HRTEM/AEM study of trace metal behavior, sheet silicate reactions, and fluid/solid mass balances in porphyry copper hydrothermal systems

Abstract

Transmission electron microscopy has been used to investigate copper (Cu) incorporation into silicates and alteration reactions in porphyry copper deposits. High Cu in biotites results from submicroscopic inclusions of native Cu. The incorporation of Cu in low-temperature alteration lamellae suggests that Cu enrichment occurs during weathering, rather than during the hydrothermal event. Drill core from Cyprus Casa Grande, Arizona, shows systematic variation of Cu in sheet silicates as a function of depth in the weathering column. The aims of the present project are to apply the powerful techniques of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), and analytical electron microscopy (AEM) to understanding the geochemical processes in porphyry copper systems at the near-atomic scale. Our primary goals are to characterize the structural state of anomalously high Cu in silicates, determine the timing and conditions of Cu enrichment in silicates such as biotite, and use these data to suggest how base metals are released and subsequently immobilized under hydrothermal or weathering conditions; and to determine the submicroscopic, atomic-level reaction mechanisms responsible for silicate alteration in porphyry-copper hydrothermal systems, which will allow us to determine reaction stoichiometries and hence mass balances between minerals and hydrothermal fluid. 19 refs., 7 figs., 3 tabs.