Late Cretaceous Porphyry Research Articles

Episodic porphyry Cu (-Mo-Au) formation and associated magmatic evolution in Turkish Tethyan collage

Continental collision between Eurasia and Afro-Arabia in Turkey along the Pontide subduction zone, İzmir-Erzincan-Ankara suture zone, Bitlis-Zagros suture zone, and Aegean subduction zone generated a fertile metallogenic environment with calc-alkalic and alkalic porphyry Cu (-Mo-Au) and magmatic hydrothermal systems emplaced in narrow arc segments over limited time durations within major magmatic events in the late Cretaceous to late Miocene. The major magmatic events represent multiple subduction zones that gradually stepped from north to south as small oceans closed during collisional events and the trench retreated or shifted southward as a result. Based on geological, new geochemical, and 40Ar/39Ar, U-Pb LA-ICP-MS geochronological data presented herein along with published data for igneous and hydrothermally altered rocks, four metallogenic episodes are defined; late Cretacecous, early-late Eocene, late Oligocene- early Miocene, and middle-late Miocene, in four geographically distinct regions, the Pontides in the north, the western Anatolian province in the west, central Anatolian Crystalline Complex, and the Southeastern Anatolian Orogenic Belt in the east central part of Turkey. Within those regions, porphyry Cu and intrusion-related hydrothermal systems begin in the late Cretaceous to the north, and generally young southward. They begin as porphyry Cu-Mo type, and tend to be more Au-rich from late Cretaceous to late Miocene. Published and new ages indicate early-late Cretaceous magmatic rocks in the Pontides were emplaced between ca. 131 and 65 Ma, peaking between ca. 88–76 Ma. Apart from the Re-Os molybdenite ages, published and new ages for porphyry Cu-related rocks and hydrothermal minerals from the Ayder, Konak, Esendal, Börekli, and Dereköy prospects indicate porphyry Cu formation near the end of that magmatic event (ca. 83–76 Ma). Published data indicate a somewhat shorter late Cretaceous magmatic event (86.5 to 70.3 Ma) peaking at ca. 86 to 80 Ma at the southeastern Anatolian orogenic belt with porphyry Cu systems reported to have formed contemporaneously. The latest Paleocene to early-late Eocene magmatism and porphyry-style hydrothermal systems are common across Turkey, with porphyry Cu systems formed in the eastern Pontides (58–37.9 Ma) based on the ages of their host rocks and syn-mineral stocks; in the western Anatolian province in the Tavşanlı porphyry belt (ca. 49.1–46.7 Ma) and the Biga porphyry belt (40.1–39.5 Ma), and in the Southeastern Anatolian orogenic belt (ca. 47 to 43 Ma). Oligocene-Miocene magmatism (30–18 Ma) and associated hydrothermal systems dominate during ca. 27.4 to 24.8 Ma the western Anatolian province in the Biga porphyry belt, but appear less common in other parts of Turkey except for the Cevizlidere porphyry deposit in the Southeastern Anatolian orogenic belt. Middle-late Miocene magmatism (ca. 16–8 Ma) and associated porphyry Cu systems predominate within the Afyon-Konya porphyry belt in western Anatolia, and contains the youngest porphyry related magmatic and hydrothermal systems (14.4–8.9 Ma).Calc-alkalic porphyry Cu ± Mo-Au systems dominate all belts except the Afyon-Konya porphyry belt where alkalic porphyry Au-Cu systems are present. The porphyry systems are dominantly metaluminous and medium to high-K rocks with a range in composition from diorite to granite, with monzonite and syenite associated with the alkalic porphyry systems. Late Cretaceous rocks have typical arc magma compositions except the Central Anatolian Crystalline complex, whereas Eocene to Miocene collisional to post-collisional rocks have compositional characteristic of arc magmas that over time interacted and assimilated by ancient crust and evolved toward slightly higher Sr/Y and La/Yb trace element characteristics. The trace element compositions along with rare earth element patterns share characterristics, typical of rocks associated with porphyry Cu-related magmas reflecting the hydrous and oxidized nature of the magmas.The late Cretaceous porphyry systems common in the Pontides form a portion of a belt of porphyry Cu deposits that included world-class deposits in Serbia and Bulgaria, and extend eastward into the Caucasus of Georgia, Armenia and Iran. Early-late Eocene porphyry systems in Pontides, western Anatolian province and southeastern Anatolian orogenic belt form clusters not extending the in the Balkans. Oligocene and Miocene porphyry systems are common in the adjoining countries in the Balkans and Iran, but are only known in the western Anatolia region of Turkey. Overall, the distribution of porphyry Cu systems reflects complex plate interactions involving subduction, collision of continental blocks, closure of small oceanic basins, and rapidly shifting axes of magmatic activity.

Zircon U–Pb, molybdenite Re–Os geochronology and Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf–O–S isotopic constraints on the genesis of Relin Cu–Mo deposit in Zhongdian, Northwest Yunnan, China

The Relin Cu–Mo deposit is located in Zhongdian, southern portion of the Yidun Terrane, which was spatially and temporally associated with the Late Cretaceous intrusions. Orebodies at Relin are mainly hosted by monzogranite porphyry and hornfels with mineralization styles of dissemination and quartz-sulfide vein. LA–ICP–MS zircon U–Pb dating of four monzogranite porphyries yields 206Pb/238U ages varying from 83.9 to 79.0Ma, with four weighted mean 206Pb/238U ages of 80.6±0.3Ma, 82.8±0.3Ma, 80.9±0.5Ma and 81.6±0.5Ma. Re–Os isotope analyses of molybdenite separates from quartz-vein and altered granite ores yield model ages ranging from 84.3 to 81.3Ma. Geochemically, the ore-related monzogranite porphyries are metaluminous to slightly peraluminous, with an aluminum saturation index of 0.95–1.10. They are moderately rich in alkalis with K2O contents of 3.22–5.47wt% and Na2O of 2.97–3.93wt%, belonging to the high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonite series. Low MgO (0.68–1.85wt%), Cr (8.14–16.67ppm) and Ni (4.46–12.94ppm), negative zircon εHf(t) values (−9.1 to −2.7) and whole-rock εNd(t) values (−7.7 to −5.8), and relatively high zircon δ18O values (5.8–7.3‰) and radiogenic Pb isotopic compositions suggest that the Relin monzogranite porphyries were most likely generated by partial melting of the ancient lower crust. The calculated Hf isotope crustal model ages of 1.5–1.2Ga and Nd-isotope depleted mantle ages of 1.2–1.1Ga indicate that the ancient lower crust might belong to the Mesoproterozoic era. In addition, the Relin intrusions display fractionated rare earth element patterns with high (La/Yb)N and Sr/Y ratios, but low (Dy/Ho)N ratios, indicating a garnet-bearing amphibolite source. Breaking down of amphibole during partial melting of lower crust would generate hydrous and high fO2 magmas, which are favorable magmas to form the porphyry Cu–Mo deposit. Positive δ34S values (3.6–4.7‰) of sulfides point to a magmatic source of sulfur and ore-forming fluids in the Relin deposit. These results collectively show that the Relin deposit is a Late Cretaceous porphyry Cu–Mo deposit. Intraplate extension along NNW-SSE-trending sinistral faults and shear zones triggered asthenospheric upwelling and underplating of mafic magma, thus induced the partial melting of ancient lower crust. This explanation might have revealed the mechanisms of ore-forming and magma-emplacement for the porphyry deposits occurred under intra-continental extensional settings.

Review of Mesozoic multiple magmatism and porphyry Cu–Mo (W) mineralization in the Yidun Arc, eastern Tibet Plateau

The Yidun Arc was formed in response to the westward subduction of Garze–Litang Ocean (a branch of Paleotethys) in the Late Triassic, where abundant porphyry Cu–Mo deposits (221–213Ma) developed along the regional NW–SE sinistral faults and emplaced in the southern portion of the arc. The ore-related porphyries are mostly metaluminous or slightly peraluminous, belonging to shoshonitic high-potassium calc-alkaline I-type granites, with εHf(t) values of −6.64 to +4.12. The ore-bearing magmas were probably derived from the partial melting of subduction-metasomatic-enriched mantle, with the contamination of underplated mafic materials. The Late Cretaceous (88–80Ma) highly fractionated I-type granite belt and related porphyry Cu–Mo deposits and magmatic-hydrothermal Cu–Mo–W deposits occur along approximately N–S-trending faults in the Yidun Arc. This belt extended across the Yidun Arc and Garze–Litang suture zone to the north and across the Yangtze Craton to the south, intruding the Late Triassic porphyry belt. The ore-related porphyries are characterized by high silica and high total alkalis, with enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs; Rb, U and K) and depletion in high field strength elements (HFSE; Nb, Ta, P and Ti) and Ba. They have lower εHf(t) values varying from −9.55 to −2.75, and significant negative Eu anomalies, indicating that the ore-bearing porphyritic magmas originated from ancient middle-upper crust. Two-stage magmatism and mineralization were superimposed in the Xiangcheng-Shangri-La district. Some ore deposits comprise two episodes of magmatism and associated mineralization such as both 207±3.0Ma granodiorite and 82.1±1.2Ma monzogranite intruded in the Xiuwacu deposit, causing Cu–Mo–W polymetallic mineralization. To date, 11 Late Triassic porphyry Cu deposits (e.g. the Pulang giant deposit with 5.1 Mt Cu), and five Late Cretaceous porphyry Cu–Mo (W) deposits (e.g. Tongchanggou Mo deposit with 0.59 Mt Mo) have been evaluated in the Xiangcheng-Shangri-La district. The continuity and inheritance of multiphase magmatism and the new understanding of superimposed mineralization will help to guide future exploration.

Multiple Mesozoic porphyry-skarn Cu (Mo–W) systems in Yidun Terrane, east Tethys: Constraints from zircon U–Pb and molybdenite Re–Os geochronology

Porphyry Cu±Mo±Au deposits typically formed in volcanoplutonic arcs above subduction zones. However, there is increasing evidence for the occurrence of porphyry deposits related to magmas generated after the underplating arc has ceased. Post-subduction lithospheric thickening, lithospheric extension, or mantle lithosphere delamination could trigger the remelting of subduction-modified arc lithosphere and lead to the formation of post-subduction porphyry deposits. The NNW-trending Yidun Terrane, located in the eastern Tethys, experienced subduction of Garze–Litang oceanic plate (a branch of the Paleotethys) in the Late Triassic and witnessed two mineralization events respectively associated with the ca. 215Ma arc-related intermediate–felsic porphyries and the 88–79Ma mildly-alkaline granitic porphyries. It is, therefore, an ideal place to investigate the genetic linkage between the subduction-related porphyry deposits and post-subduction porphyry deposits. Our new in situ zircon U–Pb dating of the two granitic intrusions (biotite granite, 213.4±0.9Ma; monzogranite porphyry, 86.0±0.4Ma) in the Xiuwacu district, the molybdenite Re–Os age (84.7±0.6Ma) of the mineralization, and previously published geochronological data, together show the spatially overlapping distribution of the multiple Mesozoic porphyry systems in the Late Triassic Yidun arc system. Furthermore, the arc-like elemental signatures and the mixed Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic signatures of the Late Cretaceous ore-related porphyries (i.e., originating from a mixed components between the ∼215Ma juvenile arc crust and the Mesoproterozoic mafic lower crust) indicate a genetic linkage between the Late Triassic and Late Cretaceous porphyry systems. This suggests that the remelting of underplated arc-related mafic rocks formed during the subduction of the Garze–Litang Ocean could be responsible for the mixing between the mantle-derived components and the Mesoproterozoic lower crustal materials, when post-subduction transtension occurred in the Late Cretaceous. The formation of the Late Cretaceous porphyry–skarn Cu–Mo–W deposits could most likely be related to the remelting of Late Triassic residual sulfide-bearing Cu-rich cumulates in the subduction-modified lower crust that triggered by the Late Cretaceous transtension.

Timing of formation and origin of the Tongchanggou porphyry–skarn deposit: Implications for Late Cretaceous Mo–Cu metallogenesis in the southern Yidun Terrane, SE Tibetan Plateau

The newly-discovered Tongchanggou Mo–Cu porphyry–skarn deposit is located in the southern Yidun Terrane, SE Tibet, with more than 142.5metric ton resources (0.3metric ton @ 0.3% Mo, and 34kt @ 0.8% Cu) hosted in Permian to Triassic strata and Late Cretaceous granodiorite porphyry. Re–Os isotope analyses of molybdenite separates from skarn, granodiorite porphyry and the massive molybdenite orebody yield model ages ranging from 86.8 to 85.2Ma. LA-ICP-MS U–Pb dating of zircons from the ore-related granodiorite porphyry give 206Pb/238U ages ranging from 87.4 to 84.2Ma with a weighted mean 206Pb/238U age of 84.8±0.3Ma, indicating a temporal link between granitic magmatism and Mo–Cu mineralization. Geochemically, the ore-related granodiorite porphyries are metaluminous and have an adakite-like signature with relatively low MgO (1.32–1.58wt%), Cr (5.6–12.9ppm), Ni (3.79–10.81ppm), Mg# (43–52) values, and high Sr (304–844ppm), Sr/Y (21.2–50.8) and La/Yb ratios (37.0–60.1). They also display negative zircon εHf(t) values (−7.4 to −1.3) and negative whole-rock εNd(t) values (−5.3 to −4.2), as well as an older Hf–Nd model age, indicating that their magmas were derived from a thickened ancient lower crust within the garnet–amphibolite facies. Partial melting of ancient lower crust generated felsic magmas with high concentrations of Mo that accumulated within the ancient crustal components. Whereas, the copper mineralization is correlated to the remelting of residual sulfide cumulates in subduction-modified lower crust. The Late Cretaceous porphyry Mo–Cu metallogenesis in the southern Yidun Terrane is considered to be related to the transtensional faulting that triggered asthenospheric upwelling beneath the former sulfide-cumulated arc crust.

Late Cretaceous porphyry copper mineralization in Sonora, Mexico: Implications for the evolution of the Southwest North America porphyry copper province

Two porphyry Cu-Mo prospects in northern Sonora, Mexico (Fortuna del Cobre and Los Humos) located within the southwestern North American porphyry province have been dated in order to constrain the timing of crystallization and mineralization of these ore deposits. In Fortuna del Cobre, the pre-mineralization granodiorite porphyry yielded an U-Pb zircon age of 76.5 ± 2.3 Ma, whereas two samples from the ore-bearing quartz feldespathic porphyry were dated at 74.6 ± 1.3 and 75.0 ± 1.4 Ma. Four molybdenite samples from Los Humos porphyry Cu prospect yielded a weighted average Re-Os age of 73.5 ± 0.2 Ma, whereas two samples from the ore-bearing quartz monzonite porphyry gave U-Pb zircon ages of 74.4 ± 1.1 and 74.5 ± 1.3 Ma, showing a Late Cretaceous age for the emplacement of this ore deposit. The results indicate that Laramide porphyry Cu mineralization of Late Cretaceous age is not restricted to northern Arizona as previously thought and provide evidence for the definition of NS trending metallogenic belts that are parallel to the paleo-trench. Porphyry copper mineralization follows the inland migration trend of the magmatic arc as a result of the Farallon slab flattening during the Laramide orogeny.

Concealed Basalt-Matrix Diatremes with Cu-Au-Ag-(Mo)-Mineralized Xenoliths, Santa Cruz Porphyry Cu-(Mo) System, Pinal County, Arizona

The Santa Cruz porphyry Cu-(Mo) system near Casa Grande, Arizona, includes the Sacaton mine deposits and at least five other concealed, mineralized fault blocks with an estimated minimum resource of 1.5 Gt @ 0.6% Cu. The Late Cretaceous-Paleocene system has been dismembered and rotated by Tertiary extension, partially eroded, and covered by Tertiary-Quaternary basin-fill deposits. The mine and mineralized fault blocks, which form an 11 km (~7 miles) by 1.6 km (~1 mile) NE-SW–trending alignment, represent either pieces of one large deposit, several deposits, or pieces of several deposits. The southwestern part of the known system is penetrated by three or more diatremes that consist of heterolithic breccia pipes with basalt and clastic matrices, and subannular tuff ring and maar-fill sedimentary deposits associated with vents. The tephra and maar-fill deposits, which are covered by ~485 to 910 m (~1,600–3,000 ft) of basin fill, lie on a mid-Tertiary erosion surface of Middle Proterozoic granite and Late Cretaceous porphyry, which compose most xenoliths in pipes and are the host rocks of the system. Some igneous xenoliths in the pipes contain bornite-chalcopyrite-covellite assemblages with hypogene grades >1 wt % Cu, 0.01 ounces per ton (oz/t) Au, 0.5 oz/t Ag, and small amounts of Mo (<0.01 wt %). These xenoliths were derived from mineralized rocks that have not been encountered in drill holes, and attest to additional, possibly higher-grade deposits within or subjacent to the known system. The geometry, stratigraphy, and temporal relationships of pipes and tephras, interpreted from drill hole spacing and intercepts, multigenerational breccias and matrices, reequilibrated and partially decomposed sulfide-oxide mineral assemblages, melted xenoliths, and breccia matrix compositions show that the diatremes formed in repeated stages. Initial pulses of basalt magma fractured granite, porphyry, and other crustal rocks during intrusion, transported multi-sized fragments of these rocks upward, and partially melted small fragments. Rapid decompression of magma induced catastrophic devolatilization that ruptured overlying rocks to the surface, and generated fragment-volatile suspensions that abraded conduits into near-vertical cylindrical structures. Fragments entrained in suspensions were milled and sorted, and ejected as basal surge, pyroclastic deposits, and airfall tephra that built tuff rings around vents and filled vent depressions. Comminuted m- to mm-sized fragments of wall rocks in magma and suspensions that remained in conduits solidified as heterolithic breccias. Subsequent pulses of basalt magma ascended through the same conduits, brecciated older heterolithic breccias, devolatilized, and quenched, leaving two or more generations of nested and mingled heterolithic breccias and internal zones of fluidized fragments. Tephra and maar-fill deposits from later eruptions are composed of more hydrous and oxidized minerals than earlier tephras, reflecting a higher proportion of water in transport fluid which, based on fluid inclusion populations in mineralized xenoliths, was saline water and CO2. The large vertical extent (~600 m; ~2,000 ft) of basalt matrix in pipes, near-paleosurface matrix vesiculation, and plastically deformed basalt lapilli indicates that diatreme eruptions were predominantly phreatic. Diatreme xenoliths represent crustal stratigraphy and, as in the Santa Cruz system, provide evidence of concealed mineral resources that can guide exploration drilling through cover. Vectors to the source of bornite-dominant xenoliths containing >1% Cu and significant Au and Ag could be determined by refinement of breccia pipe geometries, by reassembly of mineralized fault blocks using modal, chemical, and temporal characteristics of hydrothermal mineral assemblages and fluid inclusions, and by paleodrainage analysis.

Geochronology of the Hongniu-Hongshan porphyry and skarn Cu deposit, northwestern Yunnan province, China: Implications for mineralization of the Zhongdian arc

The Hongniu-Hongshan porphyry and skarn copper deposit is located in the Triassic Zhongdian island arc, northwestern Yunnan province, China. Single-zircon laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry U–Pb dating suggests that the diorite porphyry and the quartz monzonite porphyry in the deposit area formed at 200Ma and 77Ma, respectively. A Re–Os isotopic date of molybdenite from the ore is 78.9Ma, which indicates that in addition to the known Triassic Cu–(Au) porphyry systems, a Late Cretaceous porphyry Cu–Mo mineralization event also exists in the Zhongdian arc. The quartz monzonite porphyry shows characteristics of a magnetite series intrusion, with a high concentration of Al, K, Rb, Ba, and Pb, low amount of Ta, Ti, Y, and Yb, and a high ratio of Sr/Y (average 26.42). The Cretaceous porphyry also shows a strong fractionation between light and heavy rare earth elements (average (La/Yb)N 37.9), which is similar to those of the Triassic subduction-related diorite porphyry in the Hongniu-Hongshan deposit and the porphyry hosting the Pulang copper deposit. However, in contrast to the older intrusions, the quartz monzonite porphyry contains higher concentrations of large ion lithophile elements and Co, and lesser Sr and Zr. Therefore, whereas the Triassic porphyry Cu–(Au) mineralization is related to slab subduction slab in an arc setting, the quartz monzonite porphyry in the Hongniu-Hongshan deposit formed by the remelting of the residual oceanic slab combined with contributions from subduction-modified arc lithosphere and continental crust, which provided the metals for the Late Cretaceous mineralization.

Geological Analysis of Aeromagnetic Data from Southwestern Alaska: Implications for Exploration in the Area of the Pebble Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo Deposit

Aeromagnetic data are used to better understand the geology and mineral resources near the Late Cretaceous Pebble porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit in southwestern Alaska. The reduced-to-pole (RTP) transformation of regional-scale aeromagnetic data shows that the Pebble deposit is within a cluster of magnetic anomaly highs. Similar to Pebble, the Iliamna, Kijik, and Neacola porphyry copper occurrences are in magnetic highs that trend northeast along the crustal-scale Lake Clark fault. A high-amplitude, short- to moderate-wavelength anomaly is centered over the Kemuk occurrence, an Alaska-type ultramafic complex. Similar anomalies are found west and north of Kemuk. A moderate-amplitude, moderate-wavelength magnetic low surrounded by a moderate-amplitude, short-wavelength magnetic high is associated with the gold-bearing Shotgun intrusive complex. The RTP transformation of the district-scale aeromagnetic data acquired over Pebble permits differentiation of a variety of Jurassic to Tertiary magmatic rock suites. Jurassic-Cretaceous basalt and gabbro units and Late Cretaceous biotite pyroxenite and granodiorite rocks produce magnetic highs. Tertiary basalt units also produce magnetic highs, but appear to be volumetrically minor. Eocene monzonite units have associated magnetic lows. The RTP data do not suggest a magnetite-rich hydrothermal system at the Pebble deposit. The 10-km upward continuation transformation of the regional-scale data shows a linear northeast trend of magnetic anomaly highs. These anomalies are spatially correlated with Late Cretaceous igneous rocks and in the Pebble district are centered over the granodiorite rocks genetically related to porphyry copper systems. The spacing of these anomalies is similar to patterns shown by the numerous porphyry copper deposits in northern Chile. These anomalies are interpreted to reflect a Late Cretaceous magmatic arc that is favorable for additional discoveries of Late Cretaceous porphyry copper systems in southwestern Alaska.

Late Cretaceous porphyry Cu and epithermal Cu–Au association in the Southern Panagyurishte District, Bulgaria: the paired Vlaykov Vruh and Elshitsa deposits

Vlaykov Vruh–Elshitsa represents the best example of paired porphyry Cu and epithermal Cu–Au deposits within the Late Cretaceous Apuseni–Banat–Timok–Srednogorie magmatic and metallogenic belt of Eastern Europe. The two deposits are part of the NW trending Panagyurishte magmato-tectonic corridor of central Bulgaria. The deposits were formed along the SW flank of the Elshitsa volcano-intrusive complex and are spatially associated with N110-120-trending hypabyssal and subvolcanic bodies of granodioritic composition. At Elshitsa, more than ten lenticular to columnar massive ore bodies are discordant with respect to the host rock and are structurally controlled. A particular feature of the mineralization is the overprinting of an early stage high-sulfidation mineral assemblage (pyrite ± enargite ± covellite ± goldfieldite) by an intermediate-sulfidation paragenesis with a characteristic Cu–Bi–Te–Pb–Zn signature forming the main economic parts of the ore bodies. The two stages of mineralization produced two compositionally different types of ores—massive pyrite and copper–pyrite bodies. Vlaykov Vruh shares features with typical porphyry Cu systems. Their common geological and structural setting, ore-forming processes, and paragenesis, as well as the observed alteration and geochemical lateral and vertical zonation, allow us to interpret the Elshitsa and Vlaykov Vruh deposits as the deep part of a high-sulfidation epithermal system and its spatially and genetically related porphyry Cu counterpart, respectively. The magmatic–hydrothermal system at Vlaykov Vruh–Elshitsa produced much smaller deposits than similar complexes in the northern part of the Panagyurishte district (Chelopech, Elatsite, Assarel). Magma chemistry and isotopic signature are some of the main differences between the northern and southern parts of the district. Major and trace element geochemistry of the Elshitsa magmatic complex are indicative for the medium- to high-K calc-alkaline character of the magmas. 87Sr/86Sr(i) ratios of igneous rocks in the range of 0.70464 to 0.70612 and 143Nd/144Nd(i) ratios in the range of 0.51241 to 0.51255 indicate mixed crustal–mantle components of the magmas dominated by mantellic signatures. The epsilon Hf composition of magmatic zircons (+6.2 to +9.6) also suggests mixed mantellic–crustal sources of the magmas. However, Pb isotopic signatures of whole rocks (206Pb/204Pb = 18.13–18.64, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.58–15.64, and 208Pb/204Pb = 37.69–38.56) along with common inheritance component detected in magmatic zircons also imply assimilation processes of pre-Variscan and Variscan basement at various scales. U–Pb zircon and rutile dating allowed determination of the timing of porphyry ore formation at Vlaykov Vruh (85.6 ± 0.9 Ma), which immediately followed the crystallization of the subvolcanic dacitic bodies at Elshitsa (86.11 ± 0.23 Ma) and the Elshitsa granite (86.62 ± 0.02 Ma). Strontium isotope analyses of hydrothermal sulfates and carbonates (87Sr/86Sr = 0.70581–0.70729) suggest large-scale interaction between mineralizing fluids and basement lithologies at Elshitsa–Vlaykov Vruh. Lead isotope compositions of hydrothermal sulfides (206Pb/204Pb = 18.432–18.534, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.608–15.647, and 208Pb/204Pb = 37.497–38.630) allow attribution of ore-formation in the porphyry and epithermal deposits in the Southern Panagyurishte district to a single metallogenic event with a common source of metals.

Late Cretaceous porphyry copper mineralization in Sonora, Mexico and the implications for the evolution of the SW North America porphyry copper deposit Province

Late Cretaceous porphyry copper mineralization in Sonora, Mexico and the implications for the evolution of the SW North America porphyry copper deposit Province

Carboniferous Orogenic Gold Deposits at Pataz, Eastern AndeanCordillera, Peru: Geological and Structural Framework, Paragenesis, Alteration,and 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology

The Pataz province forms the central part of a ≥160-km-long orogenic gold belt extending along the Eastern Andean Cordillera in northern Peru and has produced a total of 6 million ounces (Moz) gold from vein-type deposits during the last 100 yr. The deposits present several recurrent and typical field characteristics, including (1) at a regional scale, location of the mineralization in low-order structures within a 1- to 5-km-wide structural corridor east of a major north-northwest–striking lineament and in spatial association with the northnorthwest– striking margins of the 330 to 327 Ma Pataz batholith; (2) at the mine scale, strong lithological controls of the vein geometries and styles, the lodes occurring as fairly continuous ≤5-km-long quartz veins inside or along the margins of the batholith or as branching and bedding-concordant narrow ore shoots within adjacent folded Ordovician turbidite sequences; (3) consistent orientations of veins, in particular within the batholith, where more than 80 percent of the quartz veins are emplaced in north- to northwest-striking, eastdipping, brittle-ductile deformation zones; (4) a consistent Au, Ag, As, Fe, Pb, Zn, ±Cu, ±Sb, ±Bi-Te-W metal association and a sulfide-rich paragenetic sequence, with a first stage composed of milky quartz, pyrite, arsenopyrite, and ankerite and a second stage of blue-gray microgranular quartz, galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, Sb sulfosalts, electrum, and native gold, followed by barren calcite-dolomite-quartz veinlets; and (5) hydrothermal alteration of the vein wall rocks, consisting of pervasive muscovite alteration with minor chlorite, carbonate minerals, and pyrite associated with strong bleaching in plutonic rocks, and of weak muscovite and chlorite alteration in sedimentary rocks. Structural analysis of the deposits outlines four synchronous sets of mineralized fractures in the Pataz district. The predominant north- to northwest-striking, east- to northeast-dipping system, which is generally located in reactivated reverse faults, accounts for more than 80 percent of the gold resource of the district. Three subordinate systems include, in decreasing order of economic importance, (1) east-west–striking flat extensional veins, (2) bedding-concordant veinlets in east-west–striking and north-dipping to north-south–striking and east-dipping limbs of long wavelength folds in Ordovician sedimentary rocks, and (3) weakly mineralized roughly east-west–striking, sinistral vertical faults. The vein orientations of the four structural sets are compatible with a triaxial strain model, with the main shortening axis P oriented at 080°/15°, an intermediate axis oriented at 165°/00°, and a subvertical extensional T axis oriented at 255°/80°. Under these conditions, the richest ore shoots are preferentially sited in sinistral pull-aparts, which occur at the intersection of either north-south–striking lodes or extensional lodes with roughly east-west–striking vertical faults. 40Ar/39Ar dating of the granodiorite-monzogranite bodies of the Pataz batholith provides good plateau ages at 329.2 ±1.4 and 328.1 ± 1.2 Ma for biotite separates, which are similar to a published 329 Ma U/Pb age for the granodiorite. A muscovite and a biotite sample from an aplite dike yielded plateau ages at 322.1 ± 2.8 and 325.4 ± 1.4 Ma, respectively. Muscovite samples from alteration intimately associated with the gold mineralization yielded three 40Ar/39Ar spectra with low-temperature staircase-shaped patterns followed by plateau segments at 314 to 312 Ma. These ages, analytically indistinguishable at the 2σ level, are considered to be the most probable ages for the mineralization event. Three other plateaulike ages between 305 and 288 Ma have been obtained and are interpreted to reflect partial argon loss during late fluid circulation associated with the intrusion of Late Cretaceous monzonite porphyries. The age determinations are inconsistent with a genetic link between the 314 to 312 Ma Pataz gold deposits and the 330 to 327 Ma calc-alkaline Pataz batholith, or with the 327 to 319 Ma aplite dikes, or the Late Cretaceous porphyry magmatism. Instead, the overall homogeneity of the structural, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of the deposits over the ≥160-km-long mineralized belt and the geotectonic evolution suggest that gold mineralization is linked to a large-scale thermal event that occurred in a thickened collisional belt undergoing uplift tectonics.

LATE AND MID-CRETACEOUS MINERALIZATION IN THE NORTHERN CANADIAN CORDILLERA: CONSTRAINTS FROM Re-Os MOLYBDENITE DATES

New Re-Os molybdenite dates are presented from three deposits (Casino, Cash, and Mt. Nansen) in the Dawson Range, Yukon, northern Canadian Cordillera. The Re-Os molybdenite dates provide constraints on the timing of sulfide mineralzation, and together with 40 Ar/ 39 Ar and K-Ar mineral dates yield estimates for the longevity of the porphyry hydrothermal system. At the Casino deposit, Re-Os molybdenite dates associated with the potassic (75.05 ± 0.28; 74.69 ± 0.28 Ma) alteration are nominally older to overlapping with Re-Os molybdenite dates (~74.4 ± 0.28 Ma, n = 2) with phyllic alteration and suggest that it is likely that potassic and phyllic mineralization-alteration was contemporaneous. The Re-Os molybdenite dates are significantly older than hydrothermal K feldspar 40 Ar/ 39 Ar and K-Ar biotite dates (~72 Ma), which most likely reflect the cessation of the porphyry hydrothermal system. The molybdenite age data combined with silicate hydrothermal mineral dates suggest a porphyry hydrothermal system longevity of 4.16 to 1.94 (Casino), 8.66 to 6.44 (Cash), and 2.47 to 1.48 Ma (Mt. Nansen). These longevity estimates for porphyry hydrothermal systems are greater than previously proposed (~ 50°C/km) may control the disparate Re-Os molybdenite and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar K feldspar dates of the porphyry systems of this study. The contrasting Re-Os and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dates clearly show the Re-Os isotope system in molybdenite is resistant to prolonged (~1 Ma) interaction with a high-temperature (400°-500°C) hydrothermal fluid, and that the Re-Os isotope systematics in molybdenite unambiguously record directly the timing of sulfide mineralization. This ability to directly date sulfide mineralization has identified mid- (Pattison, Idaho Creek, ~102-104 Ma) and Late Cretaceous (Zappa-Koffee, ~74.5 Ma) mineralization, which is hosted by the mid-Cretaceous (~104-102 Ma) Casino Plutonic Suite. The Late Cretaceous date is very similar to that for molybdenite mineralization at Casino, and we suggest that the Zappa-Koffee mineralization is an area of Late Cretaceous porphyry mineralization, for which the host pluton has not yet been discovered.

Evidence for a nonmagmatic component in potassic hydrothermal fluids of porphyry cu-Au-Mo systems, Yukon, Canada

Isotopic (H, Sr, Pb, Ar) and fluid inclusion data for hydrothermal fluids associated with potassic alteration from three Late Cretaceous porphyry Cu occurrences, west central Yukon, suggest a nonmagmatic fluid component was present in these hydrothermal fluids. Potassic stage quartz veins contain a dominant assemblage of saline and vapor-rich fluid inclusions that have δD values between −120 and −180‰. Phyllic stage quartz veins are dominated by vapor-rich fluid inclusions and have δD values that overlap with but are, on average, heavier (−117 to −132‰) than those in potassic stage quartz veins. These δD values are significantly lower than those from plutonic quartz phenocrysts (−91 to −113‰), and from values typically reported for primary fluids from porphyry-style mineralization (−40 to −100‰). The initial Sr ( 87Sr/ 86Sr i) isotopic values for the plutons are 0.7055 (Casino), 0.7048 (Mt. Nansen), and 0.7055 (Cash). The 87Sr/ 86Sr i compositions of hydrothermal K-feldspar ranges from magmatic Sr i values to more radiogenic compositions (Casino: 0.70551–0.70834, n = 8; Mt. Nansen: 0.7063–0.7070, n = 4; Cash: 0.7058, n = 1). The fluid inclusion waters from potassic quartz veins have 87Sr/ 86Sr i values that are similar to those of co-existing hydrothermal K-feldspar. The Pb isotopic compositions of hydrothermal K-feldspar show a weak positive correlation with Sr i for identical samples. Fluid inclusion waters of phyllic quartz veins also have Sr i compositions more radiogenic than the plutons. The Pb isotopic composition of pyrite and bornite from phyllic alteration veins are similar to, or more radiogenic than, hydrothermal K-feldspar Pb isotopic values. Hydrothermal K-feldspar samples yield 40Ar/ 39Ar ages (Casino = 71.9 ± 0.7 to 73.4 ± 0.8 Ma; Mt. Nansen = 68.2 ± 0.7 and 69.5 ± 0.6 Ma; Cash = 68.3 ± 0.8 Ma) similar to the U-Pb zircon, K-Ar biotite and Re-Os molybdenite ages of the Late Cretaceous plutons, with the age spectra indicating no excess 40Ar or disturbance. The 40Ar/ 36Ar values (285–292) of the K-feldspar samples are similar to the atmospheric compositions (295 ± 5) during Late Cretaceous time. The H, Sr, Pb, and Ar isotopic compositions of hydrothermal K-feldspar and quartz vein fluid inclusion waters that characterize the potassic hydrothermal fluids show evidence for an exotic component in addition to magmatic water (fluid). This component has a low δD, radiogenic Sr and Pb, and an atmospheric Ar composition. The inheritance of pre-existing isotope compositions from the host rocks, postpotassic alteration isotope exchange, or the replenishment of the magma chamber with magma of different isotopic composition cannot explain the isotope data. We suggest that to generate the observed H, Sr, Pb, and Ar isotope compositions, crustal fluids must be a component (15–94%) of potassic hydrothermal fluids in porphyry mineralization in the deposits studied.

Major and trace element compositions and Sr-Nd-Pb systematics of crystalline rocks from the Dawson Range, Yukon, Canada

Geochemical (major, trace, and rare earth elements) and isotopic (Nd, Sr, and Pb) data of the Devono-Mississippian Wolverine Creek Metamorphic Suite, mid-Cretaceous Dawson Range batholith, mid-Cretaceous Casino Plutonic Suite, and Late Cretaceous plutons provide new information on the origin and evolution of the rocks from the Dawson Range in west-central Yukon, northern Canadian Cordillera. Isotopic and other geochemical data for the Wolverine Creek Metamorphic Suite metasedimentary rocks indicate that the detrital components were derived from two distinct provenances: (1) the North America craton, which contributed evolved felsic, upper crustal material; and (2) a calc-alkaline arc, which shed juvenile mafic-intermediate material. The geochemical affinity of the metaigneous rocks indicates that the Yukon-Tanana terrane represented a continental arc during Devonian-Mississippian times, with magmas derived from geochemically primitive sources and partial melting of the Yukon-Tanana terrane supracrustal rocks. The Dawson Range batholith likely represents crustally derived magmas from the Yukon-Tanana terrane during the mid-Cretaceous, with the contemporaneous Casino Plutonic Suite representing a late-stage fractionate of these magmas. The Late Cretaceous porphyry Cu mineralization is genetically related to plutons derived from mantle-source magmas related to active subduction.

Major and trace element compositions and Sr-Nd-Pb systematics of crystalline rocks from the Dawson Range, Yukon, Canada

Geochemical (major, trace, and rare earth elements) and isotopic (Nd, Sr, and Pb) data of the Devono- Mississippian Wolverine Creek Metamorphic Suite, mid-Cretaceous Dawson Range batholith, mid-Cretaceous Casino Plutonic Suite, and Late Cretaceous plutons provide new information on the origin and evolution of the rocks from the Dawson Range in west-central Yukon, northern Canadian Cordillera. Isotopic and other geochemical data for the Wolverine Creek Metamorphic Suite metasedimentary rocks indicate that the detrital components were derived from two distinct provenances: (1) the North America craton, which contributed evolved felsic, upper crustal material; and (2) a calc-alkaline arc, which shed juvenile mafic-intermediate material. The geochemical affinity of the metaigneous rocks indicates that the Yukon-Tanana terrane represented a continental arc during Devonian-Mississippian times, with magmas derived from geochemically primitive sources and partial melting of the Yukon-Tanana terrane supracrustal rocks. The Dawson Range batholith likely represents crustally derived magmas from the Yukon-Tanana terrane during the mid-Cretaceous, with the contemporaneous Casino Plutonic Suite representing a late-stage fractionate of these magmas. The Late Cretaceous porphyry Cu mineralization is genetically related to plutons derived from mantle-source magmas related to active subduction.