Models and Exploration

Metallogenic aspects of giant porphyry systems of the

Andes
J. Perell1 and R.H. Sillitoe2
1

Antofagasta Minerals S.A., Ahumada 11, Oficina 602, Santiago, Chile

2
27 West Hill Park, Highgate Village, London, N6 6ND, England

The Andes hosts the worlds premier porphyry copper province, ~6000-km long and containing a variety of
deposits distributed in a number of metallogenic belts. Current aggregate output amounts to approximately
30 percent of world mined copper metal. Metallogenic belts range in age from Permian to Pliocene, but
major producing deposits are of Cenozoic age and define spatially restricted Palaeocene to early Eocene,
middle Eocene to early Oligocene, and Miocene to early Pliocene belts (Fig. 1). These belts not only include
the worlds largest supergene chalcocite blankets at Escondida and Chuquicamata in northern Chile, but
also the high-grade hypogene deposits at Ro Blanco-Los Bronces and El Teniente in central Chilethe
latter arguably the worlds largest single copper depositand Toquepala and Cuajone in Peru, as well as
copper-gold mineralisation from Bajo de la Alumbrera, Argentina, and copper-zinc ore from the worlds
largest skarn deposit at Antamina, Peru. All producing deposits are of conventional porphyry copper type
with additional, important amounts of ore hosted by porphyry-related hydrothermal breccia complexes and
skarn at Ro Blanco-Los Bronces and Antamina, respectively. This article reviews some of the salient
metallogenic features of the three premier Andean porphyry belts by focusing on selected tectonomagmatic
and alterationmineralisation aspects that are considered critical for, but not exclusive of, the formation of
giant and even larger (cf. Clark 1993) porphyry deposits.
Tectonomagmatic Setting

Giant, and larger, Andean porphyry deposits are characteristically associated with multiphase porphyritic
stocksup to five at Escondidaof quartz monzonitic to dioritic composition that intrude a variety of
MesozoicCenozoic plutonic, volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Locally, the volcanic sequences were intruded
by medium- to large-sized batholiths immediately prior to porphyry stock emplacement, as in segments of
the Palaeocene to early Eocene and middle Eocene to early Oligocene belts of southern Peru, and in the
Miocene to early Pliocene belt of central Chile. Gold-rich examples exhibit a marked tendency to be associated
with more mafic intrusions, dominantly quartz diorite to diorite, although the only producing porphyry
copper-gold deposit in the Andes, Bajo de la Alumbrera, Argentina (Fig. 1c), is centered on a dacitic to
rhyodacitic stock. Evolution from intermediate-composition intrusions pre-mineralisation to more felsic
phases, including dacite to rhyodacite domes, in the intermediate and late stages of mineralisation is typical
of many systems, but reversals to more mafic magmatism are also apparent in many others.
Independent of the metallogenic belt, copper-bearing porphyry stocks and comagmatic rocks of the Andes
are all I-type, magnetite-series, moderate- to high-K calc-alkaline in compositionincluding shoshonitic
varieties in the Faralln Negro district, Argentina. The stocks are typically characterised by high Fe2O3/FeO
ratios that imply high oxidation states and possess, together with associated ore-bearing hydrothermal breccias,
restricted Sri (0.70410.7046) and iNd (0 to +4) values. The relatively high La/Yb data for deposits of the
southern Peru Palaeocene to early Eocene (2022), northern Chile middle Eocene to early Oligocene (15
35), and central Chile Miocene to early Pliocene (2060 for El Teniente) belts suggest that the magmas that
fed the porphyry copper stocks evolved during periods of crustal thickening (e.g. Kay et al. 1999). In contrast,
lower La/Yb ratios of Palaeocene to early Eocene deposits and related rocks of northern Chile (610) are
consistent with regional geologic evidence, including caldera settings, that suggest evolution under extensional
conditions over a relatively thin crust. Tectonic relaxation between contractional episodes, albeit over a
thickened crust (La/Yb: 1522), accompanied porphyry copper-gold mineralisation at Cerro Casale in the
southern part of the Maricunga region of northern Chile and at Bajo de la Alumbrera in the Faralln Negro
district, Argentina, but synmineralisation regional uplift and concomitant deformation were responsible for
the more complex internal geometry of the telescoped porphyry Cu-Mo-Au mineralisation at the nearby
Agua Rica deposit (Fig. 1c).
Regional fault systems are important in parts of some belts. For example, the majority of the Palaeocene to
early Eocene deposits of southern Peru lie along the Incapuquio fault system and many of the largest deposits
in the middle Eocene to early Oligocene belt of northern Chile are located on or near main faults of the
Domeyko regional fault system or at intersections with transverse lineaments. However, irrespective of the
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SEG 2004 Predictive Mineral Discovery Under Cover

Figure 1.

Selected deposits of the main Andean metallogenic copper belts (ages from Sillitoe 1988, 1992, Noble &
McKee 1999, Camus 2003, Perell et al. 2003). a) Palaeocene to early Eocene. b) Middle Eocene to
early Oligocene. c) Miocene to early Pliocene. d) Total copper contents and production from the main
copper belts of the Andes compared to the aggregate copper resources of other Andean belts (after
Camus 2003 and other unpubl. sources).

metallogenic belt, many other deposits possess no apparent association with regional faults, although fold
thrust belts occur in the Miocene to early Pliocene belt, as in northern Peru and central Chile-northwestern
Argentina (e.g. Aconcagua foldthrust belt). Where present, regional fault systems were demonstrably active
during emplacement and mineralisation of porphyry copper stocks and, through a combination of high- and
low-angle reverse faulting, accommodated contraction and regional uplift (e.g. Skarmeta et al. 2003), with
or without participation of Palaeozoic or older basement units as elsewhere along the entire Andean orogen.
In most belts, but particularly in certain segments of the middle Eocene to early Oligocene belt of southern
Peru and northern Chile, the major deposit-localising faults, including transverse lineaments, are
manifestations of rejuvenated crustal discontinuities of Mesozoic, Palaeozoic, or even older ancestry. In all
cases, erosion consequent upon the regional surface uplift gave rise to accumulation of several kilometers of
terrestrial sediments in peripheral, structurally controlled synorogenic basins (e.g. Maksaev & Zentilli 1999,
Perell et al. 2003).
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Models and Exploration

Independent of the metallogenic belt and the presence or absence of regional fault systems, structural control
is appreciable in most major porphyry deposits of the Andes, with both intrusion and alterationmineralisation
geometries accommodating themselves to pre-existing faults during porphyry development (e.g. Lindsay et
al. 1995). Clusters or alignments of three or more deposits are common in certain belts, as in the middle
Eocene to early Oligocene belt of southern Peru and northern Chile, with the greatest number of large
discrete porphyry copper centerssevenbeing present at Radomiro Tomic, Chuquicamata, MM, Quetena,
Toki, Genoveva and Opache in the Chuquicamata district.
All major productive porphyry belts of the Andes were generated during restricted intervals of 7 to 13 m.y.
The porphyry copper deposits of the Palaeocene to early Eocene belt formed from 62 to 52 Ma, with tourmaline
breccia pipes being notably older and falling in the 66 to 62 Ma interval (Sillitoe 1988). Major deposits of
the middle Eocene to early Oligocene belt formed between ~44 and 30 Ma (Maksaev & Zentilli 1999,
Perell et al. 2003), whereas those from the Miocene to early Pliocene belt of central Chile and contiguous
Argentina evolved between ~11 and 4 Ma (Camus 2003 and references therein). In northern and central
Peru, hydrothermal alteration and mineralisation appear to have taken place simultaneously at many different
times and places during the Miocene, although pulses at 2018, 1513 and 107 Ma are suspected to have
been the most fecund (Noble & McKee 1999). The metallogenic epochs along certain belt segments, as in
the Palaeocene to early Eocene of southern Peru, the middle Eocene to early Oligocene of southern Peru and
northern Chile, and the Miocene to early Pliocene of central Chile and contiguous Argentina, were
characterised by periods of overall volcanic quiescence accompanied by eastward translation of the magmatic
fronts in northern and central Chile, with porphyry copper mineralisation effectively concluding arc
development (e.g. Sandeman et al. 1995, Maksaev & Zentilli 1999, Kay et al. 1999).
Tectonic implications

Contractional deformation involving crustal shortening and thickening caused most of the regional uplift in
the Andes, including rates of as much as 3 km/m.y. at the latitude of El Teniente, central Chile (Kurtz et al.
1997). Contractional events coincident with giant porphyry copper formation along parts or entire lengths
of the copper belts described above are inferred to have been responses to flattening of subducted slabs (e.g.
Mpodozis & Perell 2003) and consequent arc migrations, possibly combined with subduction erosion of
the forearc. Slab flattening may be linked to accelerated convergence rates between plates or, as in northern
Peru and central Chile, to subduction of buoyant oceanic features (Pilger 1981, Gutscher et al. 1999). Severe
contractional conditions are further inferred to impede rapid magma ascent and venting, therefore favouring
efficient magma storage in large, confined, shallow-level chambers (Sillitoe 1998, Perell et al. 2003).
AlterationMineralisation

Porphyry copper mineralisation in the Andes is associated with one or more potassic, calc-silicate, intermediate
argillic, sericitic and advanced argillic alteration assemblages. Potassic assemblages containing albite or
actinolite constitute either separate hybrid potassic-sodic and potassic-calcic zones in some deposits, as at
Toquepala, Cerro Colorado and Cotabambas (e.g. Bouzari & Clark 2002, Perell et al. 2003; Fig. 1), or a
combination of both, as in the deep parts of El Salvador, Chile (Gustafson & Quiroga 1995). At Ro BlancoLos Bronces and El Teniente, however, copper-poor and sulphur-poor assemblages characterised by calcic
actinolite and magnetite formed during a distinct event that predated potassic alteration (Skewes et al.
2002). Copper mineralisation, chiefly in the form of chalcopyrite and subordinate bornite and digenite, was
introduced in most deposits during early stage potassic alteration, in intimate association with multiphase
quartz stockworks and fine-grained disseminations. For example, nearly 50 percent of the mineralisation at
Ro Blanco-Los Bronces and >80 percent at El Teniente (Camus 2003 and references therein) are contained
in biotite-dominated potassic assemblages. Abundant hydrothermal magnetite occurs in Au-rich deposits,
irrespective of the metallogenic epoch.
Intermediate argillic alteration is a component of ore zones in several deposits throughout the Andes, but
only at Antamina, Cerro Colorado and Escondida do such assemblages constitute the main copper event
(Padilla et al. 2001, Bouzari & Clark 2002, Love et al. 2003). In all other cases, intermediate argillic alteration
was responsible for reconstituting the original copper mineralogy with the consequent reduction of the
overall copper content (e.g. Perell et al. 2003).
Sericitic alteration occupies appreciable rock volumes in the shallower parts of many less deeply eroded
major deposits in the three premier Andean copper belts. In the southern Peru part of the Palaeocene to early
Eocene belt, sericitic assemblages contributed between 60 and 90 percent of the copper grade at Cuajone,
Quellaveco and Toquepala (e.g. Zweng & Clark 1995), and many giant and larger deposits of the northern
Chile middle Eocene to early Oligocene belt possess major sericitic zones that overprint the central parts of
pre-existing copper-bearing potassic assemblages, most notably at Chuquicamata and Escondida (Sillitoe
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SEG 2004 Predictive Mineral Discovery Under Cover

1992). In a number of deposits, including Rosario, Chuquicamata, Chimborazo, Escondida Norte-Zaldvar,

Escondida, El Salvador and La Fortuna, there is a tendency for sericitic alteration to grade upward to advanced
argillic lithocaps, most of which possess fault-controlled copper-rich massive sulphide veins and minor
hydrothermal breccias (Sillitoe 1992 and references therein) including, at La Fortuna, Au mineralisation of
high-sulphidation epithermal type in vuggy quartz ledges (Perell et al. 1996). Some of the highest hypogene
copper contents are invariably contained in high-sulphidation overprint assemblages contained in massive
sulphide veins and the intervening host rocks. Grades at Chuquicamata and Escondida were enhanced several
times through episodic overprinting (e.g. Padilla et al. 2001). The massive sulphide veins are dominated by
enargite, bornite and pyrite, although chalcocite, covellite, digenite and tennantite are also common
constituents. Sericitic alteration is present to varied degrees in many Miocene to early Pliocene deposits in
the Andes, including copper-barren annuli around potassic centers, as at Bajo de la Alumbrera and Los
Pelambres, or confined to certain hydrothermal breccia bodies as at Agua Rica, Ro Blanco-Los Bronces
and El Teniente.
Advanced argillic lithocaps have been eroded from many porphyry copper deposits in the Andes owing to
the high rates of erosion consequent upon intense tectonic uplift, climatic conditions, or a combination of
both. However, localised pyrophyllite-bearing assemblages in many deposits, irrespective of metallogenic
epoch (e.g. Minas Conga, Toquepala, Cerro Colorado, Polo Sur, Chimborazo, Escondida Norte-Zaldvar,
Escondida, El Salvador, Cerro Casale, Agua Rica, La Fortuna and Famatina; Fig. 1), are interpreted as the
deep roots of lithocaps and document their former existence in the upper parts of porphyry copper systems
throughout the Andes. With the exception of the middle Eocene to early Oligocene porphyry copper deposits
of northern Chile and the late Miocene deposit at Agua Rica, Argentina, porphyry-related lithocaps are
generally poorly mineralised in the Andes, although that above porphyry copper-gold centres at Yanacocha
hosts one of the worlds largest high-sulphidation gold deposits.
An outstanding feature of some, but by no means all, Miocene to early Pliocene porphyry copper deposits in
central Chile and contiguous Argentina porphyry copper deposits is the presence of voluminous hydrothermal
breccias (e.g. Skewes & Stern 1994), which include both ore-bearing phases of magmatichydrothermal
origin and post-ore events associated with phreatomagmatic processes. The breccias formed throughout the
evolution of the porphyry systems, as evidenced by the presence of actinolite, biotite, chlorite, anhydrite, or
tourmaline as principal cementing minerals. High-grade copper ore in breccias is present in nearly all deposits,
and ranges from metre-scale examples at Los Pelambres to large, kilometre-scale complexes, hosting as
much as 50 percent of the contained copper, at Ro Blanco-Los Bronces (Camus 2003).
Gold-rich porphyry copper deposits of the region share all the geologic features of such copper-gold systems
elsewhere, including dominance of magnetite-rich potassic alteration variably overprinted by intermediate
argillic assemblages, and an overall sympathetic relationship between copper and gold grades. Gold-rich
porphyry copper and porphyry gold (<0.01% Cu) deposits tend to be concentrated in restricted segments of
the Andean copper belts (Sillitoe 1998), as in the Cajamarca, Peru, Maricunga, Chile, and Faralln Negro,
Argentina, regions.
Where abundant reactive carbonate strata are present, as in Peru, the dominant mineralisation style developed
is of skarn type. Copper-only, Cu-Zn-Mo and Cu-Mo-Au skarn at, for example, Antamina, Magistral, Tintaya
and many other deposits typically abuts composite porphyry stocks that display potassic alteration and lowgrade porphyry copper mineralisation. Multistage copper introduction in these deposits commenced with
anhydrous, garnet-dominated, chalcopyrite-bearing calc-silicate assemblages to be followed by porphyrystyle quartz-veinlet stockworks under either potassic or intermediate argillic alteration conditions (Perell
et al. 2001, Love et al. 2003).
Supergene chalcocite enrichment and/or deep oxidation were requirements for ore generation in many deposits
of the Andean copper belts, particularly in those that evolved under appropriate climatic and tectonic
conditions. Cumulative supergene enrichment profiles characterise middle Eocene to early Oligocene porphyry
copper deposits in northern Chile, which underwent leaching, oxidation and enrichment mainly, but not
exclusively, during the early to middle Miocene in an arid to semi-arid climatic regime (Alpers & Brimhall
1988, Sillitoe & McKee 1996). The supergene profiles developed under conditions of moderate but persistent
surface uplift, exhumation and erosion, which, in combination with one or more of (1) permeability
enhancement favoured by structural preparation, (2) low neutralisation capacities induced by intense sericitic
and/or advanced argillic alteration, and (3) acidic conditions generated by oxidation of pyrite-rich zones
coincident with copper-bearing massive sulphide veins, formed not only the worlds largest chalcocite blankets
at Chuquicamata and Escondida, but all significant supergene sulphide enrichment throughout the Andean
region, irrespective of the metallogenic epoch (e.g. Perell et al. 1998, 2003). Nevertheless, mature enrichment
blankets are absent from copper deposits in the Miocene to early Pliocene belt, in part due to the youthfulness,
<3 Ma, of the supergene enrichment processes (Sillitoe unpubl. data). Lateral migration of copper-bearing
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Models and Exploration

supergene solutions during active enrichment generated exotic copper deposits where suitably receptive
piedmont gravel sequences were available (Fig. 1c). In contrast, where pyrite-bearing, feldspar-destructive
alteration was only poorly developed, in situ oxidation in reactive rocks was the main supergene process.
Maintenance of a balance between denudation rates and supergene processes under appropriate semi-arid
climatic and surface uplift conditions results in optimal supergene profile development, as in much of the
middle Eocene to early Oligocene belt of northern Chile (Maksaev & Zentilli 1999; Fig. 2).

Figure 2.

Section showing present-day elevation of tops of supergene sulphide zones at selected deposits in the
middle Eocene to early Oligocene belt of northern Chile. Note main breaks at 22 and 27 S and the
preferred elevation ranges in which supergene chalcocite blankets are present and preserved (Perell,
unpubl. data).

Acknowledgements
Our thanks to Hctor Poblete for his drafting work.
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