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Using zircon trace element composition to assess porphyry copper potential of the Guichon Creek batholith and Highland Valley Copper deposit, south-central British Columbia

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Abstract

The Late Triassic Guichon Creek batholith is a large (~ 1800 km2), composite, zoned batholith that hosts several large porphyry Cu-Mo deposits of the Highland Valley Copper district. The batholith consists of intrusive rocks that range in composition from gabbro to quartz monzonite. Adjacent to the mafic margin of the batholith is the Gump Lake granodiorite to quartz monzonite stock. A new U-Pb zircon age of 218 ± 0.18 for the Gump Lake stock indicates that magmatism in the region began at least seven million years prior to the emplacement of the main Guichon Creek batholith rocks at 211 Ma. Zircons from fifteen samples from the Guichon Creek batholith were analyzed by laser ablation ICP-MS to characterize the magmatic evolution and ore fertility of the batholith. The trace element composition of zircon record early, lower crustal, fractional crystallization followed by five pulses of magma recharge and mixing in an upper-crustal, oxidized, magma chamber as well as degassing of the magmatic-hydrothermal fluids that formed the porphyry copper deposits. Zircons from the early barren rocks have chondrite-normalized Eu/EuN* values of 0.19 to 0.56 and estimated temperatures of 850 to 750 °C. The middle to late intrusions that host porphyry copper mineralization have zircon Eu/EuN* values of 0.30 to 0.74 and slightly lower estimated temperatures of 800 to 600 °C. Late porphyritic stocks and dikes from the mineralized centers contain zircon crystals elevated in Y, Nb, Ta, and REE concentration relative to zircon from the earlier intrusions. This distinct change in zircon composition coincides with the copper mineralization, suggesting that zircon chemistry can be used as a tool to identify the genetic evolution of a crystallizing magma chamber and potential for mineralization.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Teck Resources Limited for providing access to the samples used in this study as well as the logistical assistance for all the project work. In particular, we thank Andrew Davies, Lucas Marshall, James Stemler, Gerald Grubisa, John Ryan, Suzanne Byron, and Semyon Martynenko. We also thank Marghaleray Amini for help with the LA-ICP-MS analyses at the Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research. Early discussions with John H. Dilles helped define the scope of this project, and reviews by Dilles, Yongjun Lu, Rui Wang, and Jeremy Richards have helped us improve the manuscript. The authors also thank Rui Wang, Ilkay Kuşcu, and associate editor David Banks and editor Georges Beaudoin for their extensive review of this manuscript.

Funding

All funding for this project was provided through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Canadian Mining Innovation Council (CMIC) Mineral Exploration Footprints project. This manuscript is NSERC-CMIC Mineral Exploration Footprints Project contribution number 168 and MDRU publication number 405.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mineral Deposit Research Unit, University of British Columbia, 2207-2020 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Robert G. Lee & Craig J.R. Hart

  2. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E3, Canada

    Kevin Byrne

  3. Geology Department, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Rd, Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7B 5E1, Canada

    Michael D’Angelo & Pete Hollings

  4. GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473, Potsdam, Germany

    Sarah A. Gleeson

  5. Institute of Geological Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Malteserstrasse, 74-100, 12249, Berlin, Germany

    Sarah A. Gleeson

  6. Teck Resources Limited, Suite 3300, 550 Burrard Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6C 0B3, Canada

    Kevin Byrne & Miguel Alfaro

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Lee, R.G., Byrne, K., D’Angelo, M. et al. Using zircon trace element composition to assess porphyry copper potential of the Guichon Creek batholith and Highland Valley Copper deposit, south-central British Columbia. Miner Deposita 56, 215–238 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-020-00961-1

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