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Using mineral chemistry to aid exploration: a case study from the Resolution porphyry Cu-Mo deposit, Arizona

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posted on 2023-05-20, 15:01 authored by David CookeDavid Cooke, Jamie Wilkinson, Michael BakerMichael Baker, Agnew, P, Joshua Phillips, Chang, Z, Chen, H, Wilkinson, CC, Shaun Inglis, Hollings, P, Lejun ZhangLejun Zhang, John GemmellJohn Gemmell, White, N, Leonid Danyushevsky, Martin, H

The giant, high-grade Resolution porphyry Cu-Mo deposit in the Superior district of Arizona is hosted in Proterozoic and Paleozoic basement and in an overlying Cretaceous volcaniclastic breccia and sandstone package. Resolution has a central domain of potassic alteration that extends more than 1 km outboard of the ore zone, overlapping with a propylitic halo characterized by epidote, chlorite, and pyrite that is particularly well developed in the Laramide volcaniclastic rocks and Proterozoic dolerite sills. The potassic and propylitic assemblages were overprinted in the upper parts of the deposit by intense phyllic and advanced argillic alteration. The district was disrupted by Tertiary Basin and Range extension, and the fault block containing Resolution and its Cretaceous host succession was buried under thick mid-Miocene dacitic volcanic cover, obscuring the geologic, geophysical, and geochemical footprint of the deposit.

To test the potential of propylitic mineral chemistry analyses to aid in the detection of concealed porphyry deposits, a blind test was conducted using a suite of epidote-chlorite ± pyrite-altered Laramide volcaniclastic rocks and Proterozoic dolerites collected from the propylitic halo, with samples taken from two domains located to the north and south and above the Resolution ore zone. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) data of epidote provided indications of deposit fertility and proximity. Competition for chalcophile elements (As, Sb, Pb) between coexisting pyrite and epidote grains led to a subdued As-Sb fertility response in epidote, consistent with epidote collected between 0.7 and 1.5 km from the center of a large porphyry deposit. Temperature-sensitive trace elements in chlorite provided coherent spatial zonation patterns, implying a heat source centered at depth between the two sample clusters, and application of chlorite proximitor calculations based on LA-ICP-MS analyses provided a precisely defined drill target in this location in three dimensions. Drilling of this target would have resulted in the discovery of Resolution, confirming that epidote and chlorite mineral chemistry can potentially add value to porphyry exploration under cover.

Funding

Australian Research Council

AMIRA International Ltd

BHP Billiton Ltd

Newcrest Mining Limited

History

Publication title

Economic Geology

Volume

115

Issue

4

Pagination

813-840

ISSN

0361-0128

Department/School

School of Natural Sciences

Publisher

Society of Economic Geologists, Inc

Place of publication

United States

Rights statement

©2020 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.

Repository Status

  • Open

Socio-economic Objectives

Copper ore exploration; Precious (noble) metal ore exploration

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