Indonesian mineral deposits — introductory comments, comparisons and speculations

Abstract

Indonesia possesses a spectrum of precious- and base-metal deposits typical of Cenozoic volcanoplutonic arcs. Porphyry CuAu, porphyry Mo, skarn CuAu, sediment-hosted Au, low-sulphidation epithermal Au, high-sulphidation epithermal Au and volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) Au are all represented, although the first, third and fifth of these are to date the most important economically. Members of the porphyry CuAu and skarn CuAu classes comprise world-class orebodies. The porphyry Mo and sediment-hosted Au deposits are among the few representatives of these deposit types known from island-arc settings. The VMS deposits are of high-sulphidation affiliation and constitute type examples for this recently recognized VMS variety.