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Sungun, Songun |
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Iran |
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Cu Mo
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Super Porphyry Cu and Au
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IOCG Deposits - 70 papers
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All papers now Open Access.
Available as Full Text for direct download or on request. |
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The Sungun copper deposit is located 75 km northwest of Ahar in Azarbaijan Province, in the far northwest of Iran, and lies within the Azerbaijan-Tarom volcano-plutonic belt, which is the extension of the lesser Caucasus into Iran. This copper belt was formed within continental margin type calc-alkaline, high K-Shoshonitic series rocks found on the boundary between the Mesozoic (mid Jurassic-Cretaceous) Caucasus eugeosyncline oceanic basin to the north, and the continental sialic crust (Iranian platform) to the south. Songun has been considered both as a skarn as well as a porphyry-type deposit (Etminan 1976; Khoi et al., 1993; Mehrparto and Tarkian 1993). For details of the regional setting see the Iranian Porphyry Copper Province record.
The host rocks comprise granite, granodiorite, and monzonite, which are characterised by calc-alkaline I-type granitoids in a continental arc geotectonic setting. The emplacement of granitoids took place during the main orogeny with the compressional regime of the late Eocene-Oligocene which caused the development of regional uplifts. Advanced hydrothermal alteration produced K feldspar, phyllic, argillic and propylitic zones.
Ore comprises hypogene disseminated, stockwork and vein-type mineralisation. The main ore mineral is chalcopyrite, which within the feldspar altered zone is disseminated, while in the phyllic zone occurs as veins. The argillic zone has low grade disseminated ores. Ore mineralisation was emplaced in two stages:
i). the first is an association of chalcopyrite, molybdenite, ilmenite, tetrahedrite, tennantite and pyrite accompanied by potassic and propylitic alteration which formed the stockwork system at temperatures of between 350 to 500° C, up to 500° C in some parts.
ii). The second ore forming stage has a paragenesis of chalcopyrite, molybdenite, pyrite, bornite, chalcocite, rutile and Pb-Zn-Au mineralisation, associated with phyllic and argillic alteration which developed at temperatures of between 250-350° C.
There are several skarn exposures of various dimensions around the productive zone which have formed within the Cretaceous limestones. Skarn-type mineralisation has two types of paragenesis. The first type consists of pyrite, chalcopyrite, Pb-Zn minerals and magnetite. The second comprises chalcopyrite, pyrite, Pb-Zn and magnetite association as veins and fracture fillings
The reasonable assured ore reserves are estimated at about:
290 Mt @ 0.76% Cu and 0.015% Mo,
although it has also been quoted (Zarasvandi, et al., 2005) as containing a resource of:
500 Mt of hypogene sulphide ore @ 0.75 % Cu, 0.01% Mo.
Etminan (2012) quotes a resource of:
850 Mt @ 0.66% Cu, 0.01% Mo.
For detail consult the reference(s) listed below.
The most recent source geological information used to prepare this decription was dated: 1997.
This description is a summary from published sources, the chief of which are listed below.
© Copyright Porter GeoConsultancy Pty Ltd. Unauthorised copying, reproduction, storage or dissemination prohibited.
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Aghazadeh, M., Hou, Z., Badrzadeh, Z. and Zhou, L., 2015 - Temporal-spatial distribution and tectonic setting of porphyry copper deposits in Iran: Constraints from zircon U-Pb and molybdenite Re-Os geochronology: in Ore Geology Reviews v.70, pp. 385-406.
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Calagari A A and Hosseinzadeh G, 2006 - The mineralogy of copper-bearing skarn to the east of the Sungun-Chay river, East-Azarbaidjan, Iran : in J. of Asian Earth Sciences v28 pp 423-438
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Calagari A A, 2004 - Fluid inclusion studies in quartz veinlets in the porphyry copper deposit at Sungun, East-Azarbaidjan, Iran: in J. of Asian Earth Sciences v23 pp 179-189
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Calagari, A.A., 2003 - Stable isotope (S, O, H and C) studies of the phyllic and potassic-phyllic alteration zones of the porphyry copper deposit at Sungun, East Azarbaidjan, Iran: in J. of Asian Earth Sciences v.21, pp. 767-780.
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Hezarkhan A, 2006 - Petrology of the intrusive rocks within the Sungun Porphyry Copper Deposit, Azerbaijan, Iran: in J. of Asian Earth Sciences v27 pp 326-340
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Hezarkhani A, Williams-Jones A E 1998 - Controls of alteration and mineralization in the Sungun Porphyry Copper deposit, Iran: evidence from fluid inclusions and stable isotopes: in Econ. Geol. v93 pp 651-670
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Hezarkhani A, Williams-Jones A E, Gammons C H 1999 - Factors controlling copper solubility and chalcopyrite deposition in the Sungun porphyry copper deposit, Iran: in Mineralium Deposita v34 pp 770-783
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Kou, G.-Y., Xu, B., Zhou, Y., Zheng, Y.-C., Zhou, L.-M., Zhang, Y.-F. and Yu, J.-X., 2021 - Geology and petrogenesis of the Sungun deposits: Implications for the genesis of porphyry-type mineralisation in the NW Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic Arc, Iran: in Ore Geology Reviews v.31, doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2021.104013
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Rajabpour, S., Hassanpour, S. and Rahnama, Z., 2023 - A regional petrogenetic-metallogenic perspective on the Kighal porphyry Cu deposit in the Sungun cluster, the Arasbaran magmatic belt of NW Iran: in Mineralium Deposita v.58, pp. 1171-1189.
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Richards, J.P. and Sholeh, A., 2016 - The Tethyan Tectonic History and Cu-Au Metallogeny of Iran: in Richards, J.P. (Ed.), 2016 Tectonics and Metallogeny of the Tethyan Orogenic Belt, SEG Special Publication 19, Ch. 7, pp. 193-212.
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Zarasvandi A, Liaghat S and Marcos Zentilli M, 2005 - Porphyry Copper Deposits of the Urumieh-Dokhtar Magmatic Arc, Iran: in Porter, T.M. (Ed), 2005 Super Porphyry Copper & Gold Deposits - A Global Perspective, PGC Publishing, Adelaide, v.2 pp. 441-452
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Porter GeoConsultancy Pty Ltd (PorterGeo) provides access to this database at no charge. It is largely based on scientific papers and reports in the public domain, and was current when the sources consulted were published. While PorterGeo endeavour to ensure the information was accurate at the time of compilation and subsequent updating, PorterGeo, its employees and servants: i). do not warrant, or make any representation regarding the use, or results of the use of the information contained herein as to its correctness, accuracy, currency, or otherwise; and ii). expressly disclaim all liability or responsibility to any person using the information or conclusions contained herein.
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