Porphyry Deposits

The Importance of Porphyry Deposits

as a Copper and Gold Resource
Gold Resources

Copper Resources

A Geological Cross Section through the Batu

Hijau Porphyry Deposit, Indonesia
(920 million tons of ore grading 0.55 wt.% Cu, 0.42 g/t Au)

Batu Hijau Porphyry Cu-Au Deposit, Indonesia

Batu Hijau Porphyry Cu-Au Ores

Hypogene

Supergene
Malachite

Bornite

Chalcopyrite

Spatial Distribution of Porphyry Deposits

The Origin of Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo

Magmas Hydration Melting

Porphyry-epithermal-skarn system - overview

Idealized Porphyry Alteration/Mineralization

(Lowell and Gilbert, 1970)

Schematic Porphyry-Epithermal Alteration

Sillitoe (2010)

Porphyry Ore and

Alteration Textures
Potassic Alteration

Bornite
Chalcopyrite

High Grade Ore

Phyllic Alteration

Potassic Alteration Revealed by Staining

Hydrothermal Alteration Chemical Controls

3KAlSi3O8 + 2H+ = KAl3Si3O10(OH)2 + 6SiO2 + 2K+

K-feldspar
Quartz
Muscovite
2KAl3Si3O10(OH)2 + 2H+ + 3H2O = 3Al2Si2O5(OH)4 + 2K+
Muscovite
Kaolinite

Metal Zonation in Porphyry Systems

Bingham

Mineral Park

Tectonic Setting of Porphyry Deposits

Porphyry metal associations as a

function of intrusive composition

Fluid Overpressure and Porphyry Ore Formation

Porphyry-Epithermal System Evolution

Fluid Inclusions in Porphyry Ore Depositing

Systems
LV inclusions

VL inclusions

LVHS inclusions
Aqueous-carbonic
Fluid inclusion

Primary, Pseudosecondary and Secondary

Fluid Inclusions

100 m

Primary and
pseudosecondary
fluid inclusions in
dolomite

Fluid Inclusion Microthermometry

Salinity Determination from Ice Melting

Microthermometry of Aqueous Fluid Inclusions

Salinity Determination from Halite Dissolution

Isochores for Fluid Inclusions in the System H 2O

Isochores for Halite-bearing inclusions

Isochores for the System NaCl-H2O

P-T-X Relationships in the System NaCl-H 2O

Salinity-Temperature
Relationships in
Porphyry Systems

Note existence of high

temperature VL and LVS
inclusions. Evidence of
boiling or condensation?
Data from the Sungun
Cu-Mo porphyry, Iran
(Hezarkhani and
Williams-Jones, 1997)

Laser Ablation ICP-MS and Fluid inclusions

Stable Isotope Data for Porphyry Deposits

Chemical Controls on Ore Formation

Deposition of Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2)
CuClo +FeCl2o + 2H2S + 0.5O2= CuFeS2 + 3H+ + 3Cl- + 0.5H2O
Deposition favoured by an increase in f O2, an
increase in f H2S and an increase in pH
What about temperature?

Decreasing Temperature the Main Control

on Porphyry Copper Ore Formation

(Hezarkhani and Williams-Jones, 1998)

Cu-Mo Zoning in Porphyry Systems

Porphyry Cu-Mo
deposits are commonly
zoned with a deeper,
higher temperature
molybdenite-rich zone
and a shallower, lower
temperature
chalcopyrite-rich zone.

Cooling of an aqueous
fluid initially containing
2 m NaCl, 0.5 m KCl,
4000 ppm Cu and 1000
ppm Mo in equilibrium
with K-feldspar,
muscovite and quartz.

Magma Emplacement, and the Nature of

the Exsolved Fluid
0

F u m a r o le s
V o lc a n ic
a e r o s o ls

500

H a lite

L iq u id

Vapour

1 .5

600 C

1000

s
v

3
l

P a r titio n in g
o

1500

l
x

800 C

v
b

P o r p h y r y flu id in c lu s io n s

0 .0 1

0 .1

4 .5

M a g m a tic
F lu id

H 2O - N a C l

1 .0

N a C l (w t% )

10

100

D e p th (k m )

P re s s u re (b a r)

A Model for the Formation of Porphyry Deposits

Transport of Metals
by Vapour?

Fumarole emitting magmatic

gases at 600 oC

Summit of Merapi volcano, Indonesia

Extinct fumarole

Ilsemanite
Mo3O8.nH2O

The Bingham Porphyry Deposit - A Case

for the Vapour Transport of Copper
sylvite

NNW

SSE

liq uid

halite
10 m

hema tite
op aq ue

va por
va por

2.0

Sedimentary
Roc ks

2.5

upper lim it of
c ritic al-type
inc lusions

Paleo-depth
(km)

liq uid

10 m

va por

3.0

< 1 vol %
quartz veins
< 0.35% C u

liq uid

5-10 vol. %
quartz veins

va por

b ri n e i n cl u s io n s
v a p o r- ri ch i n cl u s io n s
c ri tic a l -ty p e i n cl u s io n s

Equigranular
monzonite

3.5

Quartz
monzonite
porphyry

c halc opyrite
10 m

(Williams-Jones and Heinrich, 2005)

The Solubility of Chalcopyrite in Water

Vapour

Increasing PH2O promotes hydration (and solubility)

and increasing temperature inhibits hydration.
Migdisov et al. (2014)

From Hypogene to Supergene

Hypogene

Supergene
Malachite

Bornite

Chalcopyrite

Supergene enrichment
Leached zone
Mineralized gravel

Oxidised zone

Barren gravel

Enriched zone

Mineralized bedrock

Primary zone

Leached zone acidity creation

FeS2 + H2O + 7/2O2= Fe2+ + 2SO42- + 2H+
CuFeS2 + 4O2= Fe2+ + Cu2+ + 2SO42-

Oxidised zone Fe and Cu oxides, acidity creation

2Fe2+ + 2H2O + 1/2O2 = Fe2O3 + 4H+;

2Cu+ + H2O = Cu2O + 2H+

Enriched zone reduction and sulphide deposition

2Cu+ + SO42- = Cu2S + 4O2

Supergene enrichment

Cu

Co

Eh

ve
ll

2+

ite

O
Malachite
Cu2(OH)2CO3
2

Cu

pri

te

Cu

Na
H
2O
H
2

pH

t iv
eC

Ch
a lc
oc

it e

References
Evans, A.M., 1993, Ore geology and industrial minerals, an introduction:
Blackwell Science, Chapter 14.
Pirajno, F. 2009, Hydrothermal processes and mineral systems, Springer,
Chapter 5.
Seedorff, E., Dilles, J.H., Proffett Jr, J.M., Einaudi, M.T., Zurcher, L., Stavast,
W.J.A, 2006, Porphyry Deposits: Characteristics and origin of
hypogene features in Hedenquist et Al. (eds) Economic Geology
One Hundreth Anniversary Volume, p.251-298.
Sillitoe, R.H., 2010, Porphyry copper systems: Econ. Geol., 195, 3-41.
Williams-Jones, A.E. and Heinrich, C.H., 2005, Vapor transport of metals and
the formation of magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposits: Econ. Geol.,
100, p.1287-1312.