Zircon crystallization and the lifetimes of ore-forming magmatic-hydrothermal systems

Quadt, Albrecht von; Erni, Michaela; Martinek, Klara; Moll, Melanie; Peytcheva, Irena; Heinrich, Christoph A.

doi:10.1130/g31966.1

Cited by 179 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…These age ranges are also in accordance with previous studies which concluded that the emplacement of an intrusion and the subsequent focusing of large fluid fluxes through it is likely to occur on a time scale of 10,000 to 100,000 years (Cathles, 1977(Cathles, , 2000Driesner and Geiger, 2007;von Quadt et al, 2011). Molybdenite Re-Os dates within and proximal to the Southern and Central Diorites cluster between 5.4 and 5.3 Ma and correlate well with crystallization ages for the Central Diorite (Maksaev et al, 2004).…”

supporting

confidence: 78%

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The Distribution and Timing of Molybdenite Mineralization at the El Teniente Cu-Mo Porphyry Deposit, Chile

et al. 2015

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supporting

confidence: 78%

“…We therefore infer that the youngest distributions of reliably dated, overlapping zircon ages (1σ) provide the best constraints for the timing of emplacement and final crystallization of each intrusion (cf. von Quadt et al, 2011).…”

Section: Geochronological Constraints On the Evolution Of El Tenientementioning

confidence: 99%

The Distribution and Timing of Molybdenite Mineralization at the El Teniente Cu-Mo Porphyry Deposit, Chile

et al. 2015

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“…The lifespan of these chambers, in which magmas fractionate and crystallize to form granitic plutons, is probably from 100,000 to >5 million years based on dating of plutonic phases [53][54][55] and the age range of associated overlying porphyry and/or volcanic systems [56][57][58] . This longevity is not possible without thermal rejuvenation, implying that the chambers grow by input of multiple batches of andesitic and/or more mafic magma from the deep crustal melt reservoir 59 .…”

Section: Crustal Staging Chambers For Porphyry Magmasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This typically requires the existence of stable flow systems over hundreds of thousands to millions of years, for which there is rarely good evidence. In the case of porphyry systems, numerical models and detailed geochronology suggest that an individual hydrothermal system linked to an intrusion is likely to be active for no more than 50-100 ky 58,70 . The recognition that porphyry ore fluids commonly contain up to 1 wt% copper (and possibly several times more than this in some cases), means that the mass of fluid required to form giant deposits is actually rather modest.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Triggers for the formation of porphyry ore deposits in magmatic arcs

2013

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Porphyry ore deposits source much of the copper, molybdenum, gold and silver utilized by humankind. They typically form in magmatic arcs above subduction zones via a series of linked processes, beginning with magma generation in the mantle and ending with the precipitation of metals from hydrous fluids in the shallow crust. A hierarchy of four key "triggers" involved in the formation of porphyry deposits is outlined. Trigger 1 (10 2 -10 3 km scale) is a process of cyclic refertilization of magmas in the deep crust. Trigger 2 (10 1 -10 2 km scale) is the process of sulfide saturation in magmas that can both enhance and destroy ore-forming potential. Trigger 3 (10 0 -10 1 km scale) relates to the efficient transfer of metals into hydrothermal fluids exsolving from porphyry magmas. Trigger 4 (~10 0 km scale) identifies processes that lead to the final precipitation of ore minerals. Although all processes are required to a greater or lesser degree, it is argued that trigger 3, as an over-riding mechanism, can best explain the restriction of large deposits to specific arc segments and time periods. Consequently, recognition of the fingerprint of sulfide saturation in igneous rocks may help mineral exploration companies to identify parts of magmatic arcs particularly predisposed to ore formation.Ore deposits are scarce. Their discovery consumes considerable time and resources and only about one in every one thousand prospects explored by companies is eventually developed into a mine. Deposits often occur in clusters and formed within specific time intervals. This non-uniform pattern provides keys to understanding how and why metals accumulate in some places and not in others and its explanation is fundamental for mineral exploration.The most important metalliferous ore deposits are hydrothermal deposits, formed from hot waters circulating in Earth's crust. Such deposits represent a highly efficient trap where fluids were focused into a limited volume of rock, became supersaturated and precipitated ore minerals. In theory, this does not require unusual fluid compositions 1,2 as long as fluid focusing, sufficient fluid flux and efficient precipitation conditions can be maintained. Recently, this paradigm has been challenged by the recognition that ore fluids in sediment-hosted 3-5 , epithermal 6,7 and porphyryrelated [8][9][10] hydrothermal deposits can carry orders of magnitude more metal than previously considered probable, or measured in modern fluid samples. This suggests that our understanding of metal extraction and transport processes is incomplete.Here, this theme is explored by consideration of porphyry ore deposits [11][12][13][14][15] , remarkable geochemical anomalies that can contain up to 1 Gt of sulphur 16 , 200 Mt copper, 2.5 Mt molybdenum and 2600 t gold 17 . The most copper-rich examples include the 4-5 million-year old El Teniente and Rio Blanco-Los Bronces deposits in Central Chile, and the most gold-rich is the 3 million-year old Grasberg deposit in Irian Jaya, Papua New Guinea 17 .Porphyry deposits...

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“…Alternatively, fluid may exsolve and collect in cupolas at the highest point of the intrusion as a result of internal convection in the magma chamber (Shinohara et al, 1995;Cloos, 2001), prior to almost simultaneous emplacement of porphyry stocks, their fracturing and mineralization by near-explosive fluid expulsion towards the surface (Dilles, 1987;Cathles and Shannon, 2007). Reconciling highprecision geochronology with physical modeling of these alternative or possibly concurrent processes, within the thermal constraints on the rates of magma chamber evolution, porpyry emplacement and ore formation, is an important challenge for current research (cf., Driesner and Geiger, 2007;Von Quadt et al, 2011).…”

Section: Fluid Exsolution and Element Transfer From Melt To Fluidmentioning

confidence: 99%