrain apparent texturalequilibrium with magnetite and northwest-elongated aeromagnetic anomaly, ca.6 x 1.5kmin
hornblende. A highfo.2,equivalent to thatof the magnetite-extent(Young andRugg,1971;Cargillet al.,1976),implying a
sphene-quartz assemblage (Wones,1989),is thereforein- considerable lateralextension beyond theopenpitof magne-
ferredto haveprevailed duringcrystallization of thesepor- tite-rich alteration- mineralization. The Bonanza Volcanics
phyries.Melanocratic microgranular enclaves alsooccurlo- exposed immediately northeast of the mainquartz-feldspar
callyin themainquartz-feldspar porphyry dikein the mine porphyry dikehavebeenfoldedintoanopen,asymmetrical,
butdonotexhibit textures diagnostic ofmagma cornmingling.north-northeast-trending anticline(Fleming,1983)anddis-
Although sphene in thelatterbodyisat leastin partsecond- ruptedby faulting.The prominent EndCreekfault(Fig.3)
ary,highlyoxidizing conditions areinferredto haveattended is a N 60ø W-trendingstructure dippingsteeplynortheast,
consolidation ofthemagma chamber whichunderlay thesite whichtruncates the southern portionof theorebody, aswell
of mineralization. as late-stagebrecciabodies,the alteration patternsof the
The mainquartz-feldspar porphyry dike(Fig.3) trendsN deposit, andsomeporphyries.
70øW andhasanaverage widthof ca.200m. It dipsca.60ø
NNE, butanoriginally verticalorientation isimpliedbythe Overviewof alteration-mineralization facies
general30øSWdipof thestrataof the surrounding area.It Whereas Perell6(1987)andPerell6etal.(1996)distingnish
is locallyveryirregularin form,with numerous reentrants threemajorstages of alterationat IslandCopper,we assign
andapophyses. Theintrnsion is morethan1.2km longand thealteration andmineralization assemblages thatconstitute
extends to a depthof at least520 m belowsealevel.It is the depositto at leastsixstages andeightfacies(Table1),
surrounded by breccias (Figs.3 and5a) or by silicified Bo- someof thelattercomprising several subfacies.Thedomains
nanzaVolcanics unitsand is itselfstrongly altered(Figs. of mostalteration faciesareelongated parallelto theaxisof
4 and 5b) and fractured,especially near its margins.the mainquartz-feldspar porphyry dike.The alteration was
Hydrothermal magnetite is strongly developed in the main produced bya coherent, continuously evolving hydrothermal
quartz-feldspar porphyry,but is scarcein the inter- system associatedwithpulsating subvolcanic intrusiveactivity
mediatequartz-feldspar porphyry andapparently absentin andcentered on the dike.Superimposition of alterationas-
thelatequartz-feldspar porphyry. semblages isa common feature,especiallyinthemainquartz-
The markedwest-northwest fabricat the mine(Fig.3), feldspar porphyry (Fig.5b) andadjacent rocks.
defined bytheelongation ofmanyoftheporphyry intrnsions, Early-stage alteration (seeTable1),asdefined in thepres-
theorebody, andthebreccias, parallelsa prominent regional ent study,generated a magnetite-rich, sulfide-poorzonein
structural trendprevailing before,during,andafterthehy- themainquartz-feldspar porphyry andadjacent country rock.
drothermal activity.Otherintrusions, withor withoutassoci- Thiswasfollowed bypotassic alteration whichpartially over-
atedmineralization, andareas ofphyllic,intermediate argillic, printedthe magnetite-rich faciesandis associated withthe
andadvanced argillicalteration (Panteleyev andKoyanagi,main-stage (Table1) coppermineralization, dominated by
TABLE1. MajorAlteration
Stages,
Facies,
andSubfacies, dote-richsubfacies, which is inferredon petrographic
IslandCopperDeposit grounds to haveoccurred contemporaneously withthemag-
Stage Faciesand subfacies netite-rich
and,perhaps to a lesserextent,thepotassic alter-
ation(seebelow).The arealdistribution of the early-and
{ epidoterich main-stage alterationfaciesasexposed in the shallow levels
chlorite rich
1Early
2
ß Main Magnetite-amphibole-plagioclase
Potassic }Propylitic
of the openpit in 1977is shownin Figure6; it is evident
3 Intermediate Sericite-clay-chlorite thattheearlymagnetite-rich alteration
affected a greater vol-
umeof the Bonanza Volcanics thandid the mainstage.It
4 Intermediate Phyllic:
sericite-chlorite
quartz-sericite-pyrite Tourmaline
sericite-kaolinite
shouldbe emphasized
different
that Perell6et al. (1996)advance
modelfortheearlierstages
a
ofalteration-mineraliza-
5 Late
6 Terminal
Advanced
Carbonate
argillic tion,in whicha biotite-magnetite zoneis flankedby inner
quartz-amphibole-magnetite andouterchlorite_+magnetite
Sericite-clay-chlorite
alteration dominated theearlypartoftheintermediate stage, but zones,allconsidered tohavedeveloped essentiallycontempo-
alsopersistedthrougbthe phyllicandadvanced argillic'alteration tourmaline raneously.
events;
deposition wasmostintense during thepbyllic alterationevent; buttourmaline-bearing The magnetite-rieh andpotassie zonesare widelyover-
veinswerelocallyeraplaced evenafteradvanced argillic'alteration
printedbyseveral alteration systems (Table1) eharaeterized
byweaktointense hydrolysis. Weemploy theterms"interme-
&ate"and"late"to deseribe thesestages (notstrietlyin the
chalcopyrite; overall,Au is correlated in abundance withthe sense of Perell6et al., 1996),whiehfollowed emplaeement
potassic alteration(Perell6,1987).The essentialalteration of the greaterpartof the eopperorebody. Tourmaline was
mineralin the potassic zoneis biotitegreatlyexceeding K leeallya majoreonstituent of somealteration assemblages,
feldspar. These •voalteration zones areflanked bya propyli- buttheintensity ofH+ metasomatism discourages affiliation
ticzone,comprising innerohiorite-dominated andouterepi- with the transitional alteration-mineralization at E1 Salvador
i i
28000E
'"'xx\ 300
meters
8000N -
I
\\\ lOOO
feet
!
!
!
!
/
iI ?
!
• Outer
lim,t
of
magnetite •
alteration-
m•neralization
Outer
limit
of •
quartz-magnetite
rich- core
- Outerlimit
potassic
(biotite
of
- rich)alteration
Boundary
between .•
chloritic .... copper
simplified
(inner)andepidot•c
propyliticalteration
0.3%
contour
I I I I
FIe. 6. Distribution
of themagnetite-amphibole-plagioclase,
potassic,andpropylitic(chlorite
richandepidote
rich)
•dteration
zones
in theupperpartof theIslandCopper
deposit.
All lateralteration
facieshavebeenomitted.Basedon
mapping
in 1977(seecaptionto Fig.3).
(Gustafson andHunt, 1975).Strongsericite-clay (i.e., illitc, ships,particularly of associated veinlets,permitdefinition of

smectite, andregularinterlayered smectite-illite)-chlorite-py- the overallsequence of alteration-mineralization events.
rite _ epidoteñ carbonate alteration (Table1) beganafter The initial alterationat IslandCopperinvolvedstrong
thetermination of main-stage activity.Thistypeof hydrolyric Fe(ñ Na) metasomatism thataffectedthe mainquartz-feld-
alterationaffectedconsiderable volumesof the upperand sparporphyry dikeandcontiguous Bonanza Volcanics, gradu-
centralsections of the porphyrysystem.In addition,local allydecreasing in intensity outwardfromthe intrusive con-
deposition of chalcopyrite andpartialoxidation of magnetite tact. The north-northeast- south-southwest width of this al-
to hematiteare associated with this alteration.Subsequentterationzone,perpendicular to thedikeaxis,ranges (Fig.6)
fracture-controlled phyllic(i.e.,quartz-sericite-pyrite: Lowell from500 to 700 m in the uppermineralized sectionof the
and Guilbert, 1970) alteration (Table 1) was focusedin the body,andtheintensity of alterationmayincrease withdepth
porphyries and contiguous BonanzaVolcanics, particularly (J.A.Fleming, pers.commun., 1992).Theouterboundary is
in the upperbenches of the pit (nowremovedby mining). roughly parallelto the axisof the dike(Fig.6), andsimilar,
Molybdenite andchalcopyrite areerratically associated with if not identical,alterationis inferredfrommagnetic surveys
thephyllicalteration. Tourmaline-bearing alteration-mineral- to persistwellbeyondthepit limitsalongor parallelto the
izationassemblages appear tohavebeenmostintensely devel- structural trend that dominates the area.
opedin breccia bodies andwereessentially coeval withphyllic Manytypesofveinscontain magnetite in theIslandCopper
alteration. deposit(Tables2 and3), ranging fromthosewhichconstitute
Following theseintermediate events,extremely acidicflu- theearly-stage Fe mineralization, through thoseassociated'
idsgenerated the late-stage advanced argillicalterationas- withthemain-stage coppermineralization andpotassic alter-
semblages (Table1). Strongadvanced argillicalteration was ation, to later veinsthat transectbiotitized rocks.We infer,
confinedto the pyrophyllite brecciazone(Fig. 3) and its however, thatthe greatbulk(probably at least85%)of the
immediate surroundings, including the intermediate quartz- hydrothermal magnetite in the deposit wasemplaced in the
feldspar porphyry, Bonanza Volcanics, andmarginal breccias, earlystage.
in theupperlevelsof thehydrothermal system. Perell6et al. Definitionof veintypesandtheir sequence of eraplace-
(1989,1996)assign thedevelopment of thesebreccias to the mentisbasedoncrosscutting relationships onallscales from
terminal stages ofhydrothermal activity,butweconclude that the outcropto the microscopic. However,classification and
earlierformedtourmaline brecciabodiesservedmerelyas interpretation ofthemagnetite-bearing veinsarecomplicated
conduits forlate-stage acidicfluids,whichconverted tourma- by the lateralchanges in mineralproportions andalteration
lineto dumortierite-kaolinite ñ quartzassemblages andgen- envelope mineralogy exhibited by severalearly-andmain-
eratedpyrophyllite at theexpense of sericite.Detailedmap- stageveintypes,a problemexacerbated by the inherently
pingof the upperlevelsof the pit in 1977andsubsequentdiscontinuous nature of the earliest veins. Biotitization of
petrographic studydemonstrate thatratherthanconstituting amphibole duringthemainstage,andthesulfidation of mag-
a discreteepisode(Perell6et al., 1996),the development netiteandintroduction of sulfidemineralsduringthe main,
of sericite-clay-chlorite assemblages occurred locallyand/or intermediate, andterminalstages (Table1),widelydisguises
episodically bothbeforeandafterthe phyllicandeventhe thefeatures of early-stage veinsandtheirenvelopes. In addi-
advanced argillicalterations (Table1), thusrepresenting a tion,oneearlyveintype(VI:Table2) contains minorinherent
continuum ofintermediate argillicalteration whichwaspunc- biotitein apparent equilibrium withamphibole andmagne-
tuatedbythosemoreacidevents. Thisimportant andpersis- tite,aswellas,inplaces, biotiteintroduced duringlaterpotas-
tent alteration, representative of the generally poorlydocu- sic alteration.
mentedbutwidespread sericite-clay-chlorite facies(e.g.,Sil- On thebroaderscale,it is apparent thatmagnetite is most
litoeandGappe,1984;Vila andSillitoe,1991),will be the abundantin the vein systems at the core of the deposit,
subject of a futurepaperbytheauthors. whethertheseformedin the earlyor mainstage.Thus,the
Carbonate-bearing veinswithdiscrete envelopes of alter- quartz-chalcopyrite-pyrite ñ magnetite ñ K feldsparñ mo-
ationformedduringtheterminalstage(Table1) andinclude lybdenite (trace)ñ apatiteñ rutileveins(Table2B),which
the so-called YellowDogveinsystem (ankerite-calcite) that represent a considerable proportion ofthecopper mineraliza-
affectsa restricted areaof the deposit, andmorewidelydis- tion,containsignificantly moremagnetite in the vicinityof
tributedcarbonate ñ zeoliteveinswhichmayrepresent a the mainquartz-feldspar porphyry contact, wheremagnetite
transitionfrom a fluid regimerelatedto the coolingof a concentrations relatedto thepreceeding, early-stage, sulfide-
plutonto regionalmetamorphism of the zeolitefacies. deficientveinsystem arealsohighest. Thisimpliesthatmag-
netitewasprecipitated earlyin the circulation of hydrother-
Magnetite-RichAlteration- Mineralization malfluidsat bothstages.
The axialzoneof the IslandCopperhydrothermal system Early-stage ironoxidemineralization
exhibitsatemporal transition fromquasi-pervasive magnetite-
amphibole-plagioclase-dominant to biotite-orthoclase (po- Six magnetite-rich vein-veinlettypes,I throughVI, are
tassic)alteration. Identification of the earliest alteration as- assigned to the earlystageof mineralization (Table2A).
semblages is inevitably impeded by the superimposed, and WherehostedbytheBonanza Volcanics, manyof theseveins
locallyintense,potassic, sericite-clay-chlorite,phyllic,and occupy sinuousanddiscontinuous fractures,andthemajority
carbonate alteration systems, andalsobytheintroduction of exhibitirregularand/ordiffusemargins. Veinsof thisperiod
sulfidesduringsuchlaterevents,but petrographic relation- are mostabundant in the centralareaof the deposit.Micro-
TABLE
2. Vein-Types
Constituting
theEarly-Stage
Fe Mineralization
andMain-Stage
Cu Mineralization,
IslandCopperDeposit
Type Mineralassemblage Characteristic

envelope Abundance Comments
(A) Early-stage
Fe mineralization
I Magnetite None C Thin,discontinuousfracturefillings
II Quartz-magnetite
_+plagioclase
+ chalcopyrite Plagioclase C Essentially
quartz-magnetite veins;mainly
(trace)_+pyrite(trace) hostedby Mainquartz-feldspar
porphyry;
at leastfivegenerations
III amphibole-magnetite
_+plagioclase_ quartz_+ Plagioclase C Multigenerational;
concentrated in
chalcopyrite
_ pyrite_+apatite BonanzaVolcanics;scarceand erratic
sulfides
None R Quartzveins,withscarce
amphibole,
IV Quartz_+amphibole
_+magnetite
_+apatite
magnetite,andapatite
V Amphibole-chalcopyrite-pyrite-quartz None VR Observedin onlyonespecimen
VI Amphibole- +_ Longitudinally
magnetite-quartz-biotite-chalcopyrite variable;
feldspar M Severalgenerations;
longitudinally
variable
plagioclase
_+orthoclase
_+pyrite_+apatite (plagioelase
>• orthoelase), mineralogy;someveinshavecoarse-
amphibole,biotite grainedbiotitewithsagenetic
rutile;
magnetite moreabundant thansulfides
(B) Main-stage
Cu mineralization
VII Quartz-chalcopyrite-magnetite-pyrite-amphobile-
Amphibole, magnetite,
sulfides Abundant in Bonanza Volcanics near Main
apaptite
_+molybdenite
_+mtile (alkalifeldspar) quartz-feldspar
porphyry;
upto a few
cm thick
VIII Quartz-chalcopyrite-pyrite
_+magnetite
_+orthoclaseChalcopyrite;
localorthoclase Severalgenerations;
envelope
biotiteonly
_+apatite_+molybdenite
_+rutile andbiotite in Bonanza Volcanics;calcite observed
in twosamples
IX Biotite_+chalcopyrite
_+magnetite +_pyrite_+ Biotite,chalcopyrite Thin veins or fractures with wide
quartz+ molybdenite+ mtile + orthoclase
__ envelopes
of alteration;
onlyin Bonanza
apatite Voleanies
X Chaleopyrite
__+pyrite None Fracturefillings;
localmolybdenite
XI Quartz-magnetite-ehaleop3Tite-plagioelase-biotite-
None Matrix-cement of breeeia and thin veins in
ehlorite-epidote
_+orthoelase
_+apatite_+pyrite BonanzaVoleanies;
variablemagnetite/
_+sphene ehaleopyrite
ratio
C = common,
M = moderately
abundant,
R = rare,VR = veryrare.
scopiccrosscuttingrelationships demonstratethatemplace- generates a sheeted-veinstructure(Fig.7a),a featurecharac-

multiply. teristic of such mineralizationelsewhere(Clark and Aran-
mentofatleastveintypesI, II, III, andVI occurred
The following veintypesaredistinguished (Table2A): cibia, 1995). Sulfidesare absentin theseveins.
II. Quartz-magnetite veins:theseconstitutethe most
I. Magnetitein hairlinefractures: narrow,discontinuous abundant vein typein the mainquartz-feldspar porphyry,
seams of magnetite,gradingto discontinuous,
crudelyplanar, whereatleastfiveepisodes canbedistinguished, locallyform-
arra:vs
of individualmagnetite grains(cf. Cox,1985),occur inga densestockwork. Quartz-magnetiteveinsaregenerally
throughout themagnetite-richzone,butareapparently more less than 3 cm wide, but some attain widths of 20 cm. The
abundant in the centralarea.Locally,a strongparallelismproportions ofmagnetite andquartzarevariable, theyounger
TABLE3. LaterMagnetite-Bearing
Veins,IslandCopperDeposit
Characteristic
Type Mineralassemblage envelope Abundance Comments
XII Quartz-magnetite
_+chalcopyrite
_+pyrite_+chlorite+ None (?) R-M
epidote+__
alkalifeldspar
XIII Quartz-magnetite-amphibole-chlorite-chalcopyrite-pyrite
Impersistent R-M Localdevelopment
of parallelveins
+ molybdenite_+apatite_+prehnite_+epidote_+ plagioelase
carbonate envelopes
XIV Plagioelase
Amphibole-magnetite-quartz-chlorite-chalcopyrite- R-M Sulfides
commonIvassociated
withprehnite,chlorite,
pyrite-apatite-epidote
_+plagioclase
_+prehnite_+ andepidote;locally
assheetedveins;some
orthoclase envelopescontain
epidote,
prehnite,pyrite,and
ehaleopyrite
Magnetite-amphibole
_+chalcopyrite
_+pyrite+_ None R-M Veryminorsulfides;
thinveinsor fractures
plagioclase
_+quartz
R-M = overall,
rareto moderately
abundant:
rarein theuppersection
of thedeposit,
butmoreabundant
at depth
' b QM CM
FIO. 7. Aspects of veinsconstituting

the early-stagemagnetite-rich
mineralization.
a. Closelyspaced,thin, typeI
magnetiteveins(M, dark),defininga sheeted
structure.Near-vertical
veinat thecenteris alsoof magnetite.
Sample130,
720 Northbench.Plane-polarized transmitted
light.b. Stockwork
of typeI magnetite
(M) andtypeII quartz-magnetite
(QM)veinsin themainquartz-feldspar porphyry.Notethattheyoungerøveins (paler)havehigher quartz-magnetite ratios
thantheolder.Palevein(QPy)cutting quartz-magnetiteveinisquartzA pyrite.Carbonate veinlets
(C,off-white) cutall
otherfeatures.640Westbench.c.TypeIII, amphibole (A,gray)-magnetite
(dark)veincrossinga plagioclase
(P)-magnetite-
alteredarea.All darkgrainsaremagnetite. Diamonddrillhole35, 116ft. Plane-polarizedtransmittedlight.d. TypeIII
amphibole (A,gra•v)-magnetite
(M, dark)-quartz(Q) vein,showingbleached, plagioclase-rich,
envelopes of alteration(P).
Magnetite is the onlyopaquemineral.Sample126,680 Northbench.Plane-polarized transmittedlight.e. Amphibole-
magnetite-altered(assemblage3) Bonanza Volcanicsflowtraversed
bya typeVI quartz(Q,pale)-magnesio-hornblende (A,
gray,prismaticgrains)-magnetite
(M)-chalcopyrite
(Cp)-Kfeldspar(notseenin photograph) vein.Oligoclase
(An26,outlined)
isdeveloped between amphibolegrainsandpartiallyreplacesbytownite
phenocryst (PP)'Plagioclase
veinlets
(Pv),containing
minoramphibole, magnetite,andlocally,
K feldspar andsulfides,
extendfromtheabove veinandtraverse thecoreof the
phenocryst andsurrounding wallrock,whichhadbeenpreviously alteredto amphibole-magnetite.Sample128,680North
bench.Plane-polarized transmitted
light.f. TypeVI veinwithlargechloritegrains(Ch)afterbiotite,showing sagenetic
ruilleneedles.Theveinalsocontains amphibole (A) andmagnetite (M) andishosted by anamphibole-magnetite-altered
Bonanza Volcanics flow.Sample128,680Northbench.Plane-polarized transmittedlight.
veinscommonly containing morequartz(Fig.7b).Nearthe ualveins,butaredominated byfeldspars, among whichpla-

centers oftheveins,oneormorebandsenriched in magnetite gioclase greatlyexceeds orthoclase, or byamphibole, andto
parallelthewalls;symmetrical banding is common andthe a lesserextent, biotite.
veinsexhibitsharpboundaries. Lesscommonly, magnetite Sequence offor,nationof early-stage veins:The crosscut-
grains areconcentrated neartheveinwalls.Magnetite occurs tingrelationships of typeI andII veinsindicatethatthey
assmall(< 1.5mm)subhedral grains. Chalcopyrite andpyrite werebothdeveloped early,andmutually overlapped; how-
arepresentin traceto minoramounts butarewidelyabsent. ever,quartz-magnetite, i.e.,typeII, veinsgenerally cuttype
Hydrothermal plagioclase occursin the veins,particularly I veinlets. Therelationships between typesII andIII areless
wheretheycutplagioclase phenocrysts, andisalsothedomi- welldefinedbecause quartz-magnetite veins(II) areconcen-
nantmineralin the envelopes of alteration. tratedin themainquartz-feldspar porphyry, whereas amphi-
III. Amphibole-magnetite-plagioclase _+quartzveins:in bole-magnetite veins(lid aremostabundant in theBonanza
theseveins(Fig.7c andd), someof whichcontaintracesof Volcanics, andbecause oflateralmineralogical changes within
chalcopyrite, pyrite,andapatite;the proportions of amphi- veins.However, magnetite veinsarelocally observed tobecut
bole,magnetite, plagioclase, and quartzare variable.The byamphibole-magnetite veins.TypeVI veinsin theBonanza
veins,upto5 mmin thickness, arelocally lensyanddiscontin- Volcanics locallycuttypeIII veins.All of theveinsconstitut-
uousandin generalhavepoorlydefinedboundaries; some ingtheearly-stage Fe mineralization arecutbyoneor more
examples appearto havebeenformedthrough replacement.of theveintypesof the mainstage.
Magnetite is predominantly subhedral to anhedral, andam-
phibole occurscommonly inaggregates offibrous orprismatic Main-stageveins
crystals asmuchas2 mm,butgenerally lessthan1 mm,in VeintypesVII through XI constitute themainstagein the
length.Whereasthe earliestof theseveins(Fig. 7c) lack evolution of the IslandCopperdepositandtheireraplace-
envelopes of alteration,
themajority exhibitbleached, plagio- mentgenerated muchof the copperorebody. Theseveins
clase-rich envelopes a fewmillimeters thick(Fig.7d),con- will be described in detailin a laterpaper,butit isimportant
tainingminoramphibole andmagnetite. Chalcopyrite and that their characteristics, and thus their distinctionfrom the
pyriteoccurverylocally inveinsofthistype(Table2).Apatite earlyveins,be recorded herein.The majorfeatures of the
is similarly a minoranderraticconstituent. Minorilmenite main-stage veinsare summarized in Table2B. It is evident
occursin association withthe magnetite, whereas sphene, a thatmagnetite is a constituent of all types,albeitan erratic
constituent of similarveinselsewhere in the IslandCopper one,exceptin typesVII andXI. However,amphibole is re-
porphyrycluster,wasnotobserved. strictedto the earliest, typeVII, main-stage veins,occurring
IV. Quartz-amphibole-magnetite-apatite veins:theserare onlywithinamphibole-magnetite-rich zones close tothemain
veinsarethin(-<0.2mm)andquartzdominated, withonly quartz-feldspar porphyry, whereas plagioclase isconspicuous
minoramphibole, magnetite, andapatite.Thereareno de- onlyin typeXI veins.Molybdenite is an impersistent, but
tectable alteration envelopes. locallyabundant, component ofveintypesVII, VIII, andIX.
V. Amphibole-chalcopyrite-pyrite-quartz veins:extremely Ilmeniteoccursrarelyin typeVII bodies.
rare,theseveinsarelessthan0.3mmin thickness andappar- Potasssic alteration wasdirectlyassociated withthedevel-
entlylackmagnetite. Amphibole islocally replaced bybiotite. opmentof theseveins.
VI. Amphibole- magnetite- quartz-biotite-chalcopyrite _+
oligoclase and/orandesinc +_K feldspar +_pyrite+_apatite Early-stage quasi-pervasive alteration assemblages
veins:theseconstitute a groupof multigenerational veinsthat Thequasi-pervasive alteration assemblages generated dur-
arecharacterized bylongitudinal mineralogical changes (Fig. ingtheearlystagein themainquartz-feldspar porphyry and
7eandf). Theyareamphibole-rich: in places theyaredomi- Bonanza Volcanics areinherently moredifficult todefinethan
natedby amphibole andmagnetite, withor withoutquartz, are thoseof the veinenvelopes, andoverprinting by later
butsomechange laterally
toquartz-amphibole-biotite _+mag- assemblages iswidespread. However, it isclearthattheorigi-
netite+_chalcopyrite _+feldspar, to biotite-magnetite, or to nalmineralassemblages comprised quartz,magnetite, calcic
quartz-amphibole-magnetite-feldspar-chalcopyrite-pyrite as- amphibole, and plagioclase in variousproportions. Three
semblages. A characteristic veinof thistypecontains coarse early-stage alteration assemblages are distinguished on the
biotitegrains(-<0.6mm),partiallyalteredto chlorite.Chlo- basisof essential or widelydeveloped minerals: assemblage
ritepseudomorphs afterbiotitecontainneedles of sagenitic 1:quartz-magnetite-albite (An_<6)-amphibole (traceorabsent
rutile(Fig. 7f). In places,theseveinscutareaspervasivelyin mostareas)-apatite (trace);assemblage 2: quartz-magne-
altered toamphibole. Locally, theywerefractured andhealed tite-amphibole-albite (An6_•0)or oligoclase to andesinc
byamphibole-magnetite andsubsequently werereplaced by (Anls_36)-apatite (trace);andassemblage 3: amphibole-mag-
finergrainedbiotiterelatedto thepotassic alteration. Some netite-oligoclase or andesinc (An•5_39) -+ albite_+quartz+_
typeVI veinsare similarto typeIII veins,but containK apatite(trace).Overall,the wideearly-stage alteration zone
feldsparand/orbiotiteandmoresulfides. Overall,however, comprises a quartz+ magnetite + albite-rich core(predomi-
magnetiteis muchmoreabundantthansulfides. Only one nantlyassemblage 1), centered on the mainquartz-feldspar
flakeof molybdenite wasobserved in a veinof thistype,and porphyry andsurrounded by an amphibole + magnetite+
it is evidentthatthismineralwasnotdeposited significantlyplagioclase-dominant zone(assemblage 3) in the Bonanza
in the earlystageof mineralization at IslandCopper(cf. Volcanics; assemblage 2 is considered to be transitional be-
Perell6et al., 1996).The alteration envelopes exhibitvaria- tween 1 and 3. The mostintenseiron enrichment(seebelow)
tionsin mineralogy andintensity alongthelengths ofindivid- is represented by assemblages 1 and2. Although themajor
feldspar associatedwithmagnetite deposition issodic plagio- monlygrainsofthoseminerals surround therims.Hydrother-

clase,minorK feldspar occurs locally.In general, thealter- malplagioclase widelycontains inclusionsofmagnetite which,
ationissulfide poor.Asisdiscussed below,albite(An<n)and onoxidation, imparta pinkishtintto the feldspar. In weakly
morecalcic plagioclase
donotoccurin contact in assemblages alteredmainquartz-feldspar porphyry, magnetite dissemina-
9.and3, buttheoveralltextural relationships donotpermit tionsandveinsareonlylocallydeveloped andthe alteration
theunambiguous distinctionof subassemblages thereof. is patchy.
Assemblage 1 occursentirelywithinthemainquartz-feld- In the Bonanza Volcanics, magnetite introduction wasac-
spar porphyrydike, but is distributed heterogeneously companied bywidespread amphibole crystallization.
Assem-
therein.Themagnetite-rich alteredporphyry, witha charac- blage2 isdeveloped onlyin a narrowzone,notexceeding 40
teristicblackor darkgray,ostensibly silicified,
fieldaspect, m wide,adjacent to themainquartz-feldspar porphyry dike.
hasbeenintensely andrepeatedly fractured andhealedby The alteration haswidelydestroyed theoriginal basaltic tex-
magnetite-bearing veins.Quasi-pervasive hydrothermal mag- tures,particularly wheremuchfine-grained disseminated
netiteoccurs withquartzasa mosaic of finelydisseminatedmagnetite associatedwithsecondary quartzand/orplagioclase
grainsand,locally,in patchesassociated with albiteand is developed; the rockis converted to a fine-grained in-
quartz,andwithtracesof sulfides (pyriteandchalcopyrite)tergrowth of magnetite, quartz,albiteor oligoclase to ande-
andapatite.Hydrothermal amphibole appears to havebeen sinc,andamphibole, withtraces ofapatiteandsulfides. Minor
an originalcomponent of thisalteration assemblage, as is scapolite
wasobserved in a fewsamples; itsproperties (color-
indicated bytherareoccurrence ofveinsandpatches similar less,opticallynegative, lowindexof refraction, andlowbire-
to thoseobservedin the BonanzaVolcanics.It is, however, fringence) conform tothose ofmarialite,andsemiquantitative
characteristically
absentandthe description of thisdomain electron probemicroanalysis of threegrainsin onesample
asa quartz-amphibole-magnetite stockwork byPerell6et al. failed to detect sulfur (detectionlimit, ca. 0.1 wt % S), and
(1996)is therefore misleading. Chlorite(_ epidote)occurs yieldedCaOcontents of -< 3.3wt percent. Thismineralhas
onlyasanalteration product ofamphibole. Magnetite ispre- notpreviously beenrecorded fromalteration zones associated
dominantly anhedral to subhedral andwaspartially oxidizedwithcalc-alkaline porphyry deposits (seeQuanet al., 1987),
to hematite alonggrainboundaries andpartings duringlater butis a widespread minorconstituent of earlycalcicassem-
sericite-clay-chlorite
alteration.The originaltextureof the blages in thealkaline Cu-Auporphyry systems of BritishCo-
hostporphyry ispartiallypreserved in thissubfacies but,with lumbia(Barretal.,1976).Ontheupperbenches ofthemine,
increasing alteration
intensity,the formsof biotiteandhorn- in the vicinityof the mainquartz-feldspar porphyry dike,
blendephenocrysts areobliterated. Quartzphenocrysts are disseminated amphibole and amphibole-bearing veinsare
generally recognizable,although theyarecommonly masked onlylocally preserved, owingto theirdestruction duringlater
bythedarkeastoftherock;plagioclase phenocrysts aregen- alteration. The rocksin thiszonearecharacterized by abun-
erallyreadilydistinguished, andarein partrimmed, veined, dantfinetoveryfinegrainedquartz,magnetite, andchlorite,
andreplaced by albite(Fig.8a). Somealbiterimscontain minor sericite,and minor to traceamountsof biotite, calcite,
inclusions of magnetite or, rarely,sulfides, but morecorn- apatite,smectite, andepidote.Thelocallypervasive sericite-
FIc. 8. Quasi-pervasive
magnetite-plagiodase(-amphibole)
alteration.
a. Plagioclase
phenocryst
in the mainquartz-
feldsparporphyry(center)
is cutbymagnetitevein(M) andveinedandrimmed byhydrothermal albite(Ab).Medium-
grayalteration
assemblagein phenocryst
is carbonate
+ sericite
+ clay(CSC)whichtruncates thealbiteveinlets.The
blackportionis magnetite(M). Sample84, 640bench.Transmittedlight,crossed
Nicols.
b. Hydrothermal magnetite-
plagiodaseintergrowth.
In areasaffected
byintense Fe-Nametasomatism, theoutlines
of plagioclase
grains(P, pale)
become irregular,
forminginterlocking
boundaries
withmagnetite
(M, dark).Diamonddrillhole35,116ft.Plane-polarized
transmitted
light.
416 ARANCIBIA& CLARK
FIG.9. Veinrelationships
seenin mesophotographs
takenin a Fujimicrofilm-fiche
printer(thethinsections
were
placed
inthemicrofiche
carrier,
notthemicrofilm
loader).
a.A dense network
oftypeI magnetite veins
andveinlets
(I
in figure)
is cutbytypeVIII quartz-chalcopyrite-magnetite-pyrite
veins(VIII) withcentral
zonesof chlorite-carbonate-
chalcopyrite-pyrite
(ChC),in turnoffset
bya carbonate-pyrite-chalcopyrite-filled
fracture
(C).A zeolite
vein(Z)cutsthe
typeI magnetitestockwork.
TheBonanza Volcanics
hostrockwasfirstaffected
byquartz-magnetite-amphibole-plagioclase
alteration
andlaterbysericite-clay-chlorite
alteration
(darker
areas).
Diamonddrillhole
35,200ft.b.Amphibole-magnetite-
altered
BonanzaVolcanics
basaltcutbya series
oftypeI magnetite
veins
(e.g.,
I), andbytypeIII amphibole-magnetite
clay-chloriteoverprint isitselftransected byquartz veinswith ationis alsoevidentawayfromthemainquartz-feldspar por-

phyllicalteration envelopes. phyrycontact.
In thedomainof assemblage 3, themostwidespread early The interfacebetweenthe earlyassemblage 3 subfades
alterationtype(Fig.6), quartz,is minoroverallandwidely andthe surrounding ehlorite-rieh
or epidote-rieh subfacies
absent. The mostintensemagnetite-rich alteration andmin- of the propylitiezoneis markedby an abruptor gradual
eralizationof thistypeoccurnearthe mainquartz-feldsparoutward diminution of the Fe oxide content of the host Bo-
porphyry dike.In areas ofstronger Fe-Nametasomatism (see nanzaVoleanies. Aetinolite withouthydrothermal magnetite
nextsection), in bothassemblages 2 and3, thehydrothermalis locallyfoundin the proxylitie halobeyondthe outerlimit
plagioelase crystalsform anhedralgrainsintergrown with ofmagnetite alteration-mineralization.
Aetinolitie hornblende
magnetite, with or withoutquartzand/oramphibole (Fig. andaetinolite,wherepresentoutside thepotassie zonein the
8b),andwithapatite. Locally, magnetite-amphibole veinscut chloritic haloof alteration (Fig.6), arepartiallyreplaced by
plagioelase-magnetite intergrowths (Fig.7e).Hydrothermalchlorite.
plagioelase occursas:(1) pseudomorphie replacements of Later Magnetite-BearingVeins
originallymoreealeieplagioelase phenoerysts, (2) clearrims A subordinate seriesof veins,typesXII to XV (Table3),
around,andveinlets within,feldspar phenoerysts, (3) enve- emplaeed afterthe main-stage Cu mineralization, contains
lopestoveins,(4) thinveins,and(5) small,mostly subhedralmagnetiteand,in mostcases,amphibole, commonly with
lathsin thegroundmass replacing plagioclase microlites and ehaleopyrite andpyriteandrarelywithmolybdenite. Whereas
in patches withotherminerals. Locally, suchplagioelase con- manysuchveinsaredistinguished therefrom onlyby their
tainsinclusions ofmagnetite. Theabundance ofhydrothermallateparagenetic context, typesXIII andXIV arecharacterized
plagioclase decreases awayfromthe mainquartz-feldspar by mineralssuchas ehloriteand,more locally,prehnite.
porphyry dike. Prehniteis absentin all earlierveins,but the originof the
In thissubfades, amphibole, with or withoutmagnetite, ehloriteis problematic becauseit is difficultto establish
replaces primarymarieminerals andhascrystallized in amyg- whetherit is an originalmineral.Plagioclase envelopes are
dulesandin thematrixof thebasalts, locally evenreplacingassociated withtypeXIV, andin somecases, withtypeXIII
igneous plagioelase.Amphibole crystals in veinsare com- veins(Table3). The relativeagesof veintypesXIII, XIV,
monlyeoarser (upto 2 mmlong)thanthosewhichreplace andXV are definedby crosscutting relationships. The later
primaryferromagnesian minerals; the finestgrains(<0.5 magnetite-bearing veinsareinvariably thin(<2 mm)andare
mm)arethosedeveloped in thematrixofthebasalts. Intense sparsely represented in the upperpartof the deposit; how-
amphibole development persists fartherfromthedikecontact ever,they apparently increasein abundance with depth.
thandoesthatofmagnetite. Patches ofamphibole-magnetite Sheeted veinarrays arelocallyobserved. Thelatermagnetite-
+ plagioclase _+quartz_+apatite arewidelydeveloped. Mag- bearing veinsdonotdisguise theparagenetic relationships of
netite occursin fracturesand as fine disseminations, veins, the early-and main-stage stockworks and their associated
andpatches, aswellasreplacements of magmatie ferromag- alteration.Locally,a strongparallelism of theselaterveins
nesianminerals.In areasof moderateiron enrichment,where generates a sheeted structure,similarto thatof typeI early-
originaltextures areonlypartially obliterated, magnetite sur- stageveins.
roundsmagmatie minerals. Its grainsizeattains1.5 mm in Thebroaderrelationships of theselatermagnetite-bearing
theveinsbutis generally lessthan0.6 mmwheredissemin-veinsareunclear,but theyhavebeenobserved to cutinter-
ated.Themagnetite content locallyexceeds 10volpercent. me&ate-stage assemblages (Table 1). The mineral assem-
MinorK feldspar occurs in somezones of amphibole-mag- blagesoftheveinsaresimilarin somerespects to thoseofthe
netitcalteration, particularly in areasnearthemainquartz- intermediate-stage sericite-clay-chlorite
alteration, implying
feldspar porphyry wheremagnetite mineralization is rela- theirdevelopment in stage3. However, because serieite-elay-
tivelyweaklydeveloped, andsulfides arecommonly present ehloritealteration widelyconverted preexisting magnetite to
in smallamounts in suchareas.Wheresulfides hematite,
occur,they vored. a temporal rather than genetic association is fa-
are characteristically
associated with aetinolite or aetinolitie
hornblende and/orK feldspar. Sulfides alsooccurin typeVI Relationships betweenMagnetite-Amphibole-Plagioclase-
and Potassic Alteration-Mineralization
veinsor theirenvelopes of alteration. K feldspar surrounds
amphibole-magnetite patches in somesamples. The associa- It is evidentfromTable2 thatmagnetite, particularly asa
tionofsparse K feldspar withtheamphibole-magnetite alter- vein constituent, is not restrictedto the earlieststagesof
veins,without(IIIa) andwith(IIIb) envelopes of alteration.

TypeIV quartz-dominatedveins(IV), cutthetypeIII veins
in several
places(X).A w/detypeVII quartz-chalcopyrite-magnetite-amphibole
vein(VII) crosses
thefield.Theamphibole
(A)in theasymmetrical veinoccurs ator closeto thecontactwiththewallrockandisnotcontinuously developed.A type
VII veincutstypeIII veinsat XX. A singleveinat the toprightchanges fromtypeII (II, quartz-magnetite)
to typeIII
(III, a•phibole-magnetite)
atitsintersection(XX)witha typeVII vein.Fractures withchlorite-
carbonate-chalcopyrite-
pyriteA epidote(ChC)traverse typeVII veins.Sample 87'25,'280Northeast
bench.c. Mainquartz-feldspar
porphyry with
numerous
quartz-magnetite
• albite
veins
(QM,typeII) cutbyathicker,
typeVIII, quartz-chalcopyrite-magnetite-pyrite
vein(VIII). A networkofcarbonate-pyrite
veins(C)withminorchalcopyrite
offsets
theearlier
veins.
Plagioclase
phenocrysts
(P, medium gray)havebeenalteredfirstto albiteandthento carbonate-sericite-clay.
Notethehexagonalshapeof some
quartzphenocrysts (Q). Sample
84,640Westbench.
418 AtMNCIBIA & CLARK
development of theIslandCopperhydrothermal system and, bothearly-stage veinsandareasofquasi-pervasive magnetite-

moreover, thatminorehaleopyrite andpyriteweredeposited,amphibole-plagioelase alteration.
withmagnetite, priorto theemplaeement of themaincopper Biotite,the majormineralof the main-stage quasi-perva-
orebody. Our definition of earlysulfide-poor, andmainsul- sivealteration, is alsoa constituent of the common typeIX
fide-richstages isthereforenecessarily basedontheexamina- vein;veinsof thisgeneration, containing bothmagnetite and
tion of numerous samples, particularly at the microscopicehaleopyrite, areseenin Figure10eandd to cutearly-stage
scale.Asnotedabove,clarification of the temporalrelation- typeIII veinsrichin amphibole andmagnetite. On a wider
shipsof quasi-pervasive alterationfaciesismoredifficultthan scale,alterationmineralswhichreplacedmagmatie phases
the determination of the sequence of veintypes,andeven duringtheearlystagearethemselves replaced by main-stage
the latteris impededby the existence of lateralchanges in biotite(Fig. 10e).
vein-envelope mineralogy andbythelocalreopening ofveins. Figure10fillustrates thecomplexities imposed byrepeated
Temporalcorrelation of veintypesandquasi-pervasive 'alter- superimposition of bothveiningandalteration andempha-
ationfaciesisinherently fraughtwithuncertainty, butin this sizestheeffectsoftransitional serieite-elay-ehlorite alteration
section we recorda selection of observations whichsupports in disguising paragenetie relationships.
our paragenetieconcepts. Biotitizationof basalt,interpreted asa metamorphic pro-
Crosscutting relationships betweenthedifferentveintypes eessby Cargillet al. (1976),is a salientfeatureof potassie
emplaeed earlyin thedevelopment ofthestockwork areonly metasomatism at IslandCopper.Hydrothermal biotiteisinti-
locallyunambiguous in outcrop, owingin partto the discon- matelyintergrown xvithearlierformedamphibole, magnetite,
tinuousnatureof manyof theveinsand,particularly, to the and plagioelase, and with contemporaneous ehaleopyrite, py-
melanoeratie aspectof mostzonesenrichedin magnetite. rite, orthoelase,rutfie,and quartz, and was itselfextensively
Similarly,mineralparageneses arecommonly obscured atthe replacedby ehloritein the courseof serieite-elay-ehlorite
microscopic scale.Criticalrelationships are,however, consid- alteration. Wherepotassic alteration is intense,evidence of
erablyclarified by useof transmitted-light photomesographs, earlier magnetite-rich alteration-mineralization may be par-
i.e.,records oftexturalfeatures in entire(polished-) thinsec- tiallyor whollyobliterated: the rockbecomes brownandthe
tionsobtainedusinga microfilmor microrich printer.Such sulfide/magnetite ratioincreases markedly. Alkalifeldspar re-
images(e.g.,Fig. 9a-c) defineonlyvariations in lightim- places plagioelase phenoerysts andexhibits increasing Or con-
pedence andcannotdiscriminate betweenminerals of similar tent towardgrainrims.However,oligoelase locallypersists
absorption, but they provideexcellentmapsuponwhich as an alterationmineral, intergrown with orthoelase, quartz,
smaller scale features observed in transmitted or incident andbiotite(-ehlorite), andalsosurrounds ehaleopyrite grains
polarized lightmaybe located andcorrelated. within the envelopes of type VIII veins. In zones of intense
Figure9a to c illustrates unambiguous crosscutting rela- K silicate alteration,orthoelase becomes animportant constit-
tionshipsbetweenearly-stage veins(typesI, II, andIII) and uent of theseveins, and magnetite is conspicuously absent.
Theparagenetie sequence for the earlieralteration stages
latermain-stage chalcopyrite-rich veins(typesVII andVIII), at IslandCopperissummarized in Figure11.Ourconclusion
albeitwithoutsignificant offsetting.
Alsoevidentarecarbon- thattheamphibole-magnetite alteration predated thepotassie
ate-bearing veins,somewithchalcopyrite and/orpyrite,and (ef.Perell6et al., 1996)is strongly supported by itsdevelop-
zeoliteveins,bothof the terminalstageandexhibiting clear mentoutsideof the Cu orezone(Fig.6). In thisouterhalo,
offsetsof earlierveins.Theintensity of early-stagemagnetite amphibole (aetinolitie
hornblende andaetinolite) andmagne-
stringer(typeI) development in someareasof the Bonanza tite replaceprimaryferromagnesian mineralsandoccuras
Volcanics closeto the mainquartz-feldspar porphyry dikeis disseminations in the groundmass of the basaltic rocks;rare
clearlyshownin Figure9a,wheresuchveinletsconstitute a amphibole-magnetite veinsanddustersof smallfibrousag-
narrowlyspaced, sheetedsystem. Alsoevidentin Figure9b gregates ofamphibole were'also observed. Moreover, amphi-
are lateral transitionsin the constitutionof individualveins, bole lines the walls of vesicles,whereasehlorite fills in their
tosomeextentblurringthedistinction between theveintypes centralparts.Wetherefore concludethatthereisnoevidence
documented in Table 2.
of metasomatiebiotitedevelopmentin the domains adjacent
Although weinterpretmicroscopic texturalrelationships
as to the propylitie
haloandtakeissuewith the inference of
evidence thatminorchalcopyrite andpyriteweredeposited Perell6etal.(1996)thata single-stagebiotite-magnetite
alter-
in equilibrium
withmagnetite in someearlyveins(Table2A), ationfaciesis surrounded by a contemporaneous propylitie
muchofthesulfide in magnetite-rich
veinsoccurs asisolated fringewithhydrothermal amphibole,magnetite,andehlorite.
grainsor grainaggregatesandistherefore of uncertainpara-
genesis.However,somesulfidein earlyveinsandassociated Minera|ogieData for Magnetite-Bearing Alteration-
alterationwasclearlydepositedlaterthanmagnetite. In Fig- MineralizationAssemblages
ure 10a,a sulfide-free,magnetite-rich,
typeII veinis ob- Thecompositions ofthemainminerals oftheearlymagne-
servedto be cut by a main-stage typeVII veincontainingtite-bearing alteration
zoneweredetermined byelectron mi-
chalcopyriteandpyritein additionto magnetite,andisitself croprobe analysis.
Amphiboles wereanalyzed withan ARL-
cutandoffsetbya typeVII vein.Moreover, thereisevidence AMX electron microprobe,employing TracerNorthernauto-
(e.g.,Fig.10b)thatbothchalcopyriteandpyritereplace mag- mationandan NS 880 analyzer anda PDP 1105computer.
netiteandwereintroduced notonlyduringmain-stage events Operating conditionswerethefollowing:beamcurrent30 to
but alsoin the intermediateand eventerminalstages(see 40 nA, beamdiameterca.1 to 5/.zm,andcounting time 120
alsoFig. 9a andb). Main-stage, chalcopyrite-richveinscut s.Theanalyses of magnetite
andplagioelase wereperformed
ALTERATION-MINERALIZATION,ISLAND Cu-Au-MoDEPOSIT, B.C. 419
FIe. 10. Parageneticrelationships

between magnetite-fich
andsulfide-bearingassemblages.
a. A quartz-magnetitevein(QM, gray,centerfight)cutby a quartz-chalcopyrite-pyrite
(Py)-magnetite
vein,whichin turn
isdisplaced byanother quartz-magnetite-chalcopyrite
(Cp)veinlet. Sample 287,720Eastbench. Plane-polarized
reflected
light,in air.b. Veinmagnetite(M) manfled andlocally
replaced bypyrite(Py)andchalcopyrite (Cp).Notepyriteveins
in magnetite. Diamond drillhole2,715ft. Plane-polarized
reflectedlight,in air.c.Amphibole-magnetite-altered
Bonanza
Volcanics flowwitha typeIII amphibole-magnetite vein(III), showinga bleached alteration
envelope(horizontal)
and
crossedbythintypeIX biotitic veins(B,curving, vertical,
withenvelope of alteration
enclosedbywhitelines)containing
magnetite (M) andchalcopyrite (Cp).Sample 126,680Northbench. Plane-polarizedtransmitted
light.d.TypeIII amphi-
bole-magnetitevein(III) cutbytypeIX biotiteveinlet(IX).Biotite (B)envelope totypeIX veinpartiallyreplaces
amphibole
(A). Sample 285,720Eastbench.Plane-polarized transmitted light.e. Hydrothermal amphibole (A),pseudomorphous
aftera magmatic augitcphenoc]7st (A in c) is partially
replaced by biotite(B). Apatitec]7stal(Ap)at topleft. Note
characteristic
plagioclasemicrolite
groundmass textureat topfight.Opaque minerals aremagnetite (M) andchalcopyrite
(Cp).f. Bonanza Volcanics basalt,froma sitenearthe mainqnuartz-feldspar porphyryandofiginally convertedto an
amphibole-magnetite-plagioclase-quartzassemblage, cutbytypeVII quartz-chalcopyrite-magnetite-amphibole veins(VII)
andlatertypeVIII quartz-chalcopyrite-magnetite veins(VIII, palegray),andextensively overpfinted by seficite-clay-
chlofitealteration.
At thecenterofthefield,quartz-seficite-pyrite (S,white)andsericite-chlofite
(SC,mottled) envelopes
transectboththepervasive magnetite alterationandthequartz-bearing veins.680Eastbench.
cibia,unpub.data).In the epidoticfaciesof the propylitic

MAGNETITE zone,wherethe secondary amphibole is not associated
with
AMPHIBOI,E hydrothermal magnetite,it is aetinolite,
whereasaetinolitie
hornblende and aetinolitepredominate in the amphibole-
QUARTZ
magnetite alteration
facies.Asexpected, thereisa significant
PLAGIOCLASE increasein the A siteoccupancy (seeTable5) in the mag-
ELECTRUM
nesio-hornblendes and aetinolitie hornblendes relative to the
aetinolites.
Calculated
values
oftheexpression
(Fe3+/Fe'2++
BIOTITE Fea+)ß100range from8 to22.5percent,
butareverysensi-
tive to the estimates of Fe '•+ content. There is no dear evi-
(CHALCOPYRITE
SULFIDES ANDPYRITE)
denceof replacement of anyamphibole by another,but all
K-FELDSPAR • m• • typesarevariably replaced bybiotiteandehloriteastheresult
of potassie alteration andotherlaterhydrothermal events.
FICa.11. Schematicrepresentation
of the parageneticrelationshipsof
themainminerals associatedwiththemagnetite-rich The
alteration-mineraliza- 'aluminum contents of severalof the amphiboles fall
tionandpotassicalteration-copper
mineralization. within the aetinolite-hornblende miseibilitygap (Cooper and
Lovering, 1970)andimplythattheyformedaboveca.450øC
(D.M. Carmichael, pets.eommun., 1989).
on anARL-SEMQmicroprobe with a TN 5500multichannel Plagioclase
analyzer, anda PDP 1173computer. Thebeamcurrentwas
100 nA, the beamdiameteri to 2 •m for magnetite but Theplagioelase directlyassociated withearly-stage hydro-
broaderfor plagioclase, andthe counting time 200 s. All thermalmagnetite comprises bothalbite(An•_•o) andoligo-
analyses werecarriedoutat 15kV accelerating voltage. The elase-andesine (Anl.5_39:seeTable6). Itscomposition broadly
datawerecorrected formatrix effectsbythemethod ofBence reflects thatofthehostrock:thus,albiteisthesolesecondary
andAlbee(1968),employing thealphafactors of Albeeand plagioelase in the daeitiemain quartz-feldspar porphyry,
Ray(1970)andP.L. Roeder(pets.commun., 1982).Struc- whereas oligoelase andandesine predominate in thebasaltic
turalformulas werecalculated using computer programs writ- Bonanza Voleanies, exceptlocallyin the'vSeinity of the dike.
tenby D.M. Carmichael (pers.commun., 1985-1989). The orthoelase contentof the plagioelase is generally-<4
molepercent,but compositions aspotassie asOreoare at-
Magnetite tainedin somegrains. Thehydrothermal plagioelase ischar-
Analytical datafor hydrothermal magnetite are givenin acteristically untwinned, but weaktxvinning, displaced rela-
Table4, in whichthecompositions of magnetites in Bonanza tive to primary•vinning,is developedin somedomains.
basalts apparently unaffected byalteration arealsorecorded. Whereasalbiteandoligoelase-andesine occurin early-stage
Magnetiteintergrown withhydrothermal plagioclase in vein- veinshostedby the Bonanza Voleanies, theywerenot ob-
letshasa uniformly lowtitaniumcontent,whereas thatoc- servedin mutual contact,and it is therefore not dear if the
curringin amphibole-magnetite veinsandpatches exhibits a apparenthiatusin plagioelase composition corresponds to
widercompositional range,locallyattaining wellover1 wt the peristeritegap (Maruyamaet al., 1982).It shouldbe
percentTiO.•.Thismayreflectincorporation ofTi fromorigi- emphasized thatsodiefeldspars werealsogenerated bylater
nalmagmatic spinels, butit should beemphasized thatihnen- fluidsat IslandCopper: thus,K feldspar andoligoelase-ande-
itc occurs locallyin early-stage veinsaswell asin patches, sinein the intermediate quartz-feldsparporphyry werepar-
intergrown withmagnetite. tiallyreplaced byalbiteandalbite-oligoelase, respectively. In
ICP-MS,INAA, AAS,andX-rayfluorescence analysis (n addition, albiteis associated withthe widespread terminal-
= 2-3 pertechnique-per sample) ofthreecarefrilly separatedstageearbonate-zeolite veiningandalteration.
magnetite samples fromquartz-magnetite veinlets hosted by Thedevelopment ofhydrothermal plagioelase inthebasalts
themainquartz-feldspar porphyry yieldedreproduceable Cu andbasaltic tuffsoftheBonanza Voleanies wasprobably initi-
andMn contents of7 to10and160to270ppm,respectively. atedthroughreplacement of the microlite-rich groundmass,
The magnetites wereseparated fromtwo4- to 6-mm-wide andbymantling andreplacement ofigneous plagioelase phe-
typeII veinlets(assemblage 1), sections of whichrevealed noerysts, asillustrated in Figures13 and 14, but locallyit
no copperon wavelength-dispersive SEM examination; the culminated in thecomplete replacement of'alloriginal miner-
Cu and Mn are therefore considered to occur in solid solution alsbyfine-grained plagioelaseintergroxvths(Fig.15),generat-
in the magnetite. ingthebleached envelopes characteristic
of manyearly-stage
veins.
Amphibole
The modeof replacement of phenoerysts is moredearly
Compositional datafor 16 representative hydrothermalshownin reflected-light NomarskiDIC thanin transmitted
amphiboles are givenin Table 5. Estimationof the Fe•+ lightimages,whichdo not revealthe preciselocations of
contentsfollowed themethod of Stout(1972).According to eitherthe boundaries of feldspar grainsor of zonaldomains
Leake's(1978)classification,theamphiboles aremembers of therein.Thus,in Figure13a,theannular remnant ofanorigi-
thecalcicgroupandrangeoverall fromactinolite,
through nal zonedphenoeryst is detectable, but its texturalrelation-
actinolitic
hornblende to magnesio-horublende (Fig. 12). shipswiththesurrounding secondary plagioelase areunclear,
Thereis no compositional overlap withthemagmatic horn- andthe habit of the latter is unresolved.Moreover,the devel-
blendein the dioriticrocksof the IslandPlutonicSuite(Aran- opmentof serieite-elay assemblages (representing serieite-
ISLANDCu-Au-Mo
DEPOSIT,B.C. 421
TABLE
4. Electron
Microprobe
Analyses
of Hydrothermal
andMagmatic
Magnetite,
IslandCopperDeposit
Sampleno. 128 285 32 XIC 8722 450 153

Rocktype BV BV MQFP BV BV BV IQFP
Paragenesis H (vein) H (vein) H (patch) H (vein) (matrix) M M
SiO2 0.56 0.83 0.32 0.43 0.46 0.56 0.47
A1203 0.61 0.66 0.70 1.05 0.67 0.84 0.32
TiO2 0.59 0.11 0.69 0.49 1.98 2.59 1.46
Fe203• 66.02 66.34 65.51 66.03 62.52 61.51 63.58
FeO 1 31.79 31.65 31.84 32.03 33.14 33.33 32.31
MgO 0.36 0.17 0.00 0.10 0.06 0.42 0.05
MnO 0.00 0.22 0.00 0.15 0.00 0.20 0.00
CaO 0.09 0.25 0.12 0.00 0.03 0.09 0.21
Cr203 0.02 0.00 0.03 0.00 0.05 0.28 0.17
Total 100.04 100.23 99.21 100.28 98.92 99.82 98.57
Structural a totalcationic
formulaassuming chargeof 8, withall cations
occupying
threesites
Y
Si 0.021 0.032 0.012 0.016 0.018 0.021 0.018
A1 0.027 0.030 0.032 0.047 0.030 0.038 0.015
Ti 0.017 0.033 0.020 0.014 0.058 0.074 0.043
Cr 0.001 0.000 0.001 0.000 0.002 0.008 0.005
Fe 3+ 1.895 1.901 1.903 1.892 1.817 1.763 1.858
X
Fe •+ 1.014 1.088 1.027 1.020 1.071 1.062 1.049
Mg 0.020 0.010 0.000 0.006 0.003 0.024 0.003
Mn 0.000 0.007 0.000 0.005 0.000 0.006 0.000
Ca 0.004 0.010 0.005 0.000 0.001 0.004 0.009
Y total 1.961 1.966 1.968 1.969 1.925 1.904 1.939

X total 1.038 1.035 1.032 1.031 1.075 1.096 1.061
Abbreviations:
BV= Bonanza
Volcanics,
MQFP= Mainquartz-feldspar
porphyry,
IQFP= Intermediate
quartz-feldspar
porphyry;
H = hydrothermal,
M = magmatic;
Y = trivalentor highervelocity
cations,
X = divalent
cations
1 Back-calculatedfrom the structural formula
clay-chlorite alteration)in partof the coreof thephenocrystthehydrothermal plagioelase grains

arediscontinuous andin
isonlyindistinctly shown. In Nomarski DIC illumination (Fig. manyeases cannotbe tracedacross singlegrains. Thezones
13b),it is seenthatthe lameliartwinningandzoningof the arelinear,curving, or convolute andlocallyhopperlike fea-
magmatic plagioclase are truncatedalongan irregularre- turesareobserved. Zoningin secondary plagioelase is com-
placement front.The abruptnatureof the latteris evident monlyorientedat an angleto the oseillatory zonesin the
fromtheelectron microprobe traverses (Fig.14):calcicande- phenoeryst. Theserelationships arestrikinglysimilartothose
sincis observed to be juxtaposed with oligoclase-andesine. discussedandfiguredbyVance(1965;e.g.,hisfig. 10)in a
Manyof the grainsof secondary plagioclase displaygently pioneering discussion ofthemorecomplex formsofzonation
curving boundaries, a featurealsorevealed in backscatteredinplagioelase. Thatauthor, however, interpreted thefeldspar
electronimages, but onlyof etchedsections (Fig. 13c).Only transeeting a phenoeryst of plagioelaseasmagmatie, entirely
the Nomarski image(Fig. 13b)revealsthatthe smallgrains onthebasis ofitsoseillatoryzoning.At IslandCopper,oseilla-
of hydrothermal plagioclase exhibitcrudeandirregularoscil- toryzoning,albeitcrude,is alsodisplayed byplagioelase in
latoryzoning.Thisis confirmed by long-duration X-rayim- undoubted hydrothermal veins,whereinsomeplagioclase
agesfor Ca-Ka generated by electronprobemicroanalysisgrains areelongated in theplaneof theveinandtheoseilla-
andis presumably responsible for the compositional fluctua- toryzoningbroadly parallels theveinwalls.Suchveinsmay
tionsevidentin Figure14. The largergrainsof secondaryhaveformedlargelythrough replacement, butit remains evi-
plagioclase (lowercenterin Fig. 13b)exhibitsubrounded or dentthatfinezonation isnota criterionformagmatie growth
equant-subhedral formsandapparently skeletalcorezones. of this mineral.
Theirboundaries against thehydrothermal magnetite (white Electronmicroprobe spotanalyses alongtraverses across
in Fig. 13b)rangefromirregularto subplanar. theboundary of theplagioelase phenoeryst shownin Figure
A second plagioclase phenocryst, illustrated in Figure13d, 13ato e revealthatthesurrounding hydrothermal plagioelase
hasbeenreplaced bothmarginally and;vithinits originally variesin composition fromAn•5to Ans7overall.Correlation
morecalciccorebyhydrothermal plagioclase. In thisNomar- between theanalytical sitesandtheverysmallintragranular
skiimage,it isseenthatthesecondary feldspar isitselfoscilla- domainsdefinedbytheNomarski images isdifficult,
butthe
torilyzoned,electron microprobe analyses revealing a compo- fluctuating compositional profiles
recorded in someareasare
sitionalrangefromoligoclase to andesinc, the latterjuxta- inferredto reflectzonation withinindMdualgrains. Thedata
posedwith magmaticlabradoritc. The zoneboundaries in suggest(Fig.14)thataggregates ofhydrothermal plagioelase
...• qq•q
•D oO
ao '•
++%
•> • + + •+
< •
Si
0.8 phenocrysts or microlitesandthatoncesuchfirst-generation
crystals had attaineddiametersof ca. 18 /•m, new foei of
metasomatism wereestablished, givingriseto a second popu-
0.75
lationof zoned grains.In the terminal stages of development
ß of secondary plagioelase, metasomatism wasconstrained to
Mg
smallvolumes of basaltsurviving betweenthe largergrains.
(Mg+Fe2+)
0.7
ß ß Although
ciliatory
Yardleyet al. (1991)arguethatintragranular
zoningmaybea criterionforinfiltrational
os-
metasoma-
0.85 øø
Actinolite cti I
•(•e
.M.agnesl.o-
c rlornblenae
tismin metamorphic
intergranular
by Nomarski
early-stage alteration
environments,
texturalrelationships
DIC imaging
at Island Copper
intra-and,particularly,
similarto thoserevealed
in theplagioelase-rieh
have not
domains
been
of
docu-
mentedin otherstrictlymetasomatie settings andareunre-
0.6
71.87.7 7.67!5 7[4 ''!3 •.2 7!17!0 •.9 cordedfromporphyry copperdeposits. Broadanalogies may,
however, be drawnwiththe laminated, polygranular, aggre-
F•c. 12. Chemical classification
of hydrothermal amphiboles fromthe gates of hydrothermal minerals commonly observed in skarn
IslandCopperdeposit. The nomenclature is thatof Leake(1978).(Na + mineralization, firstdescribed by Trustedt (1907) and Knopf
K) < 0.50; Ti < 0.50.
(1908),andinterpreted asproducts of diffusionandmetaso-
matismanalogous to Liesegang ringsby Eskola(1951).The
grains alsovaryin meancomposition fromsiteto site,proba- laminaeof suchwrigglites (Askins,1975;KwakandAskins,
blyindicative of spatio-temporal variations in the integrated 1981)comprise alternating mineralassemblages enriched in
Naactivity inthemetasomatizing fluidsand/orin overallfluid-
rockratiosduringalteration envelope development.
Thetextural andcompositional relationships of thesecond- T^BLE6. Selected ElectronMicroprobeAnalysesof Hydrothermal
aryplagioelase in thebleached envelopes of early-stage veins Plagioelase
Associated
withEarlyMagnetite-Rich Alteration-
Mineralization,
IslandCopperDeposit
aredearlydemonstrated in the Nomarski imageandmicro-
probedatarecorded in Figure15aandb. Intense developmentSampleno. 126 128 8722 195 184 32
of hydrothermal oligoelase-andesine hashereobliterated the Rocktype BV BV BV BV MQFP MQFP
original fabricofthetuffaceous basaltichostrock.Theplagio- Paragenesis V V IM IM RP IM
clasegrains aresmall(-<50/zm,avgca.18/zm)andsubequant,SiO2 62.09 62.88 59.53 64.82 66.62 66.73
andmakeup a polygonal aggregate (Fig. 15a).Whereas in A120• 23.65 23.12 24.72 22.51 20.79 20.63
transmitted lightthegrains appearto showweaknormalzon- TiO2 0.12 0.02 0.03 0.00 0.02 0.02
ing,the DIC imagereveals that the majorityof the grains Fe203t 0.28 0.56 0.53 0.41 0.40 0.23
possess crudelytomoderately developed oscillatory
zoning, the FeO • 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
zonalboundaries ranging fromeuhedral-planar tosubrounded.MnO MgO 0.48 0.24 0.25 0.15 0.08 0.09
0.00 0.00 0.02 0.01 0.00 0.00
Microprobe analyses (Fig. 15b)showthatindividual grains CaO 5.91 5.00 6.59 1.61 0.96 0.86
exhibit overallcompositional ranges of ca.18to 9.3moleper- Na20 7.19 7.86 7.23 9.82 10.53 10.49
centanorthite, withcoresvarying onlyfromAna5to An3sand K20 0.28 0.21 0.69 0.63 0.36 0.41
Cr203 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.03 0.04
withmoresodicrims.No corecompositions ascalcicasthe Total 100.00 99.89 99.61 99.96 99.79 99.50
margins of the magmatic phenocrysts havebeenconfirmed
andthemajority ofthesmall plagioclasegrainswereapparently
notnucleated by phenocrysts. The coresof the largergrains Structural formulaassuming
all eations
a totalcationic
exceptCa, Na, andK occupying
chargeof 16,
foursites
(e.g.,A andC) havethe formsof crudely' rounded, skeletal
Si 2.749 2.783 2.671 2.853 2.927 2.937
hoppers, whereas succeeding zones areprogressivelymoreeu- A1 1.234 1.206 1.307 1.147 1.073 1.063
hedralanddisplay finerscaleoscillatory zoning. A1 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.020 0.003 0.007
Although the aggregate of hydrothermal plagioclase illus- Ti 0.004 0.001 0.001 0.000 0.001 0.001
tratedin Figure15asuperficially resembles a recrystallized,Cr 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.000 0.001 0.001
Fe •+ 0.009 0.019 0.018 0.014 0.013 0.008
annealed, monomineralic metamorphic fabric,theirregular- Fe 2+ 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
ity of the grains, the rarityof true 19.0 øtriple-junctions (cf. Mg 0.032 0.016 0.017 0.010 0.005 0.006
Spry,1969)and,in particular, thezonalrelationships empha- Mn 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.000 0.000 0.000
sizethe texturaland,hence,geneticdifferences. The forms Ca 0.280 0.237 0.317 0.076 0.045 0.041
of two adjacentgrains,A and B, in Figure15aandb are KNa 0.617
0.016
0.674
0.012
0.629
0.039
0.838
0.035
0.897
0.020
0.895
0.023
instructive with regardto the originof the aggregate: thus,
grainB wasclearlynucleated on a planarsurface of grainA Anorthite 30.70 25.70 32.10 08.00 04.70 04.20
andthengrewwitha crudelyhemispherical form.Growth Albite
Orthoclase
67.60
01.70
73.00
01.30
63.80
04.40
88.20
03.70
93.20
02.10
93.30
02.40
zones, in partfinelyoscillatory,in grainB terminate abruptly
against grainA, andthecorecomposition of B (An36)ismore Abbreviations: BV = Bonanza Volcanics, MQFP = Mainquartz-feldspar
calcicthantheouterpartof A (An25_2s). We therefore infer porphyry; V = veins,IM = intergrowth withmagnetite, RP = replacing
thatmetasomatic growthwasinitiatedat severalsites,per- primaryplagioclase
haps,butnotnecessarily, withinor at themargins of original • Back-calculated from the structural formula
FIe. 13. Replacement of magmatic plagioclase

in Bonanza Volcanicsbasaltbyhydrothermal plagiodaseassociated
with
amphibole-magnetite alteration.
a. Plagioclase
phenocryst showing mantling
andmarginal replacementby hydrothermal
plagioclase
(HP, pale).The coreof the phenocryst (mediumgray)hasbeenpartiallyalteredto sericite-clay intergrowths.
Magnetite(M) is black.Sample285, 720 Eastbench.Plane-polarized transmitted light.b. ReflecteddightNomarski
differential
interferencecontrastimageof thesamefieM(slightly rotated
withrespect to a;etchedin concentrated
fiuoboric
acid).Thezoningexhibited by thehydrothermal plagioclase (HP) isunrelatedto theprimaryoscillatory zoning(PZ).c.
Backscatteredelectronimageof the samecrystal(differentfroma andb; etchedsection). Notethe granular,
subhedral-
subrounded texturedeveloped by smallplagioclasegrainsin the lowercentralarea,a featurealsoseenin b. d. Nomarski
differential
interferencecontrast imageillustrating
thepartialreplacement of thecoreof a second plagioclase
phenocryst
by hydrothermalplagioclase (HP).Themicrorelief developed byfiuoboricacidetching revealscomplex,chaoticzoning
differingmarkedlyfromthe magmatic zoning(PZ).
contrasted cationsandanions,andyoungerwriggliteunits thermalplagiodase reflectcrudelyrhythmicsupersaturation

areostensiblytruncated byearlier.TheIslandCopperassem- in albiteattending thereplacement ofCa-richmineralassem-
blages mayhavea similarorigindespite thecrudely equant blagesthroughthe incursion of Na-richbrines,eachgrain
and subhedral forms of the metasomatic cells and their mono- representing a localfocusof metasomatic exchange. The
mineralic composition. Thecrudelyplanar,wall-parallel, os- broadnormalzoningof eachnucleus wouldreflectthe in-
ciliatoryzoningin plagioclase in someveinsandreplacivecreasing dominance of theintroduced components, in partic-
patches withinoriginalplagioclasephenocrysts (e.g.,Fig.13d) ularNa, overoriginalCa, Fe, etc.The texturalrelationships
isanalogous tothealternating bands of magnetite andfluorite of the hydrothermal plagioclase associatedwith early-stage
in veinsfromthePitk•iranta skarnfiguredbyTrusterr(1907, veiningat IslandCoppermaybeinterpreted asintragranular
hisfig.1),whereas thehemispherical grains arereminiscentgeochemical selLorganizationfeaturesin the senseof Orto-
of thecrudelycylindrical wrigglitesgenerated by fluidinfil- leva (1994). As we discusselsewhere(Clark and Arancibia,
trationalongessentially linearchannels (e.g.,Trustedt,1907; 1995,andunpub.data),the NomarskiDIC imagesprovide
Kwak and Askins,1981; Gower et al., 1985). for the firsttimea visualbasisfor conceptualization of the
In thismodel, thefluctuationsin Ca/Naratioofthehydro- mechanisms underlying wall-rockalteration.
temperature estimates.Samples were studiedfromcloseto

(within10 m) anddistant(ca.105m) fromthemainquartz-
feldsparporphyry contact,
andat depthsfromnearthepre-
minesurface to the -160bench.The amphibole andplagio-
claseconform tothecriteriaproposedbyBlundyandHolland
(1990).Their compositions areinferredto recordalteration
andveiningat 520ø to 560ø _ 75øC,at assumed confining
pressuresin the range0.5 to i kbars(seebelow).
Mass Balance Calculations for Pervasive
•magmatic
plagioclase Magnetite-RichAlteration
J hydrothermal•plagioclase
Mole% - Mineralogicalrelationships
showunambiguously thatthe
development of early-stagemagnetite-rich assemblages at Is-
landCopperinvolved widespread andintensemetasomatism
1o•
ofdiverseprotoliths.Massbalance calculationsofpervasively
alteredrockswereperformed toassess thebulkcompositional
changes produced bythefluidsat thisstagein theevolution
ofthedeposit. Because ofthelimitations caused bytheover-
FIG. 14. Electronmicroprobe compositional
profiles(T1-T3)across a
plagioclasephenocryst partiallyreplaced
by hydrothermal plagioclase
(cf. printingof potassicon magnetite-rich alteration,
andby the
Fig.13a-c;orientationasin Fig.13a).Thecoreoftheplagioclaseispartially partialretrograde alteration
of amphibole to chlorite,only
alteredto sericite+ day. Sample285,720 Eastbench. fivehandspecimens wereidentified assuitable forthecalcu-
lations
(Table7),threerepresenting assemblage 3 (amphibole
+ magnetite rich)andoneeachof assemblages 1 and2 (see
Plagioclase-amphibole geothermometry above).Evenin thesesamples, it provedimpossible to excise
Despitethevariable composition of thehydrothermal pla- all mineralogical associationsgenerated in later alteration
gioclaseandamphibole at IslandCopper,equilibrium may events,and our estimatesof masstransfer shouldbe consid-
havebeen attainedon a localscalebetweentheseminerals, eredsemiquantitative.
providinganopportunity to applytheplagioclase-amphibole Calculationof masstransferis basedon Gresens'(1967)
geothermometer proposed by BlundyandHolland(1990), generalcomposition-volume equation.The applicationand
based ontheAl•vcontent ofcalcicamphibole coexisting
with advantages of thisapproach
havebeendocumented by Bab-
plagioclase
moresodicthanAn9.2 andat temperatures of be- cock(1973)andAppleyard(1980).An estimateof volume
tween500ø and1,100øC. Electronmicroprobe analyses for changecanbe madethrough theuseof composition-volume
severalpairsof plagioclase
andamphibole grainsin contact diagrams(Appleyard andWooley,1979).A computer pro-
fromamphibole + magnetite-rich
alteration
zonesandfrom gram(Appleyard andde Beer,1983)wasemployed to com-
typeIII andIV amphibole-magnetiteveinsyieldedconsistentputezero-change volumefactorsforallparentversusaltered
25pro
c
FIG.15. Textural andcompositional relationships
of a plagioclase-dominated
envelope of alteration
to anamphibole-
magnetite
vein.Thehostrockisa basaltic tuffexhibitingscatteredplagioclase
crystals.
a. Nomarski interferencecontrast
imageofhydrothermal plagioclase
showing anaggregateofsmallsubequant grains
andemphasizing theabsence oftextures
characteristic
of annealed recrystallized
aggregates.Thus,triplejunctionsarerarelydeveloped.Themajority of thegrains
havesubequant,hopperlikecoresandprogressively moreeuhedral mantles.Somegrains arecrudely hemisphericalin form
andappearto havenucleated on the margins of otherhydrothermal plagioclase
crystals.
Exceptfor smallinterstitial
plagiodase
areas,all grainsexhibitoscillatoryzoning.Brightareas(centerrightandtop)arehydrothermal amphibole
grains.
Diamond drillhole31, 616ft. b. Anorthitecontents of selected
areasof several
hydrothermal plagioclase
grains
(A, B, and C) seenin (a) (see text for discussion).
TABLE
7. Compositions
of FreshandAlteredMainQuartz-Feldspar
Porphyry
andBonanza
Volcanics,
IslandCopperDeposit
Rocktype Main quartz-feldspar

porphyry Bonanza Volcanics
Sampleno. 126i 650 184 F7 F8 195 285 D31-616 198
SiO2 (wt%) 74.40 72.09 70.20 48.64 52.35 55.95 50.40 54.16 52.80
TiO2 0.24 0.25 0.17 0.88 0.85 0.48 0.89 0.78 0.87
A120• 13.64 14.06 8.65 18.64 19.07 9.95 17.44 16.37 15.49
FeO • 1.47 2.84 11.25 8.69 9.09 23.75 12.87 10.95 15.48
MgO 0.60 0.49 0.41 4.32 3.88 1.20 4.00 3.27 2.44
MnO 0.05 0.02 0.03 0.26 0.23 0.03 0.06 0.11 0.06
CaO 1.40 2.20 0.98 10.16 8.02 1.41 6.25 6.79 4.43
N•O 5.65 4.77 2.97 2.77 3.22 3.35 4.05 4.59 3.89
K20 0.51 1.35 0.39 0.20 0.71 0.26 1.02 0.56 0.35
P205 0.05 0.05 0.02 0.26 0.33 0.09 0.30 0.34 0.28
H20 1.16 0.78 0.85 4.14 2.30 1.38 1.55 n.d. 1.62
CO2 <.10 0.13 n.d. 2.04 0.10 0.80 <.10 0.40 0.20
S 0.13 0.04 0.52 <.01 0.02 0.29 0.06 0.13 0.18
Tote 99.30 99.07 96.44 100.00 100.17 98.94 98.89 98.45 98.09
Cu (ppm) 317 294 2340 50 24 1,190 450 1,291 1,250

Zn 44 30 36 83 103 40 40 60 50
Pb <10 <10 <10 10 <10 14 <10 <10 <10
Co 47 45 44 38 35 32 35 46 20
Ni <10 <10 <10 13 <10 <10 23 13 13
Rb 18 19 14 <9 15 14 38 19 14
Sr 385 405 170 540 655 142 390 485 335
Bulkdensityof groundsample 2.68 2.69 2.83 2.86 2.86 3.05 2.92 2.88 2.94
Sampledescriptions:
126iand650 = freshquartz-feldspar
porphyry;
184-quartz-magnetite-albite-altered
quartz-feldspar
porphyry;
F7 andF8 = fresh
high 'alumina
basalts;
195 = quartz-magnetite-albite-altered
BonanzaVolcanics;
285 = D31-616,and 198 = amphibole-magnetite-plagioclase-altered
Bonanza Volcanics
Analytical
methods:Cu, Zn, Pb,Co,andNi by atomicabsorption
spectraphotometry;
HzOandCOzfollowing
Shapiro
andBrannock
(1955,1962);other
constituents
byX-rayfluorescence;
n.d. = notdetermined
1 Total Fe as FeO
rockcomparisons, to facilitatethe choiceof a volumefactor onlygainsor losses abovethat levelare considered to be

(fv).Examination of the diagrams suggests thatthereis no significant.Themostnotable geochemical featureoftheearly
evidence of clusteringof elements whichwouldindicateim- alteration is the introduction of considerable iron. The maxi-
mobilityof constituents in quartz-magnetite-rich rocks.How- mumadditionoccurred in the centralquartz-magnetite-rich
ever,a weakgrouping of Si,Ti, andO occurs in theamphi- zonewhereit locallyapproached 450 percent(totalFe as
bole-magnetite-rich alterationfacies.In thiscase,the calcu- Fe2+;equivalent to ca.20 g/100cc).Thesamples of amphi-
latedfv is unity,suggesting that the alteration occurredat bole-magnetite-rich assemblages yieldedan averageFe in-
constant volume, whichissupported bytextural relationships.creaseof 50 percent(9.93g/100cc).Thedatasuggest that,in
It is to be expected thatmostelements will havebeenmobi- contrast to Fe, sodiumexperienced variablegainsandlosses.
lizedin quartz-magnetite-rich zones.It is alsoapparent from Thus, in the BonanzaVolcanics,it showsan overall increase
theabundant quartz-bearing veinsthatanincrease in volume (19-54% or 2.12-3.44 g/100cc), but a losswasrecorded
hasoccurred in andnearthemainquartz-feldspar porphyry in the quartz-magnetite-rich mainquartz-feldspar porphyry
dike,buttheanalyzed samples containedfew,if any,quartz- sample. Thispartlyreflects thelargegainin totalironin one
magnetiteveins.Clustering of elementscrossing the zero- sampleandmightnotbe maintained if a widersampling of
change linein onequartz-magnetite-rich Bonanza Volcanics intenselyalteredquartz-magnetite-rich porphyry wasunder-
sampleshows a poorlydefinednarrowpeak(for O andCo), taken.Asnotedabove,secondary albiteis extensively
devel-
suggesting an increasein volumeof 3 percent.However, opedin the main-stage porphyry; entirelyunalteredrocks
because the degreeof confidence is loxvandno significanthavenotbeenobserved andit is possiblethatalterationas-
changes wouldbe introduced to the calculated gainsand semblage 1 representsa localFe-richsubfacies of a more
lossesif the masstransferwere calculatedon the basisof fv extensive zone of Fe-Na metasomatism.
= 1.03ratherthan1, thelatterassumption waspreferred. In Mobilityof A1occurred in the quartz-magnetite-rich
core
the presentstudy,densities were estimatedfollowinga domainthroughthe destruction of primaryaluminosilicates,
method,described by Mularet al. (1963)andMular (1963), although
thiselementwaspartiallyretainedin amphibole and
employinga mercury airpycnometer. Measurements arecon- plagioclase.
In contrast,A1wasrelativelyimmobilein the
sideredreliabletowithin___0.02g/cm s. amphibole-richalteration
domains (assemblage
3);Ti exhibits
The percentagesof elemental gainsandlosses relativeto thesamepatterns asA1.Othermajorchanges observed in all
unalteredprotolithsareillustratedin Figure16.The range rocksare decreases in Mg, Mn, Ca, andSr. Because calcu-
of geologicvariability
wasarbitrarilysetat 15 percent,and latedchanges in phosphorus contentare verysensitive to
Sß Cu•
103
Ni
Rb
K
lO • Na
P
lO []
Zn
1.(-1)
-10
-10
2
I I Ilsscrub/age
I
I Ilsscrub/age
2
•-• /•$$emblage
-10
I •
-10 2
AI
Mn Mg Ca
H
C Sr
FIG.16. Elementalgainsandlosses (%)in magnetite-rich
alteredrocksrelative
to unalteredprotoliths.
Forcomparison,
the average
gainsof K, S, andCu in biotite-rich,
potassically
alteredBonanza Volcanics (8 samples)areca.300,9,000,
and19,000percent,respectively
(Arancibia,unpub.data).
primaryigneous variationandto analyticalerrorsdueto the Fluid InclusionRelationships

lowabundance, theapparent lossesof thiselement(Fig.16) Fluid inclusions are abundant in disseminated and veinlet
are not considered significant.
However,the datarule out quartzdirectly associatedwiththemagnerite-amphibole-pla-
significant introductionof P. Thebehavior of Si is problem- gioclase alteration,butmostobserved inclusions
whichcould
atic.Magnetitemineralizarion wasaccompanied by the for- onpetrographic grounds beinterpreted asprimary orpseudo-
marionof considerable quartz,particularly in the central secondary provedtoo small(•6 /2m) for reliablemicro-
quartz-magnerite-rich facies.The slightincrease in Si re- thermometric studywiththeapparatus available
at therime
corded in oneoftwosuchsamples studied couldbetheresult of thisinvestigation. Twentyto thirtypercentof theseinclu-
of hydrothermal deposition of quartzadjacent to a quartz- sions aresimpletwo-phase liquid+ gasbodies (1/ggenerally
magnetite-chalcopyrite vein,asis alsosuggested by therela- in therange5-10:1), butmanyareeithergas-dominated or
tivelyhighgainsin Cu andS displayed by thissample(see hypersaline, thelatterwithatleast50volpercentof daughter
below).The limiteddatasuggest thatan increase in quartz minerals, someof whichdisplay properties compatible with
resultedmainlyfromsilicareleasethroughthe destructionhalite,hematite, andpossibly, Fe-richchloride species.Such
of silicateminerals ratherthansilicaaddition byfluids.It is hypersaline inclusionsappearto bemoreabundant in magne-
alsoinferredthatthe quartzin the veinsis notthe product rite-richveinlets(e.g.,typeIII), but several typeII veinlets
of lateralsecretion butof deposition fromcirculating hydro-
thermal fluids.
O andCoremained essentially
unchanged across thealter- T^]3LE 8. Comparison of GainsandLosses in Percent(g/100cc in
ationhalo.Cu andS showanoverallincrease in all samples, parentheses) of Selected Elements Generated by Early-Stage Magnetite-
RichandMain-Stage PotassicAlteration in Bonanza Volcanics
butmuchof theenrichment in theseelements veryprobably
occurredduringsulfide depositionrelatedto laterevents (see Alteration Quay-magnetite Amphibole-magnetite Potassic
preceeding section).By comparing the masstransfers of se- No. of samples 1 3 8
lectedelements generated in the potassic alteration(eight Fe 184.34 (36.50) 50.17 (9.93) -14.28 (-2.83)
samples analyzed)with thosecaused by the earlierFe-rich Na 19.03 (1.21) 41.77 (2.66) -9.30 (-0.59)
alteration
(Table8), it isdeduced thatFe and,at leastlocally K -39.82(-0.43) 42.48• (0.46) 310.23 (3.38)
butprobably widely,Na metasomatism dominated thelatter CuMg -68.88 (-4.87) -19.65 (-1.39) 36.97 (2.61)
3,320.75 (0.35) 2,638.36 (0.28) 18,805.43 (1.09)
process,whereas K, Cu, andS wereextensively introduced S 2,993.01 (0.86) 1,158.51 (0.33) 8,756.12 (2.50)
in theformer.Thus,theapparent increase in K indicated in
two samples fromthe amphibole-magnetite zoneis consid- Allmagnetite-rich alterationsampleshavemicrofractures withsulfidesandsuperim-
eredtobeduetoweakbioritizarion andsericitizarion (plagio- posed latealteration;
ohiorite;
biotitein the potassic
dataarederived fromonesample
alteration zoneis partiallyreplaced
of thequartz-magnetite subfacies,
by
threeof
clase).Moreover,quartz-magnerite-rich rocksshowclear theamphibole-magnetite subfacies,andeightof thepotassicfacies
losses of K. • Thehighgainin K isdueto theinfluence
of onesample
(seeFig.16)
aredominated bysimpleliquid+ gasinclusions. Clearlysee- Someof the highlysalinetype3 inclusions deerepitated be-
ondaryinclusions in veinquartzareliquidrich,gasrich,or forehomogenization, butthemajorityhomogenized to liquid
hypersaline andarealsoverysmall(-<4/•m). byvaporbubbledisappearance following dissolution of most
An admittedly tenuous indication of thephysieo-ehemieal transparent daughtercrystals; opaquedaughterminerals
conditions attending thisearlystagein the evolution of the failedto dissolve on heating.Carbonspecies werenot de-
hydrothermal system isprovided byfluidinclusions hosted by tectedin anyinclusions.
quartzphenoerysts in specimens of the mainquartz-feldspar Amongthehypersaline, type3 inclusion populations, pet-
porphyry exhibiting development of secondary magnetite, al- rographieandcompositional relationships (SEM analysis) de-
bite,andquartz,butnootheralteration. The quartzcrystals limittwomajorgroups: (1) anearliergroup,withTh= 560øto
displayrims,-<3 mm in width,with eonvoluted outersur- 645øC anda roomtemperature daughter mineralassemblage
faces. In the absence of reaction coronas and in view of the comprising over70 percentof the inclusion volumeandin-
abundance of quartzin the porphyrymatrix,thesetextures eluding,in approximate orderof decreasing averageabun-
are interpretedto recordskeletalgrowthduringlate mag- dance,halite;a pale-green, acicular, iron chloridespecies
matieundercooling (Swanson and Fenn,1986)ratherthan (probably FeClsß2HsO;Kwaket al.,1986);hematite; anMn
resorption. The fluidinclusions occurin boththe coresand chloride; anMn hydroxide orcarbonate; magnetite; sylvite; an
rimsof thephenoerysts. MgClsphase(perhaps MgClsß6H20);antarcticitc (CaCI.•ß
Reconnaissance studyof sixspecimens, employing a modi- 6HsO);andonegrainofanMn- andCu-bearing ironchloride,
fiedLeitzmodel1350heating stageandaChaixmeea heating- probablycorresponding to the (Fe > Mn, Cu)OC1phase
coolingstage,andscanning electronmicroscopy of opened reportedby Le Bel (1980),and(2) a latergroup,withTh =
inclusions, reveals the existence of a widevarietyof types. 433øto 575øC,andcontaining daughter crystalsof haliteand
One population, occurringonlyin the outerzonesof the sylvite,in association withsparse anderraticantarcticitc and
quartzgrains,comprises small(<10/•m), texturally primary chalcopyrite (eitherzincianor intimately associated withmi-
(i.e., isolatedand uncontrolled by fracturesor alteration nor sphalerite), andrarehematite.
fronts),liquid+ gasbodieswithhomogenization (to liquid) Temperatures of halitedissolution in the Fe-richearlier
temperatures (n = 16) of between512ø (_+3 ø) and 635ø type3 secondary inclusions indicateapproximate NaC1con-
(_+7ø)C,with a mode at ca. 595øC,and with salinitiesof -<ca. tentsof 70 to 81 wt percent(seeChou, 1987),but total
18(avg15)wtpercentNaC1equiv.Theseinclusions, although salinitiesmaybehigherandNaC1contents lower.Thesolute
commonly irregularin form,exhibitbroadlyconsistent 1/g complexityof suchinclusions precludes precisedetermina-
ratios(avg70/30)withinspecificmicroscopic domains, and tionof thepressure of trapping, butif thesefluidsareinter-
mostare not considered to havebeensubjectto necking pretedin termsof the systemNaC1-H.•O theircoexistence
down.Theyarenotsystematically associated withothertypes withvaporat -<645øC wouldimply(Chou,1987)maximum
of inclusion. A second groupof inclusions, occurring in both pressures of ca.550bars.Haliteandsylvitedaughter crystals
coresandrimsof phenocrysts andalongbothdistinctand predominate in the later hypersaline inclusions, and their
covertfractures, ismadeupofmainlylarger(-<60/•m),pseu- dissolution temperatures andthevapor-saturated phaserela-
dosecondary or secondary bodies withanoverallrangeof Th tionships in the systemNaC1-KC1-H.20 (Roedder,1971;
(n = 32) of from 433ø (_+5ø) to 645ø (_+ ca. 15ø)C. Planar Sterneret al., 1988)suggest that combinedNaC1+ KC1
arraysof clearlysecondary inclusions comprise rare,liquid- contents exceedca.82 wt percent,withK/Na atomicratios
rich,liquid+ gasbodies,somewith a verysmallopaque of ca.0.23to 0.28.Thesedataimplyminimumpressures as
daughter mineral(type1);gas-dominant bodies(vapor->65 lowas200 bars(ClokeandKesler,1979;John,1989).The
vol.%),somecontaining small,equant, opaque daughter min- emplacement of boilingfluidswithover60 wt percentNaC1
erals(notmagnetite, butpossibly chalcopyrite) andhomoge- trappedat temperatures of 433ø to 575øCwould,fromthe
nizingintothevaporphase(type2);andhighlysaline,daugh- revisedphaserelationships in the systemNaC1-H,20 (Chou,
ter mineral-rich (type3) members. Amongthe secondary1987),indicateconfining pressures not exceeding ca. 450
inclusions, type2 bodiespredominate (ca.70-80%)in most bars.
quartzphenocrysts. Whereas the majorityof the gaseous in- We infer that the secondary inclusions trappedin the
clusions containno detectable CO2,a clusterof extremely quartzphenocrysts recordat leasttwoepisodes of boilingof
CO2-rich,texturally primaryinclusions wasobserved in the moderate-salinity fluidsat temperatures in therange433øto
outerpartof onequartzphenocryst. Theseinclusions com- 645øC,the latterprobably at a pressure of 200to 450 bars.
priselargegasbubbles underhighpressure, liquidCO.2,and However,if the compositions of the apparently primary,
verysmallandvariableamounts of aqueous solution. The weaklysaline,type1 fluids(Th-< 635øC)trapped in theouter
paragenetic relationships between thisandtheotherinclusion partsof the phenocrysts maybe represented by the system
populations areundefined, butwe inferthatlocalemplace- NaC1-H.20, we conclude that the initialhydrothermal stage
mentofunusually COs-rich fluidsoccurred duringcrystalliza-at thislevelof the depositinvolvednonboiling fluidsat a
tionof themainquartz-feldspar porphyry. totalpressure of at least1 kbar(Chou,1987).Approximate
Thefluidsrepresented bythesecondary inclusions arein- pressurecorrections of theseinclusions(Roedder,1984)
ferredto havebeenboilingwhentrapped, thetype2 and wouldindicateminimumtrappingtemperatures of ca.550ø
type3 inclusions representing the unmixing (condensation)to750øC, inpermissive agreement withthetrapping tempera-
products of themoderately salinetype1 brines.No reliable turevaluesfor mostof the succeeding secondary inclusions.
thermometric dataare available for the secondary type1 Theseestimates overlapwiththe temperatures indicated by
inclusions, mostof whichare lessthan 5 /•m in diameter. plagioclase-amphibole equilibriabut are generallyhigher,
ALTERATION-MINERALIZATIOX, ISLAND Cu-Au-MoDEPOSIT, B.C. 429
suggesting thatthe latterdatamayrecordthe laterstages in tionsof thesemetalsin the coexisting brines:the Cu/Fe and
early-stage alteration-mineralization (note,however, thelarge Mn/Fe ratiosin the fluidsmayhaveapproached unity.If
inherenterror in the plagioelase-amphibole geothermom-the earliertype3 h•vpersaline fluidsattendedmagnetite-rich
etry). alteration at IslandCopper,it is possible thattheirCu con-
Theinclusions trappedin thequartzphenoerysts preserve tentsmayhaveattained several wt percent; a highMn content
evidence of a complex fluidevolution history spanning a tem- in thesefluidsis 'alsosupported by the presenceof Mn-
perature rangeofatleast300øCandrecording decompression rich daughtercrystals in someinclusions (seeabove).The
of the hydrothermal system. The primaryliquid-rich inclu- apparent absence ofchalcopyrite orotherCusulfide daughter
sionsrestricted to theskeletal rimsof thequartzphenoerystsminerals in theearlierhypersaline inclusions wouldtherefore
are tentatively interpretedasrecording coevalandinterde- implythatreducedsulfurconcentrations wereextremely low
pendentquenching and retrograde boilingof the main in suchearly-stage fluidsor thatH.•Swaspredominantly asso-
quartz-feldspar porphyrymagmaat or closeto its levelof ciatedattheseelevated temperatures, evenduringtheboiling
emplaeement, whereasthe hypers'aline and moreabundant eventrecordedby the inclusions. In mustbe emphasized,
gas-rich secondary inclusions mayrepresent the subsequenthowever,that no compositional dataare availablefor the
condensation of similarmoderately salinebrinesof either moredilute,type1 inclusions whichmay(seeabove)repre-
loe'alor, moreprobably, deeperderivation. sentthe fluid directlyresponsible for somemagnetite-rich
Theironcontents of theearlierpopulation of hypersalinealteration and mineralization.
inclusions areestimated, fromthe combined proportions of Discussion and Summary
daughter crystals of Fe chloride, whichdissolved at ca.500ø
to 540øC,andFe oxides, to be in the approximate rangeof Over the present ca. 475-m verticalexposure intervalof
5 to 8 wt percent,in conformity with the observations of the Island Copper deposit, hydrothermal activity was initiated
Kwaket al.(1986)oninclusions containing magnetite daugh- by the development of alteration-mineralization assemblages
ter mineralsfrom the Mary Kathleenskarn,Queensland.dominated bymagnetite, calcicamphibole, andsodictointer-
Broadlycomparable iron concentrations (2.8 _+ca. 1 wt %) mediate plagioclase, recording intense enrichment in ironand
areindicated byin situproton-induced X-rayanalysis ofearly a •veaker and more variable degree of Na metasomatism.
hypersaline inclusions fromBingham, Utah,byAnderson et Althoughamphibole is moreabundantin the basalticBo-
al. (1989), whereasRankin et al. (1992) determinedFe con- nanzaVoleanies andabsent to rarein thedaeitiemainquartz-
tentsof 9.9wt percent(avg)in high-temperature (ca.600øC) feldspar porphyry, the overall coherence of thisearly-stage
'alteration system isunambiguous. Moreover, although minor
hypersaline inclusions fromthe mineralized Molegranite,
NewSouthWales,bylaserICP analysis. Bodnar(1992)esti- pyrite and ehaleopyrite occur locally in some early-stage veins
matedsimilarFe contents onthebasisof daughter mineral and magnetite is abundant in many later, sulfide-rich, main-
abundance in earlyformedquartzfromunspecified porphyry stageveins,thedistinction betweenthetwoalteration-miner-
deposits.It is improbablethat FeC12contentsof --<45•vt alization systems is demonstrable at allscales. We emphasize
percent,suchas are recordedfor early-stage inclusions at that a magmatie origin for the magnetite-rich assemblages is
Granisle,B.C.,by Quanet al. (1987),are attainedat Island precluded by both field and petrographie relationships.
Copper,butourxvorkprovides support forthecontention of Despitethe widespread destruction of magnetite-amphi-
Kwaket al.(1986)thatironspecies maybeabundant in high- bole-plagioelase assemblages through K metasomatism in the
temperature mineralizing brines. development of the biotite-dominated Cu orebody, it is ap-
Wetentatively inferthattheearlyhypersaline, ferrous ehlo- parent that early-stage hydrothermal processes were at least
fide-bearing, inclusion fluidsobserved in the quartzpheno- as intense as those of the superimposed main stage. The areal
erysts mayhavebeenbroadly associated withthemagnetite- distribution of earlymagnetite-rich assemblages in theupper
rich alteration-mineralization, whereasthe later inclusions, level of the deposit is well defined (Araneibia, 1978; Fig. 6):
withehaleopyrite andmoreabundant sylvite daughter miner- they are best preserved both inside, and critically, outside of
als,recordthesuperimposed potassie'alteration andthemain the copper orebody in the main quartz-feldspar porphyry and
stageof ehaleopyrite-pyrite mineralization. The occurrence Bonanza Voleanies, respectively. The three-dimensional form
of type1 inclusions in thequartzof somemagnetite-bearing of the early-stage alteration-mineralization zone may be en-
veinssuggests thatnonboiling, relatively dilutefluidsmayalso visaged through comparison of Figures 6 and 17, the latter
have contributed to the Fe metasomatism,and we favor a crosssectionsincorporating scatteredobservations in the
modelin•vhiehmagnetite development occurred bothbefore deeper levels of the open pit in 1986 and core logging. We
andduring theinitialphase ofaqueous fluidboiling, although infer that it has the broad configuration of an arch, overlap-
the P-T conditions attending the onsetof thisprocess are pingthe mainquartz-feldspar porphyry-Bonanza Voleanies
undefined. Theuncertain paragenetie relationships of 'allof contact and entirely enveloping the more restricted main-
thestudied inclusions, however, preventfirmcorrelation with stage biotite-ehaleopyrite-pyrite alteration-mineralization
specificalteration-mineralization events. annulus. The main-stage domainhasan average planwidth
The distribution coefficients determinedby liton and of ca. 100 to 150 m, along each flank of the main quartz-
Eugster(1989)for the partitioning of Cu (note:unreversed feldspar porphyry dike, i.e, lessthan one-half of that of the
experimental exchange) andMn betweenmagnetite andsu- original early-stage zone.
percritical chloride fluidsat 600øto 700øCand2 kbarsimply Ore genesis model
thatthe modest Cu andMn contents of the hydrothermal Thelackof reliablefluidinclusion andstableisotopic data
magnetite (seeabove)reflectconsiderably highereoneentra-for the early-stage assemblages precludes the development
•o • •o a
'o%.•-•0'1•:o•:-%;-'o;*'o•
sea v • v .....v '•' '"•
v • •'/;
x • • •-•' '•'
zI
.*.•.•'•'•o'?•_-•..,o,t-,.','-,;,•/v v •v
•, '•?•'
•.•.•,•-, '-• v v
•
v
zL
'•v
v v
v
v v
v•
v
•••:•,•,._•,
•••v ••'••
ß • •
v v v
vv v
v
v
v
v v
• " I • • • '• ß:''*•,•'•••..... T-_•',

A A A d
,, • v v
v
• ,g87t • • :•:::::.:..............
_PT
240
m OUT
NE•
•J'
::::•h.
J•D]'
•'•J
j j,'..............
175 ••L
GEOLOGIC RELA•ONSHIPS,
SECTION !
::::::::::::::::::::::
egend
asinFig.
3•
I
?•,,
__
sea
level
400
fi
--
_•ZZ_-ZZZZZZZZ'
L240 m
800 fi
'"
ALTERATION FACIES
:..*.• Advanced
argillic :.:'• Sericite-
clay-chlodte
• Potassic
Magnetite
- rich
alteration
.•
....
. -Moderate-
:!.• Intense
IPhyllic
weak to -•
• Epidotic
}Propylitic
Chloritic
(toothedline: outer limit;
dashed line: outer hm•tof quartz
+ magnetite- rich assemblages)
FIG.17. Cross section(no.175:seeFig.6) of theIslandCopperdeposit,

showing majorgeologicunits(a)andalteration
zones(b).Theextensive
superimpositionofalterationfaciesisevident.
Notethatthemagnetite-rich alteration
haloprobably
formedanarch,nowpartially eroded,abovetheyounger potassic
zone,andclearlydevelopedat thesamestructurallevel
asthe phylliczoneandat leastthe lowerkeelof the late-stage
advanced-argillic
alteration.
of a comprehensivegeneticmodelfor theinitialepisodes
in between thepostulated
magma chamber andthesiteof min-
theevolutionof theIslandCopperdeposit.Nonetheless,our eralization;
andthatthehigh-temperaturefluidinclusions
in
detailedpetrographicobservations
providea firm basisfor thequartzphenocrystsof themagnetite-enriched
butother-
the definitionof paragenetic
relationshipsand placecon- wiseunalteredfaciesof the mainquartz-feldspar
porphyry
straints on such a model. dikerecordthe P-T-Xconditionsattending
early-stage
alter-
The assumptions, observations,andinferences underlying ation-mineralization. It is evident from Table 9 that at least
ourgeneticmodeling are,for brevity,summarized in Table modestamounts of coppercouldhavebeenderivedfrom
9, in whichmagmatic andhydrothermal areaddressedmagmas
aspects ofthetypewhichgenerated thequartz-feldsparpor-
separately.Thefundamental assumptions arethathydrother- phyry's of theIslandCopperclusterundertheP-T-Xcondi-
mal activityearlyin the evolutionof the stockwork wasa tionsoutlinedby our research, throughretrograde boiling
directresultof retrograde boilingin an unexposed magma processes suchasthoseelaborated by Candela(1989a)and
chamber; thattheparental magmas werecomparable in com- ClineandBodnar(1991).It should beemphasized thatIsland
position porphyriesCopper,in a globalcontext(Clark,1993),is a modest
to the leastalteredgranodioritic-dacitic por-
in the RupertInlet suite;thatthe oremetals,including Fe, phyrycopperdepositandthatexceptionally efficientcondi-
were derivedfrom thosemagmas, althoughjuvenilefluid tions of Cu extraction(Candela, 1989a) and concentration
compositions mayhavebeensignificantly modifiedthrough arenotpredicated.
interactionwiththepredominantly rocksintervening Figure18presents
basaltic in cartoon forma preliminary modelfor
TABLE
9. Genetic
ModelfortheEarlierStages
in theEvolution
oftheIsland
Copper
Deposit:
Assumed,
Observed,
andInferred
Relationships
Observation Inference Source
A. MagmatieProcesses
Assumption:
Hydrothermal
activity
resulted
fromretrograde
boilingof silicicmagma
system
RupertInletporphyry by K poorandaverage Hydrothermal
suitedominated fluidsexsolved
fromdaciticmagma Thisstudy;
Irvineand
talc-alkaline dacites Baragar,1971
Mainquartz-feldspar prophyryservedasconduitforearliest Parental
magma
chamber
notexposed Thisstudy
hydrothermal fluids
Hornblendecommenced crystallization
beforebiotitein Main Parental
magma
contained
at least4 •vt.% H20 Nancy,1983
quartz-feldspar prophyry
Compositionof leastalteredRupertInlet d •c!tes(ca.68-69 Hornblende
begancrystallization
at ca.850øC,biotiteat Nancy,1983
wt % SiO2) ca. 830øC
Composition
(ca.15 wt % NaC1equiv)andThvalues (i) Retrograde boilingin Mainquartz-feldspar
prophyry Thisstudy,Nancy,1983;
beganat ca.750øCandat -> 1 kbar,xvhen
(-<635øC)of earlier L + G fluid inclusionsrestrictedto quartzon Candela 1989a and b;
overgrowths
onquartzphenocrysts
in Mainquartz-feldspar liquidus,
latein crystallization
of themagma; Cline and Bodnar,
prophyry therefore: 1991
(ii) retrogradeboilingin parenta2
magma chamber
initiated at ca. 700-750øC and ca. 1.25 kbar;
(iii) initialmagmatie
H20 eontentAvater
contentat
saturation • 1 and moderate water volrunes evolved;
and
(iv) magmatie Cl/H20 ratioca.0.1
Melanoeratie(basalticandesire)enclavesoccurin dadtie Parental magma chamber experiencedepisodie incursion Thisstudy;A.H.C.,
porphyrieseastof RupertInlet andin Mainquartz-feldspar of, andeommingling andmixingwsth,mariemelts unpublisheddata
prophyry;plagioclase andquartzphenocrysts transgress duringplagioclase
andquartzcrystallization
enclaveboundaries in formerarea;oneor moreresorption
surfacesandcalcicspikes in plagioclasephenocrysts
Sulfidedroplets(Ni- andCu-bearing pyrrhotite) occurin S andCu contributed bymariemagnaas through mixing, Thisstudy;A.H.C.
enclavesin daeiteseastof inlet, but not in thosein Main but S-saturation
notattainedat thisstagein immediate unpublisheddata;
quartz-feldsparprophyry mineareamagmachamber Whitney,1988
Cu contentof leastalteredporphyries 25 ppm(x = 6) Cu contentof parentaldaciticmagmaca.25 pp•n Thisstudy
Lo•v modal abundances (<5% in total) of biotite, hornblende, Cu onlyweaklycompatible in crystallizing
parentalmagma; Thisstudy;Clineand
andmagnetite in leastalteredporphyries thereforeenriched(to ca.35 ppm?) priorto water Bodnar, 1991
saturation
Microphenoerystic
sphenein dacites
eastof Rupertinlet; Highmagmatic
oxygen
fugacity
conditions
(logfso_, Thisstudy; Whitney,
spheneoccurs
in Mainquartz-feldspar
prophyry,but its probably
>11 at 850øC);
magmaticfs%f.2s
ratiosca. 1984: Wones, 1989
paragenesisis uncertain 10-100:1,assumingf.2o
= 1-2 kbar
Hydrothermal activi• occurred
in Bathonian
(ca.169-173 Maiuquartz-feldspar
prophyry andmineralizationUnpubl.
intrusion 4øAr-3'9Ar
age
Ma),ca.10 m.y.afterdeposition of hostAalenianBonanza probably
subaerial data; Poulten and
strata,whichconstituteyoungestsubmarineunitsin area Tipper, 1991;Nixon
et al., 1994
B: Alteration-Miner'alization Processes
Assumptions:(i) earlier,
highertemperature, fluidinclusionsin quartzphenocrysts
in Main quartz-feldspar
prophyry record conditionsof earlyand
mainstages
ofalteration-mineralization;
(ii)early-stagemagnetite-amphibole-plagioclase
preceededmain-stage K silicate
alteration
andCusulfidemineralization;(iii)hydrothermalfluidsmaybedescribed, 'albeit
crudely,
intermsofthesystemNaC1-H20;(iv)initialexsolution
ofmoderate
volumesofhighly oxidizedhydrothermal fluidsoccurred at > 1 kbar;and(v)magnetite
solubility
described
byexperimentaldataofWhitney et al.(1985)
andFeinet al.(1992),magnetite exhibits
retrograde solubility
between ca.750and550øC andsolubility
isenhancedatlowpressures (<2 kbars).
Finelyoscillatory
magmatic
zoning in plagioclase No thermalmetamorphic
preserved ("homfels")
eventdetectable Thisstudy(of.Cargillet
andclinopyroxene phenocrystsin Bonanza basalts
not al., 1976)
affected by earlyalteration
Earliestliquid+ gasfluidinclusionsin rimsof quartz (i) Fluidsresponsible forinitialEarlyStage'alteration- Thisstudy,Chou(1987)
phenocrysts in Mainquartz-feldspar
prophyry exhibit mineralization
evolved in single-phase
fieldof system ¾Villiamset al. (1992),
moderate salinity,
andconsistent phaseratios(L > G); later NaC1-HzO at ca. 650-700øC. Candela (1989 a and
hypersaline andgaseous inclusionsrecordfluidboilingat (ii) PotentialCu contentof aqueous fluids(ca.10,000 b), Candelaet al.
-<645øC; Fe-richdaughter mineralsin hypers'aline ppm)reduced by themoreefficient partitioning
of Fe, (1992), Fein eta].
inclusions recordhighFe contents (-<80,000ppm) despite
thedepression of Fe solubility
(asFeCP•) by (1992)
highf%; initialfluidsmayhavecontained
ca.->20,000
ppm Fe
Hydrothermal
magnetite
contains
(avg)9 ppmCu Cu/Feratioof fluidsapproachedunityat sometimeduring Thisstudy,Ilton and
EarlyStage Eugster(1989)
Massbalancecalculationsreveal intense(to 400%) Fe Asfluidscooledfromca.700øC,Fe solubilitypeaked,and •Vhitneyet al. (1985)
enrichment
in Main quartz-feldspar
prophyry
andlesser, Fe contentof fluidsincreased
through interaction
with
butimportant,
Fe metasomatismof Bonanza
basalts Karmutsenand Bonanzabasalts;Fe metasomatism,and
henceEarlyStagealteration-mineralization,
beganas Thisstudy,Whitneyet
fluidscooledbelowca.650øC,generating
magnetite al. (1985)
(-amphibole-plagioclase)
TABLE 9. (Cont.)
Observation Inference Source
Pyriteandchalcopyrite veins,andminor HighSO2/H.,S

rarein all early-stage + SO4ratioof fluidinhibiteddeposition of Thisstudy,Seward
seapoliteis sulfate-free;
Au locallyabundant (to0.4ppm)in ehaleopyrite,
but eleetrnmdeposited on cooling (1984)
earlyassemblages
Earliergenerationof dearlysecondary fluidinclusions Tentatively
inferredto recordcontinued early-stage Thisstudy,Kwaket al.
transeeting entirequartzphenoerysts in Mainquartz- magnetite
deposition fromboiling,Fe-riehfluidsat (1986)
feldsparprophyry comprises hypersaline andgaseous -<645øCand -<550 bars; SO2' H2S + SO4ratio in fluids
members, withT}•= 560-645øC andcomplex daughter remainedhigh
mineralassemblage includinghematiteandprobable
FeC12'2H.,O;similarinclusions occurin quartzin typeIV
magnetite-quartzveins
Compositions
of coexisting andplagioelase Earlyalteration-mineralization
ealeieamphibole occurred
at 520ø-560_+ Thisstudy,Blundyand
75øC Holland (1990)
Latersecondaryinclusions
in quartzphenocrysts
in Main Tentatively
inferredto recordconditions Cu- Thisstudy,Clokeand
of main-stage
quartz-feldspar
prophyry andprimaryinclusions
in Fe sulfidedepositionandK silicate
alteration,
from Kesler (1979)
chalcopyrite-pyrite
veinscomprise bothhypersaline
and boilingfluidsat -<575øC andca.200 bars;SO., Burnham (1979)
gaseous members,withT}•= 410-575øC andhaliteand extensively
hydrolyzed to H•S + H2SO4
sylvite
asdominant daughterminerals
theearlyandmainstages, withspecific referenceto pertinent Nixonet al. (1994),but fluid overpressuring mayalsohave
experimental datafor Fe, Na, andK concentrations in aque- occurred.
ousbrinesin equilibrium withmagnetite-bearing quartzofel- Whereasprecipitation of Cu, andotherbasemetals,in
dspathic rocksatelevated temperatures andlowto moderate the initialstages of hydrothermal activitywouldhavebeen
confining pressures(Whitney et al.,1985).Magnetite solubil- strongly
inhibited
bythepaucity ofH.2S,thisconstraintwould
it-y,as FeC1,2
ø (Feinet al., 1992),is enhanced aspressuredearlynot applyto Au. The ca. 100øCcoolingof the fluids
decreases below2 kbarsandis strongly retrograde overthe inferredto haveoccurredduringthe earlystagewouldin
temperature range,600ø to 750øC,at oxygenfugacities be- itselfbe an effectivemechanism for the depositionof this
tweenthe fayalite-magnetite-quartz (FMQ) and hematite- metal,whichwouldprobably be transported asAuCi• under
magnetite (HM) oxygen buffers.Whitneyet al. (1985)ob- theprevailing high-temperature andhighfo2 conditions(Sew-
served thatupto 50percentof C1in solution in S-freebrines ard,1984).Au exhibits a strongoverallcorrelationat Island
equilibrated with magnetite-bearing granitoidcompositions Copperwith Cu (Perell6,1987)or, morespecifically,biotite
at 550 ø to 650øC and 1 kbar occurred as iron chloride. We (Gabelman,1982;Gabelmanand Hanusiak,1986). However,
interpretourfluidinclusion dataandtheplagioclase-amphi- someareasofthedeposit dominated bymagnetite-rich alter-
boleequilibria asevidence thattheemplacement oftheearly- ationandveining, but essentially
lackingmain-stage assem-
stageveinsandassociated quasi-pervasivealteration,involv- blages,containat leastca. 0.œppmAu, i.e., doseto the
ingintense magnetite deposition andFe(-Na)metasomatism,averagecontentfor the deposit(0.19 ppm:Perell6et al.,
occurred asinitiallymoderately saline,one-phase,hydrother- 1996),andthe considerable extentof the early-stage alter-
mal fluids cooled from above 650ø to below 575øC, were ation-mineralization system arguesfor an importantrolein
decompressed fromca. 1 kbarto below550 bars,andcon- Au emplaeement. Indeed,becausethe main-stage assem-
comitantly experienced probably multipleboilingevents. The blages wereentirelysuperimposed ontheearly-stage domain
scarcity of sulfidesin early-stage veinsandalteration zones, andinvolvedintensereworking of the latter,it is possible
together withthe sulfate-free natureof the sparse scapolite,that,despiteitsintimateassociation withbiotite,a significant
are inferred to record low contents of both reduced sulfur proportion of the goldmayhavebeenintroduced priorto
speciesand sulfatein the fluids,probablyabsolutely, but coppersulfidedeposition. Perell6et al. (1996)calculate that
particularly withrespect to SO2.Theconsiderable Cucontent 3 to 5 percentof the orebody contains >-0.4ppmAu and
ofthebrinesimpliedbythecomposition ofthehydrothermalnote that suchhighergradesare locallyassociated with
magnetite (IltonandEugster, 1989)and,moregenerally, by quartz-sericitestockworks,
i.e.,phyllicalteration zones;they
thermodynamic modeling(Candela,1989a)thereforere- question whether suchAurepresents newlyintroduced metal
mainedin solutionuntil continuedcooling,to ca. 410ø to orwasredistributed frommain-stage assemblages. Thecondi-
575øC,anddecompression, to ca.200to 450bars,permitted tionsprevailing duringphyllicalteration, i.e., temperatures
the extensive hydrolysisof SO2(e.g.,4SO,2(v) + 4H.20•)---} of360øto420øC(ourunpub.fluidinclusion data)and,partic-
H,2S(v)+ 3H,2SO4•): Burnham,1979),therebygenerating the ularly,low to moderate pH, wouldfavorAu solubility as
main-stage chalcopyrite-pyritemineralization.The relatively AuCI,•(Seward,1984).We emphasize thatthe intermediate
highpressures weenvisage fortheinitialphases of stockworkargillic alterationeventaffectedgreatervolumes ofearly-and
development, equivalentto depthsof over3 kin, implythat main-stage zonesthandidthephyllic,anditsassociation of
hydrothermal activitytookplacein the terminalstagesof moderate pH andstrongly oxidizing conditions, the latter
eruptionof the BonanzaGrouparc; this is in permissiverecorded bythewidespread conversion ofmagnetite tohema-
agreement with the stratigraphic relationshipsoutlinedby titein sericite-clay-chlorite
assemblages, wouldprobably have
ALTERATION-MINERALIZATION,ISLAND Cu-Au-MoDEPOSIT, B.C. 433
7oo
©
'"••K
I I I
• Na Fe K . Na1
o'.,, d,1 0'.20.3 d.40.5
moles/lC•gr.solvent moles/lC•gr.solvent
FIG. 18. Cartoons illustrating

themodelproposed for theearly-stages in theevolution of the IslandCopperporphyry
system:a, early-stage
magnetite-rich alteration-mineralization, andb, subsequent main-stage potassium silicatealteration
andcopper minerahzation. Thenorth-northeast-south-southwest sectionalviewcorresponds approximately tothatin Figure
17.Themainquartz-feldspar porphr•Tdikehasbeenreturned to itsinferredoriginal verticaldisposition.
Arrowsindicate
probablefluidmigration paths.Whereas thealteration zonesaredrawnto scale,'albeit in simplifiedform,thelowerpartsof
thesystem areentirelyconjectural.Ordinateindicatesapproximate depths belowtheoriginal surface. Themanyassumptions
involvedin preparingthismodelarediscussed in the text.The insetfigures illustratethe solubilities
of Fe, Na, andK in
1N HC1solution, at the Ni-NiO bufferandat 1 and0.5kbars,in equilibrium witha synthetic quartzmonzonite with(a)
andwithout(b) 5 wt percentmagnetite added(fromtable4 in ¾Vhitney et al., 1985).The experimentally determined
curveshavebeensmoothed. Approximate P-T conditions at A (earl)'stages of second boiling),B (Fe leaching by rising
brines),C (development of magnetite-amphibole-plagioclase alteration-mineralization), andD (K silicatealteration and
main-stage Cu-Fesulfidemineralization) are estimated as:700ø to 750øCand 1.25kbars;650ø to 700øCand 1.0 to 1.25
kbars;560øto >645øCand0.5 to i kbars;and425øto 575øCand0.2 to 0.45kbars,respectively.
been at leastas favorablefor solutionand, hence, concentra- The inferredlossof Cu attendingthe early,large-scale
tion of Au. If, however,Au waspredominantly eomplexeddevelopment of an Fe-riehhydrothermal system depletedin
withHS- atthesemoderate temperatures,a plausiblemodel reducedsulfurspedes,potentially generating lowCu/Aura-
giventhe likelihood thathydrolysis of SO2wouldhavebeen tios(ClarkandAraneibia, 1995,andunpub.data),wouldnot
essentiallycomplete (Burnham andOhmoto,1980),thenthe obtainwheremagnetite is eopreeipitated with ehaleopyrite
oxidizing conditions inferredfor serieite-elay-ehlorite
alter- andpyrite.However,aswe emphasize elsewhere (Clarkand
ationwouldnothavemobilized Au (W.W.Atkinson, Jr.,writ- Araneibia,1995),documentation of theparagenetie relation-
ten eommun., 1995). shipsof magnetitein porphyrydeposits is sparse,andeven
Gabelman (1982) has recorded the occurrenceof trace extensive magnetite-richveiningor pervasive magnetite de-
amounts of Pt,Pd,andIr asapparent structural
substitutionsvelopment hasbeenalmostinvariably assigned to thegener-
inhydrothermal magnetite, aswellasingoldandpitehblende,ally recognized vein types(e.g.,A, B, or D, Gustarson and
at IslandCopper.Thereisnodocumentation of overallplati- Hunt, 1975)or alterationfacies(e.g.,potassie).Our observa-
noidmetaldistribution in theorebody, butwehaveconfirmed tionsprovidea framework for anunderstanding of theorigin
theoccurrence of merenskyite (PdTes-PdL05TeL34 Bi06•)in a of porphyry systems,suchasIslandCopper,withtransitional
sulfide-freemagnetite concentrate prepared froma typeII Cu/Au/Moratios(e.g.,Sillitoe,1993).The highabsolute Au
veinhostedby the mainquartz-feldspar porphyry.Although contents of manymagnetite-rich porphyry deposits (Sillitoe,
anecdotal, thisobservation wouldbein permissive agreement 1979;Perell6andCabello,1989)mayalsobe accounted for.
withthe stabilityrelationships of thismineral(Hoffmanand Thus,although the experimental andthermodynamic data-
MacLean,1976)andwiththe solubility of Pd asa chloride basefor Au transportat hightemperatures remainsincom-
complex at highfo2 ( MountainandWood,1988). plete(Seward,1984),it is probablethat Au solubility is fa-
voredbyhighfo,•conditions. Hydrothermal systems initiated tiallyoverridethe ferrous-ferric ironbuffersandwouldin-

atunusually highoxygen fugaeities would,giventheavailabil- ereasefo_, (Matthews et al.,1994a),suppressing thedevelop-
ity of the ore metals,thereforehavethe inherentpotential mentof sulfide-rich meltsor sulfideminerals in the magma,
bothto concentrate Au andinhibitCu deposition. andthereby,enhancing theincompatibility of metalssuchas
Cu andAu. Renewed or continued underplating by mafie
Petrogenetic implications andalternative oregenesis model magmas wouldgenerate anhydrite phenoerysts through stabi-
Thestrongly oxidized natureoftheIslandCopperorebody lization of SOl-in thedadtiemelt.Alternatively, theexsolv-
is matchedby that of the associated daciteporphyry dikes, ingSO2-rieh, extremely hot,gascouldescape fromthemagma
andweinferthathighoxygen fugacities attended crystalliza-chamber xvithout interacting withthemoresilieiemelt,which
tionof theunexposed parentalpluton(Table9A).The mag- mayitselfnothaveattainedaqueous vaporsaturation. Under
matic magnetite-sphene(-quartz) assemblage exhibitedby suchconditions, the initialhydrothermal eventin porphyry
relatively unaltered bodiesoftheRupertInletcenterrecords copperdevelopment couldbe directlygenerated by the un-
oxygenfugacities exceeding thoseof the FMQ buffer,and derplating mariemeltandwouldtherefore be essentially un-
possibly approaching the HM buffer(Wones,1989).Under relatedto the (subsequent) retrograde boilingof the felsie
theseconditions, i.e.,logfo_• probably exceeding 11at 850øC magma.Thus,manyof the observations, inferences, andde-
(Whitney,1984),magmatic fso2/fms ratioswereprobably at ductions summarized in Table 9 would be either invalidated
least10/1 and may haveattainedvaluesas high as 100/1 or subjectto reevaluation. SO•-riehplumesexpelledfrom
(Whitney,1984;Matthewset al., 1994a,1995).Although mariemeltscouldrepresent effective transport mediaforFe,
theserelationships provideaprima•:acie basisfortheprepon- Cu, andAu, particularly if alsorichin C1,andwouldhave
deranceof SO.2overHsSthatwe inferfor the initialstages thepotential todeposit extensive magnetite andgoldoninitial
in theevolution of IslandCopperandothercomparable hy- quenching, whereasCu sulfides wouldnot be abundantly
drothermalsystems, a reviewof the literatureshoxvs that deposited until the fluidscooledfurtherand the SO2hy-
thereisnoglobalcorrelation between theoccurrence ofearly drolyzed.
sulfide-depleted vein•:acies andthatof themagnetite-sphene It isevident thatin thesecontexts theexacttiming,volume,
assemblage in parentaligneous rocks.Indeed,the greatma- andlocation of maficmeltincursion wouldplayfundamental
jorityof porphyry copperdeposits areassociated withintru- rolesin determining theevolution of volatilesandoremetals
sionsbearingtheseaccesson/ Fe-Ti minerals, ratherthan froma composite magmachamber.However,we arguethat
magnetite + ihnenite, indica(ing thatmagmatic SOs/HsS fu- the SOsplumemodelprovides a satisfactoryexplanation for
gacityratiosof 10/1orevenhigherpermittheearlydeposition thesequence ofhydrothermal events observed atIslandCop-
of sulfideminerals, with or withoutmagnetite, in associatedper andin othercomparable deposits (ClarkandArancibia,
hydrothermal systems. We thereforeinfer that unusual 1995,and unpub.data).It permitsthe overriding of the
magma-volatile equilibriaare requiredfor the developmentmagma-crystal-vapor partitioningrelationships which con-
of majorearlymagnetite-dominated minerafization,involving strainmetalextraction in thestrictretrograde boilingenviron-
the anomalous suppression of reducedsulfurspecies. The ment (Candela, 1989a; Cline and Bodnar, 1991). As noted
intensely alteredcondition, andlackof exposure, of parental previously, thereis extensive evidence of the coinmingling
igneous bodiesin the greatmajorityof porphyry copperde- andmixingof maficandfelsicmagmas in the daciticintru-
positsinhibitsprecisedefinition of the T-fo2enviromnent of sionsexposed in the vicinityof the IslandCoppermine,al-
crystallization, because indicatormineralssuchasanhydrite thoughfieldrelationships aremoreunambignous in the less
(CarrollandRutherford, 1987)andpyrrhotite areverysus- alteredRupertInletcenterthanin themainor laterquartz-
ceptible tobreakdown. However, reduction ofCucompatibil- feldsparporphyries directlyassociated with the mineraliza-
ity throughsuppression of magmatic sulfidesegregation, ei- tion.Aswillbedocumented elsewhere, magma mixingin the
therassolidor meltphases, hasbeenadvocated asa mecha- former area generated magmatic sulfides, now represented by
nismto enhanceits partitioning into vaporby numerous cuprianandnickdianpyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, andcubanitc.
authors (e.g.,Candela,1989a),andmagmatic oxygen fugaci- Although theRupertInletporphyry centerhasnotbeendrill
ties exceeding the pyrrhotite-anhydrite oxygenbuffermay tested(Perell6et al.,1996),themagma mixing-induced sulfur
thereforehaveprevailed in themajorityof Cu-richmagmatic saturationof the dacites •ve document has negative implica-
hydrothermal systems. tionsforthe occurrence of economic mineralization. Pyrrho-
Theattainment ofextremely highSO2fugacities in broadly tireandpotentially magmatic Cu sulfides havenotbeende-
dacitic-granodioritic magmas hasrecently beenaddressed in tectedin the mainquartz-feldspar porphyry, despitethe oc-
thecontext oftheshallow crustal mixingofevolved, silica-rich currence of mafic enclaves, and we tentatively infer that
magmas withprimitive,S-richmaficmelts(e.g.,Matthews et magmamixingwasnot thereattendedby magmatic sulfide
al., 1992, 1994aandb, 1995;Hattori, 1993;Keith et al., 1995). development. Thus,thelocalization ofeconomic Cu mineral-
Quenching of themaficmeltasit invades the cooler,dacitic izationwithinthe broaderIslandCoppercluster(Perell6et
magmachamber wouldinevitably releaselargevolumes of al.,1996),anditsintensity mayhavebeenprimarily controlled
supercritical fluidsrichin SOs,H.2S,HsO,andCOs,butwith bythemodeofmaficmeltincursion intothesubjacent dacitic
SOsgreatlyexceeding HsS(Hattori,1993).If retainedwithin transtensional zones at the base of the Bonanza arc crust. of
magma chambers, probably influenced by the distribution
the chamber,the SO2wouldbe initiallyreducedto form
Conclusions
sulfideminerals, whichcouldscavenge Cu andAu, thereby
decreasing themineralizing capacity ofthesystem. However, The mineralassemblages characterizing the early-stage
cooling andhydrolysis of the SO2to formHsSwouldpoten- quasi-pervasive alterationzonesandveintypesare entirely
ALTEtL4TION-MINEBALIZATION,
ISLANDCu-Au-MoDEPOSIt;B.C. 435
distinctiveoverallandcannotbe accomodated withinany-of Field and laboratory research xvasfundedby operating

the alteration-mineralization faciesgenerallyrecognized in grantsfromthe NaturalSciences andEngineering Research
the porphyry copperdepositenvironment (e.g.,Lowelland Council(NSERC)of Canadato A.H.C.,andlogistical assis-
Guilbert, 1970; Guilbert and Lowell, 1974; Gustafsonand tancewasprovided by the IslandCoppermine.
Hunt,1975;Gustafson, 1978;BeaneandTitley,1981).Thus, At Queen'sUniversity, laboratoryworkandconceptual de-
whereas magnetite, aetinolite,andalbitewidelyoccurin the velopment were greatlyhelpedby discussions with Peter
accepted rangeofveintypesandalteration facies,particularly Roeder,DugaldCarmichael, DavidKempson, DouglasAr-
in the deeperpartsof porphyrydeposits (e.g.,Dillesand chibald,andparticularly, JayHodgson. JeffreyKeithshared
Einaudi,1992;Gustafson andQuiroga,1995),hydrothermalmanyinsights andgaveencouragement. AlanAnderson as-
aetinolitie
hornblende or magnesio-hornblende, andplagio- sistedwith the initial fluid inclusionstudies,and Alan Pindred
elaseasealeieasandesinc,are uncommonat all levelsof such gaveinstruction in the useof the mercuryair pyenometer.
deposits,andthe association of magnetite, ealeieamphibole, The NomarskiDIC studieswerecarriedout in cooperation
andplagioelase definesspecific conditions of alteration-min-with ThomasPeame,employing apparatus purchased with
eralization.
Mostcritically,theearly-stage alterationat Island NSERC and Queen'sUniversityequipmentgrantsto T.P.
Copper,andbyimplication in othercomparable was and A.H.C. The seniorauthoris greatlyindebtedto Jana
settings,
generated throughmoderate to intenseFe metasomatism. As Kuskaforherhospitality duringnumerous visitsto Kingston.
we have stressedelsewhere(Clark and Araneibia, 1995), iron Theillustrations wereprepared byEla Rusak,MichaelGera-
enrichment, although widelyrecognized in theskarnenviron- simoff, YanshaoChen, and Thomas Ullrieh, and the manu-
ment,is assigned no significant rolein traditional modelsof scriptwaspatientlytypedby DianneHyde-Keleey, Linda
hydrothermal alterationin porphyrydeposits, despitethe Anderson, andespecially, JoanCharbonneau. An earlyver-
highproportion of solutespecies whichmustbe accountedsionof the manuscript wasgreatlyimprovedby painstaking
forbythiselementin loxvto moderate pressure hydrothermaland constructive rex4ews bv Economic Geologyreferees;a
fluidswhichhaveequilibrated xvitheafemierocks,at the site Board Member insight{hlly '•ppraised
therevised manuscript.
of magma-fluid equilibrium and/orin subsequent water-rock
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Early Magnetite-Amphibole-Plagioclase Alteration-Mineralization in The Island Copper Porphyry Copper-Gold-Molybdenum Deposit, British Columbia

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Early Magnetite-Amphibole-Plagioclase Alteration-Mineralization in The Island Copper Porphyry Copper-Gold-Molybdenum Deposit, British Columbia

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Economic Geology

Introduction ity, but in whichthe documented earlyand proximalore

rich porphyrycoppersystems(Sillitoe,1979; Sillitoeand and 1987,whichpermittedaccess to both the near-surface

PAClFIC ISLAND COPPER

m-thickParsonBayFormation, of earlyMiddleSinemurianindicatethatthe deposit wasemplaced about1,000m above

v vxv'• v v v v v v IJ•v v v ,.•v v v v v v v v v v v

Fro.3. Geologic mapoftheupperlevels oftheIslandCopper mine.Theboundariesofthegeologicunitsandalteration

., ..,•.• ..", • . , • ';,680

,• "•. -. , "-•'• 'QFP- MQFP 400

FIG.5. Megascopic features

(Gustafson andHunt, 1975).Strongsericite-clay (i.e., illitc, ships,particularly of associated veinlets,permitdefinition of

Type Mineralassemblage Characteristic

scopiccrosscuttingrelationships demonstratethatemplace- generates a sheeted-veinstructure(Fig.7a),a featurecharac-

FIO. 7. Aspects of veinsconstituting

veinscommonly containing morequartz(Fig.7b).Nearthe ualveins,butaredominated byfeldspars, among whichpla-

feldspar associatedwithmagnetite deposition issodic plagio- monlygrainsofthoseminerals surround therims.Hydrother-

clay-chloriteoverprint isitselftransected byquartz veinswith ationis alsoevidentawayfromthemainquartz-feldspar por-

veins,without(IIIa) andwith(IIIb) envelopes of alteration.

development of theIslandCopperhydrothermal system and, bothearly-stage veinsandareasofquasi-pervasive magnetite-

FIe. 10. Parageneticrelationships

cibia,unpub.data).In the epidoticfaciesof the propylitic

Sampleno. 128 285 32 XIC 8722 450 153

Y total 1.961 1.966 1.968 1.969 1.925 1.904 1.939

clay-chlorite alteration)in partof the coreof thephenocrystthehydrothermal plagioelase grains

FIe. 13. Replacement of magmatic plagioclase

contrasted cationsandanions,andyoungerwriggliteunits thermalplagiodase reflectcrudelyrhythmicsupersaturation

temperature estimates.Samples were studiedfromcloseto

Rocktype Main quartz-feldspar

Sampleno. 126i 650 184 F7 F8 195 285 D31-616 198

Cu (ppm) 317 294 2340 50 24 1,190 450 1,291 1,250

rockcomparisons, to facilitatethe choiceof a volumefactor onlygainsor losses abovethat levelare considered to be

primaryigneous variationandto analyticalerrorsdueto the Fluid InclusionRelationships

• " I • • • '• ß:''*•,•'•••..... T-_•',

FIG.17. Cross section(no.175:seeFig.6) of theIslandCopperdeposit,

Observation Inference Source

Pyriteandchalcopyrite veins,andminor HighSO2/H.,S

FIG. 18. Cartoons illustrating

voredbyhighfo,•conditions. Hydrothermal systems initiated tiallyoverridethe ferrous-ferric ironbuffersandwouldin-

distinctiveoverallandcannotbe accomodated withinany-of Field and laboratory research xvasfundedby operating

The superficiallyigneousor metamorphic aspectof the Albee,A.L.,andRay,L., 1970,Correetiou factors

MineraliumDeposita, v. 14,p. 161-174. Vance,J.A.,1965,Zoningin igneous plagioclase:Patch)'zoning:Journ'al of

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