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DISCUSSIONS 19 5

MINERALIZATION AND PARAGENESIS OF THE HUANZALA MINE, CENTRAL PERU--A DISCUSSION

PIERRE SOLER,
InstitutFranqaisde Recherche
Scientifique
pour le Ddveloppement en Coopdration,ORSTOM,213 rue Lafayette,75010Paris,France,
and C.N.R.S.,U.A. 384 "Pdtrologieet Mdtallogdnie"

ROLANDOCARRASCAL,
AND JORGESAEZ
Departamentode Geologia,UniversidadNacionalde Ingeneria,Avenida TupacAmaru Km. 4, Lima, Peru

Sir: In a recent paper Imai et al. (1985) presented Furthermore, the ore presentsa general macro-
mineralogicaland petrologicaldata on the Huanzala scopicand microscopicconcordancewith the strata
polymetallicore deposit,centralPeru. This paper is andshowspeculiarstructuresandtextures,suchasa
an importantstep in the understanding of physicalpyrite geopetaltexture, framboidalpyrite, a ribbon
andchemicalconditionsof ore formationin Huanzala, structureof pyrite and sphaleriteand/or galena,mi-
but thegeneticinterpretation theyproposeisnotvery cro-synsedimentary or syndiageneticfaults,andcon-
convincingbecausemacroscopic andmicroscopic re- volutionsinvolvingore minerals.
lationsbetween the ore assemblages and wall rock A detailedstudyof ore distributionin mantoV3
(e.g., Cretaceoussedimentaryformationsand Mio- lenses(Carrascal,1984) showsthat in each lens the
cenecalc-alkalinegranodioriticdikes)are not consid- zonation is generally concentricwith a higher Zn
ered in detail. contenttowardthe rims and a higherPb contentto-
To begin with, it is of someimportanceto point ward the center of the lenses.In addition, Carrascal
out that the Huanzala ore occurs as strata-bound (1984) notesa migrationof mantoV3 lensesto the
lensesImantos),50 to 200 m long,70 to 250 m high, northwest(accompanied by a weakincreaseof Zn and
and 2 to 15 m wide, which are repeateddiscontin- Pbcontentsanda weakdecreaseof Cu content)when
uouslyalong8 kmbut alwaysin the samestratigraphic ascendingin the stratigraphicsequence.No vertical
levels (so-calledvetas--V1, V2, V3, V4, and V5), zonationof Zn, Pb, andCu contentsappears.Finally,
wedgedup by characteristic lutitic key beds.Mantos on a larger scale,the distributionof mineral assem-
V1 to V4 are locatedin the upper part of the Valan- blages showsa stratigraphicevolution (Carrascal,
ginian limestoneSantaFormation and manto V5 is at 1984), fromblack,Fe-poor,chalcopyrite-rich sphal-
the baseof the overlying,alternatingslate-sandstone erite which dominatesin mantosV1 and V2, to red,
Carhuaz Formation. No mineralization is known in Fe-rich, chalcopyrite-poorsphaleritewhich domi-
the limestonesof the lower part of the SantaFor- nates in mantos V4 and V5. All these observations
mation(analternatingslate-sandstone-limestone unit makevery probablea synsedimentary and/orsyndi-
forminga progressive transgression betweenthe un- ageneticdepositionof the greater part of the min-
derlyingdeltaicChimuFormationandthe overlying eralization.
platformlimestone,
upperSantaFormation),although The ore and ganguemineralogy,as describedby
the granodioriticdikesintersectthislower SantaFor- Carrascalet al. (1983), Tsuchiyaet al. (1983), Car-
mation as well. rascal(1984), and in even more detail by Imai et al.
The stratigraphic controlof ore distributionis rig-(1985) impliesintroductionof elementsby hydro-
orous and the mantosare displacedby thrust and thermalsolutionsat hightemperatures (approximately
wrench faults, not the granodioriticdikes that cut 300øC). The only sourceof the introducedelements,
thesefaultsandare obviouslypost-tectonic. Further- accordingto the Andeangeologiccontext and the
more, the distribution of ore and the associated al- pretectonicand probablysyndiagenetic characterof
teration,especiallythe skarntype, doesnotshowany ore formationat Huanzala,hasto be volcanogenic.
closegeometricrelationshipwith the intrusiverocks. In fact, the existenceof volcanicactivitycontempo-
Moreover,the intrusion-limestone contactsgenerally raneouswith sedimentation isprovedby the presence
lackany metasomatic or hydrothermalmanifestation of tuffaceous limestones and some tuffs interbedded
and are nearly alwayslackingin ore. On the other in the upper SantaFormation. Moreover, Huanzala
hand,no mineralizationappearsin the fault planes, is not an isolated case and the Santa Formation has
contraryto whatonewouldexpectfor a post-tectonic been recognizedas an importantmetallotectof the
hydrothermalore deposit.The observations pointed central and northern Peruvian Andes (Samaniego,
out here make very unlikely a post-tectonic,and 1981), with numerous,probablyvolcanogenic, strata-
therefore, a Miocene hydrothermalorigin for the boundore depositsof proximal(El Extrato) or more
Huanzalaore deposit(Carrascalet al., 1983; Carras- distal character(Malaquita,Pueblo Libre, Pacclon-
cal, 1984). Llamac,Pachapaqui).
196 DISCUSSIONS

Therefore,thiscombinationof field andlaboratory Acknowledgments


observations leads us to conclude that Huanzala is a
We wish to thank Mitsui Mining and Smelting
goodcandidatefor a high-temperatureCretaceous Company,Ltd., and CompaniaMinera SantaLuisa
volcano-sedimentary ore depositwith somesubse- S. A. who enabled us to work in Huanzala and very
quentMioceneremobilization. especially
HiroshiSato,ChiefGeologist andAssistant
As pointedout in the presentdiscussion,
the me- GeneralManagerof C. M. SantaLuisaS. A., andYo-
tallogenic
interpretation
of thisdepositiscomplicated shihiroTsuchiyaand Mario Toledo,residentgeolo-
by the presenceof Miocenecalc-alkalineintrusive gistsattheHuanzala mine,forhelpfulandenthusiastic
stocksanddikeswhichmay modifysubstantially the discussions.
previousmineralassemblages. They may eventually
be hostsof additionalore depositionby subsequent June 14, 1985
hydrothermalism, asis knownfrom other Santaore REFERENCES

depositssuchasTuco-Chira(Samaniego, 1981),Ven- Carrascal,R., 1984, E1yacimientoestratoligado(Zn, Pb, Ag, Cu)


turosa(Diaz Bernal,1984), and probablyOyon as de Huanzala,Huanuco,Peru: Unpub.Ph.D. thesis,UNI Univ.,
well. Lima, Peru, 145 p.
Asshownby SolerandLara (1983) andSoler(un- Carrascal, R., Saez, J., and Soler, P., 1983, El yacimientoestra-
toligado(Pb,Zn, Cu, Ag) de Huanzala(Huanuco,Peru Central):
pub.data),centralPeruoresfromSantastrata-bound Discusiongenetica:Soc.Geol. Peru. Bol., no. 71, p. 1-15.
andMiocenehydrothermaldeposits, bothassociated Diaz Bernal,N., 1984, El modelogeneticoHuarochiri:Soc.Geol.
with calc-alkalineAndean magmatism,show very Peru Bol., JubileeVol., 60th Anniv., pt. 2, p. 1-22.
Imai, H., Kawasaki,M., Yamaguchi,M., andTakahashi,M., 1985,
similargeochemical patterns,sothat further deduc- Mineralizationand paragenesis of the Huanzalamine, central
tionsaboutthe respectivepartsplayedby Cretaceous Peru: ECON. GEOL., v. 80, p. 461-478.
volcanogenic processesand Miocenehydrothermal Samaniego,A., 1981, StrataboundPb-Zn-(Ag-Cu)ore occurrences
processes in Huanzalaandsimilarore deposits,with in Early Cretaceoussedimentsof north and central Peru. A
contributionto their metallogenesis: Unpub.Ph.D. thesis,Univ.
obviousconsequences for explorationand mining Heidelberg, 210 p. •
schemes,will require more detailed investigation. Soler, P., and Lara, M. A., 1983, Metales menoresy trazas aso-
Work in progress concerningrareearthdistributions ciadosal plomoy al zinc en losyacimientospolimetalicosde
in fluoritesfrom both Miocene metasomaticand hy- losAndesPeruanos:Sintesisregional:Soc.Geol. Peru Bol., no.
72, p. 147-158.
drothermaland Santastrata-boundore depositsand Tsuchiya, Y., Toledo, M., Mendoza,D., and Soto,R., 1983, Geo-
K-Ar datingof alterationmineralsof Huanzalawill logiadel yacimientominerode Huanzala:Soc.Geol.PeruBol.,
probablyprovidenew materialfor the answer. no. 71, p. 17-40.

MINERALIZATION AND PARAGENESIS OF THE HUANZALA MINE, CENTRAL PERU--A REPLY

HIDEKI IMAI

CentralResearch
Laboratory,
MitsuiMiningandSmeltingCompany,
Ltd., Haraichi,AgeoCity,SaitamaPrefecture,
Japan362

Sir:In the Huanzalaminingarea,the mineralized From this observation,I classifythe depositas py-
zone extends 6 to 8 km in the limestone of the Santa rometasomatic, or contact metasomatic. Also, the
Formation; it has a width of 150 to 200 m. The ore- paragenesisof the sulfidemineralsin the depositre-
bodiesoccuraslenslikeformsparallelto the hanging semblesthat of Cerro de Pasco.The depositat Cerro
walls and footwalls of the formation. de Pascois generallyrecognizedto have a hydro-
Solersaysthat mantosV1 throughV5 alwaysexist thermal replacementorigin.
in the samestratigraphic levelsin the Santaandthe I emphasized thesepointsin the discussionof the
overlyingCarhuazFormation.This statementis not genesisof the Huanzaladepositand it continuesto
adequatein the strictestsense.For convenience sake be my basicviewpoint.I find this depositto be the
at the mine,the orebodiesare dividedinto five layers, sameasMorocochain Peru (Petersen,1965), Kamioka
nevertheless they are distributedsporadically in the in Japan(Imai, 1978a),andSangdong in Korea(John,
SantaFormation,as shownhere in Figure i and in 1963, 1978), andto be similarto Cerro de Pascoin
figure3 of my paper(Imai et al., 1985). Peru (Petersen,1965; Einaudi, 1977).
Somezinc andlead oresin this depositare closely Sheetlikedikes,of Miocene-agequartz porphyry
associated with skarnminerals,suchasgarnet,diop- occurin the SantaFormation.Granodioriteporphyry
side,vesuvianite,epidote,etc. (Fig. 2 A, B, and C). is foundin the Chimu Formation(figs.i and 2, Imai

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