Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Marco T. Einaudi
Stanford University
1997
Einaudi, 1997
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I. Introduction
II. Mapping Vertical Faces: trenches, road cuts, tunnels, benches
A. General Aspects
B. Key Features of Mapping Scheme
a. The "baseline"
b. Use gridded field sheets
c. The rock side
litho contacts, faults, veins, density (vol%) of qtz veins
d. The air side
Background alteration.
Alteration halos.
C. Organizational hints for efficient mapping
a. Use a double-sided aluminum clipboard
b. The importance of hard-lead color pencils
c. Mapping vests
d. Make several mapping passes
e. Stand up, facing the rocks
III. Mapping outcrop: use multiple overlavs
A. Base Map.
B. Alteration Overlay.
C. Limonite Overlay.
IV. Color Codes (Figs. 3 & 4)
A. Lithologic contacts and structure (recorded on rock side, plot true strike, dip)
B. Hypogene mineralization (veins/veinlets & disseminations). (Plot on rock side)
sulfides/oxides (Fig. 3)
Veinlet/vein fillings other than sulfides/oxides
C. Leached/oxide/supergene sulfides (plot on rock side).
Mineralogy
Symbols for degree of leaching
D. Alteration of hornblende (and/or biotite) sites (plot on air side)
E. Alteration of feldspar sites (plot on air side)
V. Weathering products: how to map and recognize them.
A. Distinguishing between Hypogene and supergene alteration.
B. Leached and oxidized outcrops.
(1) Keeping track of the degree of leacbing of primary sulfude sites
(2) "Glassy limonite", indigenous limonites
(3) Relict sulfides locked in quartz
(4) Exotic limonites
VI. Reconnaissance: What to retain from the Detailed Mapping Scheme.
A. Rock description,
B. Quartz veins and veinlets
C. Limonite assemblages
D. Relative abundance of indigenous and exotic Fe and Cu oxides
E. Biotite distribution patterns, especially of "shreddy biotite"
F. Magnetite abundance
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spacing and width): 1) the average w width of the veins, and 1) the average
spacing between center lines. Write these down in your notes as a fraction (e.g.,
"0.5/6" would indicate 0.5 cm average width and 6 cm average spacing between
center lines). Dividing out the traction yields percent of the rock that is
constituted by this vein set (0.5'6= S vol. %). This approach works well for
porphyry deposits where veins occupy definite sets; the estimate is male for each
set. The approach also is better than counting vein widths along a tape. because
such a count has to be corrected for the true v; width and doesn't record vein
widths and spacing. Clearly, the approach is difficult to apply in rocks where the
v -,ins are truely random, but this is less common than is generally believed. For
A-B quartz veins, which most likely represent open-space filling, you are
recording the volume percent of quartz that tilled open spaces. For D veins
(pyrite veins with quartz-sencite-pyrite (QSP) halos), record the "vein width" as
the distance betwveen outer edges of the QSP halo: the fraction will represent
the vol% of the rock that is altered to QSP.
(8) The air side is used to record alteration minerals and rock type. Alteration
minerals are recorded by color code in two ways.
- Background alteration. Narrow "imaginary columns" along the baseline
(much as the columns used for different minerals in logging core) are
used to record "background" alteration minerals. "Background" alteration
is defined here as any alteration minerals that occur throughout a given
velum-, of rock and do not appear to be related as halos to individual
veins. Pervasive biotization of andesite at El Salvador is one example of
background alteration.
- Alteration halos. If distinct alteration halos are present on the margins
of fractures and vein .fillings, these are shown as lines drawn along the
strike of the paricular vein, but on the air side of the map sheet. For
example, a sericitic envelope on a pyrite vein would be shown as a brown
line on the air side..
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3. Mapping vests that have pockets large enough for an aluminum clipboard to tit in
loosely, ar critical to the success of the mapping method described above. Loose fit
is important because the mapping J method requires a contant back-and-forth
between map sheet and rocks: every time you have finished marking a feature on
your map sheet, the clipboard is "dumped" back into its pocket. your hands are free,
and you can get back to breaking rocks. Your vest "organizes" your work
environment, much as the "desktop" on your computer. The clipboard is never
dumped on the ground.
4. Applying color. Features recorded on the rock side can become very densely spaced
(especially in highly mineralized zones) and great care needs to be taken to maintain
color separation with very sharp pencils. A key technique in this regard is to mate
the Youngest features first (e.g., post-ore faults, youngest veins), then follow with
mapping the older features. In this way, offsetting of older features by younger
features can be shown easily as you map and much less erasing is involved! Also, as
you apply color to represent a vein. apply first the color of the most abundant
mineral as a dashed line; the lesser mineral colors are then applied between the
dashes of the first and no color is applied on top of another.
5. Make several mapping passes for any given outcrop or length of bench face; in other
words, partition your work. I find that I need at least three passes to complete all the
observations and note-taking that I need. The first pass should be the one in which
you get down on paper the major features of the outcrop: descriptions of lithology,
lithologic contacts (indicate whether intrusive, conformable, stratigraphic, or
faulted), major faults, and major through-going veins. In subsequent passes you
begin to add detail. In a second pass, map veins and veinlets, diagrammatically
showing the relative age of different vein types (plot the youngest veins fusty, and
add alteration haloes. and background alteration. The third pass can be devoted to
sulfide (or oxide) minerals, their abundance, and relative proportions.
6. Stand up, facing, the rocks, while marking a feature on vour map sheet. This reduces
the odds of plotting a wrong strike, because you are oriented with your rocks and
your map sheet. Fast, efficient, and accurate mapping is your goal; to achieve this
goal, the best mappers do not sit down with their backs to the face. (saves time and
saves your pants!)
7. In regional exploration, I recommend that prior to commencing a mapping project at
a small scale (say, 1:5,000) that some key representative outcrops be mapped first at
a large scale (say, 1:250). The reason is that mapping at a large scale gives the
geologist the opportunity to spend some time looking at the rocks in detail and this
enables him to develop an idea of the key features of a given prospect. Anned with
this information, he can then move out more confidently at higher speed at a smaller
scale.
lithologic contacts, faults, veins, and other structure on a base map (Fig. 6. Base
Map);
pervasive (or background) alteration and alteration halos on the first overlay
(Fig. 6, Overlay #1)
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and ore minerals or their oxidation products on a second overlay (Fig. 6, Overlay
#2).
Notes for these various features are written on their respective overlays.
A. Base Map.
The limit of outcrop is sketched first on the base map (along with any additional
"culture" such as trenches, paths, etc) and the major features of structure and lithology
are mapped in. Rock-type symbols can be assigned to various units, and these symbols
can be applied in black pencil (rather than assigning a color-code to rock types) along
the outer perimeter of the outcrop outline. Veins are plotted directly on the base map,
using color codes for dominent vein-filling minerals. Notes can be written outside the
outcrop area.
B. Alteration Overlay.
On Overlay #1, lines are used to identify alteration halos on veins shown on the base
map. Care should be taken to ensure that the alteration color-code is applied directly
over the vein shown on the base. This points out the need to plot the veins first on the
base map, then quickly apply the alteration-halo color over that vein on overlay #1. For
example, on Fig. 6, the NE-dipping qtz-(Kspar-mag) veins at the north end of the
outcrop (base map) have Kspar alteration halos (alteration overlay).
Background alteration not related to individual veins is shown next by color-coded dots
for the minerals present. Because only one overlay is used for alteration, feldspar sites
and mafic mineral sites are difficult to keep separate. .- This turns out not to be a major
disadvantage, because, for example, a mix of brown dots and olive green dots implies
clay in the feldspar sites and secondary biotite in the mafic mineral sites. The density of
dots should reflect the relative abundance of alteration minerals seen in the outcrop. For
example, in Fig. 6, background sericite alteration increases in intensity southwesterly
and then declines abruptly into a zone with minor epidote and chlorite. As another
example, an intensely silicified rock would be represented as a solid orange color on
overlay =l (but, apply the color of any minor minerals first as dots, then color-in the
orange around d the dots in order not to get superposition of colors).
An alternative approach (John Dilles, pers. comm., 1997) is to place major alteration
halos (color coded) on the base sheet., and save the alteration overlay for background
alteration. This allows the distinction to be maintained between mafic and feldspar
mineral site, in the following manner: 1) diagonal NT-SW lines represent altreration of
mafics, and 2) diagonal NW-SE lines represent alteration of feldspars. The lines are
color-coded following the normal codes. The degree of alteration of individual mineral
sites are denoted by how heavily you apply the color: solid lines denote 100 to 80% of
that mineral site is altered, dashed lines indicate 5-80% of that mineral site is altered,
and dotted lines indicate <5% to trace amounts of that mineral site are occupied by
hydrothemal alteration products.
C. Limonite Overlay.
This is a key overlay, because ultimately it will allow you to draw a map that displays
the distribution and relative abundance of the oxidation products of sulfides. The key
minerals whose distribution and abundance need to be TM-Ipped include the green
copper carbonates and silicates, black copper pitch (tenorite), glassy limonite (pitch
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limonite), goethite, earthy hematite, and jarosite. Together with the alteration and vein
maps, the distribution of these minerals will allow you to say something about original
sulfide zoning and about secondary dispersion of metals. With out such information and
geological interpretation geochemical assays of soil and rock chip -,,-unples cannot be
properly interpreted.
The color codes and symbols used in mapping limonite minerals are summarized on the
right-hard-siu'e of Figure 3 and in Figure 6 and detailed in section IV.C and VI.B
(below). An interpretation of the original sulfide distribution pattem, based on the
limonites and the style of alteration and veins (shown for the same outcrop on Figure 4)
is illustrated on the left-hand-side of Figure 3.
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sulfides/oxides (Firm. 3)
1. bornite: purple (752)
2. chalcopyrite: carmine red (745)
3. molybdenite: green (739)
4. pyrite: canary yellow (735)
5. magnetite, hematite: mapping pencil)
6. specular hematite
Veinlet/vein fillings other than sulfides/oxides
1. quartz: orange (737)
2. chlorite: green (739)
3. biotite: olive green (739 1/2)
4. epidote: light green (738 1/2)
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Mineralogy
1. glassy limonite (conchoid fract, red internal reflections): carmine red (745)
2. oxide Cu minerals (malachite, tenorite, etc): true green (751)
3. goethite (orange streak): brown (756)
4. earthy hematite (red streak); tuscan red ( )
4: jarosite (yellow to honey yel'w x'als; pale yel'w streak): canary yellow (735)
5. supergene chalcocite: medium blue
1. total leaching, empty leached cavities (no Fe-oxide left): black circles
2. moderate leaching (limonite-rimmed cavities): brown circles
3. weak leaching (limonite pseudomorphs and/or boxworks): brown dots
4. very weak leaching of chalcopy sites (classy limonite): red dots
Exotic oxides on fractures are denoted by random, short, lines (brown for
goethite, true green for copper oxides).
yellow-green
olive green
dark green
dark brown
black
1. fresh hornblende (dark black, glassy, good cleavage visible): write lower
case hs along baseline.
2. chloritized hornblende (no shreddy texture that might imply that the bbl
had first been biotitized): green 739) (pervasive chloritization use solid green
line; partially chloritized use dashed green line; local cblorite use dots).
3. epidotized hornblende: use light green (738 1/2).
4. biotized hornblende (shreddy biotite occupying the bbl site): olive green
(739 1/2) (solid, dashed and dotted to indicate degree of biotization).
5. chloritized biotized-hornblende (cbloritic alt'n superimposed on biotitic;
this is a tough call!): olive green (739 1/2) with dark green dots (739)
6. sericitized and/or argillized mafic minerals (tan- or white-colored
pseudomorphs after mafic mineral sites including mixtures of sericite, clays,
leucoxene): brown (756)
7. mafic sites absent or only leucoxene visible: use lead pencil (black).
E. Alteration of feldspar sites. (recorded on air side, outer colum; intensity of color
application in this column denotes degree of alteration; if alteration occurs as a distinct
halo on a fracture or veinlet, plot the alteration color as a line extending outward from
base line on air side.) Fig. 4.
magenta
med yellow
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(NOTE: feldspar color is not in every case diagnostic of feldspar type! Use thinsections as back up. Even if that white feldspar turns out to be Kspar, you will have
recorded the distribution of white Kspar!).
yellow-green
dark brown
none
dark brown
dark brown
4c. moderately ser'd feldspars: if partially soft, white to pale colors, cleavage
present: closely spaced brow-n (756) dots.
4d. highly ser'd feldspars: if soft, white to pale colors, no cleavage, but outline
of original feldspar is preserved (rock-textufe preserved): continuous brown
(756) line applied lightly.
4e. pervasive and total hydrolysis: if soft, white to pale colors, rock texture
largely obliterated: continuous brown (756) line :plied heavily.
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alteration halos
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SUPERGENE
alunite in open fractures
without other mineral. (e.g.,
monomineralic alunite,
possibly with chalcedonic
or opaline silica & jarosite.
lack of halos on alunite
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HYPOGENE
alunite in association with
hydrothermal minerals in
veins (e.g, with quartz,
pyrophyllite, barite, etc)
presence of hydrolytic
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veins
sulfides
textures
color
All of these forms of limonites (but mainly the -oethite) are termed "indigenous", on
the basis of texture as indicating in-situ oxidation of original sulfide sites.
2. "Glassy limonite" is a term applied to amorphous Fe-hydroxide that commonly
contains copper; this phase is important because it denotes very low degrees of
leaching (copper still present) and is characteristic of weathering of Potassic Prot res
(lots of K-spar and little or no pyrite, hence little acid generation). Mapping the
distribution of glassy limonite can help to delineate the chalcopyrite-(bornite) zone
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and commonly this represents the zone of highest hypogene Cu-(Au) grade. It is an
indigenous limonite.
Glassy limonite has the following characteristics:
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importance of this rock texture needs more emphasis. It is so important, that you
could consider assigning a special color (red?) to this rock type!
B. Ouartz veins and veinlets, including their abundance and structural attitudes. At
1:5000 scale, one obviously cannot "map all the veinlets", but the key sets have to
be identified and representative strikes and dips plotted on the map. Abundance can
be estimated and written down for each outcrop. The importance of quartz veins and
veinlets in regional recon stems from two factors: one, we know the close
correlation between grade and quartz veins in porphyry-type deposits, and two,
quartz veins survive weathering and remain in outcrop as unambiguous evidence of
hydrothermal activity. Quartz veins are so important that the,; also are worthy of a
special color during mapping (orange).
C. Limonite assemblages need to be emphasized. Each outcrop should be assessed for
proportions of glassy limonite, goethite, earthy hematite, jarosite, tenorite, and green
Cu carbonates/silicates. Proportions can be visually recorded by a color code for
each of these minerals, or by assigning ratios in pre-assigned order. In recon, I
would choose the latter approach. In mapping a prospect that is being drilled, I
would use color codes. Limonites typically are well-zoned and represent an
excellent targeting tool.
D. Relative abundance of indigenous and exotic Fe and Cu oxides also needs to be
estimated. Each outcrop needs to receive a number that indicates the geologist's
assessment of whether the Cu assays represent transported copper or "in-place"
copper.
E. Biotite distribution patterns, especially of "shreddy hiotite" are useful to delineate
zones of potassic alteration, which in many porphyries can represent the ore target.
Biotite in tine-Qrained biotized andesite may not out-live weathering, but coarsergrained biotite that has replaced hornblende in hornblende andesites or in bblbearing tonalite porphyries commonly survives weathering. In the case of bbl sites,
if the biotite doesn't survive. its characteristic "shreddy" texture may survive.
F. Magnetite abundance needs to be recorded by visual estimate and magnetic
suseeptibility measurement.s.
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A. Posting sheets and follow-up interpretation are two steps that go hand-in-hand with
field mapping. Both of these steps need to be taken routinely and in a timely fashion.
The mapping project should not be considered complete until such time as the posting
sheet has been used to construct interpretive geologic base maps and relevant overlays.
A rough estimate is that 3 days of field mapping requires 1 day of transferring the
mapping to a posting sheet and doing the interpretive work.
(1) Posting sheets should be kept up-to-date on a daily (or at least weekly) basis
(2) once a significant area has been mapped, but well before mapping of the chosen
area has been completed, the geologist should begin to make interpretive overlays.
These will be working by that will aid him/her as s/he continues to map.
(3) interpretation based on posting sheets should be done at the ;,tmQ scale as the
posting sheets and should retain all the structural detail recorded in the field.
Ultimately, these working sheets will be reduced in order to generate a smallerscale map, but the important structural details need to be preserved at all scales (I
have seen too many geological maps that have no dip symbols, and that display
photo linears instead of faults actually mapped in the field).
(4) The Interpretive maps should be done by hand in full color.
(5) The hand-drawn posting sheets, fully color-coded, represent a major investment of
time and money. They should be carefully archived, and the name(s) of the
geologist(s) and dates of work should be written on each.
B. The Folio.
The following types of information should be displayed in a folio s derived from the
field mapping phase:
1. base map: lithologies, strike and dips of bedding, faults, contacts, major veins.
2. each overlay is drawn on a gray-scale version of the base map, so that they
"stand alone" e.g., lithologic contacts, faults, etc, are visible without having to
overlay the overlay on the base map).
3. vein overlay: all large veins and representative veinlet sets (color-coded to
dominant mineral) plotted to true strike, illustrative dips indicated; vein
abundance contoured.
4. limonite overlay: distribution of glassy limonite, goethite, earthy hematite,
jarosite, tenorite, and green copper oxides. Color applied to indicate relative
abundance (absent, low, moderate, high). Areas of dominantly exotic versus
dominantly indigenous limonites and Cu-oxides should be identified. Based on
mapping of limonites, areas of py-dominance versus cp-dominance should be
outlined.
5. magnetite overlay: Illustrate the distribution of magnetite, disseminated,
vein/veinlet, or replacement, and contour for abundance.
6. alteration overlay: emphasis on minerals rather than alteration types; try simply
showing limits of minerals such as secondary biotite, chlorite, epidote, clays,
sericite, silica ledges, jasperoids, etc.
Finally, with regard to folios, a complete folio also includes topography,
geochemical and geophysical data and data interpretations. In their relation to
the geological maps, the following points are important:
7. the magnetite overlay produced during the field mapping phase (and which
could include magnetic susceptibility measurements on the outcrop) can be used
to interpret ground and airborne magnetics.
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8. the raw geochemical data on soil, stream sediment, or rock-chip samples, should
be geologically interpreted and hand-drawn by the geologist who generated the
geological maps and overlays discussed above. The patterns of grade
distribution should reflect his/her concepts of grade control. Computer generated
contour maps of assay results should be used only if there is no geological
mapping available.
C. Composite maps: exploration models and drill targeting. The final and very
important product, or raison d'etre, of the folio is the composite of key features.
Examples of this approach are given by Figures 7 (Pancho, Maricunga region, northern
Chile) and 8 (Batu Hijau, Sumbawa Is., Indonesia).
Refugio district. Figure 7 is re-drawn from portions of a folio that was completed during
mapping of the porphyry Au-Cu prospect at Pancho (Refugio district, Maricunga
region. Chile) by John Muntean in 1994-95. The folio displays the following features:
lithologies, faults, alteration types, vein abundance (A-B veinlets, banded veinlets), and
hand-contoured rock-chip geochemistry for gold. We attempted to pull out of this data
set the key features that would help target a drill hole into the center of the ore zone. It
is clear from Figure 8 that the outer limit of banded veinlets outlines the +0.5 ppm Au
zone. Additionally, the following is evident: the innermost 1/2 of the gold zone is
identified by-the presence of potassic alteration and AB quartz veinlets and the outer 1/2
of the gold zone is identified by the disappearance of AB quartz veinlets and appearance
of abundant banded veinlets. Further, quartz-alunite veins lie outside the zone of +0.5
ppm Au, and sericitie & intermediate argillic alteration does not serve as a useful
targeting tool. The result is a composite map that displays the main features of the
prospect that would help to target on the gold zone. The composite becomes a useful
tool not only in further exploration at Pancho, but in further exploration in the
Maricunga area and in establishing a genetic model for these unusually high Au/Cu
porphyries.
Baru Hijau. Figure 8 is re drawn from portions of a folio that was one of the projects
completed during a mapping course held at Batu Hijau in March 1996. The folio
displays the following features: lithologies, faults, three classes of quartz vein
abundance, and hand-contoured soil geochemistry for copper and for gold. Additionally,
we had available a 1:10.000 scale alteration map. We attempted to pull out of this data
pct the, key features that would help target a drill hole into the center of the ore zone. It
is clear from Figure 8 that the outer limit of abundant quartz veins (-+5 vol cc) outlines
the +0.5 %Cu zone at depth. Additionally, the following is evident:
distance from +0.5% Cu
outermost edge of secondary biotite
300 - 400 m
outer limit of rare quartz veins
200 m
outer limit of moderate quartz veins (1-2%)
150 m
outer limit of abundant qtz veins (+5%)
0m
presence of porphyries
0m
In the absence of a drilled-out reserve, the composite map could show the limit of
glassy limonite. Additional features that should be displayed on a composite would be
structural directions of quartz veins, limits of sericitic alteration and other bydrothermal
alteration types, and limits of indigenous limonites.
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A final exercise that can be done to aid in targetting is to generate a "coincidence" map.
By this I mean that there are certain features whose coincidence in space yields stronger
evidence for a target than any individual feature by itself. As an example, the following
coincidences were used as indicators of the most favorable drill targets at Batu Hijau
(listed in order of increasing favorability):
The rationale for coincidence A is that a copper anomaly associated with abundant
quartz veins is more likely to represent indigenous (rather than transported,) copper.
Had we had the data, we would have used coincidence of quartz veins with glassy
limonite and with highest rock chip copper. Coincidence C reinforce A and B. All the
targets based on coincidence C overlie the +0.5 %Cu zone at depth.
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