Mineral Deposits

Mineral deposits are concentrations of minerals and, as such, is a geological term.

Whether a mineral deposit is also an ore deposit depends on economics. "Ore" is therefore
an economic term.
Ore deposits can be classified according to a number of different criteria, such as

the minerals contained within the deposit (e.g. porphyry copper deposits)
the shape or size of the deposit (e.g. strataform and stratabound deposits)
the host rocks (e.g. shale hosted deposits, breccia pipes)
the genesis of the deposit (see below)

There are basically five genetic processes that lead to the concentration of minerals

Hydrothermal mineral deposits form in association with magma and water;

Magmatic mineral deposits concentrated in igneous rocks;
Sedimentary mineral deposits are precipitated from a solution, typically sea water;
Placer minerals are sorted and distributed by flow of water (or ice);
Residual mineral deposits formed by weathering reactions at the earth's surface.

Hydrothermal Mineral Deposits

It is probable that more mineral deposits have been formed by deposition from
hydrothermal (literally - hot water) solutions than any other process. Much research has
therefore focused on understanding the types of fluids that produce the deposits and where
they are likely to form. Mineralisation occurs deep underground where it can not be seen.
By the time the deposit is exposed through the agents of uplift and erosion, the
hydrothermal solutions that carried the metals are no longer present. Nevertheless, many
details of the processes of deposition are now understood, although much research still
needs to be done.

Composition of the Solutions

The principle ingredient of hydrothermal solutions is water. Pure water, however, can not
dissolve metals. Hydrothermal solutions are always brines, containing dissolved salts such
as NaCl, KCl, CaSO4 and CaCl2. The range in salinity varies from that of seawater (around
3.5 wt %) to about ten times the salinity of seawater. Such brines are capable of dissolving
small amounts of elements such as Au, Ag, Cu, Pb and Zn. High temperatures increase the
effectiveness of the brines to dissolve metals.

Origins of the Solutions

The waters of hydrothermal solutions can be derived from magmatic sources, meteoric
(ground water) sources and seawater. Some hydrothermal solutions may also be produced
by regional metamorphism.
During wet partial melting, the water that causes the melting is released when the magma
solidifies. This water carries with it soluble constituents such as NaCl, as well as elements
such as Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, Zn, Hg, and Mo that do not easily enter into the common minerals
(e.g. quartz, feldspar) by ionic substitution.

Meteoric and seawater can also form hydrothermal solutions if they are heated sufficiently
and a convection system is generated. The source of this heat is magmatic intrusions, so
magma is a key ingredient in the generation of hydrothermal mineral deposits.
Hydrothermal mineral deposits are thus associated with convergent and divergent plate
boundaries.

Causes of Precipitation
Hot brines can hold in solution greater concentrations of metals than cold brines. As a
hydrothermal solution moves upwards, it cools and the dissolved minerals precipitate out
of solution. To be effective in generating sufficient mineralisation to form ore bodies, the
process must be continuous over a large period of time, so a convection cell is required to
maintain a constant precipitation.
If the upward movement is slow, the precipitation of the minerals would be spread over a
wide area and may not be sufficiently concentrated to form an ore body. Sudden cooling,
caused by rapid movement of the fluid into porous layers such as volcanic tephra or into
open fractures such as veins and brecciated rocks, leads to rapid cooling and the rapid
precipitation of minerals over a limited region.
Boiling, rapid pressure decrease, reactions with adjacent rock types, and mixing with
seawater can also cause rapid precipitation and the concentration of mineral deposits.
The temperature and composition of the fluid can be determined by the study of fluid
inclusions. These are small pockets of fluids that were trapped within the crystal structure
of minerals such as quartz that crystallised at the same time as the mineral deposits. When
the samples are cooled, salts precipitate out of solution, allowing the composition of the
solution to be determined. The fluid inclusions also contain vapour pockets. Heating these
until the vapour dissolves can give an indication of the minimum temperature of the
solution. The actual temperature can not be much higher than this, as expansion would
cause the fracturing of the mineral. Phase diagrams can show which minerals will
precipitate out of solution at specific pressure-temperature conditions, so determining the
temperature of the fluid is a powerful exploration tool.
Note that it is important to determine that the fluid inclusions are primary and formed at the
same time as the mineral, rather than secondary, forming in fractures at a later time.
Inclusions that mimic the growth form of the crystal are likely to be primary, and trapped at
the edge of the crystal while it was growing, whereas nclusions forming a straight line
through the crystal may be secondary.

Types of Hydrothermal Deposits

1. Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) Deposits

Formation
At divergent boundaries, water from the ocean floor flows through fractures in the oceanic
crust. The waters are heated by the nearby magma source, producing a seawater convection
cell which reacts with neighbouring rocks to leach out metals. These dissolved metals are
transported to the ocean floor where they mix with cold bottom waters. The sudden
decrease in temperature causes the minerals to precipitate from solution and they are
incorporated into sediments deposited along the ocean ridge system.

Figure 1: Circulation of fluids and precipitation of mineral deposits at divergent

boundaries.(from Chernicoff, fig. 20-23a, pg 590)
Dischargeisfocusedalongfaultorfracturesystems.Exploration of the ocean floor using
submersible craft discovered plumes of hot waters (360C) expelled along the oceanic
ridge. These "blacksmokers"aremoderndayanaloguestofossilVMSdeposits.Theyhave
beenobservedoverthepastseveralyears formingindeepsubmarinetrenches offthe
Pacific Coast of North America. The plumes contain dissolved minerals such as
manganese, iron, copper and zinc sulphides, and the mineral deposits they produced were
termed massive sulphides. The precipitating minerals make the water coming from tall
vents resemble smoke rising from a chimney when viewed in the lights of the submersible
craft (the floor of the ocean is normally in complete darkness) and the hydrothermal vents
have been named "black smokers" because of this appearance. Scientists discovered
populations of previously unknown organisms living near the vents.
Sedimentary structures in the massive component of the deposits may result from
mechanical reworking and downslope transportation of sulphide ores after initial
deposition.Underlyingalterationandstringermineralizationresultfromtheinteractionof
hotdischargingfluidswiththefootwallrocks.
TheoremineralconstituentsinVMSdepositsarederivedfromtheigneousrocksofthe
crust.Pyroxeneisamajorcomponentoftheserocks,andasCuandZnarepresentin
pyroxenesinminoramountsthroughatomicsubstitution,theresultingfluidsarerichin
theseelements.MostVMSdepositsareCuZnrichasaresult.Incontenentalcrust,Pbisa
commontraceelement,soVMSdepositsassociatedwithandesiticandrhyoliticvolcanism
nearsubductionzonesareZnPbCudeposits.
CharacteristicsofVMSDeposits
Volcanicassociated massive sulphide (VMS) deposits occur throughout the world and
throughout the geological time column in virtually every tectonic domain that has
submarinevolcanicrocksasanimportantconstituent.VMSdepositsaremajorsourcesof
CuandZnandcontainsignificantquantitiesofAu,Ag,Pb,Se,Cd,Bi,Snaswellasminor
amountsofothermetals.
Asagroup,VMSdepositsconsistofmassiveaccumulationsofsulphideminerals(more
than60%sulphideminerals) whichoccurinlenslikeortabular bodiesparallel tothe
volcanicstratigraphyorbedding.

They are usually underlain by a footwall stockwork of vein and stringer sulphide
mineralization and hydrothermal alteration. They may occur in any rock type, but the
predominanthostsarevolcanicrocksandfinegrained,clayrichsediments.Thedeposits
consistofubiquitousironsulphide(pyrite,pyrrhotite)withchalcopyrite,sphalerite,and
galenaastheprincipaleconomicminerals.Bariteandchertysilicaarecommongangue
accessoryminerals.
VMSdepositstendtooccurindistricts.Uptotwodozendepositsmightbeclusteredinan
areaofafewtensofsquarekilometres.KnownVMSdistrictsaregoodhuntinggroundsfor
newdiscoveries. Depositswithinaspecificdistricttendtohavesimilarmetalratiosanda
fairlynarrowrangeincomposition.Inanygivendistrict,depositswilltendtorangeinsize
fromlessthanonemilliontonnestoseveraltensofmillionsoftonnes,withmostdeposits
atthesmallendoftherangeandonlyafewlargedeposits.
MineralandMetalZoning
The distribution of metals and sulphide types is commonly zoned on the scale of an
individuallensandinclustersoflenses.
CuisusuallyhighrelativetoZn+Pbinthecoreofthepipeandinthespineofthemassive
sulphides.TheratioofZn+PbtoCuincreasesaroundtheoutsideofthepipeandtowards
theupperpartandmarginsofthemassivezone.
AuandAgusuallyarehighestinthefringeareas.Baritealsotendstooccuratfringes.
ProportionsofZn,PbandBaalsotendtoincreaseinlensesperipheraltothecenterofthe
deposit,bothlaterallyandvertically(upstrastigraphy).
Pyrrhotite+magnetitemayoccurinthecorezonewithpyriteusuallybecomingdominant
atthefringes.

Figure2:Essentialcharacteristicsofanidealisedvolcanogenicmassivesulphidedeposit.

2.VeinDeposits
Hydrothermal deposits also form on land when metal-rich fluids are expelled from magma
chambers. These fluids form veins and may contain concentrations of economic minerals.
One of the last minerals to form during the cooling of a magma chamber is quartz. Quartz

is precipitated in veins from quartz-rich fluids expelled from magma chambers or from
fluids formed during metamorphism and often form associations with gold deposits.

Definitions
Aveintypedepositisafairlywelldefinedzoneofmineralization,usually inclined and
discordant,whichistypicallynarrowcomparedtoitslengthanddepth.Mostveindeposits
occurinfaultorfissureopeningsorinshearzoneswithincountryrock.
Aveindepositissometimesreferredtoasa(metalliferous) lode deposit.Agreatmany
valuableoreminerals,suchasnativegoldorsilverormetalsulphides,aredepositedalong
withgangueminerals,mainlyquartzand/orcalcite,inaveinstructure.
Aveinsystemisagroupofdiscreteveinswithsimilarcharacteristicsandusuallyrelatedto
thesamestructure.

ModeofFormation
Ashot(hydrothermal)fluidsrisetowardsthesurfacefromcoolingintrusiverocks(magma
chargedwithwater,variousacids,andmetalsinsmallamounts)throughfractures,faults,
brecciatedrocks,porouslayersandotherchannels(i.e.likeaplumbingsystem),theycool
orreactchemicallywiththecountryrock.Someformoredepositsifthefluidsaredirected
through a structure where the temperature, pressure and other chemical conditions are
favourablefortheprecipitationanddepositionoforeminerals.Thefluidsalsoreactwith
therocks theyarepassingthroughtoproduceanalteration zonewithdistinctive, new
minerals.
The presence of intrusive rocks and alteration associated with them provide important
guidestoprospectinggroundforseasonedprospectors.Depositsareoftencontrolledbythe
physicalcharacteristicsofthecountryrocks.Forexample,goodfissureveinsmayoccurin
igneousrockswhereastheyarepoorlydeveloped insedimentaryrocksandserpentine.
Largequartzveinsexistinquartzite,whereasinmudstonestheveinsareverynarrow.The
igneousrocksandquartzitesfracturereadilywhilethe"softer"rocksdonottendtohold
openspaces.
Characteristics
Veindepositsincludemostgoldmines,manylargesilverminesandafewcopperandlead
zincmines..
Veinscommonlyconsistofquartz(sometimesofseveralvarieties suchasamethystor
chalcedony)usuallyoccurringasinterlockingcrystalsinavarietyofsizesorasfinely
laminatedbandsparalleltothewallsofthevein.Minoramountsofsulphidemineralsand
otherganguemineralssuchascalciteandvariousclaymineralsoftenoccur;goldisrarely
visible.
Veinsrangeinthicknessfromafewcentimetresto4metres,theaverageminingwidth
beingaround1m.Theycanbeseveralhundredsofmetreslongandextendtodepthsin
excess of 1,500 metres. Mineralization commonly occurs in shoots within the vein
structures.Thesemaybeupto150metresinstrikelength,30metresinwidthandgreater
than250metresvertical.

Manyoutcropsofgoodlookingveinsarebarrenofgoldorotheroreminerals,butrichore
shoots may occur unexposed on surface, either down dip or along strike. Therefore,
geochemicalpathfindersarerequired.Theseincludearsenic,antimony,ormercurywhich
maybeenrichedintherocksadjacenttothegoldore,eitherwithintheveinstructureorin
adjacentcountryrocks,producinga"halo".
Gradesofgoldhistoricallyhavebeeninthe13.7to17.1g/tonnerangewithcutoffaround
8.6g/tonne.Manymorerecentlydevelopeddepositshavelargertonnagesandlowergrades
andcan bemined economically thanks to moreefficient mining andmilling methods.
Miningrequiresadits,drifts,shaftsandnarrowslopes.Ifaveinsystemoccursnearthe
surfaceitmaybepossibletominebyopenpitmethodswhichwouldgreatlyreducemining
costs.
Goldmaybeassociatedwithpyrrhotite,arsenopyrite,pyrite,chalcopyriteandwithminor
sulphidestheclassic'freegold'.
Silver is commonly associated with galena and galenasphalerite, tetrahedrite or other
copperminerals,antimonyorcopperarsenicsulphidesandchalcopyrite.

3. Porphyry Copper Deposits

Basedonnotesfrom PorphyryCopperDeposits byW.J.McMillanfor"TheProspecting
School on the Web" of the B.C. & Yukon Chamber of Mines, and
McMillan,W.J.andPanteleyev,A.,(1988) PorphyryCopperDeposits,inRoberts,R.G.
andSheahan,P.A.OreDepositModels,GeoscienceCanada,Ottawa.

Introduction
Themajorproductsfromporphyrycopperdepositsarecopperandmolybdenumorcopper
andgold.
Thetermporphyrycoppernowincludesengineeringaswellasgeologicalconsiderations;
itreferstolarge,relativelylowgrade,intrusionrelateddepositsthatcanbeminedusing
massminingtechniques.
Geologically,thedepositsoccurclosetooringraniticintrusiverocksthatareporphyritic
intexture.
Thereareusuallyseveralepisodesofintrusiveactivity,so,arecommonlyassociatedwith
swarmsofdykesandintrusivebreccias.Thecountryrockscanbeanykindofrock,and
oftentherearewidezonesofcloselyfracturedandalteredrocksurroundingtheintrusions.
Thiscountryrockalterationisdistinctiveandchangesasyouapproachmineralization.
Where sulphide mineralization occurs, surface weathering often produces rustystained
bleachedzonesfromwhichthemetalshavebeenleached;ifconditionsareright,thesemay
redepositnearthewatertabletoformanenrichedzoneofsecondarymineralization.

Genesis
Nosinglemodelcanadquately portraythealteration andmineralization processesthat
haveproducedthewidevarietyofporphyrycopperdeposits.However,volatileenriched

magmas emplaced in highly permeable rock are oreforming processes that can be
describedinaseriesofmodelsthatrepresentsuccessivestagesinanevolvingprocess.
Variousfactors,suchasmagmatype,volatilecontent,thenumber,size,timinganddepth
ofemplacementofmineralizingporphyryplutons,variationsincountryrockcomposition
andfracturing,allcombinetoensureawidevarietyofdetail.Aswell,therateoffluid
mixing,densitycontrastsinthefluids,andpressureandtemperaturegradientsinfluencethe
endresult.Differentdepthsoferosionalonecanproduceawiderangeinappearanceseven
inthesamedeposit.
Endmembermodelsofhydrothermalregimesattempttoshowcontrastingconditionsfor
orthomagmatic systemsdominatedbymagmatic(watersderivedfrommoltenrock)and
convectivesystems,dominatedbymeteoricwaters(usuallygroundwater). Theconvecting
fluidstransfermetalsandotherelements,andheatfromthemagmaintothecountryrock
and redistribute elements in the convective system. The two models represent end
members ofacontinuum. Thefundamental difference betweenthemis the sourceand
flowpathofthehydrothermalfluids.
1. OrthomagmaticModel
Volatiles and metal are concentrated during crystallisation of the magma, then
breakthroughthecrystallisedcarapaceashydrothermalfluidsinthepostmgmatic
stage.Theinitialwaveofescapingfluidsfracturesthecountryrockthatcreatesa
crackle zone and plumbing system that controls the travel paths of subsequent
hydrothermal fluids andlocalises alteration andmineralisation. Further cracking
resultsfrommagmaticpressures,boilingandhydrofraturing.
2. ConvectiveModel
Thefluidismostlymeteoricorseawater.Thermallydrivenconvectivecellsare
initiatedbyemplacementofthemagma.Thepermeabilityofthecountryrockis
increasedbytheintrusiveeventstoallowconvectivecirculation.theconvective
fluidsconcentratesoreandganguemineralsneartheintrusion.
Orthomagmatic

Convective

Magmatic intrusion generates an ascending

Permeable country rocks are the primary
hydrothermal plume. Magmatic component
source of fluids. Magmatic fluiuds may be
constitutes up to 95% of the hydrothermal
only 5% of the hydrothermal fluids.
fluid
Salinity is high, ranginng from 15 wt % to 60
Salinity is low, generally less than 15 wt %.
wt %.
Multiple episodes of boiling, caused by
repeated self-sealing and refracturing of the Boiling is localised and of limited duration.
rocks.
Fluid temperatures 400C - 650C, persisting Fluid temperatures may briefly reach 450C,
over long periods of time.
but quickly drop to around 250C. The lower

temperatures are then maintained for a long

time.
Pervasive alteration and mineralisation form a
Alteration and mineralisation are
series of shells around the core of the
pervasive and fracture controlled.
intrusion.

both

Metals and sulphur are derived from the

Metals and sulphur are scavenged from the
magma and are concentrated in residual
enclosing rocks by convective ground waters.
fluids.

Figure 3: Model of hydrothermal systems with orthomagmatic and convective fluid flow
patterns.

DistributionandAge
Porphyry copper provinces seem to coincide, worldwide, with orogenic belts. This
remarkableassociationisclearestinCircumPacificMesozoictoCenozoicdepositsbutis
also apparent in North American, Australian and Soviet Paleozoic deposits within the
orogenicbelts.
Porphyrydepositsoccurintwomainsettingswithintheorogenicbelts;inislandarcsand
at continental margins. Deposits of Cenozoic and, to a lesser extent, Mesozoic age
predominate.ThoseofPaleozoicageareuncommonandonlyafewPrecambriandeposits
withcharacteristics similar toporphyrycoppers havebeendescribed.Deformationand
metamorphismoftheolderdepositscommonlyobscureprimaryfeatures,hencetheyare
difficulttorecognise.

Classification
Porphyrycopperdepositscomprisethreebroadtypes:

Plutonicporphyrycopperdepositsoccurinbatholithicsettingswithmineralisation
principallyoccurringinoneormorephasesofplutonichostrock.
Volcanic typesoccurintherootsofvolcanoes,withmineralisation bothinthe
volcanicrocksandinassociatedcomagmaticplutons.
Classictypesoccurwithhighlevel,postorogenicstocksthatintrudeunrelatedhost
rocks;mineralizationmayoccurentirelywithinthestock,entirelyinthecountry
rock,orinboth.Theearliestmineddeposits,aswellasthemajorityofCenozoic
porphyry copper deposits, are of the classic type. The term "classic" has been
appliedtothembecauseoftheirhistoricalsignificance,becauseoftherolethey
playedindevelopmentofgeneticmodels,andbecausenoothertermcurrentlyin
theliteratureadequatelydescribesthem.

Alteration
Strong alteration zones develop in and around granitic rocks with related porphyry
deposits.Ifthealkalitohydrogenratioislow,feldspars,micasandothersilicatesbecome
unstable and hydrolysis occurs, releasing cations and driving the hydrothermal system
towardequilibrium.
Fouralterationtypesarecommon
1. Propylitic
Weakhydrolysis.Quartzandalkalifeldspararestable,butplagioclaseandmafic
mineralsreactwiththefluidtoformalbitised(Na)plagioclase,chlorite,epidote,
carbonateandmontmorillonite.
2. Argillic
Moreintensehydrolysis.Characterisedbyquartz,kaoliniteandchlorite.
3. Phyllic
Quartzandsericite(finemuscovite),commonlyaccompaniedbypyrite.
4. Potassic
High temperature alteration by concentrated hydrothermal fluids. All rock
constituentsarunstable.Alterationassemblagesofquartz(commonlyresorbed),K
feldspar,biotiteandintermediateplagioclase.
As a generallised model, these alteration assemblages form distinct zones around the
intrusion,withashellofpotassicalterationgradingoutwardthroughashellofcreamor
greenquartzandsericite(phyllic),white,chalkyclay(argillic)andthengreenishchlorite,
epidote,sodicplagioclaseandcarbonate(propylitic)alterationzonesintounalteredcountry
rock.Inreality,thecompletesequenceisrarelydevelopedorpreserved,andassemblages
are strongly influenced by the composition of the host rocks. Often there is early
developmentofawideareaofsecondarybiotitethatgivestherockadistinctivebrownish
colour.

Stockworks of veins with many crosscutting relationships demonstrate that multiple

episodes of fracturing and sealing occur. In general, alteration types are potassic and
propylitic,thenphyllicandfinallyargillic.

Mineralsation
Original sulphide minerals in these deposits are pyrite, chalcopyrite, bornite and
molybdenite.Goldisofteninnativefoundastinyblobsalongbordersofsulphidecrystals.
Mostofthesulphidesoccurinveinsorplasteredonfractures;mostareintergrownwith
quartzorsericite.Inmanycases,thedepositshaveacentralverylowgradezoneenclosed
by'shells'dominatedbybornite,thenchalcopyrite,andfinallypyrite,whichmaybeupto
15%oftherock.Molybdenitedistributionisvariable,Radialfracturezonesoutsidethe
pyritehalomaycontainleadzincveinswithgoldandsilvervalues.

StructuralFeatures
Mineralizationinporphyrydepositsismostlyonfracturesorinalterationzonesadjacentto
fractures,sogroundpreparationordevelopmentofa'plumbingsystem'isvitallyimportant
andgradesarebestwheretherocksarecloselyfractured.Porphyrytypemineraldeposits
resultwhenlargeamountsofhotwaterthatcarrysmallamountsofmetalspassthrough
permeablerocksanddepositthemetals.
Intrusionsassociatedwith,porphyrycopperdepositsaregenerallyemplacedascrystal
liquidmixturesatlessthan4kmdepthandusuallyonly12km.theyareporphyritic,
reflectingrapidchilling.Porphyrydykesareubiquitousandmanybrecciabodiesrefectan
explosiveescapeofvolatiles.Severalperiodsofbrecciationoccur.
Intensehydrothermalalterationaccompaniesandaffectsthebrecciasanddykes.Insuch
casesitcanbedifficulttodistinguishporphyrydykesfromsimilarhostrocksand,insome
cases,eventorecognisebrecciabodies.

4.EpithermalDeposits
Epithermal gold deposits form in hydrothermal systems related to volcanic activity. These
systems, while active, discharge to the surface as hot springs or fumaroles. Thus, the study
of active hydrothermal systems provides information on hydrothermal processes that are
related to metal transport and deposition. In turn, this information can be used to predict
how gold deposits form, and where to find them.
Epithermal gold deposits occur largely in volcano-plutonic arcs (island arcs as well as
continental arcs) associated with subduction zones, with ages similar to those of volcanism.
The deposits form at shallow depth, of <1 km - 2km, and are hosted mainly by volcanic
rocks. Epithermal deposits occur as small vein systems (less than a million tonnes in size)
and breccia pipes, but with good grades.

Characteristics
1. Mineralisation is near the surface, to a maximum depth of around 2 km. The
vertical range of ore is about 350 m
2. Veins are the most common ore host, with breccia zones, stockwork and fine
grained bedding replacement also occuring.

3. Fracture systems are commonly, but not necessarily, associated with large-scale
volcanic collapse structures (calderas)
4. Close association with subaerial pyroclastic rocks and sub-volcanic intrusions. Hot
springs and fumarole deposits may be present in deposits that are not deeply
eroded.
5. Ore ans associated minerals are deposited mainly in open space filling with banded,
crustiform, drusy, colloform and cockscomb textures.
6. Gold and silver are the main economic minerals with lesser Hg, As and Sb.
7. Gangue minerals are mainly quartz and calcite with lesser fluorite, barite and pyrite.
8. Hydrothermal alteration is pronounced, with argillic - phyllic alteration within a
larger propylitic envelope.

Genesis
Epithermal deposits form from dilute (< 5 wt % NaCl) waters that undergo boiling or
effervescent degassing, fluid mixing and oxidation at temperatures in the range of 200 300C. Boiling and mixing of fluids appears to be the most important cooling mechanisms.

5. Skarns
Skarns are generally thought of as being the result of contact metamorphism of impure
limestone.
However,althoughthemajoritycontainatleastsomelimestone,skarnscanformduring
regionalorcontactmetamorphismandfromavarietyofmetasomaticprocessesinvolving
fluidsofmagmatic,metamorphic,meteoric,and/ormarineorigin.Theyarefoundadjacent
toplutons,along faults andmajor shearzones,inshallow geothermal systems,onthe
bottomoftheseafloor,andatlowercrustaldepthsindeeplyburiedmetamorphicterrains.
What links these diverse environments, and what defines a rock as skarn, is the
mineralogy. This mineralogy includes a wide variety of calcsilicate and associated
mineralsbutusuallyisdominatedbygarnetandpyroxene.
Skarns can be subdivided according to several criteria, the most common being their
mineralogy and their enclosing rock types. Exoskarns are skarns developed in the
sedimentary rocks surrounding the themal source (pluton). Endoskarns are those
developedwithintheigneousintrusion.Magnesianandcalcicskarncanbeusedtodescribe
thedominantcompositionoftheoriginalrockandresultingskarnminerals.Suchtermscan
becombined,asinthecaseofamagnesianexoskarnwhichcontainsforsteritediopside
skarnformedfromdolostone.
Thevastmajorityofskarndepositsareassociatedwithmagmaticarcsrelatedtosubduction
beneathcontinentalcrust.

SkarnDeposits
Adescriptiveskarnclassificationcanbebasedonthedominanteconomicminerals.
1. IronSkarns
Thelargestskarndeposits,withmanyover500milliiontonnes.Theyareminedfor
theirmagnetite.MinoramountsofNi,Cu,CoandAumaybepresent,buttypically

only Fe is recovered. They are dominantly magnetite, with only minor silicate
gangue.
2. GoldSkarns
Mostgoldskarnsareassociatedwithrelativelymaficdioritegranodioriteplutons
anddyke/sillcomplexes.SomelargeFeorCuskarnshaveAuinthedistalzones.
Thereisthepotentialthatotherskarntypeshaveundiscoveredpreciousmetalsif
theentiresystemhasnotbeenexplored.
3. TungstenSkarns
Thesearefoundinassociationwithcalcalkalineplutonsinmajororogenicbelts.
Theyareassociatedwithcoarsegrained,equigranularbatholiths(withpegmatite
andaplitedykes),surroundedbyhightemperaturemetamorphicaureoles.Thisis
indicativeofadeepenvironment.
4. CopperSkarns
Thesearetheworld'smostabundanttypeandareparticularlycommoninorogenic
zones related to subduction both in continental and oceanic settings. Most are
associated with porphyritic plutons with cogenetic volcanic rocks, stockwork
veining,brittlefracturing,brecciationandintensehydrothermalaleteration.These
featuresareallindicativeofarelativelyshallowenvironment.Thelargestcopper
skarns can exceed 1 billion tonnes and are associated with porphyry copper
deposits.
5. ZincSkarns
Mostoccurincontinentalsettingsassociatedeitherwithsubductionorrifting.They
arealsominedforleadandsilver,andarehighgrade.Theyforminthedistalzone
toassociatedigneousrocks.
6. MolybdenumSkarns
Most are associated with leucocratic (lacking ferromagnesian minerals) granites
andformhighgraade,smalldeposits.othermetalsarealsocommonlyassociated,
themostcommonbeingMoWCuskarns.
7. TinSkarns
These are almost exclusively associated with high silica granites generated by
partial melting of continental crust. Greisen alteration by fluorine produces a
characteristicyellowishmica.