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ABSTRACT
The Cerro Corona mine consists of a Cu-Au porphyry deposit located in the Andes of northern
Peru. The deposit comprises a typical Cu-Au multiphase porphyry mineralisation that has been
overprinted by an epithermal event. This has generated a complex pattern of argillic alteration
facies, which was accompanied by a locally structural-controlled Au-Cu mineralisation with the
presence of gold and limited Cu sulfides and sulfosalts. These features, along with the porphyry-
style mineralisation, produced a multifaceted occurrence of gold.
Since the beginning of operations at Cerro Corona in 2008 there has been a continuous
improvement of the geological and mineralogical knowledge. All mineralogical studies have
mainly focused on host rock types and, to a lesser extent, alteration minerals, but little work has
been done on the mineralisation itself. As a consequence, limited mineralogical information was
available for use in the process optimisation initiatives.
In the last two years, a series of mineralogical characterisation studies were undertaken with two
main goals. First, to gain an understanding of the mineralisation genesis and second, to obtain a
detailed characterisation of copper and gold minerals to support ongoing process optimisation.
The first goal was achieved by conventional optical microscopy while the second required
electronic microscopy and other microanalyses due to the necessity of quantifying several minerals
of interest for the processing.
The results were used to refine pre-existing geometallurgical domains, explain copper and
gold losses in the flotation process and to some extent, improve copper and gold recoveries.
The mineralogical characterisation is an ongoing work. Mineralogy provides the basis for any
optimisation exercise since it looks in detail at the material to be treated and therefore, should be
part of all geometallurgical programs.
INTRODUCTION
Geometallurgy is now embedded in a large number of 1.75 Moz of gold at 0.9 g/t and 60.5 Mt copper at 0.47percent
operations around the world. A constant increasing number (Gold Fields, 201). The mineralogical knowledge of the
of people and companies are applying geometallurgy deposit has improved since the beginning of operation
to improve the extraction of their resource. The roots of through mineralogical studies. However, these studies
geometallurgy lie in the mineralogy and there are numerous were qualitative and therefore, a quantitative study was
papers showing that a detailed mineralogical characterisation necessary to be able to obtain additional information than
permits to optimise the process (Williams, 2013; Olson Hoal, only the mineral species and texture of a limited number of
2013; Brissette and Roman, 2012; Rocha, Ulloa and Diaz, 2012; samples. For this reason, a detailed mineralogical study has
Lamberg, 2011). been conducted in order to characterise the current mineral
The Cerro Corona mine has been in operation since mid- domains used at the mine, through quantitative mineralogy
2008 and has estimated resources of 3.05 Moz of gold at and particle analysis. The results of the characterisation are
0.81g/t and 108 Mt copper at 0.42 per cent and reserves of presented in this paper.
1. MAusIMM(CP), Senior Geoscientist, Gold Fields La Cima SA, Santiago de Surco, Lima 33, Peru. Email: regina.baumgartner@goldfields.com.pe
2. Geology and Exploration Manager, Gold Fields La Cima SA, Santiago de Surco, Lima 33, Peru. Email: paul.gomez@goldfields.com.pe
3. Geometallurgy Superintendent, Gold Fields La Cima SA, Santiago de Surco, Lima 33, Peru. Email: gustavo.escobar@goldfields.com.pe
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R Baumgartner, P Gomez and G Escobar
GEOLOGICAL OVERVIEW does not show an occurrence zonation as it is the case in other
porphyry copper-gold deposits.
Cerro Corona is a typical Cu-Au porphyry deposit and
is located in the northern Andes of Peru. The deposit
geology consists of a series of Miocene porphyritic diorite MINERALOGY STUDIES
stocks intruding a Tertiary limestone sequence (Figure 1). In order to characterise the overall modal mineralogy, grain
Dioritic, monzodioritic and granodioritic porphy intrusive size as well as liberation of the principal copper mineral,
rocks occur also in the region (Figure 1). The Cerro Corona chalcopyrite, a series of techniques have been used. In order
porphyritic diorite is composed of a total of six stocks within to obtain representative samples from the different alteration
the Cerro Corona diorite and only four of them generated types and spatial locations, samples from different sources
hydrothermal alteration within the adjacent stocks or in the have been collected.
adjacent limestone sequence with Cu-Au mineralisation.
The largest and earliest stock altered adjacent limestone Samples
to a marble facies but does not appear to have precipitated
economic mineralisation. Only scarce occurrence of skarn Samples have been collected from three different sources:
mineralisation in the limestone has been observed to date. 1. drill hole samples (diamond drill hole (DDH), 6 m adjacent
The alteration facies observed in the altered and mineralised intervals)
stocks are typical of porphyry-style alteration and show 2. pit wall samples (10 kg channel sample)
potassic, scare phyllic and propylitic alteration. Argillic and 3. production polygons (split of blastholes composite).
silicification alteration overprints the previous alterations.
It is clear that the third type of sample represents a large
Advanced argillic alteration occurs in the upper parts of
the deposit, is structurally controlled and overprints part tonnage of rock and therefore, may show smoothed results, as
of the porphyry-style alteration. Porphyry-style alteration opposed to a more local sample such as the first and second
and mineralisation have been therefore overprinted to some type. In each type of samples, the different alterations are
extent, resulting in gradational boundaries between alteration represented depending on the total tonnage of each alteration
types as well as remnants of typical porphyry-style alteration. in the life-of-mine (LOM) mining plan. In Table 2, the details
The argillic alteration is the main challenge since there are of the sample types and alteration are shown.
subtle mineralogical variations which deserve a subalteration All samples were selected in order to cover the most
facies classification (ARG1, ARG2 and ARG3). The main important rock types by tonnages and ounces equivalent. The
difference of the subalterations is the type and quantity of spatial distribution has been taken into account whenever
clay minerals. Table 1 shows the main alteration present at possible due to the availability of mined polygons at the time
Cerro Corona and their characteristics. of the sample collection, DDH coarse rejects and access to pit
The main economic copper minerals are chalcopyrite and to walls. Figure 2 shows the spatial distribution of all samples
a lesser extent chalcocite and covellite. Gold minerals include collected. The copper and gold head grades of the samples
mainly native gold and smaller amounts of electrum (up to collected were distributed among the distribution curve of the
ten per cent). Pyrite is present in all parts of the deposit and LOM resource model in order to cover most representative
FIG 1 Regional geological map of the surroundings of the Cerro Corona mine.
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COMPREHEnSIVE MInERALOGICAL CHARACTERISATIOn AT THE CERRO COROnA CU-AU PORPHyRy MInE
TABLE 1
Key minerals and principal sulfide assemblages in the different alteration types.
head grades. Figure 3 shows the copper and gold head grades
TABLE 2 by alteration type for the collected samples.
Summary of the sample collected for the mineralogical study.
Analytical methods and test work
Alteration Polygons Pit wall DDH Total samples
Complementary mineralogy studies were conducted on the
SIL (silicification) 9 11 6 26 collected samples as well as rougher flotation test works.
ARG1 3 14 6 23 Mineralogical studies included QEMSCAN analysis (using
ARG3 11 6 5 22 a Quanta 650F QEMSCAN) to obtain modal mineralogy for
all minerals as well as grain size, associations and liberation
K 4 0 11 15
of chalcopyrite and pyrite. A detailed semi-quantitative
ARG2 2 1 5 8 X-ray diffraction (XRD) study has been completed on all
SSH (supergene) 4 0 0 4 samples with the aim of distinguishing between the different
clay minerals present at Cerro Corona. For gold mineralogy,
Total 33 32 33 98
a preconcentration using heavy liquid separation (using
DDH diamond drill hole. sodium polytungstate at a specific gravity of 3.0) has been
conducted on a selected number of samples (80) to increase
the chance of analysing a higher number of gold grains.
These were subsequently analysed using a Quanta 650F
QEMSCAN in order to have similar information as for the
other minerals as described above. A total of 666 gold grains
were analysed.
Laboratory rougher flotation test work has been conducted
on all samples, using standard conditions used at the mine
site laboratory for comparison purposes.
the third ausimm international geometallurgy ConFerenCe / perth, wa, 1516 june 2016 223
R BAUMGARTnER, P GOMEZ AnD G ESCOBAR
The amorphous-type pyrite appears to be the results of alterations contain the highest quantity of amorphous pyrite
a recrystallisation of previous pyrite and chalcopyrite. while the potassic alteration contains less. Pyrite occurs in
Microprobe analysis on this type of pyrite has shown that lower quantities than amorphous pyrite.
it can contain up to 1.7 wt per cent copper. This type of
pyrite is called amorphous because it not identified by the
XRD analysis but as an amorphous material, due to its poor
Modal mineralogy
crystallisation. The overall modal mineralogy has been obtained and
The distribution of amorphous pyrite in the different classified by alteration type, which is shown in Figure 6.
alterations is shown in Figure 5. The silicification and ARG1 Alteration ARG2, contain a higher content of carbonates and
chlorite (as clinochlore), indicating that this alteration has
overprinted part of the propylitic alteration. This is also shown
by its occurrence in the distal portions of the deposit. The
silicified portion of the deposit, consisting of quartz-veining
stockwork and classified as SIL, contains the highest quartz
contents. It is also the alteration with the highest contents of Fe
oxides and hydroxide in the form of magnetite and hematite.
As expected, it can be seen that secondary copper minerals
such as covellite and chalcocite (shown under the name other
Cu sulfides in Figure 6) are the most abundant in the SSH type
FIG 4 Occurrence of two types of pyrite, generally accompanied by of alteration. The pyrite content varies from one alteration to
marcasite. Note the porous texture of the amorphous-type pyrite. another and is the most abundant in SIL and ARG1.
FIG 5 Box plot of the quantity of pyrite and amorphous pyrite by alteration type.
FIG 6 Average modal mineralogy for each type of alteration. Minerals from the legend occur from left to right in the bar chart.
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COMPREHEnSIVE MInERALOGICAL CHARACTERISATIOn AT THE CERRO COROnA CU-AU PORPHyRy MInE
FIG 7 Clay mineralogy according to alteration type. Minerals from the legend occur from left to right in the bar chart.
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R Baumgartner, P Gomez and G Escobar
TABLE 3
Examples of different textures at Cerro Corona that may impact the process (modified from Amstutz, 1961). Colours: orange = chalcopyrite;
green = amorphous pyrite; yellow = pyrite; pink = quartz. Images from QEMSCAN particle analysis or backscattered electron.
gold grains (5m) while the ARG2 alteration shows the binary associations consist mainly of chalcopyrite and quartz,
highest average gold grain size (18 m). amorphous pyrite, pyrite or muscovite (probably illite) to a
It is clear that there are different mineralogical factors that lesser extent.
will influence the copper and gold recovery by flotation, but Theoretical grade-recovery curves have been obtained for
there are also operational factors. each sample and can be compared with the rougher flotation
tests conducted in the laboratory for the corresponding
Liberation and associations samples. One example is given here for the theoretical
The liberation and association information is key for prediction recovery-grade curves for ARG3 samples. Recoveries
or interpretation of copper and gold recoveries. In fact, it obtained from rougher flotation are highlighted for two
provides information on the occurrence of the mineral of selected samples in Figure 12. The copper recovery of
interest. If it is measured on a material that will enter the plant, 84 per cent corresponds to a curve that is flatter than the
it can provide predictive information. When it is measured on curves with higher recoveries (eg 93 per cent copper
tails, it can inform on the losses of the valuable mineral (due recovery). This is due to the fact that the liberation and grade
to the material or to operational factors). At Cerro Corona, size influenced the performance of the recovery. Figure 13
it has been used to predict the theoretical behaviour of shows that the sample returning lower copper recovery
chalcopyrite using theoretical grade-recovery curves deduced contains smaller liberated chalcopyrite grains and scarce
from the mineralogical data and subsequently compared to liberated binary particles (Figure 13a) than in the sample
laboratory flotation results. The liberation of chalcopyrite on returning a higher copper recovery (Figure 13b). The latter
average and by alteration type is shown in Figure 10 while shows larger chalcopyrite liberated grains as well as a larger
its associations are shown in Figure 11. It can be noted that amount of liberated binary particles with larger grain sizes
most of the chalcopyrite has ternary/complex association, ie than the other sample (Figure 13b). Therefore, grain size,
more than two or more minerals associated to chalcopyrite. liberation and association permit to predict the copper
In this case, the minerals associated to chalcopyrite are pyrite, recovery using theoretical grade-recovery curves.
amorphous pyrite, quartz, muscovite (as illite), K-feldspar The liberation and association of native gold has also been
and/or minor magnetite/hematite and goethite. Most of the determined in order to determine gold losses in the obtained
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Comprehensive Mineralogical Characterisation at the Cerro Corona Cu-Au Porphyry Mine
FIG 8 Box plot showing the average P80 for chalcopyrite grains by alteration type.
FIG 9 Box plot showing the average P80 for gold grains by alteration type. The numbers in each box correspond to the number of
analysed samples. The number of gold grains analysed by alteration type was: ARG1: 75, ARG2: 44, ARG3: 171, K: 146, SIL: 202 and SSH: 28.
FIG 10 Liberation grade of chalcopyrite by alteration type. For reference, < = 100 per cent indicates that
91 to 100 per cent of the surface of the chalcopyrite is liberated. Liberation classes occur from left to right in the bar chart.
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R Baumgartner, P Gomez and G Escobar
FIG 11 Associations of chalcopyrite classified as free chalcopyrite, binary and ternary/complex associations. The latter is in general
a combination of pyrite, amorphous pyrite, quartz, muscovite (as illite), K-feldspar and/or minor magnetite/hematite and goethite.
FIG 12 Theoretical grade-recovery curves calculated from mineralogy results for the ARG3 alteration (150 m). The two coloured curves (red
84percent; orange 93 per cent) were also obtained from mineralogy but the laboratory flotation results are shown in the text box for comparison.
gold recoveries. Samples with low gold recoveries contain Relations of recovery and mineralogy
in general gold locked in pyrite or quartz. Gold locked in As shown above, the recovery is closely related to the
amorphous pyrite and pyrite (Figure 14) is in general lost in mineralogy of the valuable elements as well as the gangue
the cleaner circuit and to a lesser extent in the rougher circuit minerals. In a plant, operational factors have to be taken into
while gold locked in quartz is lost in the rougher flotation. account. However, information on the mineralogy permits to
Gold locked in chalcopyrite will report to the final concentrate. predict the theoretical recovery and plan in accordance to the
In Figure 14a, the gold is mainly locked in chalcopyrite and as obtained results. The comparison of the flotation data with
expected, the gold rougher flotation recovery for this sample the mineralogical data is best done with plant data since it is
returns 95.2 per cent while Figure 14b, the gold rougher the real recovery obtained from a material. In fact, laboratory
recovery for this sample is 89.9 per cent because pyrite has flotation results, although they are standardised, contain still
been depressed already in the rougher stage (total gold grains variability that can be attributed to the flotation personnel
analysed: 15). when not automatised.
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Comprehensive Mineralogical Characterisation at the Cerro Corona Cu-Au Porphyry Mine
A B
FIG 13 Particle maps for chalcopyrite grains. (A) Particle map for the lower copper recovery sample (P9), showing smaller grain sizes
and scarce binary liberated particles. (B) Particle map for the higher copper recovery sample (GDF192/64-70) showing a larger size of
the liberated chalcopyrite grains as well as more liberated binary particles than in (A). For colour legend, see Figure 14.
A B
FIG 14 Particles with gold encapsulated (blue and black circles). (A) Gold encapsulated in mainly chalcopyrite and to a
lesser extent in amorphous pyrite and pyrite. (B) Gold encapsulated in amorphous pyrite and pyrite. Colour legend: orange
= chalcopyrite, yellow = pyrite, green = amorphous pyrite, pink = quartz, light orange = K-feldspar.
A plant example for gold recovery illustrates the occurrence to a lesser extent chalcopyrite (Figure 15). This can justify
of gold discussed above. During a day of operation, argillic the losses of gold in the cleaner tails. It is not discarded that
alteration material (ARG1 and ARG3) was processed. The losses due to operational factors occurred.
gold recovery in the rougher flotation circuit was 70percent,
The others losses that might have been overlooked are the
but this recovery decreases drastically in the cleaner circuit
eventual gold grains locked in quartz. However, most of
to a gold recovery of 51 per cent. The head grade of the
material processed was 0.51percent copper and 0.72g/t those would have been lost in the rougher flotation circuit.
gold. Looking in details at the occurrence of gold, the Some fine-grained free gold might have also been lost in the
mineralogical results show that most of the observed gold rougher flotation if the size was not large enough to be able
is fine grained and locked in amorphous pyrite, pyrite and to float.
FIG 15 Mineral particles with encapsulated gold (black circles). Total gold grains: 15. For colour legend, see Figure 14.
the third ausimm international geometallurgy CONFERENCE / perth, wa, 1516 june 2016 229
R Baumgartner, P Gomez and G Escobar
The study also permitted to characterise in detail the Olson Hoal, K, 2013. The importance of mineralogical input
different argillic alterations (ARG1ARG3) and show that into geometallurgy programs, in Proceedings The Second
AusIMM International Geometallurgy Conference (ed: S Dominy),
their distinction is important. This had a direct impact in the
pp1725 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy:
blending strategy at the mine. Melbourne).
This is a first step in the geometallurgical ore characterisation Rocha, M, Ulloa, C and Diaz, M, 2012. Geometallurgical modelling
program at Cerro Corona. The second step is to obtain in the Los Bronces Mine, in Proceedings International Seminar
mineralogical information from daily plant products to be on Geometallurgy 2012 (eds: C Barahona, R Kuyvenhoven and
able to monitor the evolution of the performance of the plant KPinto), p34 (Gecamin: Santiago de Chile).
by identifying if the copper (and gold) losses are due to the Williams, S, 2013. A historical perspective of the application and
nature of the material or due to operational factors. success of geometallurgical methodologies, in Proceedings
The Second AusIMM International Geometallurgy Conference
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (ed:SDominy), pp3747 (The Australasian Institute of Mining
and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
Gold Fields La Cima SA is acknowledged for permission
to publish this paper and being supportive. The entire
230 the third ausimm international geometallurgy CONFERENCE / perth, wa, 1516 june 2016