Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 36 ( 1990 ) 197-232

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam - - Printed in The Netherlands

197

The geology of hydrothermal gold deposits in Chile

FRANCISCO CAMUS

Compania Minera el Bronce, Carmencita 240, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile

(Received January 10, 1989; revised and accepted July 25, 1989 )

ABSTRACT
Camus, F., 1990. The geology of hydrothermal gold deposits in Chile. In: J.W. Hedenquist, N.C.
White and G. Siddeley (Editors), Epithermal Gold Mineralization of the Circum-Pacific: Geology, Geochemistry, Origin and Exploration, I. J. Geochem. Explor., 36: 197-232.
A detailed geologic study has been undertaken of the characteristics of 20 of the best known
hydrothermal gold deposits in Chile. Characteristics include production and reserve data, metal
grades, geotectonic setting, morphology, mineralogy, zonation, alteration assemblages and fluidinclusion studies. Based on this geologic data base, two broad categories of gold deposits have been
recognized: volcanic-hosted epithermal deposits of the adularia-sericite and acid-sulphate types
and porphyry-related deposits.
Volcanic-hosted epithermal deposits of the adularia-sericite type appear to be more abundant
than the acid-sulphate type. Very few examples of porphyry-related deposits have been recognized.
The majority of the acid-sulphate type deposits were formed during the Oligocene-Quaternary
time-span and no adularia-sericite type examples are yet known from this period. This latter
epithermal type was formed exclusively during the Mesozoic and Early Tertiary.
Presently accepted ore-deposit models have been applied to the Chilean epithermal gold deposits, and an empirical model for adularia-sericite epithermal system is presented.

INTRODUCTION

Background
The surge in precious-metals exploration worldwide in the past 15 years has
resulted in a greater interest in the study of hydrothermal deposits, especially
of gold. These studies are aimed at defining the geological characteristics, depositional environments, and origin of these deposits in order to develop better
tools for exploration. The works of Buchanan (1981), Henley and Ellis (1983),
Berger and Bethke (1985), and Heald et al. (1987), among others, are examples of general studies of this type.
The marked increase in gold-silver exploration in Chile during the past 10
years has resulted in the discovery of the E1 Indio ore deposit, east ofLa Serena
0375-6742/90/$03.50

1990 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

198

F. CAMUS

in the high Andes - presently the largest gold producer in Chile - and the recent
discoveries at La Coipa and Marte.
Chile's total recorded gold production between 1545 and 1987 was 688,000
kg. Almost 50% of this gold (341,000 kg) has been mined since 1932. Since
1980 there has been a strong revival of exploration and mining. At present the
official average annual Chilean gold production is 16,000 kg.
Geological studies of Chilean gold and silver deposits have not been developing at the same rate as exploration. A review of the literature shows a scarcity of published detailed geological work even for the principal gold camps of
the country. The only published compilations are papers by Flores (1942) and
Ruiz et al. (1965). Recently, Camus (1985) and Cabello (1986) described the
principal geological features of a number of these deposits using updated
concepts.
This paper represents an updated version of Camus' (1985) review of new
research results and describes the geological characteristics of the best known
gold deposits in Chile. A major aim is the understanding of the genesis and
evolution of the deposits within the geological context of the country. A possible classification is established, based on conceptual models that may be useful in exploration.
Available data of the 20 best known gold districts or their most important
TABLE 1
List of 20 epithermal gold deposits/districts with selected references considered in this study
Deposit/district

References

Choquelimpie
Faride
San Cristobal
E1 Guanaco
La Coipa
Marte
E1 Hueso
Inca de Oro
Cachiyuyo de Oro
E1 Capote
E1 Indio
Andacollo
Los Mantos de Punitaqui
Las Vacas
E1 Bronce
Alhu~
Chanc6n
El Tigre
E! Chivato
Minas del Prado

Thomas (1973)
Camus (1987)
Lowell and Aspillaga (1987), Rivera (1984)
Llaumett {1979)
Cabello (1986)
Mining Journal (1988)
Minerfa Chilena (1987)
Flores and Ruiz (1946), Villarroel (1972)
Salinas (1975)
Flores (1943), Frank et al. {1985)
Siddeley and Araneda (1986)
Llaumett (1980)
Lepeltier (1964), Galay (1974)
Swayne (1949), Camus and Reichhard (1987)
Camus (1982), Camus et al. (1986)
Flores (1948)
Camus and Duhalde ( 1981 ), Dfaz (1986)
Camus (1981)
Camus and Drummond (1979)
Ambrus and Araya (1981)

GEOLOGY OF HYDROTHERMAL GOLD DEPOSITS IN CHILE

199

deposits have been compiled and summarized in Tables 1 to 14. This information was used to group the deposits into certain deposit types. In addition,
an empirical model for vein deposits is presented in an attempt to establish a
point of reference for Chilean vein gold deposits.

Geological and metallogenic evolution of Chile

The geological and metallogenic evolution of the country has been the subject of several detail studies in recent years. Ruiz et al. (1965), Aguirre et al.
(1974), Sillitoe (1976), Coira et al. (1982) and Frutos and Pincheira (1985)
have covered several aspects of the geological evolution of Chile. According to
these workers, the Chilean continental margin is the result of two tectonic
cycles developed during the Paleozoic (Hercynian cycle) and the MesozoicCenozoic (Andean cycle) time spans. Most metallogenic events in Chile are
related to these two cycles. The Hercynian cycle is associated mainly with iron,
and unimportant chrome and nickel deposits, while the Andean cycle produced
the porphyry copper systems and the epithermal gold deposits. These deposits
formed in a geotectonic regime and associated intrusive-extrusive magmatism
which has been correlated with the tectonic activity on the western boundary
of the South American plate (Davidson, 1987). As a result of this tectonic
evolution an east-west zonation of several metallogenic belts developed on this
margin (Sillitoe, 1976; Frutos and Pincheira, 1985). The westernmost belts
contain iron-apatite contact metasomatic deposits as well as stratabound copper deposits. On the other hand, the Cu-Mo porphyries and the polymetallic
Ag-Pb-Zn deposits in Chile form a second belt located to the east of the Fe-CrNi belt. Finally, towards the altiplano of Peru and Bolivia the Sn-Bi-W belt is
situated.
These belts are interpreted as being the reflection of changes in the tectonic
setting and igneous activity during the evolution of the Andean orogen, with
the development of a magmatic arc-back-arc basin setting in an early stage,
towards more evolved stages with the presence of a magmatic arc accreted to
the continental margin. Important north-south-trending structures, broad
folding and numerous volcanic centers developed along this margin. Magmatism also evolves from calc-alkaline and locally tholeiitic in composition during the early stages, to intermediate and finally K-rich calc-alkaline in composition in the later stages (Frutos and Pincheira, 1985).
Gold mineralization occurs throughout the whole Andean cycle. There is no
known direct evidence of gold-bearing mineralization during the Paleozoic.
The existence of gold placer deposits associated with metamorphic Paleozoic
terrains provide indirect evidence for the presence of primary gold deposits at
this time. This is particularly true along the Nahuelbuta cordillera in southern
Chile.

F. CAMUS

200
TABLE 2
Time distribution of gold districts
Magmatic Arc Upper
Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous

Magmatic Arc Upper

Cretaceous-Lower Tertiary

Magmatic Arc
Miocene-Recent

Inca de Oro
El Capote
Las Vacas
Los Mantos de Punitaqui
E1 Chivato
Cachiyuyo de Oro
Andacollo

Faride
San Cristobal
E1 Guanaco
E1 Bronce
Alhud
Chancdn
E1 Tigre

Choquelimpie
El Indio
Minas del Prado
La Coipa
Marte
El Hueso

The 20 districts reported in this paper all formed during the Andean Cycle
and can be grouped chronologically as follows (Table 2):
(1) deposits associated with the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous magmatic arc;
(2) deposits associated with subvolcanic systems developed during the Upper Cretaceous-Lower Tertiary; and
(3) deposits associated with subvolcanic systems developed during the Miocene to Recent.
Most of the gold was introduced during this latter time span (Fig. 3). The
geographical location of these groups are shown in Figure 1.
Gold deposits formed during the Late Jurassic-Early Tertiary time span are
mainly volcanic-hosted epithermal veins of the adularia-sericite type, associated in most cases with volcanic centers. Towards the Late Oligocene-Early
Miocene period, changes in the geological setting (and different erosion levels? ) are reflected in the predominance of the acid-sulphate epithermal deposits of the stockwork/disseminated type associated with large hydrothermal
alteration zones. Finally, during the Miocene-Pleistocene, gold hydrothermal
systems appear to be more related to an increased geothermal activity, so all
the existing epithermal systems are of the acid-sulphate type.
From the above discussion we could presume an evolution of the Chilean
gold deposits from more deep-seated deposits of the adularia-sericite bonanza
type, with a relatively simple mineralogy, occurring in the early stages of the
Andean cycle to morphologically, mineralogically and structurally more complex, shallow acid-sulphate epithermal deposits, associated with volcanic centers, during the later stages of this cycle.
Nevertheless, since the acid-sulphate deposits are generally associated with
shallow hydrothermal systems, erosion might well account for the fact that no
known deposits of this type has yet been found in the older Mesozoic rocks.

201

GEOLOGY OF HYDROTHERMAL GOLD DEPOSITS IN CHILE

T
73

71

T
6-~,

69 o

Lcte OligoceneEorly Miocene

Lore Miocene--Quoternory

~.....:-

lJ~ ""'"~t~il~

- -

Gold deposit

Gold deposit considered

in this study

250
I

Fig. 1. Location map of Chilean hydrothermal gold deposits.

500Km
I

(~achiyuyodeOro

OF G

01

~)~

OEI Chivato

VEIN DEPOSITS

DEPOSITS

10
PRODUCTION PLUS RESERVES

STOCKWORK /DfSSEMINATED

1
GOLD ORE IN METRIC TONNES OF PAST

.,..~OC,,..~o'n

~ 0 EITi.r, ElCa~ote ~~Punitllqui

Lal VaCllO

100 6
(Tonnes)X 10

Fig. 2. Size and grade characteristics of the 20 selected hydrothermal gold deposits. 1986 Chilean gold production is shown for reference.

~"
OJ

100

t~
b~

GEOLOGY OF HYDROTHERMAL GOLD DEPOSITS IN CHILE

203

THE GEOLOGYOF THE HYDROTHERMALGOLD DEPOSITS

General

Most of the known Chilean hydrothermal gold deposits are epithermal in

nature and belong, as was mentioned above, to one of two types : the acidsulphate type and the adularia-sericite type, as defined by Heald et al. (1987).
The mineralogy and textural characteristics indicate a shallow emplacement
and low to moderate temperatures of formation (White, 1981 ). Of deeper emplacement, are plutonic or porphyry-related deposits including skarns, breccias and vein or stockwork style deposits. Over 80% of these deposits are emplaced within the Coastal Range morphological unit, a 1700-km-long belt
extending from latitude 18 south to 37 south, bounded approximately by
longitudes 70 and 72 west (Fig. 1 ). The remainder occur in the Precordillera
and the High Cordillera of the Andes and include some important recent
discoveries.
The majority of hydrothermal deposits found in Chile are veins associated
with volcanic centers. Some of the new discoveries in the high Andes are largetonnage low-grade deposits of the stockwork or disseminated type, usually
hosted in permeable stratigraphic horizons.
The gold deposits discussed in this paper include those in which the principal
metal is gold, as well as those containing significant concentrations of other
metals. Within the Coastal Range numerous vein deposits exploited for copper
contain minor gold values. These deposits are important in the metallogenic
evolution of the country but will not be described in detail.
E s t i m a t e d reserves

The lack of data on grade and tonnage for most of the deposits allows only
a rough estimate of their metal content. Figure 2 was constructed using the
published information, for the better known deposits and tonnage and grade
estimate based on personal evaluations of the author for deposits without published data. For the majority of the vein orebodies, reserve figures are based on
the length, width and depth of the mineralized structure and assuming that
only 25-30% of the vein volume carries economic grades. The grade-tonnage
distributions for the 20 districts are shown graphically on log-log scales in Figure 2. Forty-five percent of the deposits, by size, fall in the range of 200,000500,000 tonnes of contained ore; 25% in the 1,500,000-7,500,000 tonnes range
and the remaining 30% fall in the 10,000,000-40,000,000 tonnes range. This
last group represents the great majority of the stockwork/disseminated deposits, while the smaller groups are mainly vein-type deposits. The smaller and
medium-sized deposit groups have grades between 2.8 and 14 g/t Au. The larger
deposits contain between 1.6 and 2.1 g / t Au. The richest deposit is El Indio

204

F. CAMUS

TONN S
(Au~

400-

UPPER JURASSIC-LOWERCRETACEOUS

[~

UPPER CRETACEOUS-LOWER TERTIARY

IOCENE-QUATERNARY

[ ~ 1 No OF DEPOSITS

300 -

200-

100-

41

TIME

Fig. 3. Relative gold deposition during Mesozoic and Cenozoic time-span for the 20 selected deposits.

with 106 tonnes of contained gold; the smallest deposit considered is Minas del
Prado with 0.5 tonnes of gold, according to current information (Fig. 2 ).
Most of the smaller deposits are located in the Coastal Range; their smaller
size probably reflect the deeper erosion level of this morphological unit. The
larger deposits occur at elevations greater than 3500 m in the High Andes, with
the exception of the San Cristobal deposit.

Associated metals
Most of the gold-bearing vein deposits also contain metals such as Ag, Cu,
Pb, Zn, As and Hg. However, with the exception of silver, these minor metals
are generally not recovered.
Silver: Silver grades typically range from < 5 to 10 g/tonne. Silver is of economic significance in the Choquelimpie, Faride, La Coipa and E1 Indio deposits. Au/Ag ratios are generally less than one for most of these ore deposits
(Table 3 ).
Copper: The copper content rarely exceeds 0.50% Cu, and as a result is rarely
recovered. However, San Cristobal, Faride, E1 Guanaco, and E1 Indio have av-

GEOLOGYOFHYDROTHERMALGOLDDEPOSITSIN CHILE

205

TABLE3
Production data for 20 selected hydrothermal gold deposits
Deposit or district

Ton ( 10e)
(ProdRes)

Au
(g/t)

Ag
(g/t)

Au/Ag

Base metals
(%Cu+Pb+Zn)

Choquelimpie
Faride
San Cristobal:
(Diss)
(Vein)
El Guanaco
La Coipa
Marte
El Hueso
Inca de Oro
Cachiyuyo de Oro
El Capote
El Indio:
(Bonanza)
(Plant-Grade)
Andacollo
Los Mantos de Punitaqui
Las Vacas
E1 Bronce
Alhu~
ChancSn
E1Tigre
E1 Chivato
Minas del Prado

11.75
1.50

2.11
2.80

60
240

0.035
0.012

15.90
0.15
5.40
33.80
36.00
16.00
0.20
0.30
0.50

1.58
4.00
3.70
1.70
1.26
1.68
4.00
12.00
9.00

NP
50
17
88
NP
NP
NP
NP
NP

>1
0.080
0.22
0.019
>1
>1
>1
>1
>1

NP
2.0%Cu
2.0% Cu
Traces
NP
NP
Traces
NP
NP

0.18
7.40
10.00
2.50
0.25
4.30
0.50
0.55
0.25
0.20
0.20

218.00
9.10
1.50
9.00
12.50
5.00
5.00
5.00
8.00
7.50
2.30

109
91
NP
NP
NP
20
20
10
50
NP
NP

2.0
0.10
>1
>1
>1
0.25
0.25
0.50
0.16
>1
>1

2.87% Cu
4.33%Cu
NP
0.5% Cu
NP
2.20
0.10%Cu
1.50
1.50
NP
NP

Traces
2.50

NP = not present; ? = unknown; diss-- disseminated.

erage g r a d e s o v e r 2% Cu. I n s o m e o f t h e s e deposits, c o p p e r v a l u e s t e n d to inc r e a s e w i t h d e p t h r e f l e c t i n g a v e r t i c a l z o n a t i o n , s i m i l a r to e p i t h e r m a l s y s t e m s
e l s e w h e r e ( B u c h a n a n , 1981 ).
Lead-Zinc: T h e s e t w o m e t a l s o c c u r in 9 o f t h e d e p o s i t s deposits. I n o n l y four
o f t h e s e d e p o s i t s w a s l e a d a n d zinc a c t u a l l y a s s a y e d , yielding v a l u e s b e t w e e n
1.0 a n d 2.0% c o m b i n e d P b + Zn. I n t h e five n o n - a s s a y e d d e p o s i t s t h e a m o u n t
o f g a l e n a a n d s p h a l e r i t e is m i n o r . L e a d a n d zinc v a l u e s t e n d to i n c r e a s e w i t h
d e p t h , s h o w i n g a p o s i t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n w i t h copper.
Arsenic: I m p o r t a n t a m o u n t s o f a r s e n i c are p r e s e n t as e n a r g i t e in E1 G u a n a c o
a n d E1 I n d i o a n d as a r s e n o p y r i t e in E1 C a p o t e . R e p o r t e d As g r a d e s for E1 I n d i o
r a n g e b e t w e e n 0.60 a n d 4.0% As ( S i d d e l e y a n d A r a n e d a , 1986). A t E1 C a p o t e
F r a n k et al. (1985) i n d i c a t e g r a d e s o f 0 . 7 0 - 5 . 9 0 % As. I n all d e p o s i t s a r s e n i c
t e n d s to i n c r e a s e w i t h d e p t h .
Mercury: M e r c u r y m i n e r a l s h a v e o n l y b e e n r e p o r t e d , a s s a y e d for a n d econ o m i c a l l y r e c o v e r e d a t t h e L o s M a n t o s de P u n i t a q u i deposit. G r a d e s a r e in t h e

206

F. CAMUS

order of 0.25-0.30% Hg and the mercury distribution within the orebody shows
a horizontal zonation.

Geotectonic setting
In the better known deposits, such as El Indio and El Bronce, a close association of the veins with nearby caldera structures or volcanic centers is recognized (Camus et al., 1986 ). At least 11 deposits are closely related to margins
of calderas or stratovolcanoes. These include deposits at Choquelimpie, E1
Guanaco, La Coipa, Marte, E1 Indio, E1 Bronce and Minas del Prado (Table
4). As noted by Heald et al. (1987), caldera settings represent excellent plumbing systems for the development of hydrothermal convection cells. Volcanic
centers commonly are capable of generating the necessary zones of structural
weakness along which the hydrothermal fluids were channeled.
Deposits like Los Mantos de Punitaqui, E1 Tigre, E1 Capote or Las Vacas,
are associated with structurally complex fault zones.Other deposits like E1
Hueso or Andacollo, are marginal to porphyry copper systems, which may also
be related to volcanic centers.
Present evidence, for all these deposits, suggests that hydrothermal mineralization occurred at the end of a phase of active volcanism, in what Smith and
Bailey (1968) define as "the terminal stage of waning volcanic activity".

Geological characteristics
Host-rock lithology
The main host rocks for Chilean gold deposits are andesites, volcanic breccias, ignimbrites, tufts, rhyolites and dacites. As a rule these rocks are intruded
by dioritic to granodioritic stocks. Only in two cases do sedimentary rocks act
as host rocks. Andesite is the most common wall rock in the deposits assigned
to the Upper Jurassic-Lower Tertiary time span. Some of these deposits in
part occur in diorite to granodiorite intrusives. Rhyolites and dacites become
more important in deposits associated with the Upper Cretaceous-Recent period. If we consider all reported gold deposits in Chile, including the 20 deposits
listed in Table 1, the distribution of host rocks is as follows: andesites-dacites:
44%; granitic intrusives: 47%; and sedimentary rocks: 9% (Ruiz et al., 1965;
Fuenzalida, 1974; Salinas, 1975; Sandoval, 1975; and Munoz, 1975).
In some deposits, especially in those hosted by andesites and granitic rocks,
basic to intermediate dikes occur along the mineralized structures. Examples
are E1 Capote, Inca de Oro and E1 Bronce districts. Barren diorite or diabase
stocks are also spatially related to some of these districts.

GEOLOGY OF H Y D R O T H E R M A L

207

G O L D DEPOSITS IN CHILE

TABLE 4
Geotectonic setting,age and host rock
Deposit/district

Geotectonic setting

Age

Host rock

Choquelimpie
Faride
San Cristobal
El Guanaco
La Coipa

Stratovolcano
Marginal to porphyry system
Volcaniccomplex
Caldera complex
Volcanic complex (caldera?)

Miocene
Upper Cretaceous
Upper Cretaceous
Lower Tertiary
Late Miocene

Andesite
Granodiorite

Marte
El Hueso
Inca de Oro

Marginal to stratovolcano
Marginal to porphyry Cu system
N-S to N45. E-trending structure
within magmatic island arc.
Magrnatic arc. Mineralization along
N-S to NE-trending structures
Magmatic arc. Mineralization along
N15-40W-trending structures
Subvolcanic system associated with
magrnatic arc. Mineralization in
structures marginal to volcanic
center
Radial fractures marginal to
porphyry Cu system
N-S to NE-trending shear zone

Miocene
Miocene
Lower Cretaceous

Dacite, andesite, turfs

Dacitic tuff,lutite,
carbonaceous sediments
Dacite
Calcareous sediments
Andesite, granodiorite

Upper Cretaceous

Granodiorite

Upper JurassicLower Cretaceous

Miocene-Pliocene

Granodiorite, tonalite

Upper Cretaceous

Rhyolite, dacite

Lower Cretaceous
Lower Cretaceous

Meta-andesite
Granodiorite

Upper CretaceousLower Tertiary

Upper Cretaceous

Andesite, breccia, tuff

Upper CretaceousLower Tertiary

Andesite, breccia

Upper Cretaceous

Andesite, breccia

Lower Cretaceous

Granodiorite, monzonite

Mid-Tertiary

Andesite, hydrothermal
breccia

Cachiyuyo de Oro
El Capote
El Indio

Andacollo
Los Mantos de
Punitaqui
Las Vacas

El Bronce
Alhud

Chancdn

El Tigre

E1 Chivato
Minas del Prado

Magmatic arc. with mineralization

along N80W-N85E-trending
structures
Structures marginal to caldera
Subvolcanic system associated with
magmatic arc. Mineralization along
N25E-trending structures
Subvolcanic system associated with
magmatic arc. Mineralization
hosted by N70W-NS-N75E shear
zones.
Subvolcanic system associated with
magmatic arc. Mineralization
controlled by N45-50E-trending
structures
Magmatic arc. Mineralization along
N-S-trending shear zones
Volcanic center. Mineralization
marginal and breccia hosted,

Quartz porphyry

Andesite, dacite,rhyolite

Andesite, breccia,
granodiorite, tuff

Morphology
As already mentioned, in all deposits the control of mineralization is primarily structural and related to volcanic centers. Usually, the vein ore deposits
in these volcanic related environments are contained in complex structures in
which several generations of faults or fractures are present. Common types of

208

F. CAMUS
(a)

A'

GEND
IEINS, QUARTZ--SOLD
"MASSIVE SULPHIDE
~AULTS
~ R S l L L I C / S E RICITIC
..............~ ILTERATION

PROPYLITIC

ALTERATION

. ~f~.!
(b)

SECTION

B--B

, ~!
t!

HZ\

il~! V \
I

.....

,,===
LEGEND

g/
Or#
f'

VEIN
ANCESfTE
DIKE
" - ~ FAUL T

,o~.

I
Fig. 4. (a) Plan and section of El Indio vein system. Plan corresponds to level 4050. After Siddeley
and Araneda, 1986. (b) Plan and section showing distribution of veins at the El Bronce epithermal
system.

GEOLOGY OF HYDROTHERMAL GOLD DEPOSITS IN CHILE

209

structures in vein or stockwork type deposits include cymoid loops, tension

fractures, horse tails, vein intersections, branches and stockworks (Fig. 4).
These structures are the result of pre-mineral displacements along major faults,
which created open spaces due to changes in dip and strike, or as a result of
changes in pore fluid pressure. Mineralization occurs within the dilatant spaces
of these structures, forming discrete lens-shaped ore-shoots of variable dimensions which alternate with barren zones. If movement continued during the
intra and post-mineral stages, ore bodies may show breccia textures or can be
surrounded by stockwork envelopes. This will result in considerable increase
in the width of the vein.
The length of the veins ranges from 100-150 m to up to 8 km, as in the case
of E1 Bronce (Camus et al., 1986). The ore shoots within these veins vary in
length from 50-60 m to up to 600 m, have widths between 0.20 and 23 m and
have a vertical extent of up to 400 m (Table 5).
Where fault or shear zone intersections occur, ore shoots are breccias and
stockworks elongated in a vertical sense, thus forming pipe-shaped bodies, e.g.,
Inca de Oro, San Cristobal and E1 Chivato (Camus, 1985). Breccias are common morphological features in deposits of Neogene-Quaternary age. The E1
Tambo deposit in the E1 Indio district contains both breccia and vein orebodies
(Siddeley and Araneda, 1986). The breccias are irregularly shaped, steeply
dipping, either elliptical or circular in plan, with typical diameters of 100 m
(Fig. 5a). The mineralization is irregularly distributed within the breccia. At
depth these breccias pass into barite-alunite veins, interpreted by Siddeley and
Araneda (1986) as the hydrothermal conduits.
At Minas del Prado, Ambrus and Araya (1981) described a hydrothermal
breccia bound by concentric fractures carrying gold mineralization (Fig. 5b).
Irregular stockwork bodies developed at the intersection of these fractures and
the breccia. The Choquelimpie deposit in northern Chile (Fig. 1 ) also contains
a gold-bearing breccia (Thomas, 1973).
Recent exploration activity in Chile has led to the recognition of stratabound
stockwork-disseminated type of gold deposits, hosted by either volcanics or
sediments (Fig. 5c). These deposits represent large tonnage low-grade resources suitable for bulk-mining (Table 2). Examples include La Coipa, Marte,
Andacollo, San Cristobal and E1 Hueso. The orebodies in these deposits conform strongly to bedding, defining stratabound deposits controlled in part by
fracture density and rock lithology. Fault control is evident, with the faults
possibly acting as hydrothermal fluid vents.

Mineralogy and primary zoning

The primary mineralogy for both vein and stockwork/disseminated gold deposits is summarized in Tables 6 and 7.
Two main mineralogic associations can be recognized:
(a) quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite-galena-sphalerite with minor carbonates,
barite, hematite, sulphosalts and,

Morphology

L: strike length; W: width; D: vertical extent.

Veins, irregular bodies w i t h i n hydrothermal breccia

Veins along well-developed cymoid loops
Veins, oreshoots along vein intersections; disseminated
s t r a t a b o u n d deposits
E1 Guanaco
Veins, breccias elliptical in plan
La Coipa
Disseminated a n d stockwork s t r a t a b o u n d bodies, veins,
breccias
Marte
Disseminated stockwork deposit
E1 Hueso
Disseminated s t r a t a b o u n d bodies in favorable horizons.
Increasing grades near faults
Inca de Oro
Veins, oreshoots along structure intersection
Cachiyuyo de Oro Veins
E1 Capote
Veins
El Indio-Tambo
Veins in well-developed cymoid loops, breccias
Andacollo
M a n t o type disseminated bodies, rich pods near faults
Los Mantos de
Ore vein localized along shear zone
Punitaqui
Las Vacas
Veins in well-developed cymoid loops
E1 Bronce
Fault controlling veins
Alhud
Veins
ChancSn
Veins
E1 Tigre
Veins along shear zone
E1 Chivato
Pipe-like shoots localized along shear zone intersections
Minas del Prado
Irregularly shaped stockwork related to the margin of a
breccia pipe

Choquelimpie
Faride
San Cristobal

Deposit/district

Morphology of selected h y d r o t h e r m a l deposits

TABLE 5

L: 80-100 m
W:
L: 60-550 m
W:
L: 20-30 m
W:
L: 50-100 m
W:
L:100-150 m
W:
50-60 m d i a m e t e r

W:
W:
W:
W:
W:
W:

800 m
7 km
200-300 m
600 m
1.2 k m
0.5-1 k m
200-300 m

50-250 m
250-400m
140-200 m
100-200 m
1-1.2 k m
300 m

L:
L:
L:
L:
L:
L:

1.2 m
1-20 m
1.5-7 m
1-4 m
0.5-3 m

0.50 m
0.80 m
1-2 m
0.5-12 m
100-300 m
4-23 m

W: 100 m

100-1000 m
250-2000m
1-2 k m
1.5 k m
1-3 k m
3.4 k m

L: 2 0 0 - 5 0 0 m

W: 0.5-1.5 m

L: 50 m
?

4.0 k m
9

250-300 m by 150 m
L: 100-400 m W: 1-3.5 m
L: 800 m
W: 80 m

Size of orebodies

1.5 k m
2.5 k m
2.0 k m

Length of
mineralized
structure

D:
D:
D:
D:
D:

D:

D:
D:
D:
D:
D:

D:

350 m
200-400 m
100 m
50-200 m
300 m
200 m

350 m
200 m
350-400 m
270 m
20-50 m
350 m

D: 10-40 m

D: 290 m

D: 200 m
D: 100 m

C)

bO

GEOLOGYOF HYDROTHERMALGOLDDEPOSITSIN CHILE

211

#3@"
..tC ~

/~

LEGEND

~,

~ BBarctceiaAlunite
~ s , . ..... Br.0i.

F~

l ~ O L e v ~

-~l
'.

Dacitic Tuff
Limit Over

A~ L t L~

~"~ 1g/t (Au)

I- ~

-B

~.:\v

~ ~o.

300m
I

LEGEND

-V'~'V----]Andeaites and Basalts

I'

- ~

Limit of Hydro[~'-~--'~'--~]t hermal Alteration

Fractures with
~-------] Gold Mineralization

I
KIMBERLY BRECCIA
ORE BODY
PLAN AND SECTION

Porphyritic Andesites

'~]
~

Gold- Bearing Breccia

~,gglomerate

(a~

OEOLO~Y A F T E R
" SIODELEY AND ARANEDA

Fault

(b)

OEOLOQY.00iF'SO

AFTER

AMBRUSAND ARAYA1981

198~

E
SECTION

~'t
~ , X ~ _ ~, 3
xF.././/../., ~ / ~
v/

7.069.475 N

..

~.~'.-t-..J~

::

............

. o o ........

:::::"i
~SEO''ENTS

I"~'~

(c)

VOLCA NICS

~;~-I FAULT
SOURCE :MINERIA CHILENA 1 9 8 7 . -

Fig. 5. (a) Plan and section of Kimberly breccia, E1 Tambo. {Taken from Siddeley and Araneda,
1986 ). (b) Plan and section of Minas del Prado gold deposits. (c). Longitudinal section of Pajonales orebody, El Hueso stockwork/disseminated deposit.

(b) quartz-barite-alunite-pyrite-enargite with minor amounts of chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite, sulphosalts and silver sulphides.
Gold occurs as native gold, associated with silver (electrum) or copper (cuproauride ) or with sulphides such as pyrite or arsenopyrite. In some cases gold
is found in cracks or fractures in chalcopyrite, sphalerite or tetrahedrite. Silver

212

F. C A M U S

TABLE 6
Mineralogy of the hydrothermal vein districts
District/deposit

Major

Minor

Rare

Faride

Ag-Au-gal
bar-qtz-hem
Mn-oxides

Ag sulfides
sph-cpy-py
calc-sid-rho-Mn-silicates-bol

Tet/tenn

El Guanaco

Au-Ag
qtz-bar
py-cpy-en

Ag sulphides
sph-gal
alun

Inca de Oro

qtz-py-Au

Au tellurides-calc-cpy

Cachiyuyo de Oro

qtz-py-Au

hem-cpy

El Capote

Au-qtz
arsenopy

cpy-py
calc-hem-bar

bn-gal
cov-po

E1 Indio-Tambo

Au-Ag
en-py
bar-qtz

tet/tenn
cpy
arsenopy
anh-gyp
alun-nat S

Au tellurides
stib-Ag-sulphides
sph-gal
cov-bn-po

Los Mantos de Punitaqui

qtz-spec
py-cpy
calc-Au

schw-cinn
mgtt

Las Vacas

qtz-py-Au

calc-hem

E1 Bronce

qtz-py-Au
sph-cpy
calc-sid
ank

Ag-gal-tet/tenn
hem-bn

Alhud

qtz-py-Au

cpy-sph

Chanc6n

qtz-py-Au

cpy-sph

E1 Tigre

qtz-py-Au
arsenopy

gal-sph
cpy-stib

po-arsenopy

bn-mgtt
-

KEY: qtz=quartz; bar=barite; calc=calcite; sid--siderite; ank=ankerite; spec--specularite;

mgtt--magnetite; po--pyrrhotite; hem=hematite; rho=rhodochrosite; alun=alunite; anh

= anhydrite; gyp-- gypsum; gal=galena; sph =sphalerite; py--pyrite; cpy--chalcopyrite;
arsenopy=arsenopyrite; en--enargite; tet/tenn=tetrahedrite/tennantite; cov=covellite; bn-bornite; schw = schwazite; cinn = cinnabar; nat S = native sulphur; stib = stibnite; bol = boleite.
is c o m m o n l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h g a l e n a a n d s u l p h o s a l t s b u t also occurs as n a t i v e
m e t a l or as silver sulphides.
T h e vein d e p o s i t s m a y s h o w vertical a n d lateral m e t a l z o n a t i o n p a t t e r n s .
T a b l e 8 s h o w s a c o m p o s i t e vertical z o n a t i o n p a t t e r n . T h r e e s e p a r a t e zones c a n
be defined: a n u p p e r or p r e c i o u s - m e t a l - b e a r i n g zone; a n i n t e r m e d i a t e or base-

213

GEOLOGY OF H Y D R O T H E R M A L GOLD DEPOSITS IN CHILE

TABLE

Mineralogy of stockwork/disserninated deposits

District/deposit

Major

Minor

Rare

Choquelimpie

qtz-bar-py-gal
Au-Ag-acan

orp-real-arg
alun-calc

Hg-Sn
sulphosalts

qtz-py-Au
qtz-py-Au
cpy-calc-bar

gal-sph
hem-anh

La Coipa

Ag
qtz-py
Ag chlorides

Au-sph-gal
arg-sulphosalts

cinn

El Hueso

Au-py

cpy

po-bn-cc

Andacollo

Au-py

El Chivato

qtz-py-Au

gal-sph

Minas del Prado

qtz-py-Au

San Cristobal
Diss:
Veins:

KEY: same as Table 6 except for: orp = orpiment; real = realgar; arg = argentite; acan = acanthite.

TABLE 8
Vertical zonation of primary mineralization along vein deposits
Zone

Mineral associations

I: Upper precious
metals zone

(a) quartz-pyrite with native gold-barite

+ carbonates, galena or sulphosalts
with associated silver
(b) quartz-enargite-alunite-pyrite-barite

Gold (g/t)
2 4 6 8 10

15

20

II: Intermediate base (a) quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite-sphaleritemetals zone

galena-native gold; carbonateshematite
(b) quartz-enargite-alunite-sulphosalts
and copper sulphides locallygalenasphalerite
Ill:Lower root zone

quartz-pyrite-arsenopyrite

metal-bearing zone; and a lower or root zone. Note that the location of both
mineral associations distinguished above are shown in Table 8 together with
the gold distribution. In contrast, stockwork/disseminated deposits do not show
such well defined vertical zonation.
Lateral zonation has been described for some vein oreb0dies, but available

214

F. CAMUS

data are insufficient to define a generalized zonal pattern. Based on our present
information, gold tends to be located in the central part of the system with
lateral increase of, first Ag-Cu and then Pb-Zn minerals. At Los Mantos de
Punitaqui, the lateral zonation is unusual with a gold zone grading into copper
zone and finally into a peripheral mercury zone.
Most deposits show several mineralization stages, each of which probably
represent structural reactivation accompanied by a respective pulse of mineralization. Each deposit is the result of a unique tectonic and depositional continuum, involving changes in both precious- and base-metal-bearing mineral
stabilities, thereby explaining the differences observed in the mineralogy of
the 20 deposits. However, the basic assemblages are always present. Gold-silver deposits invariably are the result of more than one pulse of mineralization.
Thus after a silver mineralization stage may follow a gold or base-metal pulse,
provided permeability requirements were met. La Coipa and Faride are good
examples of this style of mineralization.

Hydrothermal alteration
The major alteration types recognized in the 20 districts or individual deposits are:
{a) Quartz-sericitic,
(b) Silicification or silicic,
(c) Argillic of the intermediate and advanced types,
(d) Chloritic and/or propylitic, and
(e) K-feldspar in the form of adularia.
In addition tourmalinization (El Chivato, Faride), albitization (Andacollo)
and carbonatization (El Bronce) may also be present. In all cases there is
evidence of multiple alteration stages.
The determination of alteration types in some of the vein deposits is difficult
because underground workings are usually driven along orebodies. The alteration descriptions and personal observations were interpreted on the basis of
Meyer and Hemley's (1967) classification.
The alteration most commonly found includes the quartz-sericitic and argillic assemblages (Tables 9 and 10). These assemblages occur in all vein and
stockwork/disseminated districts. However, at the El Guanaco and E1 Indio
vein districts advanced argillic assemblages prevail. In the stockwork/disseminated deposits silicic and argillic alteration types predominate, with the advanced argillic assemblage prevailing at La Coipa and possibly Marte. Adularia
has been recognized locally only at Faride in association with quartz veinlets.
No adularia has yet been reported in other well-studied vein deposits.
The majority of the individual vein deposits are characterized by quartzsericite halos or by argillization bordering the vein. Occasionally, argillic alteration predominates intermixed with quartz-sericite. The argiUic alteration
consists mainly of kaolinite with minor proportions of montmorillonite. Chlor-

GEOLOGYOF HYDROTHERMALGOLDDEPOSITSIN CHILE

215

TABLE 9
Alteration assemblages in vein districts
District/deposit

Type

Description

Faride

Quartz-sericite, argillic,
propylitic, tourmaline

Pervasive destruction of plagioclase and Kfeldspar by sericite/kaolinite adjacent to veins.

Farther away increase in chlorite. Presence of
adularia in association with quartz veins.
Locally tourmaline.

El Guanaco

Silicic, quartz-sericite,
advanced argillic.
Propylitic halos

Strongly silicified zones, surrounded by

advanced argillic alteration zones.
Propylitization is developed farther outward in
the form of a weak chlorite halo.

Inca de Oro

Argillic

Weak development of kaolinite around veins.

Locally sericitic alteration.

Cachiyuyo de
Oro

Argillic

Weak development of kaolinite on the vein

walls. Locally sericitic alteration.

El Capote

Quartz-sericite, argillic

Narrow quartz-sericite envelopes around veins.

Kaolinite probably supergene.

El Indio

Advanced argillic,
silicic, weak chloritic

Patchy silicification around veins, faults and

volcanic vents. ArgiUization occurs widespread
within the entire vein system. Presence of
kaolinite, sericite, dickite and minor
pyrophyllite, and montmorillonite. Earthy
alunite, alunite-native sulphur, silica and
gypsum, also occur especially at higher
elevations.

Los Mantos de
Punitaqui

Argillic

Strong argillization around veins.

Las Vacas

Quartz-sericite,
chloritic

Weak quartz-sericitic alteration around veins

but strong chloritic envelopes farther outward.

E1 Bronce

Quartz-sericite, argillic,
propylitic

Late-stage carbonatization affecting the

andesite dikes.

Alhud

Quartz-sericite

Strong envelopes around veins.

Chancdn

Quartz-sericite,
chloritic

3-10 m envelopes around veins.

E1 Tigre

Argillic, quartz-sericite

Well developed alteration envelopes.

216

F. CAMUS

TABLE 10
Alteration assemblages in stockwork/disseminated breccia-hosted and shear zones-related deposits
District/deposit

Type

Description notes

Choquelimpie

Argillic, silicic,
propylitic

Alteration associated with hydrothermal breccia.

Propylitization surrounds the altered area on a
regional basis. Locally, alunite coexists with
silicification.

San Cristobal

Quartz-sericite,
argillic

Alteration is iithologically controlled, showing weak to

strong development.

La Coipa

Advanced argillic,
argillic,silicic,
propylitic halo

Abundant native sulphur, silica and alunite.

Pyrophyllite and traces of zunyite occur coexisting
with the orebodies. Presence of sinter.

Matte

Advanced argillic,
silicic

Well-developed silica cap. Supergene argillic

alteration.

E1 Hueso

Silicic, argillic

Alteration is clearly structurally controlled. Argillic

alteration is composed of montmorillonite, halloysite.

Andacollo

Propylitic zone

Mineralization coexists within weakly albitized flows,

marginal to the Andacollo porphyry copper system.

E1 Chivato

Quartz-sericite,
argillic (supergene)

Extensive quartz-sericitic zone coexisting with

tourmaline and surrounded by a propylitic halo.

Minas del Prado

Silicic, chloritic

Both alteration types coexist with a weakly developed

sericite alteration.

itic or propylitic alteration represents the peripheral alteration assemblage.

The width of these alteration halos varies according to lithology. In those deposits where volcanics are the prevailing host rocks, the alteration halo can be
two meters wide. In deposits occurring in part in intrusive rocks, alteration
halo often range from 0.20 to 0.30 m, suggesting a lower permeability or a
deeper setting for these rocks. The pattern described is particularly well developed at E1 Bronce, Chancdn, Las Vacas, E1 Tigre and Faride. Carbonitization is present in some of these deposits, e.g., El Bronce, where it represents a
late-stage overprint on top of the earlier alteration assemblages.
In deposits such as E1 Indio and E1 Guanaco, where advanced argillic alteration predominates, the alteration halos around the veins are much wider. In
both deposits the high vein density produced an alteration zone which extends
for at least 500 m from the main structures. The advanced argillic assemblage
consists of kaolinite, halloysite, dickite, pyrophyUite and very abundant alu-

GEOLOGY OF HYDROTHERMAL GOLD DEPOSITS IN CHILE

217

nite. The presence of zunyite has also been reported locally. Propylitization
occurs farther outward in the form of a weak chlorite envelope.
The alteration types associated with vein deposits also appear in stockwork/
disseminated orebodies. However, both types of ore deposits show significant
differences in the extent and distribution of the alteration assemblages. Widespread silicification and argillization seem to be typical of the stockwork/disseminated deposits. Silicification occurs as quartz veinlets or silica flooding,
in some cases accompanied by sericite. Argillization, characterized by the occurrence of kaolinite with lesser montmorillonite and halloysite, is the most
frequent of the feldspar destructive type of alteration. At La Coipa, advanced
argillic alteration occurs as a major phase of alteration together with silicification. The advanced argillic assemblages in these deposits include alunite,
pyrophyllite, native sulphur and traces of zunyite. A propylitic outer zone has
been reported for at least four of the deposits listed in Table 10. So far, no
propylitization has been found in the other deposits. Vertical zoning patterns
have not been well documented. At E1 Hueso and La Coipa silica caps with
sinter development are preserved on the surface, grading into argillic (El Hueso)
to advanced argillic (La Coipa, Marte? ) assemblages with depth.
The surface distribution and extent of the various alteration types reflect
the intensity and extent of the hydrothermal activity. Vein deposits associated
with quartz-sericite/argillic assemblages tend to have very narrow alteration
envelopes, while vein deposits, with important development of advanced argillic alteration, are associated with altered areas covering several square kilometers. At E1 Indio, the alteration zone directly associated with the mineralization occupies a surface area of 3 by 10 km, which occurs within a 200-kmlong and 1 to 10-km-wide belt of alteration (Siddeley and Araneda, 1986). In
contrast, at E1 B ronce (Camus et al., 1986), the structural system that hosts
the ore deposits extends for more than 8 km, with only weakly developed surface alteration.
In the stockwork/disseminated deposits the mineralization covers large areas
and the alteration is equally widespread. This gives rise to strong colour anomalies. For example, at La Coipa the hydrothermal alteration zone covers an
area of approximately 20 by 3 km.
Differences in level of erosion and in the intensity of the hydrothermal alteration-mineralization process may explain the variability of surface expression between deposits.
Oxidation zone

In most of the studied deposits a zone of oxidation developed in which the

primary gold grades have been increased two to ten times. The depth of the
oxidation zone varies from one to ten meters in those deposits located in southern Chile, to between 200 and 250 m in deposits situated in the northern arid
part of the country. In some vein orebodies, the oxidation zone passes into a

218

F. C A M U S

T A B L E 11

Depth and grades of the oxidation and primary zones

Deposit/district
Choquelimpie
Faride
San Cristobal
Veins:

Disseminated:
E1Guanaco
La Coipa
E1Hueso
I n c a d e Oro
C a c h i y u y o de Oro
E1Capote
E1 I n d i o

Andacollo
L o s M a n t o s de Punitaqui
LasVacas
E1Bronce

Alhud
Chancdn
E1Tigre
E1Chivato

Minas del Prado

Depth of
oxidation zone ( m )

Grade

Primary zone grade

(g/t Au)

(g/t Au)

80-200
200

1- 2
2- 3

0.5- 1
1 - 2

100
100
5 0 - 70
100-150
100-150
4 0 - 80
200
100-150
20
1 0 - 20
4 5 - 60
2 0 - 30
2 0 - 30
1 5 - 20
50
3 0 - 40
2 0 - 70
-

50
2
50-60
1.80
1- 2
20-40
12-30
10-15
30
2
8-10
13-30
20
10-20
30
10-15
10-15

4
< 1.0
4 - 5
< 1.0
< 1.0
5 -10
5 -10
5 - 6
10 - 1 5
0 . 5 - 1.0
3 - 4
8 -10
5 - 6
5
3 - 4
2 - 3
3 - 4
2 - 3

thin blanket of secondary sulphides before entering the primary zone. The
depth and gold grades of the oxidation and primary zones for each of the selected deposits are summarized in Table 11.
The oxidation zone is characterized by the presence of complex oxides, carbonates, sulphates and chlorides, products of oxidation and supergene leaching
of pre-existing Cu, Fe, Pb, Zn, Ag sulphides and sulphosalts. Coexisting with
those minerals, pervasive clayey minerals of secondary origin are also present.
The principal minerals present in the oxidation zone are listed in Table 12.
The degree of oxidation and supergene enrichment in each of these deposits
is controlled by the primary mineralogy and permeability of the host rocks. As
previously mentioned, the majority of the gold deposits contain iron as well as
copper sulphides which carry precious metals. Oxidation and leaching of these
sulphides liberates the gold content, which is then transported and fixed within
the oxidation zone. As a result, a zone of high gold or silver concentration is
formed in the upper part of the oxidation zone of most of these deposits, which
gradually diminishes in grade with depth. The importance of this zone will
depend on the primary gold-bearing sulphide content and host-rock permeability and reactiveness. If the permeability of the rock is sufficient, gold may

GEOLOGYOFHYDROTHERMALGOLDDEPOSITSINCHILE

219

TABLE 12
Principal mineralspresent in the oxidationzoneof Chileangolddeposits
Major minerals

Minor minerals

Goethite
Jarosite
Hematite
Alunite
Anglesite
Cerussite
Atacamite
Brochantite
Malachite
Native sulphur
Gypsum

Scorodite
Osarizawaite
Mackayite
Boleite
Emmonsite
Beudantite
Rodalquilarite
Native gold
Native silver

percolate by gravity and accumulate in favorable locations such as fracture

planes, joints and breccia zones, forming irregular platelets, dendrites or foils.
As a rule, gold only tends to accumulate in the oxidation zone if the host rocks
are unreactive. These factors may have contributed to local enrichments of
two to four times the primary old grades in the oxidation zone at the E1 Indio
deposit (Araneda, 1982).
Base metals and silver-bearing sulphides present in these deposits may also
be locally enriched. Copper and silver are concentrated in the secondary enrichment zone, while lead and zinc deposit are immobilized as sulphates and
carbonates in the oxidation zone.
The depth and enrichment characteristics of the oxidation and secondary
enrichments zones described above, are a function of the geomorphological
evolution and climatic changes that affected the Chilean gold belt. This process is well known between latitudes 29-26 south. According to Mortimer
(1973) and Mortimer and Saric (1972), the secondary enrichment process in
this area occurred in two periods: the phase I or "Cumbre Surface" period
during the Eocene; and the phase II or "Sierra Checo del Cobre Surface" period
during the Upper Miocene. Consequently, the oxidation profiles present in the
gold deposits in this area would be the result of these two enrichment periods.
Nevertheless, between latitudes 26 and 21 south, climatic conditions are the
most arid in the Atacama desert, with less than 1-5 cm of rain per year since
the Upper Eocene (Maksaev and Zentilli, 1988). In addition, sedimentation
diminished to a minimum during the Upper Miocene, limiting erosion processes. Consequently, gold deposits in this part of Chile have encountered very
limited erosion but very deep oxidation (Table 11 ) with only one enrichment
process.

220

F. CAMUS

South of 29 south latitude, the conditions of geomorphological and climatic

evolution in Chile were different and, as a result, only one enrichment stage of
gold took place. The degree and importance of the enrichment process diminishes gradually as we go south, disappearing at approximately 36 south latitude. Thus at the Minas del Prado gold deposit (Fig. 1 ) only incipient and very
surficial oxidation occurred and no evidence of any enrichment was found.
GEOCHEMISTRY

Surface geochemistry
Quantitative studies about the Chilean gold deposits with regards to primary
metal dispersion are scarce. Of the 20 deposits considered in this study, only
the detailed surface geochemical study undertaken at E1 Indio is available
(Siddeley and Araneda, 1986). In this study 2000 rock samples derived from
fine colluvium and weathered subcrop were analyzed for Au, Ag, As, Cu, Pb
and Zn. With the exception of Cu and Zn, all elements were highly anomalous.
Arsenic proved to be a very good pathfinder, showing a positive correlation
with gold and silver (Siddeley and Araneda, 1986). Gold and silver anomalies
defined the approximate location of the orebodies.
Studies elsewhere remain confidential at the time of writing this paper.

Fluid-inclusion studies
Preliminary or detailed studies on fluid inclusions, tied to mineral paragenetic sequences, were undertaken at Faride (Skewes, 1986), E1 Bronce (Skewes
and Camus, 1988), E1 Indio (Jannas and Araneda, 1985; Jannas et al., 1990,
this volume) and E1 Guanaco (Cuitino et al., 1988). According to these authors, precious metal deposition occurred between 190 and 330 C (Table 13 ).
The Faride, E1 Guanaco and E1 Indio deposits show relatively low temperatures and low salinities. In these deposits there exists evidence for boiling during the precious-metal deposition stage; Skewes (1986), Cuitino et al. (1988)
and Jannas and Araneda (1985) considered boiling the main depositional
mechanism. Salinities, determined from freezing point depression measurements, range in value between 0.1 and 3.5 eq. wt.% NaC1 at El Indio, E1 Guanaco and Faride (Table 13). These values suggest a significant influx of dilute
meteoric water into the hydrothermal system, which perhaps also contained a
minor magmatic component.
The E1 Bronce deposit, on the other hand, shows relatively higher temperatures and salinities. A boiling event is also documented but in this case took
place during barren late-stage mineral deposition. At E1 Bronce, the deposition
of precious metals and gold-rich zones occurred below the boiling zone. A mix-

GEOLOGY OF HYDROTHERMAL GOLD DEPOSITS IN CHILE

221

T A B L E 13

Summary of available fluid-inclusion data

District

Measured
T
( C )

Selected
Salinityequiv.

T
( C )

(wt.%)
Faride

ElIndio

E1Bronce

EI Guanaco

180-270
(90)
190-280

1.5- 7.6
(75)
0.1-40

150-358
(256)
130-290
(60)

0.5-10
(205)
0.8-3.6
(14)

Salinityequiv.

Evidence
of
boiling b

Paleodepth
estimation
(m )

Reference

(wt.%)
190-250

3.5

Yes

150- 200

Skewes (1986)

220-280

0.1-1.4

Yes

250

230-330

5.1

No

400-1200

240

3.0

Yes

160

Jannas and
Araneda (1985)
Jannas et al. (1990)
Skewes and Camus
(1988)
Cuitifio et al.
(1988)

Number in parentheses denote number of measurements.

aTemperature and salinities during precious-metal deposition.
byes when boiling is associated with metal deposition. No when boiling is not related to metal deposition.

ing of fluids is suggested as the depositional mechanism for El Bronce, with

ascending hot and saline metalliferous fluids mixing with cooler dilute meteoric waters.
The relatively higher salinities of E1 Bronce as well as some of the Faride
data (Table 13), could explain their relatively high base-metal contents
(Barnes, 1979).
Paleodepth estimates based on pressure-temperature-salinity relationships
(Haas, 1971) determined for the Faride, E1 Guanaco and E1 Indio deposits,
show a relatively shallow setting while at the E1 Bronce orebody, a deeper environment was documented (Table 13). No liquid CO2 phase was present in
fluid inclusions of any of the deposits studied.

Isotopic studies
Of the 20 deposits considered in this work the only isotope data come from
:El Bronce. Sulphur isotope compositions with ~4S ranging from 0.5 to 2.3 %o
(Camus et al., 1986) suggest a magmatic source for sulphur in the sulphide
:minerals of this deposit (Ohmoto and Rye, 1979).
GENETIC MODELS AND TYPES OF HYDROTHERMAL

GOLD DEPOSITS

Based on the reported morphological, structural and mineralogical characteristics, the Chilean hydrothermal gold deposits can be grouped into two broad
genetic categories: volcanic-hosted epithermal deposits and porphyry-related
deposits.

F. CAMUS

222
TABLE 14

Classification of the Chilean gold deposits

Epithermal deposits
A dularia- se ricite

Faride
San Cristobal
Inca de Oro
Cachiyuyo de Oro
E1 Capote
Los Mantos de Punitaqui
Las Vacas
E1 Bronce

Acid-sulphate

Choquelimpie
E1 Guanaco
La Coipa
Marte
E1 Indio

Alhu~

ChancSn
El Tigre
E1 Chivato
Minas del Prado
Porphyry-related deposits
Andacollo
E1 Hueso

According to Heald et al. (1987), volcanic-hosted epithermal deposits can

be grouped into two types: acid-sulphate and adularia-sericite, based on their
mineralogy, lithotectonic setting and geochemistry. The great majority of the
Chilean gold deposits fit into these two categories. Heald et al. (1987) have
modeled the occurrence of these two types based on the Henley and Ellis (1983)
models of geothermal systems. In Figure 6, these models are applied to the
Chilean Andean geotectonic environment and emphasize the close relationship of both types of deposits with volcanic centers. Distinctive deposits for
each setting are shown in Figure 6.
Porphyry-related gold deposits are not very common, and they have been
recognized mainly within the Mesozoic metallogenic belts. Table 14 shows the
20 deposits classified according to these two broad categories: volcanic-hosted
or porphyry-related.
From a morphological point of view, these two categories of hydrothermal
gold deposits can be grouped into the five following types:
(a) Vein deposits,
(b) Ore shoots associated with shear zones,
(c) Breccia-hosted deposits,
(d) Deposits in fractures, marginal to porphyry systems, and
(e) Large-tonnage stockwork/disseminated low-grade deposits, hosted by favorable rocks.
Of these five groups of deposit types based on morphology, veins predominate in 12 deposits, low-grade orebodies in 4 cases, breccias in 2 cases, and

GEOLOGYOFHYDROTHERMALGOLDDEPOSITSIN CHILE

223

~-~P~MFTEOfflWATER
C

":',~;'o":'~:z~ ~OL'AT::V:__,

1 ~1

I:o'~::E
o[~,,om..;~

(a)

METEORIWATER
C

-i.o;;

I I

WATER A
o

o____o

~
l

(b)
Fig. 6. Models for the two types of Chilean volcanic-hosted epithermal gold deposits. Modified
from models of geothermal systems of Henley and Ellis (1983). (a) Acid-sulphate type. (b) Adularia-sericite type. Examples of Chilean gold deposits are shown.

224

F. CAMUS

o.L,

VEIN

IN

ACID

(eUANACO

L
Acid

VOLCANICS

DISTRICT~

D
Veins

Volconics

Inter mediofe Volconics

Foul1

Gronodlorite

Siliclc/orgillic

Porphyry

Propylitic

O. 3
V

&

f
v

a.

o. x
x

:r: i
x

v/'x

ix

VEIN

I N VOLCANICS A N O
IN TRUSlVES
IINCA DE ORO OISTRICTsEL TIORE')

VEIN

IN VOLCANIC$

(INCA

OE ORO O/STRICT)

VEIN IN I N T R U S I V E
(PICH/~EOgA #I~rTRICT)

Fig. 7. Geologic sketches of different vein type deposits. Subgroups a.1, a.2 a n d a.3 are shown m
the bottom part of the figure.

shear zones and fracture-related types have one example each. Since veins are
the more common type of deposits they are referred to in more detail below.

Volcanic-hosted adularia-sericite epithermal deposits

These deposits are the most frequent among the Chilean gold epithermal
deposits, occurring generally in the Upper Jurassic-Lower Tertiary time span.
Thirteen of the 20 deposits outlined in Table 14 belong to this type. Morphologically, 10 of these thirteen deposits are veins (group a), one deposit
being a combination of vein and stockwork/disseminated (San Cristobal ), an-

GEOLOGY OF HYDROTHERMAL GOLD DEPOSITS IN CHILE

225

other is a breccia-hosted deposit (Minas del Prado) (group c), and the last
one being related to a shear zone (group b).
a. Vein deposits
This group includes all districts where mineralization is hosted by pre-existing structures. The resultant orebodies are lense-shaped and they are more
persistent laterally than vertically. Within some of these veins stockwork zones
are developed.
Based on host-rock types, mineralogy and alteration, three subgroups of veins
have been distinguished. These three subgroups, according to their geomorphological setting, are interpreted to represent different erosion levels of an
original vein orebody. The three subgroups are the following (Fig. 7).
a. 1. Veins in intrusive. They generally correspond to the root zones of adulariasericite type vein deposits, hosted by intrusives of dioritic to granodioritic composition. Veins are narrow, generally less than one meter in width, decreasing
in width with depth. Mineralogy is simple, consisting of quartz, pyrite, arsenopyrite and associated gold. Locally, galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite occur in the upper portions of the veins. Gold grade in the primary zone of these
veins is frequently low (less than 4 g/t Au), so oxidation and supergene processes would be required in order to make these veins economically feasible.
No other valuable metals are present. Alteration is weakly developed and is
represented by a narrow silicified envelope 20-30 cm wide.
Generally, this subgroup of vein deposits is found to be emplaced in Upper
Jurassic-Upper Cretaceous rocks. Examples are the Las Vacas, Cachiyuyo de
Oro and E1 Capote districts (Fig. 1 ).
a.2. Veins associated with volcanic rocks of intermediate composition. These veins
are morphologically similar to the veins described in (a.1). However, these
veins tend to be wider ( > 1 m) and mineralogically more complex, containing
quartz, pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, tetrahedrite-tennantite, calcite, barite
and, locally, bornite and anhydrite. These minerals display lateral and vertical
zonations with chalcopyrite-pyrite-sphalerite-tetrahedrite/tennantite assemblages located in the central part of the deposit, grading laterally and with
depth into pyrite. Gold occurs associated with pyrite and to a lesser extent with
chalcopyrite and sphalerite.
Alteration envelopes up to 50 cm wide around the veins consist of quartz,
sericite and clay minerals, grading marginally into weak propylitization.
Primary gold grade in these group of vein deposits may exceed 10 g/t Au.
Generally, recoverable quantities of silver and copper are also present. The
majority of these deposits belong to the Upper Cretaceous-Early Tertiary time
span. Examples of these subgroup are E1 Bronce, E1 Tigre, ChancSn and Alhud
(Fig. 1 ).

'

v(

slo....
c

STOCKWORK

St

u ~

t-.
z

ZONE

INTRUSIVES

(PICHIDEGUA )

LOWER

RE,

MASSIVE VEIN

LEGEND

DIKEB

ANDESITE

STOCKWORK

VEFNING .

DIKE

STOCKWORK
QUARTZ.

AND/OR

DEFINED

LOCALLY

WELL

STOCKWOR K

FI L L I N G .

OF OPEN-SPACE

VEIN

PYRITE ,

Ag

VEIN
CLEAR EVIDENCE

TRUE

FRACTURING

WORK

ONLY STOCK--

NO TRUE VEIN

CHLORITE.

WEAK

HALOS.

SILICIC

NARROW

HALO.

PROPYLITIC

ARGIL L IC

SERICITIC ,

SILICIC,

CHLORITE

WEAK

STRUCTURE ALTERATION

ARSENOPYRITE.

TO

Au-

L A T E TENNANTITE

SPHALERITE.

PYRITE, G A L E N A ,

CHALCOPYRITE ,

CARBONATES.

QUARTZ-- B A R I T E

_+CARBONATES

QUARTZ + B A R I T E

MINERALOGY

GRANODIORITE

DIORITE

VOLCANICS

INTERMEDIATE

VOLCANICS

BRONC E,TIG

METALS

INCA DE ORO )

(EL

BASE

ZONE OF PRECIOUS AND

BRONCE)

VOLCANICS

GEOTHERMAL ACTIVITY

(EL

ACID TO
iNTERMEDIATE

UPPER BARREN ZONE

VOLCANIC AND/OR

L ITHOLOGY

Fig. 8. Empirical model for an adularia-sericite epithermal vein system. Modified from Camus, 1985.

1500m"

1000

500,

Om

:>

b.3
t~

GEOLOGY OF HYDROTHERMAL GOLD DEPOSITS IN CHILE

227

a.3. Veins in volcanic and intrusive rocks. They correspond to a combination of

subgroups a.1 and a.2. The upper portion has the characteristics of the latter
group and the lower part is typical of group a.1. Part of the Inca de Oro district
is a good example of this subgroup.
Since the volcanic-hosted adularia-sericite epithermal vein deposits are the
most common type of gold orebodies in Chile, an empirical model has been
developed and is portrayed in Figure 8. Subgroups a.1, a.2 and a.3 as described
and shown in Figure 7 are considered as portions of one complete epithermal
system. Three zones recognized in this model are: an upper barren zone; a zone
of precious and base metals; and a lower zone or root zone.
As shown in Figure 8, the upper barren zone of such an epithermal vein
system consists of a quartz vein stockwork several meters in width. Such stockwork may be closed or open to the surface depending on the evolution of the
epithermal system. In the latter case an active hot spring may be present within
the upper portions of such a system, as suggested by Henley and Ellis (1983).
However, we may not see such surface expression today because most vein
deposits of this type are of Mesozoic age, and their original hot-spring surface
expression is likely to have been eroded during post-Mesozoic times.
The zone of precious and base metals underlies the upper barren zone. Occasionally, it consists of an upper precious-metal subzone and a lower basemetal subzone. Generally, this zone is emplaced within volcanic rocks of intermediate composition. This zone shows a well-developed quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite-galena-sphalerite-stibnite-tennantite/tetrahedrite-carbonates assemblage, with associated gold and silver.
The lower zone is characterized by the presence of narrow quartz-pyritearsenopyrite gold-bearing veins which tend to disappear with depth, or otherwise give way to a stockwork of quartz veins. The host rocks are generally
dioritic to granodioritic intrusive stocks. Alteration is weakly developed and
consists of very narrow silicified envelopes. They represent the roots of the
epithermal vein system. The Pichidegua district (Fig. 1 ) is a good example of
this situation.
b. Ore shoots associated with shear zones
They consist of irregular-shaped ore shoots formed at the intersection of two
or more major shear zones. These bodies are generally emplaced in intrusive
rocks of dioritic to granodioritic composition. Structurally, these ore shoots
are stockwork zones filled with quartz, pyrite, calcite and, locally, sphalerite,
galena and tourmaline. Gold is exclusively associated with pyrite. Primary gold
grades are in the order of 4 g/t Au, and no other metals are present in important
amounts.
Hydrothermal alteration is related to the shear zones and covers areas of
500-1000 m 2. These areas are characterized by a central quartz-sericite zone

228

F. CAMUS

surrounded by a propylitic halo. The quartz-sericite alteration zone coincides

with the orebodies.
Deposits of this group only occur in association with rocks of the Upper
Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous period. A representative example is the E1 Chivato
orebody.

c. Breccia-hosted deposits
Such deposits are irregular or pipe-like concentrations of pyrite and free gold
together with quartz veining, which appear within as well as on the margins of
hydrothermal breccias bodies.
The hydrothermal alteration coexisting with these ore bodies consists of
silicification and chloritization, as well as abundant pyrite and minor sericite.
Primary gold grades are between 1 and 2 g / t Au, but locally, along individual
quartz veins, grades as high as 10-20 g / t Au are found. No other metals of
economic interest exist.
Deposits of this type, as for example the deposits at Minas del Prado (Fig.
5b ), are apparently genetically related to volcanic activity of Tertiary age.
Volcanic-hosted acid-sulphate epithermal deposits
Five deposits of this type are recognized: E1 Guanaco, La Coipa, Choquelimpie, E1 Indio-Tambo and possibly Marte. They are Early Tertiary to Recent in
age. Morphologically, they form vein deposits (group a) or low-grade stockwork/disseminated orebodies (group e) showing a close association with volcanic centers of acid to intermediate affiliation.

a. Vein deposits
These vein type deposits are hosted by dacitic to rhyolitic domes or stocks.
The orebodies are lense-shaped and occur along pre-existing faults or fractures, locally forming stockworks a n d / o r breccia zones. Mineralogy consists of
quartz, alunite, barite, rhodochrosite, enargite, pyrite, chalcopyrite and gold,
free as native gold or associated with sulphides.
Gold grades in the primary sulphide zone of these deposits are high ( > 10
g/t Au), with bonanza zones reaching grades of 50 to 100 g / t Au. Copper and
silver are significant metals and are economically recoverable.
Alteration is widespread, covering areas of 200 m wide by 500-1000 m long,
within which the veins are situated. A very distinct alteration zonation is generally recognized, with a central zone of sericite-quartz and clay minerals grading gradually into a marginal propylitic zone. Toward the top of the deposits,
extensive advanced argillic alteration zones are present. This alteration pattern can be recognized both locally and district-wide.

GEOLOGY OF HYDROTHERMAL GOLD DEPOSITS IN CHILE

229

b. Low-grade deposits
The low-grade deposit type (group e) was recognized only very recently in
Chile. Consequently, published information regarding its geological characteristics is scarce.
These type of deposits contain low-grade stratabound mineralization hosted
by favorable volcanic horizons, usually slightly or strongly silicified. These
horizons tend to overlie acid leached argillized zones. Mineralization occurs as
fine-grained disseminations and as quartz vein stockworks. Some of these deposits developed silica sinters at the surface. In others the presence of silicified
breccias is conspicuous. Quartz is generally of the chalcedonic type.
Most of these deposits are hosted by Oligocene to Miocene volcanics, being
spatially and possibly temporally associated with deeply eroded stratovolcanoes. Considering its geological setting, the mineralization may have occurred
in very shallow epithermal systems associated with hot-spring environments
of the High Andes. Erosion at these elevations has been minor, leaving the
deposits of this type almost untouched. Normally, these orebodies contain gold
and silver, and are large in size and bulk mineable.

Porphyry-related gold deposits

The gold mineralization is found either marginal or distal to porphyry copper systems. The best example of this type is Andacollo, where stratabound
gold mineralization occupies a series of fractures radial to the Andacollo porphyry system. These fractures cut a sequence of rhyolite to dacite flows occurring in the propylitic halo of this porphyry copper system. Gold is associated
with disseminated pyrite and the grades in the primary zone are on the order
of 0.5 to 1.0 g/t Au. Due to oxidation and supergene enrichment processes, gold
has reached locally, in zones of stockwork type fractures, grades up to 10-15
g/t Au, the resultant orebodies being irregular in shape. The mineralization is
possibly of Upper Cretaceous-Early Tertiary age.
The E1 Hueso low-grade stockwork/disseminated deposit (Fig. 5c) is probably another example of this type. The gold mineralization, hosted by sedimentary rocks, is structurally and lithologically controlled by N70E to E-W
faults. This deposit overlies the Potrerillos porphyry copper system, suggesting
a close relationship between the two deposits.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This paper has benefited from the critical comments of R.H. Sillitoe, G.
Westra, E. Reichhard and J. Davidson, to whom I am very grateful. I wish to
thank also to M.A. Duhalde who helped me in the preparation and was my
coauthor of an earlier version of this work. I am also grateful for the excellent
drafting of G. Alarcon.

230

F. CAMUS

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