Introduction to the Special Issue Devoted to Alkalic Porphyry Cu-Au and Epithermal Au Deposits

Abstract

This special issue is devoted to alkalic porphyry Cu-Au and epithermal Au deposits and focuses on two regions: British Columbia, Canada (Fig. 1), and the Southwest Pacific region (Australia and Papua New Guinea: Fig. 2). The special issue commences with a review of Triassic to Jurassic metallogeny of British Columbia (Logan and Mihalynuk, 2014), then documents ore zones from several alkalic deposits (Central zone, Galore Creek—Micko et al., 2014; Southwest zone, Galore Creek—Byrne and Tosdal, 2014; Northeast zone, Mt. Polley—Pass et al., 2014; Lower Main zone, Lorraine—Bath et al., 2014; Mt. Milligan—Jago et al., 2014) and provides a comprehensive overview of mineralization in the Lorraine district (Devine et al., 2014). Four contributions document alkalic porphyry and epithermal deposits in New South Wales (Northparkes—Harris and Holcombe, 2014; Endeavour 41—Zukowski et al., 2014; Endeavour 42—Henry et al., 2014; Cadia—Harris et al., 2014). The final contribution uses the results of mapping and core logging in order to resolve the physical volcanology and hydrothermal evolution of the giant Ladolam alkalic epithermal gold deposit, Papua New Guinea (Blackwell et al., 2014). Eight of these papers are the outcome of a collaborative project between the Mineral Deposit Research Unit (MDRU) at the University of British Columbia, the Australian Research Council’s Centre for Excellence in Ore Deposits (CODES) at the University of Tasmania, and industry partners. The remaining are based on work by the British Columbia Geological Survey (Logan and Mihalynuk, 2014), Teck Resources Ltd. (Devine et al., 2014), a research collaboration between CODES and Newcrest Mining Ltd. (Harris et al., 2014), and the University of Queensland (Harris and Holcombe, 2014). Fig. 1 Terrane map and location of selected alkalic porphyry Cu-Au deposits of British Columbia. Deposits that are the subject of …