Their geology makes porphyry deposits rare, while most near-surface examples have already been found. This means there may be interest for mining companies looking for resources without understanding how and where they form.
This is especially important given the recent forecasts that the annual supply deficit is projected to reach 10 million tons by 2030 if no mines are built.
Porphyry copper deposits supply 75% of the world’s copper
According to the researchers, the link they have found is related to how large amounts of mineral fluids are transported and transported from its source magmas and concentrated in the ore-forming atmosphere by ‘crystal mush dykes’.
This dyke “recognition is paramount for the development of more reliable porphyryl exploration models and is important for other ore-forming systems and volcanic processes,” Lawrence Carter, lead author of the study, said in a media statement.
To reach these findings, the experts conducted field studies and micro-textural and geochemical analysis from the Architectural Yerington Porfiri District in Nevada, where many porphyry copper deposits are deposited by a paleo-vertical cross-section of 8 km. .
There, the team was able to identify an interconnected network of quartz in dykes once found in rocks beneath copper deposits. This represents paleo-porosity in the once-permeable magmatic crystal mesh of feldspar and quartz. The mush served as rivers of large amounts of porphyry-deposit-forming fluid from the deepest parts of the underlying magmas.
The group believes that these advances could provide insights into the discovery of new porphyry copper deposits, which already provide 75% of the world’s copper, and the proposed mechanism for the formation of other deposits of iron, as well as degrading processes in the volcanic system.
