Dunn, 1982, 1984, although alteration and mineralization in the area suggested to earlier geologists that a porphyry copper deposit should occur in the district kuelmer, 1954. We studied the applicability of data from the recently launched landsat8 for mapping hydrothermal alteration areas and lithological units associated with porphyry copper exploration in arid and. Here lets understand the geology of porphyries and iron oxide copper gold deposits or iocg as they are known. Permissive tracts, grade and tonnage models, and estimates of numbers of undiscovered deposits for the simulation of undiscovered copper resources. Singer and others published porphyry copper deposits of the world. These are somewhat the giants of the ore deposits world. A compendium of previously published databases and database records that. Pure copper metal is generally produced from a multistage process, beginning with the mining and concentrating of lowgrade ores containing copper sulfide minerals, and followed by smelting and electrolytic refining to produce a pure copper cathode. Crystallising intrusions are particularly important pathways for hightemperature, proximal deposits such as porphyry cuaumo deposits and curich skarns. Geology of the tanama and helecho porphyry copper deposits. Among the first recognized as having porphyry copper potential by midcentury were the disseminated ores at silver bell. Global distribution of selected mines, deposits, and.
Usgs open file rep 20081155 titley sr 1982 advances in the geology of the porphyry copper deposits in the southwestern north america. Part or all of this report is presented in portable document format pdf. Porphyry copper deposits account for about 60 percent of the worlds copper. With an orexpress spectrometer with ezid and the usgs and optional specmin and geospec libraries, geologists can identify typical pathfinder minerals such as illite, azurite, and malachite, create a mineral map for the project area, and set up a costeffective drilling plan for. Geological survey national geologic map database check out the porphyry copper deposits of the world. This publication contains a computer file of information on porphyry copper deposits from around the world. Geological survey openfile report 20051060 version 1. To provide unbiased, sciencebased information on the. The intrusive activity responsible for arizonas porphyry copper deposits occurred about 70 million years ago, in the earths crust deep below the ground surface. Jul 28, 2014 based on statistics in the united states geological survey usgs database of worldwide porphyry copper deposits, the 2008 median grade of 422 porphyry copper deposits was 0. Using the map tool, users can zoom in to obtain reports and data on past and present mines, mine prospects, and processing plants. In general, porphyry deposits are characterized by low grades of ore mineralization, a porphyritic intrusive complex that is surrounded by a vein stockwork. Geological survey usgs completed assessments for undiscovered resources of selected types of mineral deposits usgs.
As a mining interested learner, the geology of porphyry copper deposits is vital to your education now in the first exploration geology course i discussed how because our current mining technology all the metals that we use. Product description page national geologic map database. We take a look at what makes for a copper porphyry takeover target. An increasing share of copper is produced from acid leaching of oxidized ores. Geological survey national geologic map database check out the geology, geochemistry, and fluidinclusion petrography of the sapo alegre porphyry copper prospect and its metavolcanic wallrocks, westcentral puerto rico. Porphyry copper deposits of the world database, maps, and. According to the announcement, this update includes a greater variety of deposit attributes than were included in the 1986 model as.
Prospective features encountered in exploration work include arctype volcanic rocks, copper. Ezid makes target mineral identification easier and more accurate by providing access to three libraries. For usgs publications, that database is the usgs publications warehouse. Because some porphyry mo deposits contain significant w, the few papers that document mow and w porphyry deposits are also provided in this subsection. Study delineated permissive areas for undiscovered porphyry copper deposits, compiled a database of known deposits and significant prospects, estimated undiscovered deposits within those areas and made probabilistic estimates of their metal content. Porphyry deposits represent an important resource of copper. The mineral resources online spatial data web portal is mrps primary resource for interactive maps and downloadable geospatial data for regional and global geology, geochemistry, geophysics, and mineral resources. Highaltitude aviris data were acquired over the site in 1998. Project overview collaborative project involving cogs and anglo american exploration usa inc. Permissive tracts, grade and tonnage models, and estimates. Although all data and software published here have been used by the usgs. Singer da, berger vi, menzie wd, moring bc 2008 porphyry copper deposits of the world.
Geological overview geological background and economic significance. We aggregated the porphyry copper assessment results using two. Mapping minerals at the copper flat porphyry, new mexico, using aviris data charles s. Porphyry copper deposit, large body of rock, typically a porphyry of granitic to dioritic composition, that has been fractured on a fine scale and through which chalcopyrite and other copper minerals are disseminated. Application of imaging spectroscopy for mineral exploration. Pdf hydrothermal alteration mapping using landsat8 data. Ezid provides a library builder software module so you can quickly and easily create and add to a custom library. Porcu xls 691 kb a tabdelineated text file containing the porphyry copper database. Geological survey global assessment of undiscovered copper resources, data common.
After this parameters have been understand you can choice any of the methods recommended above. The copper flat porphyry copper deposit in the northern part of the hillsboro district was discovered in 1975 castellano et al. Porphyry copper deposits of the world database, maps, and preliminary analysis. Porphyry copper deposits of the world database and grade and tonnage models related topics copper, economic geology, geospatial datasets, gold, mathematical modeling, metallic mineral resources, molybdenum, natural resource assessment, ore formation, plutonic rocks, silver mineral deposit areas copper, gold, molybdenum, silver commadelimited text, dbf, html table, kml, ogc wfs, ogc.
Economic filters for evaluating porphyry copper deposit resource assessments using gradetonnage deposit models, with examples from the u. Sillitoe 27 west hill park, highgate village, london n6 6nd, england abstract porphyry cu systems host some of the most widely distributed mineralization types at convergent plate boundaries, including porphyry deposits centered on intrusions. This update is a preliminary model of porphyry copper deposits that begins an update process of porphyry copper models published in usgs bulletin 1693 in 1986. Database and grade and tonnage models, 2008 by donald a. Porphyry cu deposit ore bodies typically occur as disseminations within a stockwork of large veins or small fractures. Global compilation of information on the porphyry copper deposits, including. All of the data can be downloaded for further use and analysis.
The usgs has released an update of their 1986 report bulletin 1693 on the preliminary model of porphyry copper deposits. This study delineated permissive areas for undiscovered porphyry copper deposits, compiled a database of known deposits and significant prospects, estimated undiscovered deposits within those areas and made probabilistic estimates of their metal content. Porphyry copper deposits porphyry cu deposits are a primary source of the worlds cu, mo, and au lowell and guilbert, 1970, manske and paul, 2002, richards, 2003, sillitoe, 1972. Thomson resources has two areas considered prospective for the porphyry coppergold style in the northeast part of the tenement package at warraweena and tringadee, where alteration and mineralisation have been intersected in drilling. Porphyry copper deposits of the world usgs mineral resources. Individual data releases and data sets are also listed below. Geological survey national geologic map database check out the map showing mineral resource assessment for copper and molybdenum in porphyry and stockwork deposits and for tungsten, iron, gold, copper, and silver in skarn deposits, dillon 1 degree x. Title porphyry copper deposits of the world electronic resource.
Porphyry copper assessment of central america and the caribbean basin. Compiled for the 74th cordilleran section meeting geological society of america at arizona state university, tempe arizona. Prepared in cooperation with the british columbia geological survey. Geological survey usgs completed assessments for undiscovered resources of porphyry and sedimenthosted copper, platinumgroup elements, and potash. Porphyry copper deposits commonly contain hundreds of millions of metric tons of. Porphyry copper assessment of central america and the. Exploring for porphyry copper deposits requires the accurate identification of pathfinder carbonate minerals. Porphyry copper assessment of british columbia and yukon territory, canada.
Geological survey privacy statement disclaimer accessibility url. Geological survey usgs mineral resources data system catalogs information about mineral resources around the united states and the world. Geological survey openfile report 20081155 version 1. Only the copper records with oxide as the modifier are listed in this report. The copper hill porphyry copper gold project summary the copper hill cuau deposit contains 535,000 tonnes of copper and 1. In porphyry copper deposits, copper ore minerals are disseminated in igneous. Understanding the global distribution of nonfuel mineral resources. Airborne imaging spectrometer data were collected in 2014 over unmined porphyry cu deposits in the eastern alaska range using the hymap sensor. Type the beginning of the name of the site, and select a country if you wish.
In response to the growing demand for information on the global mineralresource base, the u. Database and grade and tonnage models find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Aster data processing analysis for porphyry copper. The assessment and regional studies can be found here. Arizona is abundantly endowed with copper deposits. As a mining interested learner, the geology of porphyry copper deposits is vital to your education. Preliminary model of porphyry copper deposits usgs. The rich metal deposits were subsequently exposed millions of years later by faulting and erosion. It is located 5 kilometres north of molong in eastern new south wales and is held 100% by golden cross resources ltd gcr figure 1.
The 829 deposits listed in table 1 of this report were compiled from the azmils database of over 3,000 deposits that list copper as a commodity. Soilrock geochemistry for copper and gold was draped over the 3d digital terrain model. Mineral resource assessments provide a synthesis of available information about distributions of mineral deposits in the earths crust. The point and polygon layers within this geodatabase present the global distribution of selected mineral resource features deposits, mines, districts, mineral regions for 22 minerals or mineral commodities considered critical to the economy and security of the united states as of 2017. Tonnage of porphyry copper deposits versus average copper grades from figure 1. Porphyry copper potential of the united states southern. This report contains a revised descriptive model of porphyry copper deposits pcds, the worlds largest source about 60 percent and resource about 65 percent of. Porphyry copper assessment of british columbia and yukon. Porphyry copper deposits commonly yield molybdenum and silver as coproducts, were. Copper is usually found in nature in association with sulfur. It also presents new grade and tonnage models for porphyry copper deposits and for three subtypes of porphyry copper deposits and a map showing the location of all deposits. Porphyry copper deposits of the world database, maps, and preliminary analysis sudoc i 19. Mclemore,3 brian penn,4 and randy keller5 abstract the copper flat porphyry is a laramide copper deposit in southwest new mexico.
Ezid mineral identification software spectral evolution. Search here for records in the usgs porphyry copper database. In the porphyry epithermal mineral system, pathways for fluids and their contained metals, ligands and sulfur include faults, stratigraphic aquifers and crystallising intrusive bodies. Desert heat volcanic fire, the geologic history of the tucson mountains and southern arizona, by d. The application of aster remote sensing data to porphyry. What investors need to know about porphyry copper deposits. Geological survey tested the utility of imaging spectroscopy also referred to as hyperspectral remote sensing as an aid to regional mineral exploration efforts in remote parts of alaska. The geologybased study identified 236 areas for undiscovered copper in 11 regions of the world. Information on porphyry copper deposits from around the world with grade and tonnage models, a general classification based on geologic setting, mineralogy, with data allowing locations of these deposits to be plotted using gis. This data release tabulates data for simulations of amounts of copper resources in undiscovered porphyry copper deposits that were done for the global. Type the beginning of the name of the site, and select a country if. So how do we explore for porphyry copper deposits which are completely covered by barren younger rocks. Geological survey prepared a probabilistic mineral resource assessment of undiscovered resources in porphyry copper deposits in central america and the caribbean basin in collaboration with geoscientists from academia and the minerals industry. Porphyry copper deposits of the american cordillera, edited.
Thomson resources porphyry copper gold deposit model. Geological survey completed the firstever global assessment of undiscovered copper resources for the two most significant sources of global copper supply. Breccias associated with porphyry copper deposits have been a source of fascination for many researchers. For best results viewing and printing pdf documents, it is recommended that you download the documents to your computer and open them with adobe reader.
Now in the first exploration geology course i discussed how because our current mining technology all the metals that we use are mined from the top 4 km of the earths crust. Porphyry copper deposits of the american cordillera. Identifying minerals associated with porphyry copper. Mrp information and data can be accessed through multiple pathways from publications to data releases.
These data can be queried in many database management systems as well as a gis to reveal the distribution, geologic setting, and resource potential of porphyry copper and sedimenthosted copper deposits and to model grade and resource tonnage. Via compilation of geological data, it has been found that the majority of porphyry deposits are phanerozoic in age and were emplaced at depths of approximately 1 to 6 kilometres with. The database of known deposits and significant prospects includes an. Gt xls 9 kb a tabdelineated text file containing the tonnages, and the copper, molybdenum, silver, and gold grades, used in the grade and tonnage model for porphyry cu deposits. The image above comes from the overview map focusing.
Porphyry copper deposits represent an important resource and the dominant source of copper that is mined today to satisfy global demand. In porphyry copper deposits, copper ore minerals are disseminated in igneous intrusions. This update includes a greater variety of deposit attributes than were included in the 1986 model as. This lithological information was imported into an access database for use with a 3d geological software modelling program surpac, as well as assay and magnetic susceptibility data. Subtypes of porphyry copper deposits are defined in cox and singer 1992 as. I also showed why with the crustal abundance or the average crustal. Usgs bulletin 1857e tooker, edwin wilson, james, l. A probabilistic mineral resource assessment of undiscovered resources in porphyry copper deposits in the tethys region of western and southern asia was carried out as part of a global mineral resource assessment led by the u.
Uses of copper supply, demand, production, resources. Well lets back up a bit, we know that porphyries form under large subduction related volcanoes and that most of these are located under the ring of fire around the subducting pacific plate another fertile subduction zone occurs in balkans, turkey, iran and pakistan. The information on the porphyry copper deposits is contained in the files porcu2008. Interactive map of mineral resources and mines across the. Spatial database for a global assessment of undiscovered copper resources by connie l. Usgs library which includes the jpl library 470 spectra for 314 minerals. Porphyry copper deposits are among the worlds most valuable deposits. Database and grade and tonnage models article pdf available january 2008 with 647 reads how we measure reads. Information on porphyry copper deposits from around the world with grade. The usgs assessed undiscovered copper in two deposit types that account for about 80 percent of the worlds copper supply. This report contains a revised descriptive model of porphyry copper deposits pcds, the worlds largest source about 60 percent and resource about 65 percent of copper and a major source of molybdenum, gold and silver.
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