Economic

Geology
Vol.92, 1997,pp.535-550

Precious
Metal Mineralogyin Porphyry-,
Skarn-,andReplacement-Type Ore Deposits
of the Ertsberg(GunungBijih)District,IrianJaya,Indonesia*
JEFFREY
N. RUBIN**
ANDJ.RICHARD
KYLE
i
Department
of Geological
Sciences,
University
of Texasat Austin,Austin,Texas78712-1101

Abstract

Petrographic andelectronmicroprobe analyses of nativeAu anda varie,tyof sulfidemineralsindicatea

generally highbutwidelyvaryingnativeAu fineness anda Cu-Fesulfidehostfor mostAg in the Gunung
BijihTimurcomplex of Cu-Auskarndeposits, theBigGossan andDomCu skarndeposits, andtheGrasberg
porphyry Cu-Audeposit. NativeAu rimsbornitcin veinsandformsinclusions in bornitcandehaleopyrite in
samples fromGrasberg andfromthe GunungBijihTimurcomplex, aswellasfillingopenspacein quartz
veinsin thecomplex. Skarnandquartzveinsin theBigGossan areahostnativeAuin association withpyrite,
pyrrhotite,galena,ehaleopyrite,sphalerite,andarsenopyrite.
NativeAu fromthe GunungBijihTimurcomplex hasa widebut bimodalrangeof fineness: 920 to 990
and340 to 820 (avg= 860).NativeAu fromGrasberg samples is -<930fine(avg= 960).Fineness of Big
Gossan Auranges from540to960(avg= 830),although compositional ranges aresmallwithinmostindividual
samples. NativeAufromGrasberg fallsintotwogroups withrespect to Pd:Pd-bearing (-<3,500ppm;avg=
1,800ppm)andwithno detectable Pd. Fire assay of Grasberg ore reveals tracebut detectable (10 ppb <
[Pd]< 500ppb,avg= -<50ppb)concentrations of Pd andno detectable Pt. NativeAu fromthe Gunung
BijihTimurcomplex averages twiceasmuchCu asthatfromGrasberg (1.7vs.0.8 wt % Cu). NativeAu
fromBigGossan hasuniformly lowCu contents (-<1,200ppmCu;avg= 300ppm).
Mass-balance calculationsandanalytical dataindicate thatthebulkof theAgin theGunung BijihTimur
complex iscontainedbybornitc,indicating a partitioningof Agintobornitc,relativeto nativeAuor a discrete
Ag mineral.Thisis supported by the consistent positivecorrelation of Cu andAg throughout the Gunung
BijihTimurcomplex, aswellasin Grasberg andDom.Ag-bearing galenaoccurs in the BigGossan area,but
is rarein the Grasberg,the GunungBijihTimurcomplex, andthe Dom orebodies.
The highfineness of nativeAu fromthe GunungBijihdistrictrepresents the upperendof the reported
rangeforporphyry- andskarn-type Cu-Audeposits butis similarto valuesreported elsewhere in Indonesia.
Thefineness of nativeAu in theGunungBijihTimurcomplex doesnotappearto be controlled by depthor
distance fromthe localintrusive contact,mineralassemblage, or paragenetie relationship. The fineness of
nativeAufromtheBigGossan areashows a positivecorrelationwithelevation, suggestive of a lowertempera-
ture,moredistalcharacter thanin theotherskarns of thedistrict.Differences in Pdcontents maybe related
to acidityandredoxconditions duringnativeAu deposition.
HighCu, highPd,andlowAgcompositions of Au grainsin panconcentrates suggest a porphyry or Cu
skarnsource relative
to a moredistalsource. Compositional characteristics
identified in thisstudymayhave
applicationsto explorationwithinthe Ertsberg districtandelsewhere.

Introduction skarnorebodies (Table1). With the discovery andfast-track

THE Ertsberg(GunungBijih)districtof west-central Irian development ofthe Grasberg intrusion-hosted Cu-Au deposit
Jaya,Indonesia, consists of a diverse groupof orebodies asso- in 1988 (Van Nort et al., 1991;MacDonaldandArnold,1994),
datedwith 4 to 2.5 Ma intermediate-composition plutons the districtachieved trueworld-class status. The supergiant
intrudedinto a thickMesozoic andCenozoic sedimentary Grasberg depositrepresents the largest
published Aureserves
sequence. The districtis located120 km inlandfrom the of anysingleactiveminein the world,aswell asthe third
ArafuraSeawithinthe CentralRangeof the islandof New largestCu reserves(FreeportMeMoRan, 1995). Skarn-
Guinea.The Ertsbergdistrictorebodies are amongseveral hosted Cu-Auconcentrations alongtheBigGossan-Batu fault
majorAu + Cudeposits withintheNewGuinea region(Fig. zone comprise the most recently developed orebody. Recent
1; Rogerson andMcKee,1990). discoveriesincludethe LembahTembaga intrusion-hosted
PT FreeportIndonesia signeda contract of work(COW- Cu-bearing stockwork andtheKueingLiarskarnandreplace-
A) withtheIndonesian government in 1967fortheexclusivementzonethathasan announced geologic resource of 250
exploration andminingrightsto a 100-km 2 areacentered on millionmetric tons (Mt) of 2.0 percent Cu equivalent (Table
theErtsberg (Gunung Bijih)skarnorebody (Fig.2). Open- 1; Freeport MeMoRan, 1997). The current mill rateis about
pit miningof GunungBijih beganin 1972andceasedin 127,000t perday,of whichapproximately 95 percentcomes
1989.The miningandsupportfacilities wereprogressively fromtheGrasberg deposit; anincrease in themillingrateto
expanded withoredefinition andproduction fromadditional approximately 200,000 t per day is planned(Freeport
MeMoRan,1997). Total districtproductionfrom 1972
• Corresponding author:email,mkyle@mail.utexas.edu through1996is over300,000t, averaging 1.7 percentCu,
* Ertsberg ProjectContribution13. 1.19g/t Au, and5.37g/t Ag;current(end1996)districtre-
** Presentaddress:College Officeof theDean,Uni- serves
of NaturalSciences, arestatedto be 2 Gt, averaging 1.19percentCu, 1.18
versityof Texasat Austin,Austin,Texas,78712-1199. g/tAu, and3.8 g/tAg (FreeportMeMoRan,1997).

0361-0128/97/1933/535-1656.00 535
536 RUBIN AND KYLE

Fie..1. Location
mapof theEFtsberg (GunungBijih)district
x•4thin
theCentralRanges of IrianJaya.Stippled
area
shoxvs
elevations
ofmorethan1,000m;elevations
xvithin
theEFtsberg district
approach,5,000
m.includingglacier-covered
peaks.
OthermajorAu_+Cudeposits xvithin
Papua
NewGuinea areshown forreference;
ß = porphyr?'Cu_+Ausystems,
ß = Au deposits.EB = EFtsberg,OT = Ok Tedi,FR = FreidaRiver,HV = HiddenValley,LD = Ladolam(Lihir
Island),MI = MisimaIsland,PG = Panguna(Bougaim411e
Island),PR = Porgera.

Because of the economic importance of goldin the Efts- opment withindifferentstratigraphic positions(Mertiget al.,
bergdistrict,particularlyof the Grasberg system, thisstudy 1994).All skarns discussed in thisstudyarehosted bymem-
xvasinitiatedto characterize preciousmetalmineralogy and bersof theNe•vGuineaLimestone Group.Distinctive fossil
occurrence withinthe district.The resulting volumeof data replacement texturespreserved withinskarnindicatethatthe
andobservations hasmadeit possible notonlytodefinethese Oligoeene-Miocene KaisFormation (formerly theAinodFor-
relationshipswithinthe Errsbergdistrictbut alsoto constrain mation)is theprotolithfor the GunungBijihandDomore-
someaspects of hydrothermal precious metalbehavior that bodies(Mertig,1995).Theupperportion oftheGunung Bijih
canbe appliedto exploration for skarn-andporphyry-typeTimurcomplex of orebodies,dominated by Ca-Mgskarn,is
Au-bearing deposits. This paperdiscusses mineralogy and hosted bytheEoceneFaumaiFormation. Thelowerportion
geochemistry of precious metalsin the Grasberg porphyry of thecomplex, dominated byMg-Caskarn,wasdeveloped
Cu-Ausystem,the GunungBijih Timur and Dom skarn- in a dolomitic sequence withinthePaleocene WaripiForma-
hostedCu orebodies, andAu mineralization peripheral to the tionof the lowerNew GuineaLimestone Group,andthe
BigGossan skarn-hosted Cu orebody. uppermost EkmaiFormationof the Kembelangan Group
DistrictGeology
(Rubin,1996). The BigGossan orebody, aswellasthe Kucing
Liar geologic resource,is alsohostedby strataof the lower
Stratigraphy WaripiandupperEkmaiFormations (Gonzalez et al., 1994).
Surfaceexposures withinthe Errsbergdistrictare domi- Structu re
natedbythesiliciclasticEkmaiFormation oftheupperMeso-
zoicKembelangan Groupandthe mixedcarbonates of the The CentralRangeof NewGuineais anAlpineterraneof
TertiaryNew GuineaLimestone Groupthatweredeposited folded and thrust-faulted strata that formed when the Austra-
on the northernAustralianshelf(Visserand Hermes, 1962). liancontinental marginenteredthenorth-dipping subduction
The stratigraphiccharacter,age,andregional correlationsof zonealongthe Melanesian island-arc complexat •12 Ma
theunitswithintheCentralRange havebeenreevaluated by (Nashet al., 1993;QuadesvanUflbrd, 1996;A. Quarlesvan
Quarles vanUflbrd(1996).Mostof thestratigraphic nomen- UflbrdandM. Cloos,in prep.).
clatureusedin thisarticlerepresents terminology agreed Two majorstylesof deformation havebeenrecognized
uponby PT FreeportIndonesiaand Quarlesvan Ufford withinthe Ertsbergdistrict.Kilometer-scale foldstrending
(1996). about110ørepresent thelargeststructural featuresmapped
Differences amongtheskarnorebodies arerelatedin part in the district(Fig.2). A seriesof mostlyintraformational,
to a variableprotolithcomposition thataffectedskarndevel- steep,reversefaultshavetracesparallelto thefoldaxes.The
 PRECIOUS
METALMINERALOGY,
ERTSBERG,
IRIANJAYA 537

EXPLANATION

i e {[--1 Alluvium
.• :-5• Intrusions
i *:'***'*
****** • Te
Tg =
= Ertsberg
Grasberg

' '+:*
i
•
***:*::i::**
• • Kais
m•
Fm. Faumai
Fm.
WaripiFm.
J-K{f--t Kembelangan
Gp.

' :': i!C.,'-

:' •
FAULT
PORPHYRY
DEPOSIT
Grasberg
SKARN DEPOSITS

, 13,6o•-
,-
:' , ,
ß
•Dom
I"•
•

• Big
Gunung

Gossan
Bijih{Errsberg)
Gunung
BijihTimur
(Ertsberg East)

FIG,.2. Geologic
mapof the Errsberg
districtshoxving
locations
of oredeposits.
Generalizedfrom1:10,000mapping
of FreeportIndonesia
geologists
{Yom1970-1996.Limitedareasof glacialiceareomittedfromthenortheastern
partof
the area.

foldsandsteepfaultsareoffset byhigh-angle faultsthathave and3.0 Ma (McDowellet al., 1996).Threeanalyses of the

a bimodal distribution,
striking030øto 070øand170øto 180ø Ertsberg intrusion,
xvithxvhich
allof thecurrentlyproducing
(Fig.'2).Preliminarystructuralinterpretationsuggeststhat skarnsof the GunungBijihdistrictarespatiallyassociated,
thenortheast-trendingfaultshavea left-lateral
offketandthe indicateagesranging from3.1 to 9..6Ma (McDmvellet al.,
north-trendingfaultshavea right-lateraloffset(Quarlesvan 1996).Titley(1975)reporteda K-Arageof 3.1 _+0.1 Ma for
Ufford,1996).Theapparent displacement alongthesefaults a singleuncharaeterizedsampleof the Ertsberg
intrusion.
rangesfrom a few metersto as muchas severalhundred Orebodies
meters.Zonesof xveakness alongthe intersections
of these
twofaultsetsmayhavecontrolled eraplacementof theErts- Thefollowing descriptions
summarizesignificant
features
bergandGrasberg intrusions
(McMahon,1994a,b; Saplie of the Errsbergdistrictorebodies.We referthe readerto
and Cloos,1994, 1995). MacDonald andArnold(1993,1994),Mertiget al. (1994),
Mertig(1995),andRubin(1996)for detaileddescriptions.
Magmaticactivit•j
Mostintrusions in the Ertsbergdistrictconsistof fine- TheGrasberg porphyrysystem
grainedporphyriticstocks,dikes,andsills,all of whichhave The Grasberg Cu-Auorebodyoccursin a silicified zone
beenhydrothermally alteredtosome degree. Localexposureswithinthe interiorof the Grasberg IgneousComplex about
of alteredvolcanic
stratahavebeenidentified alongthepe-
ripheryandoverlying theGrasberg Igneous Complex 2km
north,vest
ofthe
original
(Mac- 2). The composite Ertsberg
skam
discovery
(•]ng•;
stockhasa surfaceareaof about3
Donald and Arnold, 1993, 1994; McMahon, 1994a,b),thus andreaches anelevation over4,9.00m, roughly500m above
indicatingthat the plutonsrepresentshalloxvly emplaeed thealluvium-filled Carstenszweide.TheGrasberg deposit was
magmas. initiallydrilledin late 1988,andproduction commenced in
Allthemajorskarns previouslyor currently in productionDecember 1989.Present reservesaregreaterthan1.7Gt at
withinthe Ertsbergdistrictarespatiallyassociated withthe an average gradeof 1.1 percentCu, 1.2 g/t Au, and3.2 g/t
Errsberg intrusion.
The intrusion is a mostlyequigranularAg (FreeportMeMoRan,1995).Supergene enrichmentis
stockwith a composition withinthe monzodiorite-quartz relativelyinsignificantandhaslittleeffectonthesegrades.
monzonite-quartz monzodiorite field;clinopyroxene is the The Grasberg IgneousComplex consistsof at leastthree
mostcommonmariephase(McMahon,1994a). majorintrusive stages (theDalamdiatreme,the Main Gras-
K-Arageshavebeendetermined for 15 biotiteseparatesbergintrusion, andSouthKali),eachofwhichhasbeensubdi-
fromintrusivephasesxvithintheErtsberg district.Thesedata vided into twvo(Dalam diatreme,SouthKali) or three (Main
indicateemplacement of the Ertsberg intrusion withinthe Grasberg intrusion) phases (MacDonald andArnold,1994).
rangeof4.4to 2.6Ma,withthemajority fallingbetwveen 3.3 Themajorstages areconcentricallynested andarebelieved to
538 RUBIN AND KYLE

TABLE1. Orebodies
of the ErtsbergDistrict,Irian Jaya,Indonesia withinthe Main Grasbergintrusion.Recentdeepdrilling
Grade
at Grasberghasintercepted skarnandreplacement sulfide
concentrations
(KueingLiar zone)withintheWaripiForma-
OOIP2 Cu Au Ag tion and alongsteepstructures parallelto the axisof the
Orebody Discovery
• (t X 106) (%) (g/t) (g/t) YellowValleysyncline
(Table1; FreeportMeMoRan,1997).
PreliminaryK-Ar agesfor secondarybiotitesat Grasberg
Ertsberg(GB) 1967 32.6 2.3 0.8 9.1
suggestthatthesearedoselyrelatedin timewithmagmatie
GBT a 1975 63.5 2.0 0.7 11.4
IOZ 3 1979 27.0 1.8 0.6 activity
9.9 atabout3 Ma (F. W. McDowell,unpub.data).Quartz
DOZ 3 1979 31.8 2.2 1.0 (+_magnetite,
9.8 ehaleopyrite,bornite,anhydrite) veinletsare
DOM 1976 30.9 1.7 0.4 9.6 characterizedby high-temperature, high-salinity,
andvapor-
Grasberg 1988 1,757 1.1 1.2 3.2 richfluidinclusion typestypicalof porphyryalteration
fluids
BigGossan 1992 37.5 2.7 1.0 16.4 (KyleandBodnar, 1995).Although theCu-Auconcentrations
Lembah Tembaga 1994 904 1.5%Cu equivalent
KucingLiar 1996 2504 2.0%Cu equivalent arespatially associated withthequartz-richstockwork,sulfide
veinletstypicallyerosscutthe quartzstockwork, andthere-
• Datashown
indicates
commencement
of oredefinition
drilling fore,Cu mineralization overprintsstockwork development.
2Original
orein place(production
plusprovedandprobable
reserves)
aGunung BijihTimurcomplex= contiguous
GBT,IOZ, andDOZ ore- TheGunungBijihTimurcomplex of skamdeposits
bodies(see text)
4Geologic
resource The GunungBijihTimurcomplex of deposits
is located
approximately1.5km eastof the originalGunungBijihde-
positalongthe northernmarginof the Ertsbergintrusion
representthesubvolcanic portionof a majoreruptivecenter. (Fig. 2) andconsistsof threevertically stackedorebodies
Remnants of thevolcanic coverrocksarepresentaboveand (GunungBijihTimur,the intermediate orezone(IOZ), and
on the peripheryof the intrusivephases(MacDonaldand the deepore zone(DOZ)), that togetherformoneof the
Arnold, 1993, 1994). The Dalam diatremeis the oldestintru- largest
Cu-bearingmagnesian skarnsin theworld.Theskarns
sivephaseandformsthe largestvolumeof the Grasbergof theGunung BijihTimurcomplex havea verticalextentof
Igneous Complex. The Dalamisin contact withtheTertiary at least1,200m, startingfromsurface exposures
at approxi-
carbonate strataof theNewGuineaLimestone Groupwithin mately4,000m abovesealevel.The extentof calc-silicate
theYellowValleysyncline. Thiscontactismarkedbyanirreg- alterationand mineralization is poorlydefinedbelowthe
ularbut generally narrow(fewtensof meters)zoneof mar- 2,800-melevation.The GunungBijih Timur complexis
blelikebrecciaconsisting of New GuineaLimestone Group bounded by the Ertsbergintrusiononthe southandby the
fragments, largelyrecrystallized,withina matrixof mixed near-vertical HangingWall faulton the north,whichplaces
sedimentary andigneous parentage.The Dalamphases were skarnagainst barrenmarble.Theorebodies andtheHanging
intrudedfirstby the Main Grasberg phases, bothof which Wall faultareoffsetby asmuchas15 m by a seriesof low-
wereintrudedby the SouthKaliphases, thatoccuralonga anglefaultsthatarefoundthroughout theGunungBijihTi-
northwest-trending zoneextending fromtheCarstenszweide tourcomplex.
(MacDonald and Arnold, 1994). Delineation of the three orebodies was made on the basis of
The Grasberg IgneousComplexhasa centralzoneof economic andengineering criteria.
TheGunung BijihTimur,
quartzstockwork onwhichthehighest concentration of Cu- IOZ, andDOZ orebodies havebeenproduced throughsepa-
Au is superimposed (MacDonaldand Arnold,1994;Pen- rate miningoperations; DOZ is temporarily inactive,IOZ
niston-Dodand, 1997).Thiscentralzoneismostlywithinthe recentlybeganproduction, andGunungBijihTimuris de-
Main Grasberg intrusion andgradesoutwardintoan exten- pleted.Rubin(1996)dividedthe GunungBijihTimurcom-
sivephylliczonethat developed largelywithinthe Dalam plexintotheupperskarn,consisting of GunungBijihTimur
diatreme.Propylitic alteration
is developed aroundthe mar- andmostofIOZ, andthelowerskarn, consistingoflowermost
ginsof thecomplex, withintheDalamVolcanics.IOZ andall of DOZ. Theboundary
particularly between theupperand
At thesurface, thereisonlyminordevelopment oflocalmag- lower skarns is the contact between the calcareous Faumai
netite-beating alteration zonesalongthe eastern contact of Formation (upperskarn)andthedolomitic WaripiFormation
the Dalamintrusivephasewith the New GuineaLimestone (lower skarn).
Group.At depth,belowaboutthe 3,600-melevation, the Skarnmineralogy (asdetermined in Rubin,1996)in the
contact becomes a complex mineralized zone,typically with lowerskarnisdominated byforsteritc (avg= Fo96)anddiop-
massive magnetite andpyritewithvariableamounts of frac- side(avg= Digs),bothof whichformmassive, barrenexpo-
ture-fillingchalcopyrite andlocalbornitc.Thiszoneis re- suresnear the intrusivecontact.Forsteritc alsoformsmassive,
ferredtoasthe"heavy sulfide
zone"(MacDonald andArnold, fine-grainedorewithmagnetite, bornitc,andanhydrite. Prin-
1994).The principalalterationin thiszoneappearsto be cipalalteration products of theskarnincludetalc,serpentine,
silicification,
although thereislocalcalc-silicatedevelopment.tremolite-actinolite, andchlorite.The upperskarnis domi-
The heavysulfidezonepasses outwardintozoneswithhigh natedbymonticellite skarnin GunungBijihTimuranddiop-
contents of zincandlead,generally in marble,but alsoalong side-forsterite
skarnin lowerGunungBijihTimurandIOZ.
irregular clay-richseams inlimestones thatappear unaffectedGranditcgarnet(avg=Ades)is locallyabundant asa later
by recrystallization. Localsphalerite-galena-fiuorite concen- prograde exoskarn phase. Granditc alsoisa minorendoskarn
trations occurwithintheflanking limestones asfar as300m phasethroughout the GunungBijihTimur complex; it is
awayfromthe Dalamcontactandalsoalonglatestructuresalmostentirelyrestricted to endoskarn in the lowerskarn.
 PRECIOUS
METALMINERALOGY,
ERTSBERG,
IRIANJAYA 539

Clinopyroxeneispresentthroughout
thecomplex butismost higherin themagnetite-dominant
zones.
Covellite
andchal-
abundant andido- cocite-digenite
in the upperskarn.Spinel,wollastonite, occuralongrims,fractures,
or grainbound-
craseareminorphases in thecomplex. Tremoliteis a com- ariesasalteration products of chalcopyrite. Chalcopyrite oc-
monalteration product ofdiopside, largely in thelowerskarn, cursasfinetocoarse porefillings, aspseudomorphic replace-
and more actinoliticamphiboleoccursprimarilyin veins. mentof fossils, andin veinletsthatgenerally areassociated
Mica is commonthroughout the complex,in the form of withearlyretrograde alteration.
phlogopite (lowerskarn)andclintonitc (upperskarn).Anhy- In common withotherskarns in theErtsberg district,diop-
driteis ubiquitous in thelowerskarn,generally occurring as side(avg= Di9a)andmonticellite areamongthe high-tem-
cementofprograde calc-silicates andfillings invugsandveins peratureskarnminerals at Dom.The bulkof the garnetis
in barrenandmineralized skarn.Anhydrite is presentin the relatively fine-grained, massive, greento yellowish garnet,
upperskarnbut generally is subordinate to calcite. with compositions in the rangeof Ads0_90. Other garnets
Sulfides,mostlybornitcwith subordinate chalcopyrite,rangefromroughly Ads0(early--based ontextural relation-
commonly areinterstitialto subhedral magnetite. TheCu/Fe ships) toAd9s (late).Retrograde alteration,
involving replace-
ratio,andthusthe bornite/chalcopyrite ratio,increases with mentof garnetanddiopside by ohiorite, talc,calcite,micas,
increasing depth.Bornitcandchalcopyrite occurinterstitiallyandclays,is prevalent throughout the deposit.Fine-grained
to garnetin high-grade ore and alsoas fine-grained in- phlogopite, commonly intergrown withmuscovite, occurs lo-
tergrowths withclay,calcite,anhydrite, andpyritein theup- callyasa lateprograde and/oran earlyretrograde phase.
per skarn.Bornitcoccurs in large-scale, denseintergrowthsInterstitial quartzandcalcite areubiquitous intheDomskarn
withmagnetite andanhydrite in thelowerskarn.In addition, (Mertig,1995).
bornitc+ anhydrite formsveinsup to severalcentimeters
wide at and near the intrusive contact in the lower skarn. TheBigGossan orebody andthereplacement zone
Digeniteand chalcocite-djudeite are commonalteration Mineralconcentrations alongthe Big Gossan-Batu fault
phases in bornitc;covellite andidaitcarelesscommon alter- zonewestof the Ertsberg intrusion (Fig.1) areof twotypes:
ationproducts of chalcopyrite. talc-silicate-hostedsulfides thatformtheBigGossan Cu ore-
body(Table1) anda mineralogically complex Fe-Pb-Zn-rich
TheDomorebody replacement zonethatlocally contains highlyelevated Au-Ag
The Dom (Dutchfor "cathedral," in reference to the ap- values. The skarnformsa tabularbodywithinthelowerWar-
pearance of the nearbypeak)orebody cropsoutat 4,200m ipi Formation anduppermost EkmaiFormation calcareous
in elevation andis locatedapproximately 500m southof the siliciclastic stratathatstrikenorthwest anddip80øNalongthe
GunungBijihTimurorebody (Fig.2). The orebody iswedge BigGossan-Batu fault.Prograde skarnminerals arediopside;
shapedin crosssectionand roughlycircularin plan view early,intermediate, andlategranditc garnets;anhydrite; and
(Mertig,1995).The depositis surrounded by the Ertsberg tremolite-actinolite. Retrograde alterationphases are domi-
intrnsionto the north and is fault boundedon the west, east, natedbychlohte andepidote withvariable amounts ofphlog-
andsouth.The south-bounding fault,the Dom fault,places opite,actinolite, serpentine, quartz,andcalcite(Gonzalez et
barrenmarbleadjacent toskarn, butthesense andmagnitudeal., 1994).Metallicmineralsin the skarnincludemagnetite,
of movement on the fault are uncertain. The east- and west- chalcopyrite, andminornativeAu;pyrrhotitebecomes the
bounding faultsare northtrendingandessentially vertical dominant sulfidein the upperpartof the skarnzone.The
with right-lateral movement impliedby the positioning of skarn-hosted Cu orebody largelyoccursbelowthe 2,900-m
marble to the west of the skarn and intrnsive rock to the east. elevation andhasa strikelengthin excess of 1.5kin;there
The skarnis laterallyzonedfromtheintrusive contactin the is no surface exposure of the skarnzone,although hornfels
northto (1) monticellite skarn,(2) garnet+ magnetite skarn, locallycropsout.The Au contentof the Cu skarnorebody
(3) a "blockzone,"madeup of largeblocksof Kaislimestone (1.0g/t)isunremarkable forthedistrict(Table1),especially
andmarble,and(4)skarn(dominantly garnet) withina matrix considehng thehighcopperconcentration of theBigGossan
of specular hematite+ quartz+ magnetite, anda specular orebody.
hematite+ quartz+ magnetite +_chalcopyrite zonenorth The BigGossan Au occurrence consistsof a poorlycon-
of the Dom fault. strained Auresource thatisfoundina steeply dipping tabular
Pseudomorphic replacements of fossilsarecommon within zoneseparated fromtheBigGossan skarn-hosted Cuorebody
the Dom skarn,particularly withinthe blockzone,where by several tensof meters(K. Hefton,pers.commun., 1996).
fragments of Kaislimestone containabundantforaminifera Sphalerite andgalena, withvariable butlocallyhighconcen-
of the sametypepreserved withinthe skarn.Chalcopyritetrationsof pyrite,pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, andarsenopyrite,
andcarbonate preferentially replaceforaminifera in magne- replace thesiliceous limestones, shalylimestones, andcalcar-
tite skarn,whereaslate-stage garnets, calcite,andchalcopy- eousshalesof the lowerWaripiFormation.Au appearsto
rite replaceforaminifera in garnetskarn.Textures observed be concentrated in the Zn-Pb-rich zone and reaches local
in unaltered limestone of the Kais Formation are similar to concentrations greaterthan10 g/t overas muchas 12 m.
thosein theDomskarn,providing furtherconfirmation that Drilling-identified resources appearto occurprincipally
the KaisFormationis the protolithfor the skarn(Mertig, abovethe 2,900-m elevationand extendto the 3,300-m eleva-
1995). tion, but similarmatehalhasbeen intersected as deep as
Magnetite andgarnetformthebulkof theskarnorebody. 2,280m.Weathering ofFe-Zn-Pbsulfide concentrations pro-
Chalcopyrite is the dominantore mineraland occurswith ducedtheAu-enriched gossan attheBigGossan surface (ele-
bothgarnetandmagnetite, although Cu valuestendto be vation-3,800 m),although it isnotclearif thesurface zone
540 RUBIN AND KYLE

b •

ß 6

FIG.3. Reflected lightphotomicrographs

of nativeAuwithinorebodies
of theErtsberg
district.
Abbreviations:
b=
bornitc,c = chalcopyrite,
G = nativegold,g = galena,p = pyrite,po = pyrrhotite,
q = quartz,s = sphalerite.
 PRECIOUS
METALMINERALOGY,
ERTSBERG,
IRIANJAYA 541

TABLE9,. MineralsHostingor CloselyAssociated

withNativeAu sionswithin.chalcopyrite (K. HeRon,writtencommun., 1996).
in the ErtsbergDistrict All Big Gossan nativeAu occurrences analyzedin thisstudy
GunungBijih
areassociated withthePb-Zn-Au-Ag replacementzone.Quartz
Mineralwith Timurcomplex Grasberg Dom BigGossan and pyrite arethe most common hostsfornativeAu inclusions,
Au (26) (11) (2) (30) fullyorpartiallyhosting21ofthe30observed grains(Fig.3E-
H; Table2). Pyrrhotite, galena,chalcopyrite,
sphalerite,and
Bornitc (31) 23 8 0 0
arsenopyrite alsohostnativeAu (Fig.3E-H; Table2).
Quartz (20) 6 2 0 12
Pyrite(11) 0 0 0 11 For all deposits,
it is common to findnativeAu spatially
Chalcopyrite (6) 0 3 2 1 associated with one or morebismuthminerals(Fig. 3H),
Pyrrhotite(5) 0 0 0 5 includingnativebismuth,bismuthinite,and tetradymite.
Galena (2) 0 0 0 2 Thereisnoapparent correlationbetweennativeAu composi-
Arsenopyrite (1) 0 0 0 1 tion and grain morphology, mode of occurrence,andlithol-
Sphalerite (1) 0 0 0 1
ogy.Table2 indicates a strongassociation
of nativeAu with
Numbersfollowing minerals indicatetotalnumberof occurrences with bornitcin the GunungBijihTimur complex andGrasberg,
nativeAu;numbers following oredeposits totalnumberof native andwithpyritein BigGossan.
indicate Theserelationships holdboth
goldgrainsobserved in thisstudy;totalsmaynotmatchbecause someAu withinandawayfromquartzveins.
grains occurwithmorethanonemineral(e.g.,bornitcandquartz); seetext True Ag minerals(i.e., thosein whichAg is the major
for discussion
cation)arerarein thedistrict.Microscopicargentitc hasbeen
observed in twosamples fromDOZ, anda grainof hessitc
hasbeenidentifiedin a samplefrom Dom.Apatitehosts
iscontinuous withthe BigGossan subsurface Au occurrence.
All of the BigGossan Au grains analyzed <2-ktminclusions
for thisstudyare Common of anunidentifiedAg-richphase in DOZ.
Ag-bearing mineralsincludebornitc(andrarely
fromZn-Pb-enriehed sulfide
intercepts oftheBigGossan Au chalcopyrite) in the GunungBijihTimurcomplex andGras-
resource(Appendix).
bergorebodies. Galenaisveryrarein boththeGrasberg and
GoldandSilverMineralogy the GunungBijihTimurcomplex orebodies, but it is mildly
argentiferous.
Galenais considerably morecommon in the
The samples analyzedfor thisstudywerecollected from BigGossan Au resource zoneandis probably the majorAg-
surface andunderground exposuresandfromdiamond drill bearingphasethere,sincenootheranalyzed sulfides (pyrite,
corefromthe Grasberg, the GunungBijihTimurcomplex,pyrrhotite,chalcopyrite, and arsenopyrite) containdetect-
the BigGossan, andthe Domorebodies (Appendix). Many ableAg.
coresamples examined wereselected basedonassay values
forspedfieintercepts. Morethan200thinsections wereex- Analytical Techniques
amined(intransmitted andreflected light)fromtheGunung
BijihTimurcomplex, approximately100fromDom,approxi- Electronmicroprobe analysesfor this studywere per-
mately50 fromGrasberg, and15fromBigGossan. Figure3 formed on nativeAu anda variety
of sulfide
minerals, includ-
shows a varietyof occurrencesof nativegoldfromtheGu- inggalena,ehaleopyrite, bornitc,andpyrite,usinga JEOL-
nungBijihTimurcomplex, Grasberg, andBigGossan. Of the 733 electronmicroprobe witha TraeorNorthernoperating
26 nativeAu (in thisstudy,"nativeAu"covers the composi- system in the Department of Geological
Sciences at the Uni-
tionalrange0 -< X^,•_<1, thusincluding nativeAu,s.s.,and versity ofTexas atAustin.A totalof15elements wasanalyzed
electrum) grainsfoundin samples fromthe GunungBijih usingwavelength dispersive speetrometry(WDS): Fe, Co,
Timurcomplex whichwereexamined in thisstudy,20 occur Ni, Cu, Zn, Pd,Ag,Pt, Au, Pb, andBi, aswellasS, As,Se,
withor withinbornitc,threewithquartz(fillingopenspace andTe. Not all elements wereanalyzed in everyrun. For
andthreewithboth(Fig.3A-C; Table2). Of mostrunsanaccelerating
in veinlets), voltage
of œ0kV wasused,witha
11 grainsobserved fromGrasberg, sixoccurwithor within beamcurrentof œ5to 30 nA anda spotsizeof mœ•m.
bornitc,threewith ehaleopyrite, and two with bornitcand For all sulfideandprecious metalanalyses a ZAF correction
quartz(Fig.3D;Table2). NativeAugrains fromtheGunung program wasused,withpuremetalstandards forallelements
BijihTimurcomplex andGrasberg arecommonly -<10 •m but S (forwhicha slightlyarsenian naturalpyritestandard
in longest dimension (butrangeup to 100•m), anhedral,wasemployed). Counting timewas20 s onstandards and30
andgenerally compositionallyhomogeneous. NativeAu ap- s on unknowns. All analyzed sampleswereobserved using
pearstobeexceedingly rarein Dom,occurring astiny(2-15 backscattered electronimaging(BED; significant composi-
•m) inclusions in ehaleopyrite
(twoAu inclusions observed).tionalzoningwasrarein nativeAu, asindicated by BEI and
NativeAufromBigGossan Cuskarn occursmostly asinelu- analysis.

A. NativeAuinclusion in bornitc(DOZ).Oilimmersion;
longdimension = 0.1mm.B. NativeAuandbornitc fillingopen
spacein a quartzvein(DOZ).Longdimension = 0.6min.C. NativeAuandehaleoeiteinclusions
withinbotryoidalbornitc
mass(DOZ).Longdimension = 0.6mm.D. NativeAuveinlet between bornitcandaltered
igneous
rock(Grasberg). Long
dimension = 0.6min.E. NativeAuinclusion in galena,
hostedbypyrrhotite (BigGossan).Longdimension= 0.6 mm.
F. NativeAuinclusion in sphalerite
(BigGossan).
Longdimension = 0.6mm.G. PyriterimsonnativeAuwithina quartz
vein(BigGossan).
Longdimension
= 0.6 mm. H. NativeAu inclusion
andassociated
nativebismuthinclusions
within
pyrrhotite
(BigGossan).
Longdimension
= 0.6 mm.
542 RUBIN AND KYLE

TABLE
3. Selected
ElectronMicroprobe
Analyses
of NativeGold(wt %)

Sample
no/ Location
s Cu Fe Ag Au Pt Pd Bi Te S Total FN3
DOZ-90R-9-1 R 1.12 n.a. 1.87 98.3 n.d, n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.11 101.4 981
DOZ-90R-11-1 I 3.20 n.a. 37.0 59.2 n.d. n.d. 0.47 0,07 0.11 100.0 615
DOZ-90R-g9A-1 g 0.62 n.a. 0.88 99.7 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.07 101.3 991
DOZ-90R-29A- 1 g 0.56 n.a. 1.09 99.0 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.05 100.7 989
DOZ-90R-29A-3 g 0.60 n.a. 0.67 98.9 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.08 100.2 993
DOZ-90B-29A-3 g 0.68 n.a. 0.64 98.7 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.09 100.1 994
DOZ-91R-2A- 1 I 1.31 0.09 63.1 33.3 n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.07 0.33 98.2 345
DOZ-91R-2A- 1 I 1.73 0.12 41.6 54.4 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.74 98.6 567
DOZ-91R-2B-1 g 0.51 n.d. 26.7 71.7 n.d. n.d. 0.18 n.d. 0.16 99.2 729
DOZ-91R-2B-1 I 12.5 n.d. 15.7 71.4 n.d. n.d. 0.12 0.03 0.14 99.9 820
DOZ-91R-2B-2 I 2.08 0.08 19.8 77.4 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.16 99.5 797
DOZ-91R-7-3 I 1.64 0.06 3.45 95.4 n.d. n.d. 0.23 n.d. 0.08 100.8 965
DOZ-91R-19B-1 R 1.55 n.a. 2.08 95.8 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.10 99.6 979
MLA-91R-1B-2 R 1.04 n.a. 2.66 96.1 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.24 100.0 973
MLA-91R-1B-2 C 0.90 n.a. 1.88 97.2 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.09 100.1 981
M14-2-42.6-3A R 1.81 0.15 32.7 65.1 n.d. n.d. 0.17 0.07 0.11 100.0 666
M14-2-42.6-3A I 1.67 0.09 30.4 67.5 n.d. n.d. 0.41 0.05 0.07 100.2 690
M14-2-42.6-4 R 1.92 0.02 5.15 92.0 n.d. n.d. 0.26 n.d. 0.05 99.4 947
M14-2-42.6-4 I 2.01 n.d. 4.46 93.0 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.05 99.5 954
I3-5-123.6-1 I 1.98 0.06 50.6 47.9 n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.05 0.38 101.0 487
I3-5-347-1 I 2.25 n.d. 4.12 94.0 n.d. n.d. 0.21 n.d. 0.16 100.7 958
I3-5-347-1 I 1.71 n.d. 12.6 85.7 n.d. n.d. 0.22 n.d. 0.23 100.5 872
AH-90-4D - 1 R 0.82 n.a. 2.50 96.4 n.d. 0.20 n.d. n.d. 0.11 100.0 975
AH-90-4D-1 C 0.66 n.a. 4.48 93.4 n.d. 0.12 n.d. 0.06 0.04 98.8 954
AH-90-4D-1 R 1.27 n.a. 2.03 95.5 n.d. 0.35 n.d. n.d. 0.08 99.2 979
AH-90-4D-4 R 0.45 n.a. 4.08 94.5 n.d. 0.08 n.d. n.d. 0.06 99.2 959
AH-90-4D-4 C 0.53 n.a. 2.44 95.9 n.d. 0.15 n.d. n.d. 0.04 99.1 975
AH-90-4D-4 R 1.40 n.a. 1.35 97.4 n.d. 0.22 n.d. n.d. 0.06 100.4 986
GRS37-62-53.8-1 C 0.50 0.28 4.89 95.1 n.d. 0.17 0.21 n.d. 0.11 101.3 951
GRS37-62-53.8-1 I 0.61 0.42 4.82 94.7 n.d. 0.19 0.18 n.d. 0.06 101.0 952
GRS37-112-200.7-1 C 0.65 0.24 6.78 93.0 n.d. n.d. 0.23 n.d. 0.06 100.9 932
GRS37-120-50.7-2 R 0.93 0.09 2.36 96.5 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.08 99.9 976
GRS37-120-50.7-2 C 0.83 0.11 1.69 96.7 n.d. n.d. 0.38 n.d. 0.07 99.8 983
BG1-5-237.9-1 I 0.05 1.26 7.79 89.6 n.d. n.d. 0.29 n.d. 0.25 99.3 920
BG1-5-254.2-1 I 0.03 1.43 7.50 90.3 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.21 99.5 923
BG1-5-254.9-2 R 0.04 0.55 6.94 92.3 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.26 100.1 930
BG1-5-254.9-3 R 0.05 0.70 3.92 94.5 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.75 99.9 960
BG1-6-999.5-1 C n.d. n.d. 17.9 82.0 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.06 99.9 821
BG1-6-1056.2-4 R n.d. 0.26 29.9 68.8 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.16 99.2 697
BG1-6-1056.2-4 C n.d. 0.05 24.8 75.1 n.d. n.d. 0.18 0.05 0.14 100.3 752
BGU4-2-56.6-4 I 0.03 0.06 17.6 82.7 n.d. n.d. 0.31 n.d. 0.02 100.7 824
BGU4-2-56.6-8 R 0.05 n.d. 10.6 88.8 n.d. n.d. 0.28 0.05 0.04 99.9 893
BGU4-2-56.6-8 C 0.05 n.d. 8.54 90.3 n.d. n.d. 0.17 n.d. 0.04 99.1 914
BGU4-2-56.6-14 R 0.03 n.d. 12.3 86.9 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.07 99.3 876
BGU4-2-56.6-14 C 0.03 n.d. 13.6 86.9 n.d. n.d. 0.29 n.d. 0.11 100.9 865

Italicsindicate
concentration
neardetectionlimitforthatrun;seeAppendix
forsample
descriptions;
n.a. = notanalyzed,
n.d. = notdetected
1Finalnumber foreachsample= grain•vithjnsample
ZC = center,I = interior,R = rim
aFN = fineness
[1,000
Atff(Au
+ Ag)]

Results isconsiderably moreenriched in CuthanthatfromBigGos-

SelectedanalysesofnativeAuandsulfides san;(4) Agis a common, almost
fromthedepos- of bornitcfrom the GunungBijih ubiquitous,
tracecomponent
Timur complexand of
its in the GunungBijihdistrictillustratethe variability in bornitcandchalcopyrite fromGrasberg, but Ag is rarein
preciousmetaloccurrence (Tables3 and4). For nativeAu chalcopyrite fromBigGossan andDom;and(5) galena from
analyses,fineness(definedas1,000Au/(Au+ Ag)byweight) the GunungBijihTimurcomplex is muchlessenrichedin
is alsoprovided. AgthanthatfromBigGossan, whereit is animportant Ag-
Fivesignificantcharacteristics
of precious metaldistribu- bearingphase.
tionwithinthedistrictareapparent: (1) thereis a widefine- Thereis a considerable rangeof finenesswithinthe Erts-
nessrangeamongnativeAu grainsin all deposits of the bergdistrict
(Fig.4). NativeAufromtheGunung BijihTimur
Errsberg district
exceptthosefromGrasberg; (2)somenative complexhasa widebut bimodalrangeof fineness: 920 to
Au fromGrasberg is enrichedin Pd, unlikenativeAu from 990 and340 to 820 (n = 69; avg= 860). NativeAu from
anyof the otherore deposits in the district;(3) nativeAu Grasberg samples contains lessAg:fineness = ->930(n =
fromGrasberg, theGunungBijihTimurcomplex, andDom 22;avg= 960).Fineness of BigGossan Au ranges from540
 PRECIOUS
METAL
MINERALOGY,
ERTSBERG,
IRIAN]AYA 543

TABLE
4. Representative
Electron
Microprobe
Analyses
of Sulfide
Minerals
(wt%)

Sample
no.• Location
2 Mineral Cu Ag Au Fe Zn Co Ni As Se S Total
D()Z-90R-8-2 I bn 63.1 0.07 n.d. 9.92 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.a. n.a. 26.0 99.1
D()Z-90R-9-2 I bn 62.1 0.05 n.d. 11.0 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.a. n.a. 26.6 99.8
D()Z-90R-9-2 I bn 63.1 0.07 n.d. 11.3 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.a. n.a. 27.0 101.5
D( )Z-90R-20-1 R cp 33.6 n.d. n.d. 30.4 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.a. n.a. 35.9 99.9
D( )Z-90R-20-1 C cp 31.6 0.06 n.d. 30.6 0.15 n.d. n.d. n.a. n.a. 35.8 98.2
D()Z-90R-29B-1 I bn 65.1 0.03 n.d. 9.4 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.a. n.a. 25.6 100.1
D()Z-90R-29B-1 I bn 63.9 0.06 n.d. 10.1 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.a. n.a. 25.8 99.9
D()Z-90R-38-2 R ep 31.8 n.d. n.d. 30.7 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.a. n.a. 35.5 98.0
D()Z-90R-38-2 I cp 31.5 n.d. n.d. 30.5 n.d. n.d. m.d. n.a. n.a. 35.4 97.4
GBT-90R-4-1 I id 47.7 0.07 n.d. 15.5 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.a. n.a. 34.4 97.7
GBT-90R-4-1 I id 46.8 0.07 n.d. 15.8 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.a. n.a. 34.8 97.5
GBT-90R-20-1 I bn 62.6 0.08 n.d. 10.8 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.a. n.a. 26.9 100.4
GBT-90R-20-2 I bn 60.1 0.05 n.d. 11.4 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.a. n.a. 26.9 98.4
GBT-91R-1A- 1 I cp 34.0 n.d. n.d. 30.5 n.a. n.a. n.a. 0.09 n.d. 35.6 100.2
GBT-91R-1A- 1 R py 0.04 n.d. n.d. 46.8 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 54.0 100.8
GBT-91R-1A- 1 I py n.d. n.d. n.d. 47.2 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 53.7 100.9
MLA-91R-1B-1 I bn 65.0 0.28 n.d. 10.4 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.a. n.a. 25.6 101.3
MLA-91R-1B-1 I bn 65.0 0.26 0.07 9.87 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.a. n.a. 25.7 100.9
IOZ-93R-8-1 I bn 63.2 0.04 n.d. 11.4 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. 0.03 26.0 100.7
IOZ-93R-8-1 I cp 37.3 n.d. n.d. 28.0 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 34.1 99.4
IOZ-93R-20-3 I bn 60.6 0.13 n.d. 11.8 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. '26.2 98.7
IOZ-93R-20-2 I cp 33.6 n.d. n.d. 30.4 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 34.1 98.1
I-3-5-117.8-3 I cp 33.8 n.d. n.d. 29.6 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 35.1 98.5
I-3-3-347-2 I bn 60.5 0.04 n.d. 11.1 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. 0.11 27.2 99.0
I-3-5-347-4 I cp 34.1 n.d. n.d. 29.4 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. 0.05 35.3 98.8
DOM-89R-6-1 R cp 34.1 n.d. n.d. 30.9 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 34.2 99.2
DOM-13-91M-1 I cp 33.4 n.d. n.d. 30.1 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 35.1 98.6
DOM-19-91M-1 R cp 33.8 n.d. n.d. 30.3 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. 0.03 35.6 99.7
AH90-4D-2 I bn 66.1 0.16 n.d. 7.26 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 24.9 98.4
AH90-4D-3 I bn 66.1 0.14 n.d. 7.76 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. 0.03 25.0 99.0
GRS4-505-1 R bn 63.0 0.13 n.d. 10.5 n.a. n.a. n.a. m.d. 0.03 25.7 99.4
GRS4-505-1 I bn 62.5 0.06 n.d. 11.3 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 25.5 99.4
GRS4-505-1 R cp 33.9 n.d. n.d. 30.4 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. 0.03 34.9 99.2
GRS4-505-1 I cp 33.6 n.d. n.d. 30.4 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 34.7 98.7
GRS37-62-53.8-1 R cp 34.6 n.d. n.d. 30.4 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 35.3 100.3
GRS37-62-53.8-1 I cp 34.3 n.d. n.d. 30.5 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 34.8 99.6
GRS37-120-50.7-1 I cp 34.8 n.d. n.d. 30.0 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 34.1 98.9
GRS49A-92.9-1 R cp 34.6 n.d. n.d. 30.3 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 34.3 99.2
GRS49A-92.9-1 I py n.d. n.d. n.d. 46.8 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. 0.04 52.5 99.3
BG1-5-237.9-1 I cp 33.1 n.d. n.d. 30.9 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 35.8 99.8
BG1-5-254.2-3 R py 0.18 n.d. n.d. 45.2 n.a. n.a. n.a. 2.52 n.d. 52.5 100.4
BG1-6-]056.2-2 R cp 33.8 0.06 n.d. 30.3 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 35.2 99.4
BG]-6-]056.2-2 I cp 33.2 0.06 n.d. 30.6 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 35.6 99.5
BG1-6-1056.2-1 R po n.d. n.d. n.d. 60.3 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 40.3 100.6
BG1-6-1056.2-1 I po n.d. n.d. n.d. 60.1 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 40.1 100.2
BGU4-2-56.6-1 R asp 0.14 n.d. 0.04 35.8 n.a. n.a. n.a. 40.8 0.15 21.9 98.3
BGU4-2-56.6-3 R cp 33.1 n.d. n.d. 30.4 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 36.4 99.9
BGU4-2-56.6-3 C cp 33.6 n.d. n.d. 30.5 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.d. n.d. 36.4 100.5

Sample
no.• Location
2 Mineral Cu Ag Au Fe Pb Bi Te As Se S Total
IOZ-93R-5-1 I ga n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 88.1 n.d. 0.04 n.a. 0.00 13.7 101.8
IOZ-93R-5-2 I ga n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 88.2 n.d. 0.03 n.a. 0.00 13.6 101.8
GRS37-112-200.75 I ga 0.66 0.27 n.d. 0.39 85.4 n.d. 0.27 n.a. 2.13 11.9 101.0
BG1-5-237.9-2 R ga n.d. 0.75 n.d. 0.14 85.0 n.a. n.a. n.d. 0.03 13.7 99.6
BG1-5-237.9-2 C ga n.d. 0.75 n.d. 0.07 84.7 n.a. n.a. n.d. 0.02 14.0 99.5
BG1-6-999.5-2 I ga 0.24 0.77 n.d. 0.14 85.7 n.d. 0.08 n.a. n.d. 13.1 100.0
BG1-6-999.5-6 R ga n.d. 1.14 n.d. 0.08 85.9 n.d. 0.07 n.a. n.d. 14.5 101.7
BG1-6-999.5-6 I ga n.d. 1.21 n.d. n.d. 85.6 n.d. 0.05 n.a. n.d. 14.4 101.3
BG1-6-1056.2-1 C ga n.d. 1.38 n.d. 0.46 85.3 n.d. n.d. n.a. n.d. 14.5 101.6
BG1-6-1056.2-2 I ga n.d. 0.84 n.d. 0.19 86.4 n.d. n.d. n.a. n.d. 14.1 101.5
BGU4-2-56.6-2 R ga n.d. 0.43 n.d. 0.08 87.3 n.d. n.d. n.a. n.d. 13.5 101.3
BGU4-œ-56.6-2 I ga n.d. 0.29 n.d. 0.07 87.5 n.d. n.d. n.a. n.d. 13.6 101.5
Italics indicate concentration near detection limit for that ran;seeAppendLx and mineralabbreviations;
for sampledescriptions n.a. = not analyzed,
n.d. = not detected
• Finalnumberforeachsample
= grainwithinsample
2C = core,I = interior,R = rim
544 BUBIN AND KYLE

Pd
e A. Grasberg(n = 22)

800 850 900 950 1000

B.
Big
Gossan
(n
=60)
I Cu

Big
GossanoGBT
complex
+Grasberg
I
Ag

0
500
,, ,I1,,I,,
600
i,,11111111
I1,,I
700 800 900 1000
FIG. 5. Compositional
shmving concentrations
plot for nativeAu from the Errsbergdistrict,
of Cu, Ag,andPd (analysesfromthisstudy).

bornitehost;it maybe auricupride.)

NativeAu from Big
e C. GBT-complex (n = 69) GossanhasuniformlylowCu contents(-<1,200ppmCu,avg
= 300 ppm).
Allen and Palmer(1992) and Allen and Coote(1993) sam-
E plednativeAu fromthe Knelson concentrator
circuitwithin
theErtsberg mill.Theygrouped thenativeAuintot•vocate-
gories: highCu-highPd,andlowCu-lowPd.Basedonmin-
2
eralassemblage andtexture,theyinterpreted the highCu-

300
o , ,, II I,,,,,,,I1,,,,
400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
highPdsamples
Timurcomplex,
tohavebeenderivedfromtheGunungBijih
withthe lowCu-lowPd nativeAu believed
to be fromGrasberg. In nativeAu samplesfromtheconcen-
Au Fineness[1000X Au / (Au + Ag)] tratorand elsewhere withinFreeport'sexplorationdistrict,
Fro.4. Histograms
ofthefinenessofnativeAufromtheErrsberg
district
they have identifiedseveralcharacteristics
similarto those
(analyses
fromthisstudy).
32OO

Big Gossan
to 960 (n = 60; avg= 830),although
compositional
ranges
aresinallwithinmostindividualsamples.
NativeAufrointhe GunungBijihTimurcomplex andBig 3000

Gossanhasno detectablePt or Pd (detectionlimits = • 1,000

ppm for both),whereas that fromGrasberg fallsinto two
groups withrespect
to Pd:Pd-bearing(-<3,500ppm,n = 14;
2800
avg= 1,800ppm)andwith no detectable Pd (n = 8) (Fig.
5). Fire assay
of Grasbergore revealstracebut detectable
concentrationsof Pd and no detectable Pt; concentrationsof
Pdin orerangedfrointhedetectionlimitof 10ppbto almost 2600
500ppb,withanaverage ofjustunder50 ppb(PT Freeport
Indonesia,
unpub.data).AhnostallthePd-bearing nativeAu
from Grasberg
appearsto occurwithina latephaseof the
MainGrasbergintrusion(basedonsample identification
and 2400

mappingby PT FreeportIndonesia;G. MacDonald,pers.

eommun., 1994).
NativeAu fromGrasberg hasanaverage concentration
of
0.82_+0.55(2or)wt percentCu,whereas thatfromthe Gu- 600 700 800 900 1000
hungBijihTimurcomplex is considerably
moreCu rich(avg Fineness
= 1.7 _+3.2wt %), containingasmuchas2.5wt percentCff
(Fig. 5). (Thereis a singleanomalousanalysis
of 12.5 wt F•G.6. Plotof elevation
vs.fineness of nativeAu fromthe BigGossan
percentCu,xvhieh doesnotappearto represent
Cu frointhe Au occurrence
(amdysesfromthisstudy).
 PRECIOUS
METALMINERALOGY,
ERTSBERG,
IRIANJAYA 545

[]

[]
[]

--- 3 []

% o
o[] [] []
o%

[]
[][][]
[] [] [] [][]
[] [] []

1 oo a

[]

0 []

I i ,

O0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Cu (wt %) Cu (wt %)

F•o. 7. Plotsof Cu rs. At] (A) andAg (B) in selected

Grasberg
coreintercepts,
basedon Freeportassay
data(n =
274).

notedin thisstudy: (1) analyzed nativeAuisofahighfineness nativeAufroIlltheGunungBijihTimurcomplex or anyfrom

(generally >800); (2) nativeAu fromGrasberg concentrates,GunungBijih,whichhavebeenminedin theirentirety).
aswellasalluvial Au interpreted to be froma differentpor- NativeAu occurrence doesnot appearto be relatedto
phyry-type soume(outside theimmediate Ertsberg district), compositionalvariations
in bornitc(Ag) or pyrite(As).Al-
isof a higherfineness thanthatfromtheGunungBijihTimur thoughthereis no apparentcorrelation betweenelevation
complexor otherskarnsoume;and (3) nativeAu fromthe andfineness in the GunungBijihTimurcomplex andGrasb-
GunungBijihTimur complex,GunungBijih,or anotherin- erg,nativeAu frointhe BigGossan Au occurrence sho•vs an
terpretedskarnsource, hasa higherCu contentthanthat apparent trendofincreasing fineness withelevation,changing
from Grasberg or anotherporphyrysource.Althoughthe froman averageof 930 at the 3,100-melevation to 750 for
interpretations of Allen and Pahner(1992) and Allen and nativeAu at the 2,300-inelevation(Fig.6). Despitethepoor
Coote(1993),withrespect to distribution of Pdin nativeAu, overallcorrelation betweenAu andCu in the GunungBijih
differfromthefindings in thisstudy, it shouldbenotedthat, TimurcomplexandDom (Mertig,1995),all the nativeAu
forsamples fromtheconcentrator, theyinferredprovenaneefromthosedeposits analyzedin thisstudyis associatedwith
bycomparison withsediments in streams drainingindividual Cu minerals,althoughnot consistently with high Cu ore
deposits; oursamples weretakenin situ,priorto miningor grades. Fire-assaydataforGrasberg anddrillinterceptsfroin
benefieiation (but, unfortunately, withoutbenefitof much the GunungBijihTimurcomplex indicatea significant
posi-

• i i [] '

El i
10 [] []
[]

[] [] []

[] []
8

[] [] []

,[][] [] [] [] []
I• ø [] [] o
/o_% [] na o
/• •o o•o

cP []
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Cu (wt %)

F•c,.8. Plotsof Cuvs.Au(A)andAg(B)fromtheGunung

BijihTimurcomplex,
based
onFreeport
assay
data(n =
1,064).
546 RUBIN AND KYLE

TABLE5. Correlation Matrixfor Cu, Au, andAg Agin borniteandehaleopyrite

canalsobe accomplished
with
in SelectedErtsbergDistrictDrill Intercepts the following
formulas:
A. Grasberg
(includes
Pd;n = 274) [Ag]tot•
= [Ag]bnX
[bn]+ [Ag]•p
Cu Au Ag Pd
X [ep]+ lAg]A,X [nativeAu] (1)
Cu 1
and
Au 0.70 1
Ag 0.71 0.52 1 [Cu]•o,•= [CU]bn
X [bn]+ [Cu]q,X [cp]. (2)
Pd 0.06 0.10 -0.01

Equation1 canbe simplified, because thereis verylittle

B. GunungBijihTimurcomplex
(n = 1,064) Agin chalcopyrite (Fig.9) and[nativeAu]isnegligible. The
Cu Au Ag bornite/chalcopyrite ratioof •2 (based onmineralogical stud-
Cu 1
iesin Rubin,1996).TotalCu in the complex is 2.4 Mt, with
Au 0.43 1
approximately 66 percent in bornire and the rest in chalcopy-
Ag 0.85 0.30 1 rite. Assuming an average of 63 wt percent Cu in bornite
yieldsapproximately 2.5 Mt bornitein thedeposit. Substitut-
C. Dom (n = 945) ing that into equation 1 yields [Ag]tota•
• 600 ppm X •2.5
Mt • 1,500t Ag.Assay data(Table1) show10.8ppmAgin
Cu Au Ag
122Mt ore,or • 1,300t Ag,a difference of • 15 percent.
Cu 1 Thesecalculations alsoaresupported bythecorrelation of
Au 0.34
AgandCuthroughout thecomplex, andstrongly suggest that
Ag 0.77 0.08 1
Agpartitions preferentially intobornite,relativeto nativeAu
Dom datafromMertig(1995) or a separate Ag phase, in assemblages whereborniteand
nativeAu are coprecipitated. The rare discreteAg phases
account fora negligible amount of thetotalAgin theskarns.
tivecorrelation betweenCu andAg (Figs.7B, 8B;Table5). Although this study's sample population fromotherdeposits
Correlation of Cu andAu at Grasberg is almostasstrongas is relatively small, it appears likely that Ag followsa similar
that betweenCu andAg, although datafromthe Gunung patternof substitution in coppersulfideminerals, especially
BijihTimurcomplex showa muchweakerpositive correlation in bornite, at other deposits as well. Galena in Big Gossan is
betweenCu andAu (Figs.7A, 8A; Table5). Thereis no the most likely sink for much of the Ag in that deposit,al-
significant
correlation between AuandAgorbetween Pdand thoughAgcorrelates moderately wellwithCu aswell(D.M.
anyof the othermetals(Table5). Gonzalez, in prep.).
Silverhasaweakpositive correlation withPbatBigGossan The high-fineness Au fromthe Ertsbergdistrictdeposits
(D.M. Gonzalez, in prep.).Silveris a commontracecompo- istypical of Au associated withporphyry ore-forming systems
nentin bornire(and,to a lesserextent,chalcopyrite) in the worldwide (Morrison et al., 1991; Fig. 10). Further, the high
Gunung BijihTimurcomplex andGrasberg. Silverconcentra- Cu contentof muchof the nativeAu fromGrasberg and
tionsin bornirefromtheGunungBijihTimurcomplex reach the Gunung Bijih Timur complex appears to be common
5,900ppmbut average approximately 600ppm(n = 95;Fig. throughout theregion(e.g.,Bowles, 1984;Beddoe-Stephens
et al., 1987).
9). Chalcopyrite fromBigGossan andDom,pyritefromall
thedeposits, aridpyrrhotite fromBigGossan containnode-
tectable Ag.GalenafromBigGossan is consistently
highin
Ag,ranging from1,200to 13,100ppm(1.31wt %)aridaverag- 60
Concentrationof Ag in GBT-Complex
bornite (bn) and chalcopyrite(cp)
ing7,600ppm(n = 27).
Discussion 50

Mass-balance calculations,
basedonassay andelectronmi- •- 40
croprobe data(Tables1, 3, 4), indicatethatthe bulkof the
Ag in the GunungBijihTimurcomplex of deposits is con-
tainedby bornitc.Averageore gradesfor the complex are • 30 • GBTcp
2.0 percentCu, 0.8 ppmAu, and 10.6ppmAg (Table1). 20 [• GBT bn
Although [Ag]tot•/[Au]tot,•
> 10 (forthisdiscussion, thesub-
seripttot.•
signifies
concentrations fortheentireGunungBijih
Timurcomplex oforebodies, thesubseriptAusignifiesconcen-
trationsin nativeAu,andthe subseriptb• denotes concentra- o
tionsin bornitc),electronmicroprobe analyses indicatethat 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
[AU]A./[AglAu• 6. Againcomparing bulkassay datato elec-
tron microprobe analyses, [Cu]tot•/[Ag]to•a•
• 1,900,arid Ag (ppm)
[CU]bn/[Ag]bn• 1,000(assuming anaverage concentration of FIO.9. Concentration
of Ag in bornireandchalcopyritefromthe Gu-
600ppmAgand60-66 wt % Cu in skarnbornitc),whichis hungBijihTimurcomplex (analysesfromthisstudy).Single
bornitcanalysis
withinhalfoftheassayed grades. Anestimate oftotalCuand of 5,900ppmAgis notshown.
 PRECIOUS
METALMINERALOGY,
ERTSBERG,
IRIANJAYA 547

0 200 400 600 800 1000

I I I i I I I I I i J

GB DISTRICT
GBT COMPLEX
(This study)
BIG GOSSAN

= GRASBERG
i I

PORPHYRY SYSTEMS(Morrisonetal.,1991)
SKARN ß 1 Cable
ß 2 Whitehorse
• 3 Sayano Altai
ß 4 Gold Coast
5 Ertsberg
6 Elkhorn
.
7 Bingham
8 Breckinridge
9 Gilpin
STOCKWORK i t
10 Phillipsburg
ß 11 Mineral Park
i
12 Titiribi
ß 13 Ribroaster
ß 14 Zaruma
15 Atacama
ß 16 Butte
ß
17 Cala Abaja
18 Guinaoang
VEIN i
19 CentralCity
20 Boise
21 Andavakoera
22 Porgera
BRECCIA 23 Kidston
24 Esperitu Santo
DIATREME 25 Golden Sunlight
26 Mt. Leyshon
KEY 27 CrippleCreek
28 Montana Tuns.
--a- range& averageprobe 29 Wau
: --: range& averagebullion

6 ' ' ' s60 ' ' ' ' 060

FINENESS

FIG. 10. Comparison of Errsberg districtAu fineness

withotherporphyry-related
systems.
Numbered
localities
refer
to the compilation
of Morrisonet al. (1991).

Although
thereis considerable
overlapin the rangesof complexes,
Pd alsoformsstablecomplexes
with C1 (Gam-
fineness of native Au from the different orebodies of the mons et al., 1992; Wood et al., 1992).
Errsberg district,threebroadgroupings are evident,based HighPd concentrations in the Grasberg orearelocalized
on traceandminorelements in the nativeAu (Fig.5): (1) nearthe 3,700-mlevelwithinthe lateMain Grasberg phase
highCu,Pd-bearing (Grasberg), (2)highCu,withnodetect- (G. MacDonald, pers.eommun., 1995).It maybe speculated
ablePd(Gunung BijihTimurcomplex, Grasberg,Dom),and thatthe Pal-enriched andPal-depleted Au identifiedin this
(3)lowCu,withnodetectable Pd(BigGossan). Thesediffer- study(Fig. 5) supports the conceptof multiplestagesof
eneesmayreflectmajordifferences amongthe deposits in Grasberg mineralizationasproposed by MacDonaldandAr-
the processes of magmaemplaeement, evolutionof the hy- nold(1994).However, thetransport andprecipitationofpre-
drothermal system, andtransport mechanisms for the pre- ciousmetalswouldbe greatlyaffectedby the temperature
ciousmetals.Alternatively, it simplymayrepresent a down- variations in an evolvinghydrothermal systemwhichalso
temperature progression for deposition of nativeAu, with couldproducemanyof the samerelationships.
highCu,Pd-bearing Aubeingdeposited at thehighesttem- Geochemical studies,
petrographiesimilarities,
closespatial
peratures andlowCu,withnodetectable Pd,Au atthelowest. distribution,andgeoehronologie dataof thevarious intrusive
In hydrothermal fluidswherechloridecomplexes are the rocksin the GunungBijihdistrictstrongly suggest thatthe
dominant transporting agentforAuandAg,nativeAucompo- Grasberg andErtsbergintrusions arederivedfromthe same
sitionis largelycontrolled by temperature (Gammons and parentmagma(MeMahon,1994a,e; McDowellet al., 1996).
Williams-Jones, 1995).Undertheoxidizing andacidiccondi- Interpretation of Pbisotopeandfluidinclusion datasuggests
tionsthatstabilize Auchloride complexes relative
tobisulfide that the metalsin Grasberg,the GunungBijihTimur tom-
548 RUBIN AND KYLE

plex,Dom, GunungBijih,and Big Gossan sulfideminerals pyrite.Sincesulfidemineralization wasa lateeventrelative

werederivedfrommagmatie fluids.The sulfides contain Pb to eale-silieate
formation in theGunungBijihTimurcomplex
thatis slightlylessradiogenic thanthatof the Errsberg and (asis commonin skarns, e.g.,Einaudiet al., 1981;Meinert,
Grasberg intrusions,possiblyindicting sources deeperin the 1983),bornitcwouldhavebeenlikelyto incorporate Au and
samemagmatie chamber(MeMahon,1994a,e; Jamesand produce theobserved textures.Therelative paucityofbornitc
Housh,1995;Kyleet al., 1996).Although theGunungBijih at Dom andBig Gossan mayaccount for the widervariety
Timurcomplex, Dom,GunungBijih,andBigGossan skarns of hostphases. The incidence of bornitcand ehaleopyrite
arespatially associatedwiththeErtsberg intrusion, economic hostsin Grasberg ore mayindicatehighertemperature ore
sulfidedeposition andthebulkofeale-silieate skarn formation formationor multipleepisodes with distinctassemblages.
mostlikelywereassociated witha deepermagmatie source. Thecompositional categorizationofnativeAu,withrespect
Although theearlyAu in bornitcandehaleopyrite fromthe to Cu,Ag,andPdcontent, maybe significant forexploration
GunungBijihTimurcomplex probably wastransported by withinthe GunungBijihdistrictandelsewhere. Composition
chloridecomplexes alongwithCu, it is likelythatbisulfide of Au nuggets andpanconcentrates fromstreamsediments
complexes (asdescribed by Seward,1973;Morrisonet al., mayindicatethe typeof depositfromwhichthe Au was
1991)playedan importantrolein transport anddepositioneroded(e.g.,Grantet al.,1991).Thesignificant concentration
oflateAurimsandopen-space fill.Thedifferentmechanismsof Pd in nativeAu fromGrasberg (andpossibly that from
for Au deposition maybe responsible for the inconsistentoneormoreskarns) alsopointsouttheimportance ofassaying
correlation betweenCu andAu in the GunungBijihTimur for platinum-group elements (PGE)duringexploration and
complex. evaluationof thesetypesof deposits. PGEcontents of native
Copperprobably wastransported dominantly by chloride Au in panconcentrates mightserveasa morediscriminating
complexes (e.g.,asdiscussedby Sillitoe,1988).Theintimate factorthan fineness alone(e.g.,Bowles,1984).Although
intergrowths of nativeAu andCu-Fesulfides in the Gunung largelyunrepresented bythesamples analyzed here,Ag-rieh
BijihTimurcomplex andGrasberg suggest codeposition (or nativeAu (i.e.,electrum)is moretypicalof mineralization
exsolution of Au frombornitcor ehaleopyrite), whichmay distalto magmatiecenters(e.g.,Buchanan, 1981;White,
indicatethat a significantproportion of Au wastransported 1981).Characteristics thatwouldsuggest a porphyry- or Cu
asoneor morechloride complexes (e.g.,Henley,1973;Hay- skarn-type soume of Augrains in panconcentrates wouldbe
ashi and Ohmoto, 1991; Wood et al., 1992). The overallCu- relatively highCu, highPd, andlowAg,relativeto a more
Au correlation at Grasbergmayindicate a greaterdegreeof distal soume.
eopreeipitation
thanat the GunungBijihTimurcomplex,
reflective
ofhighertemperatures
andchloride
complex
trans- Acknowledgments
port. Thisstudygre•voutof research relatedto J.N.R.'sPh.D.
The separation
of Cu andAu is evenmoredistinctive at dissertation (Rubin,1996). Reviewsby D.S. Barker,J.G.
BigGossan, wherethe skarn-hosted
Cu orebody hasa rela- Price,andEconomic Geologyreferees wereof considerable
tivelylowAu concentration skarn- assistance.
(Table1), but a separate We gratefully acknowledge FreeportMeMoRan,
hostedAu resource is moreconsistently with Zn- Inc., for financialsupportand accessto the PT Freeport
associated
Pb concentrations. betweenelevationand Indonesia
The relationship job site,samples,andassay datain IrianJaya.We
fineness the natureof mineralizationare appreciative
furtherdistinguishes of the supportprovided by Freeportstaff
in the Big Gossansystemfromthatin the othersignificantgeologists whogenerously sharedtheirknowledge of thedis-
trict geology.
orebodies in the district. The vertical zonation in Au fineness RussellHoneaprovidedseveralAu-bearing
in the BigGossan replacement occurrence is typicalof that samples identified duringearlierpetrographic studies. Timo-
foundin veinsystems distalto an igneous source(e.g.,Bu- thyP. McMahon andMarkCloosprovided muchofthetecto-
chanan,1981; White, 1981). nomagmatic modeling fortheGunungBijihdistrict.George
CuddyandKesler(1989.)described twoporphyry Cu de- MacDonald,JayPennington, Heidi Mertig,Dan Gonzalez,
positsin BritishColumbia, bothAu bearingbut mineralogi- andKrisHeftonprovided essential background geologic in-
eallydistinct.
AttheGranisle deposit,nativeAuoccurs largely formation on the Grasberg, Dom,andBigGossan deposits,
asinclusions in bornire,whereas at the Bell deposit,native respectively.
Au is associated withehaleopyrite andpyrite.Mineralization
at Granisleoccurredat highertemperatures than at Bell October10, 1995;July9, 1997
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ERTSBERG,
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550 RUBIN AND KYLE

APPENDIX

Description
andLocationof Samples
Analyzedin ThisStudy
Sampleno. Location Description
DOZ-90R-8 2,960 m, stopeK6 Massive an-bn vein
DOZ~90R-9 2,960 m, K6 Massive
mt-bnorew/talc,qz,an
DOZ-90R-11 2,960 m, K2 Fo-phlog-mt-bn-an
skarn
DOZ-90R-20 2,910 m, KSE Qz-an-cpvein
DOZ-90R-29A,B 2,890 m, drill station6--Halloween vein Qz-an-bnvein
DOZ-90R-38 2,910m, J0 Massive
cp-an-phlog
orew/mt
DOZ-90R-39 2,910m, J0 Massive mt-bn ore
DOZ-91-R-2A,B 3,020 m, K4 Qz-an-bn_ phlog_+talc_+gypvug-fill
DOZ-91R-6 3,020 m, K4 Serp-bnvein
DOZ-91R-7 3,020m, J2 Endoskarn
DOZ-91R-19B 2,940 m, FW drift--Halloween vein access Aft fo-cpx-mt-bn
skarn
GBT-90R-4 3,558 m, drill drift 16 Alt gar-bn-id
skarn
GBT~90R-20 3,540m, panel5 Mineralized cc marble
GBT-91R-1A 3,495m, rampA Qz-py-cpAlteration
in Ertsberg
intrusion
GBT-91R-12-2 3,558 m, drill drift 3 Aft cpx-mont-fo-cc
skarn
IOZ-93R-7 3,370m, panel3 Mineralized fault BR
IOZ-93R-8 3,370m, panel3 Mineralized fault BR
IOZ-2R-20 3,388 m, drill drift 7 Qz-py-cp-bnveinin Ertsberg
intrusion
I3-5-123.6 3,411 m, IOZ core Serpentinized
fo-mt-bnskarn
I3-5-347 3,188 m, DOZ core Amp-an-mt-cp-bn skarn
MLA-91R-1B 2,910 m, DOZ-KSE Botryoidal
bn + Au _ gyp
M14-2-56.6 3,072 m, DOZ core Qz-bn-Auvein
DOM-89R-6 3,902m, panel4-1E Mt-cpskarnore
DOM-13-91M 3,940 m, accessdrift Mt-cp skarnore
DOM-19-91M 3,940 m, drill station6 Gar-cpskarnore
AH-90-4D Grasberg
UG, 3,735m Intermineral BR w/or,coarsebio,bn-cpore
GRS4-505 Grasberg
core,3,664m High-grade qz-cp-bn-mt-pystockwork
in EMGI
GRS37-62-53.8 Grasberg
core,3,678m Qz-cp-bn-mt-bio-orveincuttingprop/argillic
alt in LMGI
GRS37-112-200.75 Grasberg
core,3,587m Qz-cpveinlets_ tracesof othersulfides
in EMGI
GRS37-120-50.7 Grasberg
core,3,680m Mt-cp-bnmineralization in MMGI
GRS37-149-200.5 Grasberg
core,3,770m Bn-cpmineralizationin ringdike
GRS37-209-708 Grasberg
core,3,014m Qz-py-cp+ bn _+tn veinsin contactheavysulfidezone
GRS49A-92.9 Grasberg
core,4,036m Silicified
intrusive
rockwithqz-cp-pyveinletsin MMGI
GB1-5-237.9 Big Gossancore,3,101 m Massive py-ga-sl
+ cp _+asp
BG1-5-254.2 Big Gossancore,3,085 m Massive py-ga-sl+ asp___ep
BG1-5-254.9 Big Gossancore,3,084 m Coarsepy + ga _+sl _ asp
BG1-6-999.5 Big Gossancore,2,337 m Coarsepo +_py _+ga _+sl + asp_+Bi
BG1-6-1056.2 Big Gossancore,2,280 m Coarsepo + py _+ga _ sl _+asp
BGU4-2-56.6 Big Gossancore,2,874 m Ce-py-ga_+sl w/qz-py-Au-asp _+epveinlet

Abbreviations:alt = alteredor alteration;

amp= amphibole; an= anhydrite;arg-ic;argillic;
asp= arsenopyrite;Au = nativeAu;Bi = nativebismuth;
bio= biotite;bn = bornite;BR = breccia; cc = calcite;
cp = chalcopyrite;
cpx= clinopyroxene;fo = forsterite;
ga= galena; gar= garnet;
gyp= gypsum;
id = idaite;EMGI, MMGI, LMGI = early,middle,lateMainGrasberg intrusion
(MacDonald andArnold,1994);mont= monticellite; mt = magnetite;
or = orthoclase;
phlog= phlogopite; prop-it= propylitic;
py = pyrite;qz = quartz;
serp= serpentine; sl = sphalerite;
tn -- tennantite;
w/= with