GEOENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF EPITHERMAL AND PORPHYRY

DEPOSITS
Geoffrey S. Plumlee, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO 80225
Plumlee, G.S. (1998): Geoenvironmental Characteristics of Epithermal and Porphyry Deposits;
in Metallogeny of Volcanic Arcs, B.C. Geological Survey, Short Course Notes, Open File 1998-8,
Section P.
ABSTRACT
The geologic characteristics of mineral deposits exert important and predictable controls on both
the natural environmental signatures of mineralized areas prior to mining (such as natural acidrock drainage and metal-bearing stream sediments) and the environmental signatures that
result from mining and mineral processing (such as mine-drainage and tailings waters, mine
wastes, and smelter emissions). A good understanding of the environmental geology of mineral
deposits is therefore key to the development of effective mining-environmental prediction,
mitigation, and remediation practices.
The environmental signatures of adularia-sericite epithermal deposits (such as Creede and
Sunnyside, Colorado) can vary greatly within a district, deposit, and vein, due to the geologic
complexity of the deposits (marked by strong mineral zoning, complex fracture-controlled
ground water flow, and highly variable wallrock alteration). The abundance of carbonate in
gangue and wallrock alteration in many of these deposits can lead to relatively near-neutral-pH
mine- and natural-drainage waters; however, due to the enrichemnt of Zn and Mn in most ores
and the relatively high mobility of these metals over a relatively broad pH range, near-neutral
drainage waters frequently carry significant quantities of Zn and Mn in solution (as high as 100
ppm) and sorbed on suspended particulates (total concentrations as high as several hundreds
of ppm). In contrast carbonate-poor, sulfide-rich ores, such as occur in some veins at Creede,
can have quite acidic (pH 3-5) drainage waters with high levels of dissolved or particulate Fe, Al,
Cu, Zn, Pb, As, and other metals (tens to hundreds of ppm).
The geoenvironmental characteristics of high-sulfidation (quartz-alunite, acid-sulfate) epithermal
deposits (such as Summitville, Colorado, Round Mountain, Nevada, and Julcani, Peru) strongly
reflect the intense pre-ore acid sulfate alteration of the deposit host rocks by magmatic gas
condensates. The acid-sulfate alteration (which produced core zones of vuggy silica, quartzalunite, and quartz-kaolinite, flanked by argillic and then propylitic assemblages) essentially
removed all acid-buffering capacity from the host rocks in the cores of the deposits. Subsequent
to the acid-sulfate alteration events, hydrothermal fluids deposited pyrite, marcasite, enargite,
covellite, chalcocite, native sulfur, and barite in the intensely altered rocks. The net results of the
alteration and mineralization processes are deposits which, unless completely oxidized during
exposure and weathering, have extreme acid generating potential and minimal acid-buffering
potential in their main ore zones. These characteristics are manifested in the compositions of
mine waters and natural waters draining unmined deposits. In general, the mine waters draining
the acid-sulfate alteration zones are highly acidic (pH 2-3), with high to extreme concentrations
of dissolved metals such as: Fe and Al (thousands to several tens of thousands of ppm); Zn, Cu,
and Mn (hundreds to low thousands of ppm); and As, Cr, Co, Ni, REE, U, Th, and Be (hundreds
of ppb to several ppm). Natural waters draining unmined, mineralized, acid-sulfate-altered rocks
tend to have generally similar ranges of pH values and Fe and Al concentrations to those of the
mine waters, but somewhat lower levels of Zn, Cu, and other metals, due to the lack of sulfide
exposure at the ground surface. From an exploration and production standpoint, quartz-alunite
epithermal deposits that will have the lowest potential environmental mitigation costs are those
that either were completely oxidized prior to mining, or that occur in very dry climates where
mining activity does not intersect the water table.
Porphyry-Cu and Cu-Mo deposits, as well as Climax-type porphyry-Mo deposits, tend to
discharge quite acidic (pH 2-4), mine waters with elevated Al and Fe (hundreds to thousands of
ppm), and Cu and Zn (several hundreds of ppm) from their core potassic and phyllic alteration
zones; due to the low contents of Zn in the high-grade porphyry ores, the waters are generally
enriched in Cu relative to Zn. Waters with near-neutral pH (6-7) and generally low levels of

dissolved metals (less than several hundreds of ppm dissolved Zn, Cu, etc.) typically drain the
distal, carbonate-bearing propylitic alteration zones of prophyry deposits. Natural waters
draining the potassic and phyllic zones of unmined porphyry deposits can be quite acidic and Aland Fe-rich. However, natural drainge waters thend to have lower concentrations of metals such
as Cu and Zn than mine waters draining geologically similar ore types, unless the Cu-sulfides
were exposed at the ground surface by rapid physical erosion or glaciation. Due to the
abundance of U and F in the Climax-type porphyry Mo deposits, the mine drainage waters can
have quite high dissolved concentrations of F (as high as 700-800 mg/L) and U (as high as 8-9
ppm).
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Last Updated June 13, 2003