Tempo of magma degassing and the genesis of porphyry copper deposits.

ABSTRACT: Porphyry deposits are copper-rich orebodies formed by precipitation of metal sulphides from hydrothermal fluids released from magmatic intrusions that cooled at depth within the Earth's crust. Finding new porphyry deposits is essential because they are our largest source of copper and they also contain other strategic metals including gold and molybdenum. However, the discovery of giant porphyry deposits is hindered by a lack of understanding of the factors governing their size. Here, we use thermal modelling and statistical simulations to quantify the tempo and the chemistry of fluids released from cooling magmatic systems. We confirm that typical arc magmas produce fluids similar in composition to those that form porphyry deposits and conclude that the volume and duration of magmatic act

SUBMITTER: Chelle-Michou C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5227963 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature