Andean Porphyries 2017-18 - Porphyry Cu & Au in the Andes

Porter GeoConsultancy continued it's International Study Tour series of professional development courses, conducted as two separate modules within the Andes of South America in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

This tour visited a selection of the most significant porphyry Cu-Mo, Cu-Mo-Zn, Cu-Au and Au systems and provinces, from Cretaceous to Pliocene in age and from Chile to northern Ecuador, including 'classic' porphyry, porphyry-skarn, porphyry-breccia and porphyry-epithermal deposits, and supergene derivatives.

It provided a comprehensive overview of the scope and variability of the occurrence of 'porphyry related' deposits, and their common and contrasting characteristics.

Participants could take any 3 or more days, up to the full module, as suited their budget, availability or interest.

Photo Album - who went & what they saw.

The tour was designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the scope and variability of the occurrence of 'porphyry related' deposits, and their common and contrasting characteristics. The combined itineraries included:
• each of the styles of porphyry related deposits & commodity groupings, including 'classic' porphyry, porphyry-breccia, porphyry-skarn, porphyry- epithermal & supergene deposits of Cu-Mo±Zn±Au, Cu-Au & Au±Cu,	• the three differing, distinct and longitudinally contiguous, geotectonic zones that host significant porphyry mineralisation in the Andean Orogen, namely the Northern, Peruvian and Central Andes,
• a representative selection of deposits, from south-central Chile in the south, to northern Ecuador in the north,	• deposits spread across the principal temporal clusters of emplacement, from Cretaceous to Miocene/Pliocene.



	Image: Vicuña in the golden puna grass of the high Andes


The tour was conducted in two parts, Andean Porphyries 2017 in April 2017, which took in four deposits in Chile, whilst the second, Andean Porphyries 2018 included six major deposits from southern Peru to northern Ecuador in June 2018.
Deposits on the itinerary included:
Andean Porphyries 2018 4 to 18 June, 2018	Andean Porphyries 2017 23 to 29 April, 2017
Central Andes & Bolivian Orocline • Cerro Verde - Paleocene to Eocene porphyry Cu-Mo, SW Peru Mon 4 and Tue 5 June, 2018 • Las Bambas - Eocene to Oligocene porphyry/skarn Cu-Au-Mo, SE Peru Wed 6 to Sat 9 June, 2018 Peruvian Andes • Yanacocha - Miocene porphyry/lithocap/epithermal Au-Cu, Northern Peru Sun 10 and Mon 11 June, 2018 • Toromocho - Miocene porphyry Cu-Mo(-Ag), Central Peru Tue 12 and Wed 13 June, 2018 • Antamina - Miocene porphyry/skarn Cu-Zn-Mo-Ag, Central Peru Thu 14 to Sat 16 June, 2018 Northern Andes • Cascabel - Eocene porphyry Cu-Au, northern Ecuador Sun 17 to Mon 18 June, 2018	Central Andes • Rio Blanco/Andina - Miocene/Pliocene breccia/porphyry Cu-Mo, Chile Sun 23 and Mon 24 April, 2017 • Collahuasi - Eocene to Oligocene porphyry Cu-Mo, northern Chile Tue 25 April, 2017 • Chuquicamata - Eocene to Oligocene porphyry Cu-Mo, northern Chile Wed 26 and Thu 27 April, 2017 • Antucoya - Cretaceous porphyry Cu, Chile Fri 28 April, 2017 NOTE: dates listed include travel and altitude acclimatisation days.