Explorationsteps

1. Findadeposit
2. Assessitssize
(resource)
3. Measureitssize,
ExploringforHigh shapeandgrade
(reserve)
SulfidationDeposits
Lithocapsandotherenvironments
DavidRCooke,NoelCWhite
andZhaoshan Chang Cocañes lithocapandPerol porphyry
Maricunga belt,Chile CuͲAudeposit,Peru

Wheretolook Whattolookfor
• Volcanicbelt(arc,largeigneous • Hydrothermalalterationzoneson
province,riftorpostͲorogenic) geologicalmaps,satelliteimages
• Subaerial(HS,IS,LS)orsubmarine(HS) • Zonesofsubduedmagneticresponse
duetoalteration
• Tholeiitic(LS),calcͲalkaline(LS,IS,HS),or
alkalinecomposition(LS) • Vein/siliceousmaterial(floatin
creeks)
• Basementunderoriginalvolcanicbelts • Mineraloccurrences
• Proximal(HS)orintermediateͲdistal • Geochemicalanomalies(Au,Ag,As,Sb,
setting(LS,IS) Hg,Pb,Zn,Cu,Te,Se,Sn)
• Notdeeplyeroded;subsidence • Bewareofsteamheatedzones!
favourable
MassivequartzclastsinpyriteͲ
NativesulfurͲcementedbreccia,Yanacocha cementedbreccia,Yanacocha
 Explorationtools Usinggeochemistry
Geochemical distribution in North American epithermal
Hotspringdeposits deposits
Bonanzadeposits
• Geology
• Alterationmineralogyandzoning(SWIR) Mercury
• Veindistribution,mineralogyandtextures Antimony

• Satelliteimagesandgeophysicaldata Arsenic Antimony

Arsenic
• Geochemistry
• Geochemicalanomaliesandzoning
Gold
• Geophysics Gol
Silver
• Magneticlowsduetomagnetitedestruction d
Silver

• Resistivityhighsduetoquartzveinsand
alteration Base metals Base metals
• Chargeabilityhighsduetopyrite
Enargite,ElIndio,Chile ClarkeandGovett 1991afterBergerandEimon 1983andSilberman andBerger1985

Metallicmercury(grey)insilicasinteratPuhi Puhi,NewZealand
Mercuryformedbydecompositionofpinkmetacinnabar byexposuretolight
Thepatternisconsistent
• Therelativedistribution isconsistent,not
absolutelevels
• Fromsurfacedowntherewillbesuccessive
peaksin
• Mercury Elementlevelscanbeplotted
• Antimony directly,orratiosofelements
• Arsenic againstotherelements(e.g.,
Pb+Zn)canbeplottedto
• Gold
emphasisevariationsandreduce
• Silver variabilityduetototalmetal
• Base metals content
RedͲorangeAsͲSbsulfidesintheChampagnePoll,Waiotapu,NewZealand
RedͲorangeAsͲSbsulfidesinsurfaceprecipitatesatOsorezan,Japan

GreystibniteneedlesinsilicasinteratPuhi Puhi,NewZealand
Hydrothermalalteration
ƒ RemovesCa,Sr,Mg,Na,K
ƒ AddsSi,Al,K,Rb,Ba
NOTE:Theseelementscanappeartohave
increasedbecauseothermajorelements
wereremoved
ƒ Totalisstill100%soremovalofoneisbalancedby
apparentincreaseinothers
NOTE:SericiticalterationdoesnotmoveAl–
theKisaddedorremovedtoconverttheAl
tosericite
ƒ forKͲrichrocksthatcaninvolveremoval
ƒ forKͲpoorrocksitinvolvesaddition
QuartzͲalunitealteredporphyritic
quartzlatite,Summitville,Colorado
 UsingGeophysics
ƒ Untilrecentlygeophysicshasnot
beenamajortoolinepithermal
exploration
ƒ Geophysicscanbeamajorhelpin
exploration,butitmustbe
appliedwithunderstandingof
thegeologyoftargets
Yanacocha,Peru
IPSurveys
• IPisanimportanttoolinexploringfor
porphyrydeposits
• Many(notall)depositshavecentral
disseminatedore,surroundedbyahaloof
barrenpyrite– chargeabilityanomaly–MOST
USEFUL
• Somedepositshaveacentralzonewith
intensequartzveining– resistivityanomaly
BrecciatedcovelliteͲpyriteveininaluniteͲaltered
Granite,Zijin,China
MagneticSurveys
ƒ Magneticsurveysareveryvaluablefor
clarifying3Dgeology
ƒ Theymustbeusedcarefully withagood
appreciationofverticalvariationsinmagnetic
properties
ƒ Porphyryalterationcanaddmagnetiteor be
magnetitedestructive
ƒ Epithermalalterationisalways magnetite
destructive
Patchytexture,Caspiche,Chile
BUT...
ƒ Whatappliesinthedeeperporphyry
environmentisDIFFERENT intheshallow
epithermalenvironment
ƒ ALLepithermalalterationismagnetite
destructive
• lookinMAGNETICLOWS
ƒ Siliceousrocks(veins,vuggyquartz)are
typical
• lookforRESISTIVITYHIGHS
ƒ Sulfidecontentanddistributionvariable
• CHARGEABILITYLESSUSEFUL
BladedcovelliteͲpyriteveinin
aluniteͲalteredgranite,Zijin,China
 MartabehighsulfidationAudeposit,Indonesia Purnama highsulfidationAudeposit,Martabe,Indonesia

RTP magnetics
Gold in mag lows Hoschke 2011 Hoschke 2011

Purnama highsulfidationAudeposit,Martabe,Indonesia MartabehighsulfidationAudeposit,Indonesia

Purnama

Hoschke 2011 Hoschke 2011

 YanacochahighsulfidationAu(Cu)deposit,Peru Yanacocha
Alteration

• Goldhostedbyresistive
silicicͲalteredbodies

Resistivity
Goldie(2000)

Hoschke 2011 SlidecourtesyofTerryHoschke

TDEM1DRapidImage
YANACOCHA IPResistivityMap,CollahuasiDistrict,Chile
CORͲ14 SLTͲ1 CORͲ9 CORͲ16
Corimao Deposit
CORͲ17

logResistivity(ohmͲm)

0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5

CORͲ14 SLTͲ1 CORͲ9 CORͲ16

alluvialcover
CORͲ17

Alteration
Massivequartz quartz– clay/clay 140m/2.48g/t

Granularquartz Freshrock
188m/1.58g/t
200m
quartzͲ alunite
81m/5.82g/t

FromGoldie(2000)
 Yanacocha – AirborneMagnetics,ReducedtoPole
Radiometrics

ƒ UsuallydoneaslowͲcostadditionto
magneticsurveys
ƒ Valuevaries– becarefulhowyouinterpret
radiometricdata
ƒ Responsetoalterationdependsonhost
rockcomposition– bothpositiveand
negativeKanomaliesmaybesignificant
• Sericitised basalt– Kadded
• Sericitised rhyolite– Kremoved

RTPmagnetics:Epithermal
depositsnotapparentagainst FluoriteͲbearingbreccia,Baijiantan,HebeiProvince,China
Tealetal.(2010) backgroundintrusionsignatures

Yanacocha – AirborneRadiometrics Yanacocha – Gravity

Tealetal.(2010)

Radiometrics:K/Th ratioͲ HS

epithermaldepositsinlows NotenorthwestͲtrendingrelativelowsthatcorrespondtotheQuebrada
Tealetal.(2010) (i.e.,Kdepletion) Coloradograben (northeast)andtheLaQuinua graben (southwest)
 ExploringLithocaps
Explorationpotentialoflithocaps

• Theirpresenceindicatespotential forhighͲ
sulfidationand/orporphyrydeposits
• AMIRAprojectsP765,P765AandP1060
developedtoolsforexploringlithocaps
• Geochemistry MOSTLY
FOCUSEDON
• Mineralogy/mineralchemistry } THESE
• Texturalcharacteristics
• Mappingiscritical

Vuggyquartzwithdickiteinfill,Lepanto,Philippines
•Cathedral Peak, Cerro Casale

Mankayanlithocap,Luzon,Philippines Mankayandistrict,Philippines
(Changetal.,2011)
200km

MankayanDistrict
7.69MtCu,37MozAu
BaguioDistrict
2.7MtCu,35MozAu

FigurecourtesyofPaddyWaters,AngloAmerican,Philippines
 LateOligoceneto
midͲMiocene Pliocenevolcanism
Apaoan Slightlyyounger
volcaniclastics Balili 3.3Ͳ 1.8Ma,multipleeruptions
volcaniclastics

Imbanguila dacite porphyry

Mankayan (3.3– 1.8Ma)

basement
Imbanguila pyroclastics
geology (3.3– 1.8Ma)

CretaceousͲ
Paleogene
Lepanto
metavolcanics
12Ͳ13MaBagon
intrusive
complex

Qtz diorite
1km porphyry 1km

Youngvolcanism
<1.2Ma

Bato
pyroclastics
(1.2Ma)

Bato dacite
porphyry
(1.2Ma)

1km 1 km
Lapangan tuff
(0.19Ma) NWendoflithocap:qtzͲalunitecliffsatunconformity,withkaolinitehalo
 Mineralisation
LepantoHS:>0.9Mt
X Cu&102tAu

X:>1g/tAuinsilicicstructure Buaki porphyry:30Mt FarSoutheast:650Mt@0.65%

X Cu,1.33g/tAu
@0.4%Cu,0.5g/tAu

Cu,Mo,As,etc.:
<50ppbAu • Lowabundances
X • Noobvioustrends Victoriaveins,11Mt
@7.3g/tAu+AgͲCuͲ
orzonation Guinaoang,500Mt@
PbͲZn
patterns 0.4%Cu,0.4g/tAu
Teresaveins,0.8Mt
X @5.74g/tAu

Nayaksurfaceveins,
artisanal+0.3Mt@
1km 1km Mohong Hill
3g/tAu
porphyry+HS:100
Mtresource

Porphyry,lithocapandHSmineralization LepantoͲ FarSoutheast,Philippines

~1MtCu,4Moz Auand5MtCu,20Moz Au

alunite~1.4Ma • Upwardflareofleachingduetocooling
alunite~1.4Ma
• Hydraulicgradientcausesoffsetoflithocap fromcausativeintrusion
• Asymmetricalterationzonationlikelytherule ratherthanexception

200C

Dickite± kaolinite 300C

biotite~1.4Ma

Geneticrelationship betweenporphyryandlithocap
establishedbyArribasetal.(1995),Mancano and
QuartzͲalunite
Campbell(1995),Hedenquistetal.(1998)– dating;
fluidinclusionstudy;isotopegeochemistry LongsectionalongLepantofault
Dickite± kaolinite
Hedenquistetal.,1998;HedenquistandTaran,2010
 TargetingconcealedporphyryandHSoredeposits: Aluniteabsorptionpeakat~1480nmshifts
Whatinformationcanwegetfrom tohigherpositionclosertointrusivecentre
anapparentlybarrenlithocap?

Changetal.,2011

Alunite~1480nmpeakposition Alunitecompositions
(microprobedata) Ca
Ͳ RelatedtoNacontent

Huangite,
5.1wt%Ca

HigherNa/(Na+K)ratio
indicateshigherformation
temperature(Stoffregen
andCygan,1990)

Wavelengthpositionofthealuniteabsorptionfeatureata1480nm
Changetal.,2011 Changetal.,2011
 Alunitecompositions
TraceElementsinAlunite (LAͲICPMSdata) Sr

Alunitesupergroup:
>40mineralspecies

Jambor,1999
K,Na,Ag,Tl,NH4,H3O,Ca,Ba,
Pb,Sr,Zn,Cu,Th,Bi,REE
S6+,As5+,P5+

DG3(TO4)2(OH,H2O)6
Note:mostaluniteformedpriortothe
As3+,Fe3+,V,
mineralisationstageindepositswithore
Ga,Cu

Changetal.,2011

Alunitecompositions La,La/Pb,Sr/Pb increases, PIXEimage Pb

(LAͲICPMSdata) Pb Ag/Audecreases Alunitechemistry
Ionicradii:

Pb2+ (1.32) K+ (1.33) Na+ (0.98)

Sr2+ (1.27) Ca2+ (1.06)

Controlledbytemperature
~4000ppm

Pb

Sr

Changetal.,2011 ~7000ppm Changetal.,2011 ~950ppm

 Onlyplottingsampleswith nomineralfilterapplied Onlyplottingsampleswith alunitemineralfilterapplied
Cu<0.1%,Au<0.1ppm Pb (wholerockdata) Cu<0.1%,Au<0.1ppm Pb (wholerockdata)

Changetal.,2011 Changetal.,2011

Withoutapplyingamineralfilter,wholerockPb datadonotdefineanyobvioustrends FilteringthedatasothatonlyaluniteͲbearingsamplesmakesthetrendapparent

Onlyplottingsampleswith alunitemineralfilterapplied
Cu<0.1%,Au<0.1ppm Sr/Pb (wholerockdata)
Wholerockgeochemistry
– whyfilterthedata?
Changetal.,2011

Mineralizationoccurs
atalaterstage…

Mineralization

La/Pb increases;Hg,Ag,Ag/Au,Te,As/Zndecrease
 4kmlonglithocap
Decrease:
• Alunite:Pb,Ag/Au
• WholeͲrock(aluniteͲbearingonly):Pb,Ag,Ag/Au,Hg

Increase:
• SWIR:alunite1480nmpeakposition
• Alunite:La,La/Pb,Sr,Sr/Pb
• WholeͲrock(aluniteͲbearingonly):
La/Pb,Sr/Pb

Lithocapandoredeposits
– Schematiccrosssection
 Whentestingprospects… REMEMBER
ƒ Useallavailabledatasets youhaveto
ƒ Useobservationsandinterpretationsto
determinepositioninthesystem THINK!
ƒ Drilltointersectat>250° paleotemperature
ƒ Drillmore;drilldeeper Alwaysask:
• WhatdoIsee?
• Whatisittellingme?
Thechallengeisgreat; • HowcanIexplainall
Isee?
soisthereward! Thereisnomagic
FluoriteͲbearingbreccia,Baijiantan,HebeiProvince,China
shortcuttosuccess!