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THE OREGood gold-rich porphyry ore is typically ey to black in colour, from the abundant secondary biotite and magnetite enclosed in quartz. It is riddled with quartz veinlets, forming a stockwork, with the veinlets containing chalcopyrite and magnetite with subordinate bornite. Disseminated mineralisation will also be present. Gold is never visible and is most common as microscopic grains enclosed in the bornite. The rock’s original texture is usually destroyed. As grades decrease, so does the intensity of the stockworking and the alteration, and the rocks original texture – usually porphyry – becomes aparent. Less desirable (mainly because gold extraction becomes more difficult) ore has overprinted alteration. These rocks are bleached, pyrite has been introduced and replaces the magnetite, and nothing of the original porpyritic texture remains. However the stockwork and the mineralisation remain and when examined petrographically, ghosts of the potassic alteration also remain. The quartz veinlets making up the stockwork have a distinctive texture. They are sinuous, the quartz is vitreous, translucent and equigranular, and open spaces are rare. Where there is open growth the quartz from squat crystals. Supergene enrichment is an important factor in many porphyry deposits. With minor weathering, there is oxidation of sulphides and re-mobilisation of metals. With more extensive weathering, a gossanous mass of iron and copper oxides may be left. Gold may likewise be concentrated by supergene processes. Supergene enrichment can extend to great depths in acid climate, but in tropical island arcs does not often exceed 100m. Note that oxidation of pyrite playls a major role in the development of acid, supergene fluids, although neither the pyrite itself nor the resulting iron oxides normally have any economic value.THE LITHOCAP At structurally higher levels than the porphyry mineralisation there may be a lithocap. This lithocap may host high-sulphidation epitermal mineralisation; which is discussed in detail in module 2. The Lithocap consist of residual silica and pyrite rich advanced argilic alteration. For the underlying porphyry mineralisation to be of economic significance the vertical distance between the lithocap and the ore has to be as small as possible, so the lithocap has to be either deeply eroded or directly overprinting the mineralisation. Therefore a two stage approach is required.Firstly the lithocap has to be identified and differentiated from the advanced argilic and argilic alteration produced by steam heated aqufers overlying boiling neutral systems. This can be done by the recognition of the more exotic mineralogy of porpyry lithocaps, that includes: high sulphidation sulphosalts and base metal sulphides, barite, woodhouseite, topaz, dumortierite, andalusite, and corundum. There are also systematic differences in the S and O isotope ratios in aluniteSecondly, either erosion or overprinting needs to be identified. Erosion can be identified by the presence of pyrophyllite, diaspore, andalusite, corondum and sericite in the alteration assemblages and the presence of octahedral pyrite, bornite and tennantite in the sulphide asseblages. Overprinting can be recognised by the identification of ghosts of potassic alteration, particularly in a porpyritic intrusive or by finding the quartz stockworck.THE SURROUNDING ALTERATIONRegionally there will be propylitic alteration that should contain epidote. Approaching an area of mineralisation the epidote should become more abundant and coarser grained. There can also be overprinting by phyllic alteration, which in turn can be overprinted by argillic alteration. It is however the recognition of higher temperature alteration minerals or their pseudomorphs which is most important in the vicinity of mineralisation. These minerals include garnet, and secondary amphibole, pyroxene and magnetite. Where secondary biotite or its pseudomorphs are found it should be within or directly bordering mineralisation. There should also be an increased abundance of magnetite, but this should be clearly distinguished from a magnetite skarn. This alteration can of course be overprinted and where this is the case it is the recognition of the quartz stockwork which is important.CLAS IN POST-MINERALISATION BRECCIASLate stage diatreme formation is a very common feature of shallowly emplaced porphyry deposits of the southwest Pasific. These can contain mineralised clasts derived from prexisting porphyry mineralisation. Where diatremes containing mineralised clasts outcrop, identification of such clasts can lead to identification of a porpyry body a depth. The discivery of the Far South East (FSE) deposit in the Philippines has been attributed to this method. However it must be noted that whilst the FSE deposit is large and rich, it is also deep and has not yet been developed. This method may therefore be able to identify porphyry deposits but they may not be economic to
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