Porphyry indicator zircons (PIZs): Application to exploration of porphyry copper deposits

Pizarro, H.; Campos, Eduardo; Bouzari, Farhad; Rousse, Sonia; Bissig, Thomas; Grégoire, Marilaure; Riquelme, Rodrigo

doi:10.1016/j.oregeorev.2020.103771

Cited by 30 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 82 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, routine simultaneous collection of geochronological and trace element data on zircon are now a realistic goal due to development of new technologies such as the Laser Ablation Split Stream (LASS), which allows for easy collection of trace element data alongside isotope data for geochronology. Collection of such data would not only allow application of the zircon IOCG exploration model developed by [15] and used in this study, but also previously published zircon chemical criteria for porphyry Cu-Au mineralisation [10,16]. Application of zircon geochemical exploration criteria for multiple commodities using the same dataset would be advantageous in greenfield exploration and broad terrane prospectivity analysis.…”

Section: Future Potentialmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Zircon from mineralised zones of the Carrapateena IOCG deposit records geochemical characteristics that can be distinguished from distal unaltered and altered equivalents [15]. Furthermore, the use of zircon chemistry as a fertility indicator was also demonstrated for porphyry Cu deposits [10,16]. Since zircon is a common accessory phase that readily survives surficial processes and incorporation into cover, analysis of the chemical characteristics of zircon preserved within cover units may potentially provide an exploration tool.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Recognising Mineral Deposits from Cover; A Case Study Using Zircon Chemistry in the Gawler Craton, South Australia

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Detrital zircon grains preserved within clasts and the matrix of a basal diamictite sequence directly overlying the Carrapateena IOCG deposit in the Gawler Craton, South Australia are shown here to preserve U–Pb ages and geochemical signatures that can be related to underlying mineralisation. The zircon geochemical signature is characterised by elevated heavy rare-earth element fractionation values (GdN/YbN ≥ 0.15) and high Eu ratios (Eu/Eu* ≥ 0.6). This geochemical signature has previously been recognised within zircon derived from within the Carrapateena orebody and can be used to distinguish zircon associated with IOCG mineralisation from background zircon preserved within stratigraphically equivalent regionally unaltered and altered samples. The results demonstrate that zircon chemistry is preserved through processes of weathering, erosion, transport, and incorporation into cover sequence materials and, therefore, may be dispersed within the cover sequence, effectively increasing the geochemical footprint of the IOCG mineralisation. The zircon geochemical criteria have potential to be applied to whole-rock geochemical data for the cover sequence diamictite in the Carrapateena area; however, this requires understanding of the presence of minerals that may influence the HREE fractionation (GdN/YbN) and/or Eu/Eu* results (e.g., xenotime, feldspar).

show abstract

Section: Future Potentialmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recognising Mineral Deposits from Cover; A Case Study Using Zircon Chemistry in the Gawler Craton, South Australia

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In particular, it was established that the values of Ce and Eu anomalies vary depending on ƒO 2 in the melt, and the rocks with potentially high fertility for the porphyry type of mineralization have high Ce/Ce* and Eu/Eu* values [6,22,[39][40][41]. For comparison, we analyzed the data on the content of rare and rare earth elements in zircon grains from different skarn and porphyry deposits of the world [5,6,42,43]. The results were plotted as a diagram of Ce/Ce* versus Eu/Eu*, and the data on porphyry (Figure 11a-c) and skarn (Figure 11d-f) deposits were plotted separately.…”

Section: Zircon Mineral Geochemistry As An Indicator For Magmatic Fertilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Rock-Forming (Biotite and Plagioclase) and Accessory (Zircon) Minerals Geochemistry as an Indicator of the Metal Fertility of Magmas by the Example of Au-Cu-Fe-Skarn Deposits in Eastern Transbaikalia

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many gold and gold-bearing complex deposits related to the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous magmatism are known in Eastern Transbaikalia. The largest deposits are the Lugokan, the Kultuma and the Bystrinsky. These deposits are in a paragenetic relationship with the Late Jurassic magmatic rocks of the Shakhtama complex. According to the available data, the total resources of gold in these three deposits are estimated to be approximately 443 tons: the Lugokan, Au~53 tons, Cu~302 thousand tons; the Kultuma, Au~121 tons, Cu~587 thousand tons, Fe~33 mln t; the Bystrinsky, Au~269 tons, Cu~2070 thousand tons, Fe~67 mln t. One of the main aims of this work was to reveal the criteria of fertility for the classical porphyry type, based on the specific geochemical features of rock-forming and accessory minerals. A comparison of the obtained results with other data on the large porphyry and skarn deposits of the world showed that the magmatic rocks of the Bystrinsky massif, specifically porphyry species dated 159.6–158.6 Ma, are potentially ore-bearing for the porphyry type mineralization. The magmatic rocks that widely occur at the Lugokan and Kultuma deposits are most close to the Fe-skarn deposits. The best indicators of the magma fertility for the porphyry rocks are Ce/Ce*, Eu/Eu*, Yb/Dy, (Ce/Nd)/Y in zircons. Thus, magmatic rocks characterized by Ce/Ce* > 100, Eu/Eu* > 0.4, Yb/Dy > 5.0 and (Ce/Nd)/Y > 0.01 may be classified as high fertile for the classical porphyry mineralization in Eastern Transbaikalia. The plagioclase and biotite chemistry data also showed that the magmatic rocks that occurred at the Bystrinsky deposit are the most fertile for the porphyry type mineralization. The magmatic rocks classified as ore-bearing porphyry type have Al* > 1 in plagioclase, high values of IV(F) and IV(F/Cl) and low ratios of X(F)/X(OH) in biotites. The assessment of the metal fertility of magmatic rocks is most effective in combination with data on both the composition of rock-forming and accessory minerals. The obtained data may be used to develop the methods of prediction and search for gold, copper and iron mineralization.

show abstract

“…Lu et al., 2015; Shu et al., 2019). Several studies, however, have demonstrated that these one‐dimensional zircon trace‐element ratios or binary classification diagrams for porphyry Cu deposits in different regions do not match well either with each other or with preexisting classification ranges (e.g., Chen et al., 2019; Pizarro et al., 2020; S. Zhong et al., 2019); this may be because some other zircon trace‐element signals that record information on magma fertility are not included in the classification, leading to false positives. Mathematically, zircon chemistry can be regarded as high‐dimensional vectors, which is challenging to fully represent and understand using traditional data visualization techniques.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of Machine Learning to Characterizing Magma Fertility in Porphyry Cu Deposits

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

With the global community moving toward a low-carbon future, the demand for minerals and metals has surged in the past decade (Ali et al., 2017). Despite the increased investment in mineral exploration, however, the rate of discovery of mineral deposits has steadily decreased (Lusty & Gunn, 2015). One of the main reasons for this is that large, shallow, and high-grade deposits have largely been identified and exploited, requiring exploration geologists to identify variably mineralized "blind" systems that are overlain by tens to hundreds of meters of barren cover (Brugger et al., 2010). To circumvent these challenges, new exploration methods and technologies are urgently needed to assist geologists in discovering new mineral deposits (Holliday & Cooke, 2007).Porphyry Cu deposits provide most of world's copper, as well as significant quantities of gold, molybdenum, and rhenium (Sillitoe, 2010), making them key exploration targets for the mining industry (Richards, 2016). These deposits form as a result of fluid exsolution derived from hydrous and oxidized magmas (Richards, 2015;Sillitoe, 2010) that are characterized by high Sr/Y, V/Sc, Sr/MnO, Ta/Nb, and Eu/Eu* ratios (Baldwin &

show abstract

Porphyry indicator zircons (PIZs): Application to exploration of porphyry copper deposits

Cited by 30 publications

References 82 publications

Recognising Mineral Deposits from Cover; A Case Study Using Zircon Chemistry in the Gawler Craton, South Australia

Recognising Mineral Deposits from Cover; A Case Study Using Zircon Chemistry in the Gawler Craton, South Australia

Rock-Forming (Biotite and Plagioclase) and Accessory (Zircon) Minerals Geochemistry as an Indicator of the Metal Fertility of Magmas by the Example of Au-Cu-Fe-Skarn Deposits in Eastern Transbaikalia

Application of Machine Learning to Characterizing Magma Fertility in Porphyry Cu Deposits

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About