EconomicGeology

Vol. 80, 1985, pp. 1544-1565

Porphyry Copper and TourmalineBrecciasat

Los Bronces-Rio Blanco, Chile
FRED W. WARNAARS,
EssoPapuaNew GuineaInc., P.O. Box 2174, Lae, PapuaNew Guinea

CARMEN HOLMGREN D., AND SERGIO BARASSIF.

CompadiaDisputadade las CondesS.A,Casilla16178, Correo9, Providencia,Santiago,Chile

Abstract

The Los Bronces-RioBlancodepositis locatedon the west side of the Andesin central
Chileabout69 km fromSantiago. LosBroncesisa brecciacomplexsuperimposed onthe west
sideof an earliermajorporphyrycoppersystem.The Rio Blancominecurrentlyexploitsthe
north-central part of thisporphyrydepositandhasstartedoperatinga largecopper-bearing
tourmalinebreccia,Sur-Sur,about2 km southof the presentmine.
The Los Bronces-RioBlancodepositwas formed on the east side of the San Francisco
batholith.Thisintrusionis stronglyperaluminous andhasa calc-alkaline composition with an
alkali-calcic
affinity.The batholithtooka minimumof 11.5 m.y.to formfromthe earlyMiocene
(20.1 m.y.) to the late Miocene(8.6 m.y.). The porphyrycoppermineralization,alteration,
and coppertourmalinebrecciaswere formedover a period of at least2.5 m.y. between7.4
and 4.9 m.y. ago.
A postmineral volcanicneckor diatremeat La Copaeruptedwithin,andremoveda large
segmentof, the northernpart of the porphyrycoppersystem,thusmarkingthe lastevidence
of magmaticactivityin the area.K-Ar age determinations of biotitesindicatethe diatreme
eruptedin the earlyPliocenebetween4.9 and3.9 m.y. ago.
The prebrecciaporphyrysystemexhibitspropylitic,sericitic,silicic,andpotassic alteration.
A uniquealterationfeatureof thissystemis the replacementof maficmineralsby specularitc
and/ortourmalinewithin the propyliticzone.The porphyrysystemcontainsdisseminated and
stockworkcopper-iron-molybdenum sulfidemineralizationwithin an areaof about12 km2.
LosBroncesiscomposed of at leastsevendifferentcopper-bearing tourmalinebrecciasthat
form one large contiguous kidney-shaped body about2 km long and 0.7 km wide, at the
presenterosionsurface.The brecciabodycropsout at elevationsbetween4,150 and 3,450
m. The variousbrecciasare characterized by their locations,matrices,clasts,shapes,types,
anddegreesof mineralization andalteration.The brecciasare usuallymonolithicbut in some
casesare bilithic or heterolithicwith mostclastsconsistingof quartz monzoniteor andesitc
with locallyminor amountsof quartzlatite porphyry,monzodiorite,and vein quartz.The
brecciamatricesconsistof variableamountsof quartz, tourmaline,specularitc,anhydrite,
pyrite, chalcopyrite,bornitc,molybdenite,sericite,chlorite,androckflour.
The sevendifferentbrecciastypesare identifiedfromoldestto youngestasGhost,Central,
Western,Infiernillo,Anhydrite,FineGray,andDonoso.The brecciacomplexhassharpcontacts
with the surrounding intrusiverocksandandesites. Internally,the brecciacontactsare locally
well defined,but elsewheretheycoalesce, interfinger,or displaygradationalcontacts.Breccias
at Los Broncesare interpretedas being emplacedexplosively,followedby collapseafter
pressurereleaseof hydrothermalfluids.
The primarymineraldistributionis bestknownin the Donosobrecciawhichhasbeen the
centerof miningactivitysinceitsdiscovery in 1864. In spiteof the coarseandirregularnature
of the sulfidesin the matrix,chalcopyrite,pyrite, and specularitcat the 3,670-m, open-pit
operatinglevel showa tendencyto be distributedin irregularshellsin whichoneof the three
mineralspredominatesin any one shell. The transitionsbetween shellsare rapid. Several
semiellipsoidal shellsof alternatinghigh and low coppergradesare alsoapparentfrom the
copperdistributionof undergroundlevel 3640 andfromvariouscrosssections. The shellsare
approximatelyvertical,subparallelto the Donosobrecciacontacts,whichdip inward.
Secondaryenrichmentenhancedthe primary gradein the southerntwo-thirdsof the Los
Bronces brecciacomplexandin muchofthesurrounding porphyrycoppersystem. Thedegree
anddepthof enrichmentare a functionof brecciaandfracturepermeabilityandextendto a
depthof morethan500 m in certainfavorablesectors. The shapeanddepthof theenrichment
blanketandoverlyingleachedcappingsuggest-that the enrichmentprocessis relatedto the
presentground-waterregimeandis still active.

0361-0128/85/442/1544-22$2.50 15 4 4
 LOSBRONCES-RIO
BLANCO:
Cu& TOURMALINE
BRECCIAS 1545

Introduction

THE Los Broncesmine owned by CompafiiaMinera

Disputadade LasCondesS.A., a subsidiaryof Exxon
vvv v v • D a•
t..
./ vJ v

MineralsCompany,islocatedin the highAndesabout

69 km from Santiago(Fig. 1). The presentopen pit
isat the northendof a hydrothermalbrecciaorebody Bronces
•,V-•12• •o •cp _
at an elevation of about 3,600 m above sealevel. Pro-
• •/ •' • [ - J,. •. E ' 'A-•c•c•l
ductionamountsto about10,000 metrictonsper day / v R/o B•cb/ • / Bxl

at an averagegradeof 1.25 percentCu, with a 0.75 • / •

percentCu cut-offgrade. "n/I/oX S•n Enrlque•Bx- •*[. -}1
Rio Blancois an undergroundmineownedandop- • %> •:.•'•_• h
erated by the Andina Division of the state-owned
Codelco-Chile.Presentproductionat Rio Blancois
14,000 metrictonsper day, at an averagegradeof
about 1.2 percent Cu. The mine is about 800 m east
of Los Broncesin the headwaters of the Blanco River,
draining northward,whereasLos Broncesis in the
headwaters of the San Francisco River draining -•L• Co• 8- S•mple
Iocmion•
southwestward (Fig. 2). At present,Andinahasstarted
........ • Housing,
offices
operatingalargecoppertourmalinebreccia,Sur-Sur, L t•te • dQcite

nearly 2 km southof the presentRio Blancomine, porphyries

•.• River
with anaveragegradeof 1.98 percentCu for the first
four yearsof production.
Hydrothermol
Bx
Breccio
breccl•s
Outerhmltof the
•tholith Blanco
porphyry
AugustlnNazarioE. wasthe firstto discovercopper
at Los Broncesin 1864. High-gradedirect-shipping
ore containing10 to 20 percent copper was mined
and transportedon muleback intermittently until
formation • Escondida
faultv•Andesites
of
•e copper
deposit
Farel•nes Inferred

FIG. 2. Simplifiedgeologicmapof the LosBronces-RioBlanco

1920. By that time, the grade had dropped to 4.5 area,modifiedfromIrarrazavalet al. (1979) andStambuk(1982).
percentandthe firstof severalflotationconcentrators
was installed near the mine site.
CompafiiaMineraDisputadadelasCondesS.A.was
formedin 1916. It acquireda distantmine,E1Soldado,
?• 71 70 northwestof Santiagoin the early 1950s.ExxonCor-
poration,through a subsidiary,purchasedover 90
percentof Disputada'ssharesin early 1978. At pres-
ent, ExxonMineralsCompanyoperatesthe company's
32
two minesand a coppersmelter.Exxoncarried out a
mineral resource evaluation at Los Bronces from
Scale
0 50 t00Km February1978 to May 1981. A totalof 558 holeswas
i i i
drilled in and around the ore depositwith a total
Explanation meterageof over121,000 m. The presentpapersum-
• River marizesthe geologyasunderstoodfrom thisdrilling
/• Recent volcanoes
programandfrom surfaceandundergroundmapping
of old workingssince1977. A uniformnomenclature
[-• Tertiary
intrusive and loggingtechniquewas introducedduring the
evaluationprogrambecausefifteengeologists partic-
•,• Forellones
formation ipatedin it. The terminologyandnomenclature used
i• •[--•']
Abonico
formation
:54 is explainedin AppendixI.
..........................

The geologicframeworkof the Los Broncesbrec-

'B• o
LoVoile
volcanics ciaswaspresentedona preliminarybasisat the annual
meetingof the AmericanInstitute of Mining, Metal-
:•'i• Cretaceous
intrusive lurgical,andPetroleumEngineersin 1980. Sincethen
'•]1C retoceo
and ussediments
volconics :55
petrological,geochemical,andmineralogicalstudies
haveenhancedthe understanding of the depositand
--•lbasement
Poleozoic elucidatedthe mineralzoning.The depthprojection
MO. 1. Locationmap and simplifiedgeologyof central Chile of each of the breccias has been better documented.
modifiedafter Drake et al. (1982). Severalagedatesnearthe depositandin the region
1546 WARNAARS,
HOLMGREND., AND BARASSIF.

havebeen determined,establishing the localandre- the area, such as that at Colorado-La Parva about 15
gionaltime frame of the deposit. km southof Los Bronces(Drake et al., 1982).
Regionaland Local Setting San Francisco Batholith
The central Andes between El Teniente and Acon- The LosBronces-Rio
Blancoporphyrycoppersys-
caguapeak are underlainby Jurassicto Cretaceous tem and associated breccias are within the eastern
marine stratathat are exposedalongthe border with part of the SanFranciscobatholith.This intrusionis
Argentina(Fig. 1). These are discordantlyoverlain exposedoveran areaof about200 km2, 20 km in a
by continentalvolcanicrocksandminorcontinental north-south direction and 10 km in an east-west di-
sediments of the Abanicoand/orCoya-Machal{ For- rection.The batholithis largelycomposedof quartz
mations(Aguirre, 1960; Klohn, 1960). These for- monzoniteand quartz monzodiorite(Fig. 3) in the
mationsare largely time equivalent (Drake et al., nomenclatureof Streckeisen(1976). Aplitic and
1982). The easternbelt of the Abanico Formation syeniticphasesare probablylate magmaticdifferen-
may be as old asPaleocene(62 m.y.). The western tiatesand form mostlydikes.The texture and com-
belt of the AbanicoFormationmaybe middleto late positionof the batholithare highly variable.Grain
Oligocene.After a period of deformation,uplift, and sizesvaryfromfine to coarseandtexturesfrom equi-
erosion,renewed volcanismproducedandesitcflows granularto porphyritic.Whole-rockanalysesof age-
and pyroclastics interbeddedwith continentalsedi- dated rocks are given in Table 1 and their sample
ments.Theserepresentthe FarellonesFormationof sitesareindicatedin Figure2. The AI•Oa/CaO+ K•O
late Oligoceneto Miocene age (Vergaraand Drake, + NagO ratio varies between 1.37 and 1.57, sug-
1978; Drake et al., 1982). gestingthat the rock suite is stronglyperaluminous
Widespreadintrusivemagmatism alongthe central (Shand,1927).
high Andesformed numerousintrusionswithin the Five new analysesof unalteredspecimensof the
volcanic terrain. One of these, the San Francisco SanFranciscobatholithcombinedwith two analyses
batholith, hoststhe Los Broncesand Rio Blancomines. of Oyarzun(1971) anda few of Blondel(1980) and
The present undergroundRio Blancomine is in the Lopez and Vergara (1982) from unaltered samples
centralpart of a porphyrycoppersystem(Fig. 2). givean alkali-limeindex(Peacock,1931) of about56
This systemexhibitspropylitic,sericitic,silicic,and which is on the border between calc-alkaline and al-
potassichydrothermal alteration assemblages with kali-calcicmagmaaffinity.Keith (1978) distinguished
disseminatedand stockwork copper-molybdenumtypesof magmasuitesbasedon KgO/SiO2diagrams.
sulfide mineralization over an area of about 12 km 2. In his classification,
a calc-alkalinemagmais defined
The limitsof the porphyrycopperasoutlinedin Fig- ashavinga KgO percent between 1.2 to 2.5 at 57.5
ure 2 mark the boundarybeyondwhichno mineral- percentSiOg.Plottingthe availablechemicalanalyses
ization nor hydrothermalalterationis visiblein the on a K•O/SiO• diagramandinterpolatingthe results
intrusivehostrock. The porphyrycoppersystemis
irregularlyovalshaped,with itslongestaxistrending Q

northeast.

• Textu
The Los Broncesmine is within the northern part
of a largekidney-shaped hydrothermalcopper-tour-
malinebrecciacomplexthat was emplacedin, and
superimposed on,the westernpart of the earlierpor- • Equigranular
phyry system.
In addition,severalhydrothermalcopper-tourma- 6O
XPorphyritlc
line brecciasoccursouthof the Rio Blancomine(Fig.
2) including the Sur-Sur breccia (Stambuket al.,
1982), and the Monolito, San Enrique, Rio Blanco, 4O
Cascada,and Don Luis brecciasshownin Figure 2.
Thesebrecciasmayhavebeen part of a secondcon-
tiguousbrecciabody that wasdisruptedby late and
postmineraldaciticto latiticintrusivequartzporphy-
ries. Elsewhere,in the vicinityof the Los Bronces-
Rio Blanco systemare other brecciassuch as San
Manuel,Sur, andAmericana.A postmineralvolcanic
neck,or diatreme,at La Copa,northof the Rio Blanco A I0 55 65 90 P

mine,probablyremoveda significantpart of the cen- FIG. 3. Rock compositionof 53 samplesof the SanFrancisco
ter of the initialporphyrycoppersystem.Thisdacitic batholithcollectednearLosBroncesandplotted on Streckeisen's
neckis time equivalentwith other silicicvolcanicsin (1967) classification
diagram,after Cuadra (1980).
 LOS BRONCES-RIOBLANCO:Cu & TOURMALINEBRECCIAS 1547

T•,BLE1. Whole-RockAnalysesof IgneousRocksnear Los Bronces

Sample
no. LB- 1 LB-2 LB-3 LB-7 LB-8 LB- 10 LB- 11 LB- 12

SiO2 59.9 65.3 60.5 63.06 69.61 67.80 69.50 66.13

AI20• 17.1 15.8 16.8 15.40 14.20 15.70 15.50 16.40
Fe•O• 1.40 1.20 2.08 3.65 1.25 0.83 0.63 3.77
FeO 4.28 2.41 3.00 1.41 1.42 0.83 0.91 1.10
CaO 4.24 3.04 5.42 3.43 1.58 2.52 1.75 0.12
MgO 2.44 1.53 3.05 1.74 0.95 0.33 0.41 3.28
Na•O 4.72 4.68 4.60 4.24 4.26 4.38 4.75 0.11
K•O 3.16 3.55 2.22 2.95 3.23 2.57 2.43 4.90
P•O5 0.23 0.15 0.20 0.24 0.10 0.23 0.28 0.34
MnO 0.11 0.08 0.09 0.08 0.05 0.11 0.02 0.011
TiO2 0.78 0.46 0.65 •0.01 •0.09 0.40
H20 0.11 0.16 0.12 0.098 0.21 0.17 0.19 0.61
H•O + 0.11 0.20 0.13 0.26 0.60 1.50 0.66 1.58
C1 0.027 0.01
A/CNK• 1.41 1.40 1.37 1.45 1.57 1.66 1.74 3.20

• A/CNK, molecularratioofAl•Oa/CaO+ Na20 + K•O;if ratioisgreaterthan1.1, the rockisperaluminous (Shand,1927)

Locationsof samples
aregivenin Figure2; LB-1 = quartzdiorite,LB-2 = granodiorite, LB-3 = granodiorite,
LB-7 -- granodiorite,
LN-8 = quartzmonzonite,LB-10 -- daciticfragmentalbreccia,LB-11 -- daciteporphyrydike,LB-12 = mineralizedsericitizedquartz
monzonite

givesa K57.,5index of about 2.0, indicatinga calc-al- pearance.Fragmentsof mineralizedbreccias,min-

kaline nature for the San Francisco batholith. eralized andesite,and mineralizedquartz monzonite
Late and Postmineral Rocks are common.Fragmentsof sedimentaryrocks also
occurandwere probablyderivedfroma deepsource.
Dacite, latite, and quartz porphyrieswere em- Dacite porphyrydikescut throughthe diatremebut
placedduring the waningof or after the porphyry do not crossits perimeter.
copper mineralization, south and north of the Rio The chemicalcompositions of sampleLB-10 and
Blancomine.Cepeda(1981) referredto someof these LB-11 (Table 1) from La Copa, in additionto three
rockssouthof the Rio Blancomine astonalitepor- samplesby Latorre (1981), suggesta slightlylower
phyries.Stambuket al. (1982) introducedthe term alkalinitythanthe SanFranciscobatholith.The alkali-
Rio BlancoFormation,subdividingthe postporphyry lime index of Peacock(1931) is around59. The in-
copperrocksinto three members(as if they were terpolatedK57.5index is about 1.5 and is lower than
stratigraphic units): Don Luis, Rio Blanco, and La the index of the batholith, suggestinga slightlyshal-
Copa.The Don Luis intrusivephaseconsists of dacite loweroriginof the magma(Keith,1978).The La Copa
porphyriesbut alsoincludessomemineralized tour- rockshave a higher peraluminousindex (1.66-1.74)
maline breccias located southeast of the Rio Blanco than those of the San Francisco batholith.
mine. The Rio Blancointrusionis largelya quartzla-
Radiometric Dates
tite and daciteporphyrydike a few hundredmeters
wide orientednorth-south andintermittentlyexposed Initial dating of mineralizedand unmineralized
overa strikelengthof at least3 km. Igneousbreccias rocksnear Los Broncesand Rio Blancowas done by
with fragmentaltexturesare recordedby Stambuket VergaraandDrake (1979). They concludedthat the
al. (1982) aspartof thisintrusivephase.Minor copper SanFranciscobatholithwasemplacedbetween 13.6
stainingin weakly alteredporphyriesin the vicinity and 8.4 m.y. ago based on K-Ar determinationsof
of the RioBlancominewherethey cutthe porphyry primarybiotite from three differentrock samples.
copper depositsuggests that this intrusionwas em- New agedeterminations(Table2) supporta period
placedafterthe mainphaseof porphyrycoppermin- of at least11.5 m.y. for the formationof the SanFran-
eralization and alteration and as such is a late mineral ciscobatholith,from20.1 m.y.to 8.6 m.y.ago.Sample
emplacement.The volcanic neck or diatreme of La LB-1 is from fresh unmineralizedquartz monzonite
Copaisthe youngestmagmaticeventandformssteep taken from a recent road cut on the south side of the
walls,becomingonly slightlysmallerat depth. The batholith, about 10 km from the Los Bronces mine
neckconsists of fragmentalsandvolcanicbrecciasof (Fig. 2). The hornblende(20.1 m.y.) yieldsan appar-
dacitic compositionwith an aphaniticgroundmass ent age 4.2 m.y. older than the biotite (15.9 m.y.)
with sparsesmallphenocrysts of quartz,biotite, pla- from the same sample. Sample LB-2 representsa
gioclase,and/orsanidine.Flow texturesandlayering quartzmonzonitefroma winterrefugeadit alongthe
at the southsideof the neckgive an ignimbriticap- road betweenthe concentratorand the mine. Only
1548 WARNAARS,HOLMGREN D., AND BARASSIF.

TABLE2. Agesof Nine Mineral Samplesfrom LosBronces-Rio the heat sourceof the porphyrycopperor of the vol-
Blanco,Chile (for analyticalinformationseeAppendixII) canicneck (Hart, 1964; Warnaarset al., 1978). The
lower ageof the biotite suggests that reheatingtook
Sampletype Sampleno. Age (m.y.)
place at a lower temperature.
Quartz monzonite LB-1 Hb 20.1 q- 2.0 Previouslypublishedage datesfrom mineralized
Quartz monzonite LB-1 Bi 15.9 q- 0.6 rock at Los Broncesand Rio Blanco (Vergara and
Quartz monzonite LB-2 Bi 11.3 q- 0.4 Drake, 1979; Blondel,1980) giveagesof 7.4 and5.2
Hornblende diorite LB-3A Hb 18.5 ___1.7
Hornblende diorite LB-3A Bi 12.0 q- 0.5 m.y.Blondelselecteda samplefromthe centerof the
Granodiorite LB-7 Hb 8.6 _+0.9 porphyrysystemand datedsecondary biotite (5.2
Granodiorite LB-7 Bi 7.9 q- 0.4 m.y.). Vergaraand Drake'ssamplewastaken from
Dacite porphyry LB-10 Bi 4.8 q- 0.2 well-mineralizeddrill core below the presentopen
Dacite porphyrydike LB-11 Bi 4.9 ___0.2 pit in theDonosoareain oneoftheyoungest breccias
Sericitized quartz monzonite LB-12 Se 5.2 q- 0.3
atLosBronces. Theydatedthebiotite,aswasverbally
Abbreviations: Hb -- hornblende, Bi = biotite, Se = sericite confirmedby Drake, andnot the plagioclase, aswas
statedin their publication.Thisbiotiteis almostcer-
tainto beprimary,sincenosecondary biotiteisknown
to occurin that part of the orebody.Becauseof Ar
biotite could be dated (11.3 m.y.) as insufficient degassing, the age musthavebeen fully resetand
hornblendewasavailable.SampleLB-3 wascollected represents the minimumageof the startof the hy-
600 m northeastof the openpit at Los Broncesand drothermal activity. Alteration and mineralization
100 m westof the daciteneckjustbelowthe andesitc couldhavestartedearlier,before7.4 m.y., basedon
roofpendant.The ageof the hornblendewasdeter- the assumption that no time periodshouldexistbe-
mined as 18.5 m.y. and the biotite as 12 m.y. The tweenthe startof the hydrothermalactivityandthe
youngestdatesof the batholithcomefroma sample endphaseof the coolingperiodof the batholithas
(LB-7) collectedin the DoloresValley north of the represented by the youngest dates(8.6 and7.9 m.y.)
San Francisco concentrator 5 km west of Los Bronces. from unmineralizedintrusiverocks(LB-7), collected
The hornblendeandbiotiteagesof thisrock,8.6 m.y. 5 km awayfrom the deposit.
and 7.9 m.y., respectively,are within the limits of Hydrothermalsericite(sampleLB-12) wasdated
analyticalerror. from a drill core of a well-mineralized,pervasively
Hornblendeisthe bestmineralto retainradiogenic sericitizedquartzmonzonitelocatedbetweenthe Los
argon(Hart,1964).Thedifference betweentheoldest Broncesbrecciabodyandthe Rio Blancomine.The
hornblendedated (20.1 m.y.) and the youngest(8.6 ageof 5.2 m.y. represents the feldspar-destructive
m.y.) representsthe minimumtime spanfor the em- phaseof porphyrycopperalteration,whichpredated
placementand coolingperiod of the San Francisco the formation of the Los Bronces breccias. These
batholith.A periodof 11.5 m.y. for the emplacement brecciasmusthavebeenemplacedwithina shorttime
and coolingof the batholith seemslong. However, period,between5.2 and4.9 m.y. or lesswhenthe
intrusions on the west flank of the Andes from E1 Ten-
postmineralLa Copadaciticneckwasemplaced. We
iente throughLos Pelambres(Fig. 1) and possibly concludethat the Los Bronces-RioBlanco hydro-
farthernorthandsouth,maybe part of onelargeTer- thermalsystem,includingthe brecciaformation,re-
tiary batholith that was only recently unroofed. quiredat leasta time spanof 2.5 m.y. to form,be-
Batholiths are known to form and consolidate over tween 7.4 and 4.9 m.y. ago.
longperiodsof timesuchasthe SierraNevadabatho- Structure
lith (about 131 m.y., Albers, 1981) and the Jurassic
to CretaceousAndino batholith (about 104 m.y., Ona globalplatetectonicscaleit maybe significant
Zentilli, 1974). that the LosBronces-Rio Blancosystemis locatedat
SamplesLB-10 andLB-11 (Table2) are from the the intersectionof the Andesmountainrangeandthe
postmineralLa Copadaciteneck.SampleLB-11 is a eastwardprojection of the east-northeast-oriented
daciteporphyrydikewithinthe neck.The agesof 4.8 JuanFernandezridgesouthof the Nazcaplate and
and 4.9 m.y. are comparableto the agesof biotites the Challengerfracturezone,off the coastof central
fromthe diatremedeterminedby Quirt et al. (1971) Chile (Minsteret al., 1978;Frutos,1981). The struc-
andVergaraandDrake (1978), whichrangefrom4.9 turalintersectionmayhavecauseda zoneof weakness
to 3.9 m.y. for a fecundmagmato riseintothe upperpart of the
The discrepancyof 6.5 m.y. between the horn- crust.
blendeandbiotite agesin sampleLB-3 (18.5 and 12 The most prominent geologi. c structuraltrend
m.y., respectively)canbe bestexplainedby postu- within and adjacentto the depositis generally
latingdegassing Ar in biotitescloseto N 60ø E, typicallyexpressedas joints or fractures
of radiogenic
 LOSBRONCES-RIOBLANCO:Cu & TOURMALINEBRECCIAS 1549

with only sporadicminor fault movements.These The brecciacontactsdip inward on the north, west,
structureswere mineralizedbefore, during, and/or andsouthmargins.The easterncontactis nearlyver-
after the emplacement of the variousbreccias.Early tical, suggestinga westwardtilt of the complexof
veins that follow this N 60 ø E orientation contain about 15ø after emplacement.
mostlyquartz and tourmaline,with only a minor Each breccia at Los Bronces has its own character-
amount of s•ulfides. istic matrix,clasts,shape,vugs,type, and degreeof
Late, postbrecciamineralizedfaultsand late veins mineralization and alteration. One of the most im-
cut the brecciawall and surroundingrocks.Several portantparametersusedin distinguishingthe various
pebbledikesalsofollowthiseast-northeast direction. breccias at Los Bronces is the nature of the breccia
They mostlycontainrock flour and occasionally sul- matrix. The matrix consistsof varying amountsof
fidesandrepresenta phaseof late-stageventing. quartz,tourmaline,specularite,pyrite, chalcopyrite,
Another structural orientation, N 10 ø to 30 ø W, is bornite, molybdenite,chlorite, anhydrite, sericite,
more prominentin the andesiteseast and southeast and rock flour.
of the brecciacomplex,but it is weakerandlesswell The brecciasare generallymonolithicbut in some
developednear Los Bronces.This persistenceaway casesare bilithic. Most of the clastsare composedof
from the systemsuggests that the N 10ø to 30ø W quartz monzonite or andesite, rarely with minor
direction is older than the N 60 ø E trend characteristic amountsof quartz latite porphyryandmonzodiorite.
of the orebody(Barassi et al., 1979). The relativeproportionsofclastsdependsonthe host
A majorinferred fault, the Escondida,hasan N 40 ø rock within which the breccia was formed. Clasts
E orientationand runs parallel to and southof the generallyrangefrom coarseto very coarse(50-250
upper part of the San FranciscoRiver (Fig. 2). By mm). Some,however,measuretensof metersacross,
dextralmovement,it juxtaposedstronglyalteredand especially alongthe outeredgeof thebrecciacomplex
mineralizedquartz monzoniteson the southeastern or alongthe contactbetweentwo interfingeredbrec-
side againstless altered and sparselymineralized cias.The clastsare mostlyangularto subangular,sug-
quartz monzoniteson the northwesternside. gestingminorabrasion, rapidemplacement, andquick
The Escondidafault must have been active prior coolingof hydrothermalfluids.Smallerclasts,partic-
to the emplacementof the coppertourmalinebrec- ularly thosein partsof the Centralbreccia,are more
cias, because the overall outline of the breccia com- roundedand more hydrothermallyaltered.
plex is not offset.The fault was,in fact, floodedand The presenceof fragmentsof one breccia type
sealedby abundantquartzandtourmalineduringthe within anotheris the best criterionfor ascertaining
early barrentourmalinephase.Becauseof poor ex- relative age relationshipsbetween breccias.Cross-
posure,the fault is difficultto recognizein the field. cuttingrelationships are lessuseful,particularlyin
Breccias at Los Bronces
drill cores,because it is generally not clear which
phaseis younger.Rarely, a fragmentof onebreccia,
Tourmaline breccias form the most favorable host containinga clastof older breccia,formsa clastin a
rock for copper and molybdenummineralization thirdbreccia.Thisbreccia,in turn, iscutby apophyses
within the majorLos Bronces-Rio Blancoporphyry of a fourthbrecciatype, thusestablishing a clearrel-
copper system. At Los Bronces, seven different in- ative agerelationship.
terfingering coalescing breccias havebeenrecognized An early stageof barrentourmalinizationoccurred
(Cuadra,1980; Warnaars,1980, 1982). At the pres- west, southwest, and east of the Los Bronces breccia
ent erosionsurface,theyformoneelongated kidney- complex.Thisphaseisapparentin clastsin the Central
shapedbodythat extendsabout2 km north-southand brecciaand in clastsof the deeper parts of the In-
reachesa maximum widthof 750 m asshownin Figure fiernilloandWesternbreccias.The phaseconsists of
4. They are identifiedchronologically asthe Ghost, barren quartz-tourmalineveins and nestsor aggre-
Central,Western,Infiernillo,Anhydrite,Fine Gray, gatesof tourmalinein quartzmonzoniteandwasim-
andDonoso breccias. Thebrecciacomplex isnotfully portant in sealingand partly obliteratingthe major
exploredat depthbut is knownto extendbelow the northeast-southwest Escondidafault zone.The early
3,050-mlevelin itscentraleasternpart,about1,100 quartz-tourmalinephasedevelopedlocally into sul-
m belowthe highestbrecciaoutcropwhichis in the fide-poorbrecciaswherethe intrusivefragments were
southeastern partofthecomplex nearInfiernillopeak. rotatedandcementedby quartzandtourmaline.This
Geologicprojectionsof drill-holeinformationonvar- type ofbrecciais namedCasinobrecciaasaninformal
ious crosssectionssuggestthat somebrecciasmay field term. It has an erratic distribution and was in-
haveseveralroot zones,muchlike the rootsof a molar tersected in a few drill holes southwest of the main
tooth. brecciacomplex.
The outline of the brecciacomplexat aboutthe The LosBroncesbrecciatypesarebrieflydescribed
3,250-m elevation is smaller than that at the surface. in chronological orderin the paragraphs that follow.
1550 WARNAARS, HOLMGREN D., AND BARASS1F.

J••Jv v v ¾v v v v v v v v v v
v v v v v v v v v v v v v v EXPLANATION

v•v v v v v
"•RHYOLITE
- DACITE
NECK
v v • DaNaso
BRECCIA
v v
•'-• ANHYDRITE
BRECCIA
v v v v
• FINEGREYBRECClA
v v v v v '•
v v v v
o
•'•'• INFIERNILLOBRECCIA
•---• WESTERN
BRECCIA
&•'•'• CENTRAL
BRECClA
• GHOSTBRECCIA
'1LaMABRECCIA
• IATITE D•KE
INTRUSIVE STOCK (Quartz -
ß•' DaNasO ' l [• monzonlte
toquartz-dlorlt4
BRECCIA..
,-• ANDESITE
FARELLONESOF
THE MIOCENE
FORMATION
0 0'5 Km
,

i !

SCALE

ENTRAL ø

WESTERN<
o o o
o o& o
BRECCIA
v v/v v v v v v
v[v v v v v v v v v. v
v • v v v v v v v v v
BRECCIA •' v v v ¾ v v v v v
•¾ V V V V V V V v
• • v v v v v v ....
INklERNILLO Inflernillo v v v v •
Mountain v v v v
S•ECCIA 4,190v
' v v v v v v v v

(SRECCIA
,;iI v v v

v
v

v
v

v
v

v
v

v v v v v v v

v v v v v v

½/ v v
GHOST
v v v v
BRECCIA
v v v v v

of $upergene

FIG. 4. Outlineof the LosBroncesbrecciassimplifiedfromoutcropanddrill holeinformation.

Table 3 lists some of the characteristics of the indi- quartzmonzonite isdifficultto recognize;
hencethe
vidualbrecciasandthe photographs in Figure5 il- name.Often,theprimarycopperand/ormolybdenum
lustratevarioustypicalbrecciatypes. gradein the Ghostbrecciaishigherthanin the ad-
jacentmineralizedquartzmonzonite rocks.
Ghost breccia Ghostbrecciasdo not formoneseparatebodyand
Clasts of the Ghost breccia consist of fine to coarse arenotwellexposed at thepresentsurface. Theyare
fragments of quartzmonzonite.Theseclastsoften foundasbrecciaremnantsperipheralto the whole
containdisseminatedand sometimesstockwork,por- LosBronces complex,if onedisregards the younger
phyry-typemineralization. The Ghostbrecciamatrix Donoso breccia(Figs.4, 6, and7). Remnants arealso
is characterizedby rock flour and ground quartz common in the area between the Rio Blanco mine
monzonitewith smalldisseminated crystalsof quartz, andLosBronceswithin the porphyrycoppersystem.
tourmaline,specularitc,
andsulfides.Bothclastsand The Loma breccia located between Los Bronces and
matrixfrequentlyshowhomogeneous, moderateto RioBlanco(Fig.4) outsidethemainbrecciacomplex
strongquartz-sericitealterationsthat obscurethe has some of the characteristicsof the Ghost breccia.
distinctionbetween them. For this reason,the contact Ghost breccias are considered to be the earliest
between the breccia and nonbrecciated mineralized breccias
because
theyareobserved
asclasts
in nearly
LOS BRONCES-RIO BLANCO: Cu & TOURMALINE BRECCIAS 1551

o
 ams.

ams. i""1' '1 I , , , , ,.....

"' AD ' '

0 I 2 $ 4 5 6 7 ß 9 I0 CM

0 I 2 $ 4 5 6 cM
E I I I I ' ' '
F I I I I I I I

cpy

Go i 2• 45 6 cms.

FIG. 5. Typical brecciatypesof Los Bronces.A. Ghostbreccia(DDH FF6). B. Central breccia

(DDH FF.7). C. Westernbreccia(DDH 4.5). D. Infiernillobreccia(tunnelR5). E. Anhydritebreccia
(DDH II9.5). F. Fine Gray breccia(DDH 5). G. Donosobreccia(handspecimenfrom open pit). For
abbreviations, see Table 3, DDH = diamond drill hole.

1552
 LOS BRONCES-RIO BLANCO: Cu & TOURMALINE BRECCIAS 1553

#- I01,000

OUTLINE LOS
BNECCIA COMPLEX
EXPLANATION

• SURFACE
OUTLINE
OUTLINES INTERPRETED
FROMDRI•.L HOLE
INTERCEPTS

• $$S5
LEVEL
ß.• 3460LEVEL
SURFACE ::•:]•1:•
$$•5LEVEL

N-
I00,000 •• 5

ß • i'•:/•:.:::•..•3,61
•3160
LEVEL
N-99,000 ..

0 0.SKm
SUBSURFACE

FIG. 6. Interpreted outline of the Ghost brecciasat different elevations.

allotherbrecciasandformlargefragments
orbreccia creasesthe overallgradein severaldrill-hole inter-
remnantsthat were brokenup by the emplacement cepts.
of youngerbrecciabodies. The Central breccia,developedafter the Ghost
Central breccia breccia,becameclastsin, or wascutby, all the later
brecciatypes.A projectionof the Centralbrecciaat
Clastsof the Centralbrecciaare mostlyquartz differentlevelsoutlinesanoval-shaped
invertedcone
monzonite, except on its south side, where somean- (Fig. 8). The northern part of this cone has been
desiteandlatite clastsoccur.As a rule, the clastsare erodedor minedaway.Remnants ofthesouthern part
hydrothermally
alteredandshowtheeffectofquartz- are stillexposed
because
of the steeptopography
of
sericitic,silicic,andargillicalterations.The clastsare InfiernilloMountain.The deeperpart of the Central
mostlysubangular
and moreroundedthanin any breccialiesbetweendrillinggridlinesB andE and
otherbrecciatype. The Centralbrecciais character- lines5 and8. However,itsextentat depthisunknown
izedby a highvolumeof blackto darkgraymatrix, below the 3,310-m level.
composed of fine-grained
tourmalinecrystalswith
minor amountsof quartz, specularite,sericite,sul- Western breccia
fides,andrarely,anhydrite.
Sulfides
aremostlydis- Next, the Western and Infiernillo breccias were
seminated
andrarelyformthecoarse
aggregates
that formedalonga northwest-southeast
axis.Their em-
are so common in the matrix of the Donoso breccia. placementshattereda largepart of the southernand
Pyrite is moreabundantthan chalcopyrite.Chalco- westernpart of the Central breccia.
pyrite in veinlets,and asdisseminations
in clasts,in- Mostof the clasts
arequartzmonzonite fragments
1554 WARNAARS,HOLMGREND., AND BARASSIF.

I 2 $ 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 I$ 14 15

N-101,000 EXPLANATION
K
• • • SURFICE
OUTtilE
i

G
• • 34• LEVEL* DRILL
HOLE
F

E ,

BB

CC

DO

EE

G(•

__
N
99,000
•;:••: 0• 0-5Kin
II

dJ

• • SCALE

OC

I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 J0 II 12 13 14 15

FIG. 7. Interpreted outline of the Donoso,Fine Gray, andAnhydrite brecciasat different elevations.

that displaypredominantlychloritic alteration and The matrixvolumevariesbetween2 and15 percent

replacementof the maficmineralsby chlorite, spec-
ularitc, and/ortourmaline.Other alterationminerals
in the clastsare rutile, leucoxene,calcite, and spo-
radically,epidote.Magnetiteis stableandplagioclase
is weakly altered to sericiteand quartz. PrimaryK-
feldsparisrarelyaltered.The clastsaremostlyangular
andrarely mineralized.The Westernbrecciais char-
acterizedby a green matrix with abundantchlorite
and rock flour. Tourmalineand specularitcare less
commonthan in other breccias.Open vugsare rare.
Pyrite andchalcopyriteare mostlyfinelydisseminated
in the matrix.
Infiernillo breccia
Angularto subangularandesitcfragmentswith mi-
nor amounts of subangularquartz monzonite and
quartz latite porphyriesform the clastsin the Infier-
nillo breccia. Mafic minerals in these
stronglychloritized,andin certainareas,manyof the
clastsare silicifiedandhave argillizedfeldspars.
andis generallylessthanin any of the otherbreccias.
The matrix consistspredominantlyof chlorite and
quartzwith lesseramountsof specularitc,tourmaline,
epidote, pyrite, chalcopyrite,and magnetite. Open
vugsare ubiquitous.
The Infiernillo brecciais almostentirely confined
to the andesitesin the southernpart of the breccia
complex.The contactwith the nonbrecciatedandes-
ites to the east and south is very sharp and nearly
vertical. Contacts with other breccias to the south,
west, and north are not well exposedon the surface.
Underlyingthe andesitcbrecciasin the Infiernilloarea
are quartz monzonitebrecciassimilarto the Western
breccia(Fig. 9). The similaritiessuggesta geneticre-
lationshipbetween the two types. Differences in
amountandtype of matrixmightbe explainedby the
different behavior and competenceof the various
clasts are clastsduring breccia formation. Lesser amountsof
tourmalineand specularitcin the matrix of the West-
ern brecciamay reflect mineralzoning.
 LOS BRONCES-R10BLANCO:Cu & TOURMALINEBRECCIAS 1555

i i i i i i

.EXPLANATION

--
N-IOta,000 __
• SURFACE
OUTLINE
OUTLINESINTERPRETED
--
--
FROM DRILL HOLE
INTERCEPTS
--

_ •3 ,3460
LEVEL
-- • $$10LEVEL
SURFACE OUTLINE --

, .:• :[ LOSBRONCE
S
-- : r: BRECCiA
COMPLEX

- N-ioo,ooo
\ --

-- __

- -
Z N-99•000
-- 8 ooo --
--
0 0-SKin
I 2 $ 4 5 6 7 8 9 I0 II 12 13 14 15
i I I I I I I I I I I I I I

FIG. 8. Interpreted outlineof the Central brecciaat differentelevations.

Anhydrite breccia ent.Sulfides

in thefragments
arepresentin veinlets
The Anhydritebrecciais a smallcolumnarbreccia andasfinedisseminations ofpyriteandchalcopyrite.
bodywithintheInfiernillo breccia (Figs.7 and9). The Fine Graybrecciaisnamedafterthe natureof
Fragmentsof Infiernillo and Central breccias are itsmatrixwhichis typicallygraycoloredandmicro-
commonin the Anhydritebrecciaand are evidence crystalline consistingofrockflour,fine-grained
tour-
of relativelyyoungempiacement. maline,
sericite,
andquartz. Thematrix comprises
10
Weaklyaltered chloritized
andesitc
comprisesmost to 40 percent of the breccia volume. In someareas
of theclasts, at leastin theupperpart.Thematrix flowstructures areapparent. Fine-grainedchlorite,
volume variesbetween 5 and60 percentandischar- tourmaline,
specularitc, andsulfides arepresentin
acterizedby abundant anhydrite.minor amounts.
coarse-grained
Openvugsarenormallyabsent.Thereisnorockflour TheFineGraybreccia hasanirregularoutline
with
inthematrix.
Themostcommon opaque are abundant
minerals apophysesprojectingintothe adjacent
specularitc, andmolybdenite.breccias.
pyrite,chalcopyrite, It cutsacross
andcontains fragmentsofthe
Theseminerals areusuallymoreeuhedral andcoarse Central, Infiernillo, and Western breccias.
grainedthan in the adjacentInfiernillobreccia.In
surface
outcrop,
theanhydrite togypsum.Donoso
ishydrated breccia

Fine Gray breccia TheDonoso brecciaislargelyamonolithic

breccia.
The majorityof theclasts arequartzmonzonite
and
Clasts
in thisbreccia
aremostlyquartzmonzonitesomearequartzdiorite,syenite,andrarelyandesitc.
and,sporadically,
quartzlatiteporphyries
andan- Thefragments aremostly angulartosubangular.
Not
desites.
Mostclasts showstrongquartz-sericite
alter- muchabrasive movement tookplaceduringbreccia-
ation.
Silicification
andchloritization
arelocally
pres- tion, as rounded clastsare rare. The matrix volume
1556 WARNAARS,
HOLMGREND., AND BARASSI
F.

,•f///•l
'•'r,,,,•., 'e• ;•;/ -- * .• L•I[•.•ILLO
•/• 'Y' ' '•+ + +•• •" '•C•i•'
•/•'•• • -• CEntRAL
eRgccm
•//•• + + + • OUARTZ
•//•+ + I • WONZONITE

•/•X• + • GHOSTBRECCiA
•-- ZONE

• ....'EC•DARY
ENRICHMENT•
HOLE
FIG. 9. Geologicinterpretationof east-westcrosssection(line II) throughthe southpart of the
breccia complex.

rangesbetween 5 and 25 percentof the rock mass Donosobrecciaandof the northernandwesternpart

andconsists of blacktourmaline,quartz,pyrite, chal- of the Westernbrecciaare weaklyto moderatelyhy-
copyrite,specularitc,and rarely, anhydriteand bor- drothermallyalteredto a propyliticassemblage. They
nitc. Sericite, chlorite, and rock flour are typicallycontainchloritized,epidotized,specularitized,and/
sparse.Open vugsare common.The primarycopper or tourmalinizedhornblende,primarybiotite, and/or
content is higher than in any of the other breccias deutericchlorite.Magnetiteis mostlystable.Plagio-
except, perhaps,for someparts of the Infiernillo claseis slightlysericitizedandprimaryK-feldsparis
breccia. largely unaltered.
The Donosobrecciais the youngestandnorthern- The brecciasthat were formedcloserto the (west)
mostbrecciaof the LosBroncescomplex.It is ellip- centralpart of the porphyrysystemcontainfragments
soidalin plan and was developedon a northwest- that exhibit strongquartz-sericitealteration.These
southeastaxis,with inward-dippingnorthern, west- are the Fine Gray, Ghost,and most of the Central
ern, and southern contacts. The eastern contact is breccias.The clastsin the southernandwesternpart
nearlyvertical(Fig. 7), suggestinga possiblewestward of the Donoso breccia also contain more sericite and
tiltingafterbreeeiaformation.The rootsof thebreecia quartzfrom the alterationof feldspars,chlorite,and/
pipe lie in the area between east-westdrilling grid or biotite. The clasts of the Infiernillo breccia are
lines H and E, and north-south lines 6.5 and 8.5. The mostlystronglychloritizedand/orpartly epidotized.
breeeiais open at depth. The contactwith the sur- Toward the northernpart of the Infiernillobreccia
roundingquartz monzoniteis remarkablysharp.In the clastsare more silicifiedand the feldsparsmore
places,the contact with the adjacent Central and sericitizedand/or argillized.
Western breeeia also is sharp, but elsewhere the SecondaryK-feldsparand secondarybiotite have
breeeia fragmentsare thoroughly mixed and the rarelybeenobservedin intrusiverockswithin or pe-
boundarycanonly be approximated. ripheral to the Los Broncesbreccias.However, sec-
ondary biotite is commonly observed in andesites
Hydrothermal Alteration closeto the contactwith the quartz monzoniteintru-
sion in drill core from holes east of the breccia com-
The clastsof the variousbrecciasgenerallywere plex. In the Rio Blancomine, secondarybiotite and
notalteredduringthe breccia-forming stages,except secondaryK-feldsparare common.
for somenarrow alterationrims or more pervasively A uniquealterationfeatureof the LosBronces-Rio
in smallclasts.Mineral depositiontook place after Blancodepositis the replacementof maficminerals
brecciationandprobablyformedunderrelativelylow- as well as secondarychlorite by specularitcand/or
pressure conditionsandrapidcoolingof hydrothermal tourmaline within and inside the propylitic zone.
fluidsdid not allow adequatetime to alter clasts.The Many aggregates of specularitc,with or withouttour-
degree and type of hydrothermalalteration of the maline, form pseudomorphsafter hornblende,sec-
clastsdependedlargelyonthe locationof the breccia ondary chlorite, and/or magnetite. These pseudo-
in relationto the earlier developedporphyrysystem. morphsare preservedwithin the quartz-sericiteal-
The clastsof the northernand easternpart of the teration zone.
 LOS BRONCES-RIO BLANCO: Cu & TOURMALINE BRECCIAS 1557

Mineralization velopedin a propyliticalterationzone,suchasin the

southandsouthwest of the brecciacomplex,the Ghost
The porphyrycoppermineralizationthat preceded brecciacontainslow copperand molybdenumvalues
the brecciaformationis centeredin the vicinity of in the matrix.Ghostbrecciasthat developedbetween
theRioBlancomine.Unusuallyhightenorof primary drillinggrid linesB and C (Figs.4 and 6) are more
coppermineralization in the formofchalcopyrite and central to the prebrecciaporphyry copper deposit
minor bornite occursin a roof pendantof andesires and often containhigh-gradeprimary molybdenum
and in the underlyingquartz monzonite.The esti- and coppermineralization.
matedgradeof the firsteightyearsof productionafter The Central brecciais to a large extent disrupted
1970 at Rio Blancowas 1.9 percent Cu. The high- by younger breccias,preventing reconstructionof
gradeore obtainedin the first years(2.4% Cu) was possiblemineraltrends.Also,the Central brecciais
partlydueto the miningof a segmentof hydrothermal more complexthan mostbecauseit consistsof mul-
brecciain the southernpart of the Rio Blancomine. tiple phases.In earlier phases,the mineralizationoc-
The northernpart of the high-gradeporphyrycop- cursascoarse-grained aggregatesin the matrix.The
per center hasbeen removedby a youngerdacite- last phasemay representa fiuidizationstagewith
rhyolite volcanicneck or diatremenorth of the Rio abundant(up to 80%) matrixmaterialshowingflow
Blancocave.Strongprimarycopperandmolybdenum structuresand important amountsof disseminated
mineralizationwas intersectedby diamonddrilling pyrite and sparseamountsof chalcopyrite.
below the western edge of the volcanicneck and The mineralization in the Western breccia consists
probablyoccurssoutheast of the neckbelowthevalley of finely disseminatedpyrite andchalcopyritein the
bottom of the Blanco River. matrix.The primarycoppercontentis generallylow,
The pyrite/chalcopyriteratio increaseswestward rangingfrom 0.3 to 0.6 percentCu. The brecciais
from the Rio Blanco mine toward the Los Bronces consideredwasteexceptwhere upgradedby second-
breccias. Disseminated mineralization decreases and ary enrichment.Molybdeniteoccursirregularlyalong
mineralization in veinlets and on fractures increases. the eastern contact with the Central breccia.
This porphyry style of mineralizationis apparentin The gradeof the primarycoppermineralization of
the quartz monzoniteclastsin the centraland south- the Fine Graybrecciamusthavebeenlow but cannot
ern partof thebrecciacomplex.Mixingofclastswithin be ascertainedbecauseof the strongoverprintof sec-
the brecciasprecludesadequatelyreconstructinga ondarycopper enrichment.Pyrite and chalcopyrite
zoning pattern of mineralizationof the prebreccia with chalcocitecoatingsare finelydisseminatedwith
porphyry system.The copper gradesof clastscon- a low totalvolumepercentagemostlyvaryingbetween
tribute to the overall coppercontentof mostof the one and three.
Ghost,Central,andFine Graybreccias,andin certain Sulfidemineralsin the Infiernillo brecciaare gen-
partsof the Infiernillo, Western,and Donosobreccias, erally present as irregular aggregatesin the matrix.
in particularin areasof supergeneenrichment. Disseminated mineralization and mineralized veinlets
In the intrusiverockssouthwestandperipheralto are not significantandmostclastsare unmineralized.
the brecciacomplex,pyrite is more abundantthan The Infiernillo brecciatypically containsstrongsec-
chalcopyriteandboth occurmore asstockworksthan ondarycopper enrichment,consistingof chalcocite
asdisseminations. The primary gradeshere vary be- coatingson chalcopyriteand pyrite. Covellite is less
tween 0.2 and 0.5 percent copper, but supergene frequentlyobserved.Native copperand cuprite are
copperenrichmenthasdoubledor tripled the grade. commonthroughoutthe breccia.
Northwest of the Escondidafault, mineralization The amountof chalcopyritepresentbelow the en-
outsidethe brecciacomplexissparseandisrestricted richment zone and the amount of chalcopyritestill
mostly to fractures. Mineralization increases,how- visiblewithinthe enrichmentblanketsuggest a higher
ever, towardthe volcanicneck at La Copa. gradeof primarymineralizationalongthe easternand
Supergenecopperenrichmentis economicallysig- southern contacts of the Infiernillo breccia. This
nificantin the southerntwo-thirdsof the deposit, highergraderind is possiblydue to inherentbreccia
southof the SanFrancisco River (Fig.4). The copper permeabilitiesbeforemineralizationandmayindicate
contenthasbeenupgradedtwo or moretimesitspri- areasof morerapid cooling.Partsof thisbrecciaare
maryvaluein the Ghost,Central,Western,Infiernillo, of economicimportancesolelybecauseof goodpri-
andFine Graybreccias.Therefore,primarymineral marygrades,whichrangebetween0.25 and0.9 per-
distributionandpyritechalcopyrite ratiosare difficult centCu andwith pyrite to chalcopyriteratiosvarying
to reconstruct in these breccias. from 1:1 to 1:3.
Much of the primary copper and molybdenum Molybdenite mineralization is significantwith
within the matrix of the Ghost breccia is related to gradesover 0.1 percent Mo, particularly near the
the areasof the porphyrycopperdepositwherethe easternandsouthernmarginsof thebreccia.It iscon-
breccia was formed. For instance,where it was de-
fined to the matrix and was emplacedafter the de-
1558 WARNAARS,
HOLMGREND., AND BARASS1
positionof pyrite andchalcopyrite.Ferrimolybditeis
ubiquitousin weathered surface outcropsand is
abundant in the leached zones.
The Anhydritebrecciahasstatisticallythe highest
total molybdenumcontent(0.051%) comparedwith
the otherbreccias(Table3). Its averagecoppervalue
isthe lowest,0.47 percentCu, becausenosupergene
enrichmenthas taken place. The degree of copper
enrichmentis a functionof permeabilityandporosity
and both are very low becauseanhydritesealedall
the openspaces.This brecciais thusneither leached
nor enrichedbut is surroundedby a circularleached
zone over 300m deep (Reyes, 1980; Warnaars,
1982).The surrounding Infiernillobrecciahasa much
higher permeability.It is stronglyleached and en-
richedasdeep as500 m belowthe surface(Fig. 9).
The high primary copper mineralizationin the
Donosobrecciaattractedthe first prospectorsto the
area in 1864. This breccia has remained the center
of miningactivityever since.Mineralizationismainly in Figure 10 and showthat chalcopyriteand pyrite
confined to the breccia matrix and occurs as coarse
aggregates or irregularpatchesof pyrite,chalcopyrite, which one of the two predominates.Note that the
andoccasionally bornite.Minor sulfidedisseminations limits of the studyarea do not necessarilycoincide
and stockwork mineralization are found in the clasts
on the southwestern side of the breccia. The chro-
nologicalorder of mineralizationin the matrix is
quartz,black tourmaline(dravite),pyrite, chalcopy-
rite, and finally specularite.The order of crystalli-
zationsuggests a decreasing
sulfidation
statewith time
and/or an increasein oxygenfugacity.
The currently knownextent of secondarycopper
enrichment is small in the Donoso breccia. One reason
isthatbetween100 and200 m of the originalDonoso
ridgeisassumed to havebeenminedawaysince1864.
Nevertheless,
supergene enrichmentis, andprobably
was,lesssignificantthan in otherbrecciasbecauseof
the coarse nature of the sulfides in Donoso. The
coarserthe grain size,the smalleris the surfacearea
which is availablefor replacement.A thin film of
chalcocitecoatingchalcopyriteor pyrite may cause
significantenrichmentif the primarysulfideparticles
are very small.
Late mineralveins,formed after the emplacement
of the variousbreccias,containchalcopyrite,molyb-
denite, luzonite, enargite, tennanite, valleriite,
sphalerite,galena,arsenopyrite,barite, calcite,tour-
maline,alunite, and/or pyrophyllitein a quartz-seri-
cite gangue.Theseveinsare not of economicsignif-
icance.They are typicallyfoundalongthe periphery
of the breccia complex,both inside and outsidethe
actual contact.
Pebble dikes are probablythe last signsof miner-
alizationrepresentinglate-stageor postmineralvent-
ing. The pebblesare mostlycountryrockandlocally
brecciapebbles.In somecases,they containpyrite
in the rock flour matrixbut rarely coppersulfides.
F.
Mineral Distribution in the Donoso Breccia
Mineral zoningis difficultto recognizebecauseof
the irregularnature andthe coarsegrainsizeof the
sulfidemineralsin the matrix.Often, the analysisof
a split core is not representative,becauseone side
mayconsistof matrixwith massivesulfideaggregates
andthe otherside,a largebarrenintrusiveclast.Min-
eral distributionis important, particularly in grade
predictionat the variousproductionbenchesand in
anticipatingcopper recovery problems (Holmgren
and Marti, 1984).
A studyof the distributionof chalcopyrite,pyrite,
andspecularite wasmadeof variousproductionlevels
on the north sideof the Donosobrecciaby collecting
dust samplesfrom bench productiondrill holes on
a 25 X 50-m grid. Representative samples were
mountedinto polishedbriquettesfor point counting.
The resultsof productionlevel 3670 are illustrated
are distributedin anirregularshell-likepatternwithin
with the breccia outline.
A copper distributionof all availableassayinfor-
mationof the 3,460-m level (the Pommerantzor main
haulagelevel) suggestsan irregularellipsoidaldistri-
bution(Fig. 11). The assaydataare from old hori-
zontaldrill holes,undergroundchannelsampling,and
more recent vertical drill holes. The several semiel-
lipsoidalshellsof alternatinghigh and low copper
gradessuggest multiplephasesof mineralization.The
copper distribution in each shell is not uniform,
showingstronglocalvariations, dependingonthe size
of clastsand on the amountof chalcopyritein the
matrix. The order of crystallizationin the matrix is
recognized as follows: quartz, tourmaline, pyrite,
chalcopyrite,and specularite.Mineral zoning and
parageneticrelationships in the matrixtypicallyare
not fully developed.Permeabilityis animportantfac-
tor for mineral deposition.Some open spacesmay
havebeen rapidlyfilled andsealedoff with minerals
early in the sequence,preventingaccessof mineral-
izing fluidslate in the sequence.On the otherhand
open spacesin certain areas might have become
availablefor mineraldepositiononlyat the endof the
mineralizingsequence.Since the formationof the
Donosobreccia was probably a multi-phaseevent,
this mineral sequence,with somevariations,wasre-
peatedseveraltimes.Thesecircumstances might ex-
plainwhy pyrite, total sulfide,and chalcopyriteand
thus the copperdistributionare erratic on a small
scaleandalsoona largerscaleof severalchannelsam-
plesor drill hole assayintervals.
The variousshellsin the northernpart of the Don-
osobreccia are interpreted to be nearly vertical or
 LOS BRONCES-RIO BLANCO: Cu & TOURMALINE BRECCIAS 1559

FIG.10. Distribution
ofchalcopyrite
of the Donoso breccia.
andpyrite
ofoperating
bench
level3,670rnintheopen
pit

slightlyinclinedtowardthesoutheast andperpendic- variousstagesof pressurereleasewith concomitant

ularto the N 30øW direction.Thisconfiguration co- precipitationwhereboilingoccursor differentstages
incideswith the generalellipsoidal
shapeof the entire of decreasein temperature.
Donoso brecciawithsteeplydipping,inward-dipping Interestingly,copperplotsof variouslevelsabove
outerlimits(Fig.7). The shell-likeor onion-ringpat- the Pommerantz level (andbelowthe currentpro-
ternisalsoapparent in crosssections
H-H' andJ (Figs. ductionlevels)showthat highergradeshellsare not
12 and 13); the crudelyconcaveconfiguration indi- easilyprojectablefromonelevel to the next.Instead,
catesthat the shellsare steeplydippinginward.The they are slightlyoffsetto the westor to the east,ex-
multipleshell-likecopperdistribution mayrepresent hibitinga tendencyto spiralvertically.
1560 WARNAARS,
HOLMGREND., AND BARASS1
F.

Summaryand Discussion
2 3
The Los Bronces-RioBlancodepositwas formed
on the east side of the San Francisco batholith. This
intrusionis stronglyperaluminousand has a calc-al-
/ -•-
kaline compositionwith a alkali-calcicaffinity. The
batholithtook a minimumof 11.5 m.y. to form, from
20.1 m.y. (earlyMiocene)to 8.6 m.y. (lateMiocene).
o ioo The hornblendeageof 20.1 m.y. is the oldestage
i I determined so far from a Tertiary intrusion in this
METERS
part of the Andesof central Chile. A numberof in-
trusionsalong the central Andean mountainrange
were emplacedduring a period of Tertiary magmatic
activitythat startedabout25 m.y. agowith extrusions
D
of large quantitiesof andesitesof the FarellonesFor-
mationand/orpart of the AbanicoFormation.
This igneousactivityfolloweda periodof magmatic
quiescencebetween 62 and 25 m.y. ago as docu-
mentedby Drake et al. (1982). The hiatusmayhave
been a consequence of flatteningof the subduction
plate similarto the model of Jordanet al. (1983) for
the present-daysituationof the sectionof the Andean
mountainrangebetween 28 ø and 33 ø15' S. The re-
newedmagmaticactivitythat started25 m.y. agomay
BB
have been causedby a steepeningof the subducted
plate in this part of the Andes.
CC LEGEND: The last magmaticactivity in the area under study
ß ) 1.5O%cu gave rise to dacitic (flow) brecciasand dacite por-
Ill 1-01 - 1.50
phyriesfromthe volcanicneckor diatremeofLa Copa
[] < 0.40 with agesrangingfrom 4.9 to 3.9 m.y. An area of
similar acid volcanism lies about 15 km south of Los
Broncesat Colorado-LaParva.No youngerageshave
FIG. 11. Copper distributionat the 3,460-m level (Pommer- been determinedin igneousrocksnorth of 33015' S
antz). in thispart of centralChile. The youngestageof 3.9

3600

3500
•, ! ::::::'
)+ EXPLANATION

:"• Cp 29- 43•/oW

c 3400
o

::::: • OM
SCALE
33oo
+ 0 50 I•Om
i

32o• q.

FIG. 12. Chalcopyrite

distribution
in aneast-west
section(H-H') throughthe Donosobreccia(looking
north).
 LOS BRONCES-RIO BLANCO: Cu & TOURMALINE BRECCIAS 1561

andeachcontributedin a differentwayto the copper

and molybdenummineralization.
Los Broncesgivesevidenceof both explosiveor
SCALE
collapsephenomena. The initialbreccia-forming pro-
cessat LosBroncesisinterpretedto havebeena con-
I00 200 300m sequenceof hydrothermalpressurebuildup that re-
suitedin an explosive,disruptive,upwardmovement.
This conceptis consistent with the presenceof intru-
sive clasts and boulders in the andesitc breccia on
...4.õ 5-5 f• 7ø5 8*5 Infiernillo mountainat an elevationof 4,100 m, ap-
ß I.' . .fl ' proximately200 m above the contactbetween the
andesitesand the intrusivebatholithadjacentto the
breccia.
Collapsefeaturesare alsoapparentand probably
• '.• .'. formedafter releaseof the pressurethat initiatedthe
brecciation.This would explainthe presenceof an-
ß
a,4• • +• + + EXPLANATION
ov..u.o,.
desitc clasts in the Donoso and Central breccias ob-
servedin the undergroundworkingsof the 3,460-m
ORIEL
HOLE • RHYOLITE level at least 300 m below the andesitc-intrusion con-
tact outside the breccia.

•,•oo...• •
OTAL
Cu
•
H16HGRA
D•
• oo•oso
• •a[cclA MONZONITEAlso, in the south-centralpart of the Infiernillo
QUARTZ
breccia, the contact between the andesitcbreccia and
O2 4 •HELLS
the quartzmonzonitebrecciaisgradationalandis 250
m belowthe regionallyinferredcontactbetweenthe
andesitesandintrusions.This changein brecciatype
FIC. 13. Geologicinterpretationand copperdistributionof occurs in the center of the Infiernillo breccia at a lower
an e•t-west crosssection(line J) throughthe Donosobreccia.
elevationthan in other parts of the Infiernillo and
Western breccias,probablybecausethe pressurere-
leasewas greatestin the center of the breccia.Dif-
ferentialpressurereleasein the centermay alsoex-
m.y. maymarkthe beginningof igneousquiescence plain why the younger, small, columnarAnhydrite
that hasprevailedto the presentwhichJordanet al. brecciapipe wasemplacedin this low-pressurearea
(1983) postulatedas being due to flatteningof the beforethe Infiernillo-Western brecciawascompletely
subductingNazcaplate. solidified.
TheLosBronces-Rio Blancoporphyrycoppermin- Supergeneenrichmentand leachingare both sig-
eralizationand alterationincludingthe brecciafor- nificant in the southern two-thirds of the Los Bronces
mationwere generatedover a period of at least2.5 brecciacomplex.The degreeandextentof both pro-
m.y., between7.4 and 4.9 m.y. ago.This makesthe cessesis more a functionof brecciaandfractureper-
LosBronces-Rio Blancodepositoneof the youngest meabilitythan of initial primarymineraldistribution.
in Chile andis comparable in ageto the E1Teniente The depthof the supergenecopperdepositionis not
porphyrycopperdeposit(5 m.y., Clark et al., 1983). known in certain areasof the southernpart of the
Hydrothermalbrecciasare commonlyassociatedbrecciacomplexbut in placesis more than 500 m
with porphyrycopperdeposits throughout theworld. thick. The supergeneprocessesare related to the
The brecciasof the LosBronces-Rio Blancodeposit, presenttopographyand the presentground-water
however,areuniquebecause oftheirabundance (both regime, with large seasonalwater table fluctuations
to the southof Rio Blancoaswell asat LosBronces), in excess of a few hundred meters. The enrichment
theirlargecombined size,complexity,andhightour- appearsto be postglacialand geologicallyrecent,
malinecontents.The brecciasdominatethe system similarto the supergeneenrichmentat E1Teniente
frombothgeometricandeconomicaspects. (F. Camus,pers. commun.).
The Los Bronces breccias were formed after the A postmineralvolcanicneckof La Copawhichre-
mainphaseof the porphyrycoppersystem.Intrusive movedpartof a porphyrycoppersystemisnotunique
dlastsin the brecciascommonlycontainstockwork to the Los Bronces-RioBlancoorebody. Other ex-
anddisseminated coppermineralization. The time of amplesareE1Teniente(Chile),Toquepala(Peru),and
emplacementand coolingof the brecciaswasrela- Lepanto(Philippines).The BradenFormationat E1
tively shortin comparisonto the time spanfor the Teniente (Camus,1975) is largelya postmineralvol-
formationof the entireLosBronces-Rio Blancopor- canic event that removeda substantialpart of the
phyrysystem.Eachbrecciahasits owncharacteristicscenterofthe porphyrycopperorebodyandassociated
 1562 WARNAARS,
HOLMGREND., AND BARASSI
F.

hydrothermal tourmaline breccias.The tourmaline veins containing specularite, enargite, sulfosalts,

brecciasare stillpreservedaslargefragmentswithin chalcopyrite,sphalerite,and galenain a gangueof
the diatremeandasa rim alongthe edgeof theBraden quartz,barite, andsiderite.
Formation.Toquepalaalsohasa barren intrusiveda- 5. Hydrothermalactivitywascutoffanddisrupted
citethatremoveda substantial partof the orebodyat by the postmineraldaciteporphyriesof the La Copa
the east side of the current mining operations. volcanic neck or diatreme.
MacKibbon,who worked in the Lepanto area, men-
Acknowledgments
tioned (pets. commun.)the existenceof a barren
postmineraldiatremethat containsfragmentswith We highly appreciatethe encouragement of F. J.
porphyry-stylemineralizationsoutheastof Lepanto Sawkins and R. H. Sillitoe to contribute to this breccia
andwestof the Tirad porphyrycopperdeposit. volume.This would have not been possiblewithout
Asa summary,Figure 14 presentsa schematicdia- the invitation of D. L. Giles, F. H. Bonhamm, and
gramof the formationof the LosBronces-Rio Blanco F. J. Sawkins,the organizersof the BrecciationCon-
porphyrycoppersystemandbrecciaemplacements. ferencein ColoradoSpringsin September1983.
The verticalaxisrepresentsthe relative intensityof E. ReyesS. collectedimportantearly geological
hydrothermalactivity.The horizontalscaleis alsoan drill hole and regionalinformationuntil his fatal ac-
approximationbecausemore agedeterminationsare cident in 1980. This paper resulted from valuable
requiredto be reallyconfidentof the timingof events. contributions
by manygeologists of CompafiiaMinera
Figure 14 illustratesthe followinginferredevents: Disputada:W. CuadraC., J. CabelloL., V. Irarr•tzaral
LI., F. Gonzalez, R. Hein C., R. Le6n B., M. Marti
1. The hydrothermalmineralizationandalteration G., R. Mufioz M., J. Urquidi B., C. Walker A., andJ.
tookplaceduringthe lastphaseof the coolingof the Wenke H., who were involved in variousstagesof
easternpart of the SanFranciscobatholith. the resource evaluationprogram. To them we are
2. The brecciaswere formed in a shortperiod of mostobliged.
time as a result of pressurebuildup during the ret- With great pleasurewe acknowledgethe cooper-
rogressionor the waningphaseof the disseminated ationandpermissionof Compa•ia Minera Disputada
stockworkporphyrycopperformation. de LosCondesS.A. andExxonMineralsCompanyin
3. In the porphyry copper system, pyrite was publishingthis paper; in particularJ. E. Frost who
formedfirst, followedby chalcopyrite,bornitc,and stimulatedthe variousstudies,critically read the
later molybdenite.Subsequentshort-livedbut sub- manuscript,andgavefinal approvalfor release.Also
stantialpulsesof brecciationlocalizednew deposition Hans Bosshardt,C. L. Dahl, and William Saegartof
of quartz, tourmaline,sulfides,and specularitc. Exxonencouragedus and contributedto the under-
4. The youngestphasesof mineralizationare rep- standingof the geologyand mineralizationat Los
resentedby late, postbrecciamineralizedfaultsand Bronces.We would like to thank E. Klohn H., O. Fer-
nandezH., andM. Marti G. of DisputadaandD. Har-
Tourmaline rison of Exxon for their keen interest and continuous
Pyrite • support.We highlyappreciatethe cooperationof M.
Chalcopyrite -- --
Humphreysof Esso(Australia)and R. D. McNeil of
Molybdenite -- -- EssoPapuaNew Guineafor allocatingtimeto prepare
Specularite the paper.
Many earlyversionsof the paperwere reviewed
by G. Westra,J. F. McKnight,M. J. Mackenzie,
and
o
C. C. Brooks,whose commentariesand suggestions
o
enhanced
the qualityof the paperconsiderably
and
to whom we feel most thankful.
T We are very gratefulfor the excellentdraftingof
._

._>
.•o o -•c•, M. Ubilla R., E. JorqueraC., D. Baine,and M. Keno
and to W. Tep who typed numerousversionsof the
•]•'• • •Gradua• • • • manuscript.
•o o
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Ooohngof
bathohth
'•ø•• /
Abru•••
Brecc•a
Aguirre,L., 1960, Geologiade LosAndesde Chile central,Prov.
de Aconcagua:Chile Inst. Inv. Geol., Bol. 9, 70 p.
./' Pulses Albers, J.P., 1981, A lithologic-tectonicframeworkfor the me-
20 8 7 6 5
tallogenicprovincesof California:ECON.GEOL.,v. 76, p. 765-
Approximate miH•on years before present 790.
Barassi F., S., Gonzalez, F., and Warnaars, F., 1979, Traverse
FIG. 14. Schematicrepresentationof the sequenceof hydro- mappingin structuraldomains:Santiago,Cia Minera Disputada,
thermal eventsduringthe formationof the Los Bronces-RioBlanco unpub. rept., p. 1-17.
porphyry copperand breccias. Blondel,J. R., 1980, P6rfidode composici6n
granodioriticade la
 LOS BRONCES-RIO BLANCO: Cu & TOURMALINE BRECCIAS 1563

mina Rio Blanco:Unpub. thesis,Santiago,Univ. Chile, Dept. Lopez,L., andVergara,M., 1982,Geoqulmicay petrog6nesisde
Geology, p. 1-88. rocasgranodior•ticas
asociadasconel yacimientocuprfferoRio
Camus,F., 1975, Geologyof the E1Teniente orebodywith em- Blanco-LosBronces:Rev. Geol. Chile, no. 15, p. 59-70.
phasison wall-rock alteration: ECON. GEOL., v. 70, p. 1341- Minster,J. B., andJordan,T. H., 1978, Presentdayplate motions:
1372. Jour. Geophys.Research,v. 83, p. 5331-5354.
Cepeda,A., 1981, Geologlaecon0micadel distritoR•o Blanco- Ossand0n,G., 1974, Petrograf•ay alteraci6ndel p6rfido dac•tico
Disputada:Inst. Inv. Geol. Chile, Bol. 36, p. 1-43. YacimientoEl Teniente: Unpub. thesis,Santiago,Univ. Chile,
Clark, A. H., Farrar, E., Camus,F., and Quirt, G. S., 1983, K-Ar Dept. Geology, p. 1-112.
age data for the E1Teniente porphyry copper deposit,central Oyarzfin,J., 1971,Contribution a l'etudegeochimique desroches
Chile: ECON.GEOL., v. 78, p. 1003-1006. volcaniques et plutoniques du Chile:Unpub.Ph.D. thesis,Univ.
Cuadra,W., 1980, Geolog•ay petrog•nesisde la BrechaDonoso, Paris, 195 p.
Mina Los Bronces:Unpub. thesis,Santiago,Univ. Chile, Dept. Peacock,M. A., 1931, Classification of igneousrocksseries;Jour.
Geology, p. 1-148. Geology, v. 39, p. 54-67.
Drake, R., Charrier, R., Thiele, R., Munizaga,F., Padilla,H., and Quirt, S., Clark, A. H., Ferrar, E., and Sillitoe,R. H., 1971, Po-
Vergara, M., 1982, Distribuci6n y edadesK/Ar de volcanitas tassium-argonagesof porphyry copper depositsin northern
post-Neocomianas en la cordillera princip•dentre 32 ø y 36 ø and central Chile labs.I: ECON.GEOL.,v. 67, p. 980-981.
L.S. Implicacionesestratigr•tficas y tect6nicaspara meso-Cen- Reyes,F., 1980, Actualizati6nde zona de lixiviaci6n:Santiago,
ozoicode Chile central:Geol. Cong. Chile, 3rd, Concepci6n, Cia Minera Disputada,unpub. rept., p. 1-9.
1982, Acta, v. 2, p. D41-D78. Shand,S. J., 1927, The eruptive rocks:New York, JohnWiley,
Frutos,J., 1981, Andeantectonicsasa consequence of seafloor p. 1-188.
spreading:Tectonophysics, v. 72, p. 21-32. Stambuk,V., Blond61,J., and Serrano,L., 1982, Geologla del
Hart, S. R., 1964, The petrologyandisotopic-mineral agerelations yacimientoR•o Blanco:Cong. Geol. Chile, 3rd, Concepci6n,
of a contactzone in the Front Range,Colorado:Jour.Geology, 1982, Acta, v. 2, p. E419-E443.
v. 74, p. 493-525. Streckeisen,A., 1976, To each plutonic rock its proper name:
Holmgren, C., and Marti, M., 1984, Applied microscopyand Earth-Sci. Rev., v. 12, p. 1-33.
metallurgicalforecastingat Los Broncesmine, Chile, in Park, Vergara,M., andDrake,R, 1978, Edadespotasio-arg0n y suim-
W., Hausen, D., and Hagni, R. D., eds., Applied mineralogy plicanciaen la geologlaregion•dde Chile: Univ. Chile, Rev.
1985: New York, Am. Inst. Mining Metall. PetroleumEngineers, Comunicaciones, No. 23, p. 1-11.
p. 407-417. -- 1979, Eventosmagm•tticos plutonicosen LosAndesde Chile
Irarr•zaval, V., LeOn, R., Mufioz, R., and Warnaars, F. W., 1979, centred:Cong. Geol. Chile, 2nd, Arica, 1979, Acta, v. 1, p.
Reconnaissance mappingin the areaof Los BroncesandAndina: F19-F30.
Santiago,Cia Minera Disputada, unpub. rept., p. 1-24. Warnaars, F. W., 1980, Brechas de Cobre y Turmalina en Los
Jordan,T. E., Isacks,B. L, Alhnendinger,R. W., Brewer, J. A., Bronces,Chile: Cong.PorphyryCopper Mining, 50th, Santiago,
Ramos,V. A., and Ando, C. J., 1983, Andeantectonicsrelated Nov. 1980, Proc., v. 3, p. 175-201.
to geometryof subductedNazcaplate:Geol. Soc.AmericaBull., -- 1982, Copper tourmaline breccias at Los Bronces, Chile:
v. 94, p. 341-360. Am. Inst. Mining Metall. Petroleum EngineersTrans., v. 272,
Keith, S. B., 1978, Paleosubduction geometriesinferred from p. 1902-1911.
Cretaceousand Tertiary magmaticpattern in southwestern Warnaars,F. W., Smith,W. H., Bray, R. E., Lanier, G., andShaf-
North America:Geology,v. 6, p. 516-521. iqullah, M., 1978, Geochronologyof igneousintrusionsand
Klohn, C, 1960, Geologlade la Cordillera de LosAndesde Chile porphyry copper mineralization at Bingham, Utah: ECON.
centralProvinciasde Santiago,O'Higgins,Colchaguay Curic6, GEOL., v. 73, p. 1242-1249.
Chile: Chile Inst. Inv. Geol., Bol. 8, 97 p. Zentilli, M., 1974, Geologicalevolution and metallogeneticre-
Latorre, M. J., 1981, La formaci6n Rio Blanco en el area de la lationshipin the Andesof northern Chile between 26 ø and 29 ø
Mina Andina:Unpub. thesis,Santiago,Univ. Chile, Dept. Geol- south:Unpub. Ph.D. thesis,Kingston,Ontario, Queen'sUniv.,
ogy, p. 1-112. p. 1-151.

APPENDIX I

Nomenclature
It wasessentialto agreeon terminology,nomen- ferent rock types and breccia typeswere on display
clature,abbreviations, anda computercodingsystem in the loggingfacility.
asearlyaspossible in a resourceevaluationprogram. A breccia at Los Bronces was defined as a fractured
Thiswasparticularlycriticalsince15 geologists were rock with 5 vol percent or more of the rock material
involvedin core loggingand mappingat the same consistingof matrix material, which is mostlytour-
time in differentpartsof the depositand different maline,quartz,rockflour,sulfides,or specularitc. The
geologists were loggingthe samedrill hole during rock fragmentsmustalsohave been rotated or dis-
alternatingshiftsusingthe computerlogs.The time placed.The amountof matrix materialis usuallyex-
factor was important,becauseall core drilled each pressedin volume percentage.This is considered
daywasdescribed for rockmechanics andgeological moreconvenientthandescribinga ratio of interfrag-
purposesthe sameday prior to calculatingcore re- mental(I) versusfragmental(F) rockmaterialaswas
eovery, core splitting,sampling,and storage.The suggestedat the 1983 BrecciaConferencein Colo-
programwasvery intensewith coregeneratedby 16 rado Springs.
drill rigsoperatingduringthe lengthof a season.For Brecciasat Los Broncesare usuallymonolithic,oc-
thesereasons, referencespecimens of mostof the dif- casionallybilithic, and rarely heterolithic. Breccias
1564 WARNAARS,HOLMGREND., AND BARASSIF.

are generallyeasilyrecognizable.Brecciacontacts
with the countryrock are, fortunately,mostlysharp
and well defined. Contactsbetween variousbreccias,
however, are often difficult to define becauseof mix-
ing and interfingering.In contactzones,the relative
proportions of the variousbrecciasweredescribedin
percentageon the loggingsheet.
The loggingsheetillustratedon a reducedscalein
Figure A1 is designedfor descriptions in computer
codes.To overcomethe geologist'sreluctanceand
antipathy to computercoding,amplespaceisreserved
for geologiccommentary,to indicatephotostaken,
specimens collectedfor polishedandthin sections,
X-ray studies,etc. Usuallyloggingintervalsare se-
lectedfor geologicreasonsrelatedto changes in rock
type, mineralizationand alteration,or fault zones.
Otherwise,intervalscoincidewith drill core runs.The
abbreviations givenin TableA1 areusedto quantify
the degreeof alterationor mineraloccurrence,in-
dicatingtheirapproximate percentage ofrockvolume.
Estimatingsulfidecontentsand sulfideratiosin
brecciasis difficultbecauseof the irregularnatureof
sulfide distribution in the breccia matrix; often the
visualestimates of percentages
andratiosareverified
after receivingthe assayresultsof metalsand occa-
sionallyof sulfur.The degreeof supergeneenrich-
mentis equallyhardto estimatevisually,becausein
somepartsof theorebodythesulfides arefinegrained
and disseminated,and elsewhere they are coarse
grained.In fine-grained
sulfides,
it is mostlyoveres-
timated and underestimated in the coarse sulfides,
becausethe surfaceareaavailablefor replacingchal-
copyriteandpyriteis greaterwhenthe sulfidesare
fine grainedthan when the sulfideaggregatesare
coarsegrained.
An agreementwasreachedto considersupergene
copperenrichmentsignificant if the ratioof chalco-
cite/chalcopyrite
exceeds1/lO,whichmeansthat at
least20 percentof the copperis in the formof chal-
cocite.
The loggingsheetof FigureA1 is largelyself-ex-
planatoryandshowsall variablesnecessaryto char-
acterize the various breccias and their alteration and
mineralization.

T^BLEA1. Abbreviations
of QuantitativeEstimates
of Mineral
Occurrencesor AlterationAssemblages

Quantity or Approximate
abundance Abbreviation vol percent

Nil NIL
Rare RA
Trace TR <0.1
Sparse SP 0.1-0.4
Weak WK 0.4-1.0
Moderate MOD 1.0-5.0
Strong STR 5.0-15.0
Intense INT 15.0-40.0
Total TOT >40
 LOS BRONCES-RIOBLANCO:Cu & TOURMALINEBRECCIAS 1565

APPENDIX II

K-Ar Analytical Data and Agesof Nine Mineral Samplesfrom Los Bronces-RioBlanco,Chile

Rad. 4øAr
X10 -•2 Rad. 4øAr 100 X Rad. 4øAr
Sample Average
Sampletype no. wt % K mole/g Total4øAr 4øK Age (m.y.)

Quartz monzonite Lb- 1 Hb 0.377 0.543 0.077 0.1181 20.1 _+ 2.0

Quartz monzonite Lb- 1 Bi 7.515 8.565 0.421 0.0934 15.9 ___0.6
Quartz monzonite LB-2 Bi 7.608 6.148 0.358 0.0662 11.3 _+ 0.4
Hornblende diorite LB-3A Hb 0.448 0.595 0.087 0.1088 18.5 ___1.7
Hornblende diorite LB-3A Bi 6.442 0.5547 0.304 0.0706 12.0 ___0.5
Granodiorite LB-7 Hb 0.306 0.188 0.0236 0.0505 8.6 _ 0.9
Granodiorite LB-7 Bi 7.362 4.176 0.0206 0.0465 7.9 ___0.4
Dacite porphyry Lb-10 Bi 7.468 2.584 0.205 0.0284 4.8 _ 0.2
Dacite porphyry dike LB-11 Bi 7.446 2.594 0.204 0.0286 4.9 _ 0.2
Sericitizedquartz monzonite LB-12 Se 6.258 2.306 0.242 0.0302 5.2 _+ 0.3

Abbreviations:Hb = hornblende,Bi = biotite, Se = sericite,rad. = radiogenic

Constantsemployed:?,a-- 4.72 X 10-•ø y; ?,e= 0.585 X 10-•ø y; 4øK/K= 1.22 X 10-4 g.g