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The Mantos Blancos copper deposit: an upper Jurassic breccia-style hydrothermal system in the Coastal Range of Northern Chile

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Abstract

The Upper Jurassic Mantos Blancos copper deposit (500 Mt at 1.0% Cu), located in the Coastal Range of northern Chile, displays two superimposed hydrothermal events. An older phyllic alteration probably related to felsic magmatic–hydrothermal brecciation at ∼155 Ma, and younger (141–142 Ma) potassic, propylitic, and sodic alterations, coeval with dioritic and granodioritic stocks and sills, and dioritic dikes. Main ore formation is genetically related to the second hydrothermal event, and consists of hydrothermal breccias, disseminations and stockwork-style mineralization, associated with sodic alteration. Hypogene sulfide assemblages show distinctive vertical and lateral zoning, centered on magmatic and hydrothermal breccia bodies, which constitute the feeders to mineralization. A barren pyrite root zone is overlain by pyrite-chalcopyrite, and followed upwards and laterally by chalcopyrite-digenite or chalcopyrite-bornite. The assemblage digenite–supergene chalcocite characterizes the central portions of high-grade mineralization in the breccia bodies. Fluid inclusions show evidence of boiling during the potassic and sodic alteration events, which occurred at temperatures around 450–460°C and 350–410°C, and salinities between 3–53 and 13–45 wt% NaCl eq., respectively. The hydrothermal events occurred during episodic decompression due to fluid overpressuring, hydrofracturing, and sharp changes from lithostatic to hydrostatic conditions. Sulfur isotope results of hypogene sulfide minerals fall in a narrow range around 0 per mil, suggesting a dominance of magmatic sulfur. Carbon and oxygen isotopic data of calcites from propylitic alteration suggest a mantle-derived carbon and oxygen isotope fractionation due to low-temperature alteration.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by a FONDEF (CONICYT, Chile), grant DO1-1012, awarded to the authors and the Mantos Blancos division of Anglo American Chile. Permission for publication was granted by the University of Chile, the Chilean Government, and AngloAmerican Chile. We thank the Mantos Blancos mine geology staff, especially to Jorge Pizarro, with whom we had the pleasure of working. Special acknowledgement to Jens Wittenbrink for his constructive comments to the manuscript. Finally, this paper was improved through the valuable reviews of Shoji Kojima, Robert King and Larry Meinert.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Chile, P.O. Box 13518-21,, Santiago, Chile

    L. E. Ramírez, C. Palacios, B. Townley & M. A. Parada

  2. NEG LABISE Department of Geology, Federal University of Pernambuco, C. P. 7852, Recife-PE, 50.732-970, Brazil

    A. N. Sial

  3. Institute of Earth Sciences J. Almera, CSIC, Sole i Sabaris, 08028,, Barcelona, Spain

    J. L. Fernandez-Turiel

  4. Faculty of Geology, University of Barcelona, Marti i Franques, 08028,, Barcelona, Spain

    D. Gimeno & M. Garcia-Valles

  5. Institut für Mineralogie und Mineralische Rohstoffe, Technische Universität Clausthal, Adolph Roemer Strasse 2 A, 38678, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany

    B. Lehmann

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  1. L. E. Ramírez
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  2. C. Palacios
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  3. B. Townley
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  4. M. A. Parada
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  7. D. Gimeno
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  9. B. Lehmann
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Correspondence to L. E. Ramírez.

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Editorial handling: R. King

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Ramírez, L.E., Palacios, C., Townley, B. et al. The Mantos Blancos copper deposit: an upper Jurassic breccia-style hydrothermal system in the Coastal Range of Northern Chile. Miner Deposita 41, 246–258 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-006-0055-9

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