Oruro Tin Silver Deposit Part 1 Chace 1948

ECONOMIC GEOLOGY
AND THE
BULLETIN .OF THE SOCIETY OF
ECONOMIC GEOLOGISTS
VOL. XLI II AUGUST, 1948 NO. 5
TIN-SILVER VEINS OF ORURO, BOLIVIA.*
F. M. CHACE.
PART I.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Abstract .............................................................. 333

Introduction .......................................................... 334
Topography ........................................................... 337
.General Geology ...................................................... 340
The SedimentaryRocks ............................................. 341
The Igneous Rocks ................................................. 344
Method of Eraplacementof the Igneous Rocks ...................... 351
The San Jos Breia.............................................. 353
Origin of the San Jos Breccia ................................... 354
The Ore Deposits ...................................................... 356
The Vein System ......... .......................................... 357
The Vein Types .................................................... 367
Sequenceof Fracturing and Mineralization ............................ 374
Origin of the Fracture System ...................................... 377
Production of the Oruro District ....................................... 382
Types of Ore ...................................................... '. 383
To be continued in next number.
ABSTRACT.
The iin'-silveroresof Oruro, Bolivia,occurin complexveinsthat are

found in and adjacentto small stocksof quartz latite porphyry. The
stockshavevolcanicaffinitiesand evidentlywere intrudedat a relatively
shallowdepthinto foldedPaleozoicsedimentaryrocks,chieflyargillite,
and were accompaniedor followed by extrusive lava flows. The San
Jos breccia,of explosiveorigin, occursas pipes,dikes and irregular
bodiesin the vicinity of the mineral deposits.
* Publishedwith the permissionof Compafiia Minera de Oruro. Abstract of a Ph.D. Dis-
sertation, Harvard University.
333
334 F. M. CHACE.
The hypogenemineralization followed a system of pre-mineral frac-

tures, which are a combination of shear and tension breaks that occur in
four clusters:the San Jos-Socav6n,the Itos, La Colorada,and Tetilla.
During ore depositiontelescopingtook place, with reopening of vein
fractures and superimpositionof silver- and tin-bearing lead sulpho-salts
and sulpho-stannates on a relatively simpleearly mineralizationof quartz,
pyrite, and cassiterite. The fractureswere causedby differentialvertical
stressesset up in local areasfollowing igneousintrusionand formationof
the San Josdbreccia. Fracturing was closelyrelated to the processof
mineralization, both in time and place, and possiblyin cause.
The mineralogy suggeststhat depositiontook place during a wide
range of temperature conditions,and it is inferred that ore deposition
occurred at relatively shallow depths. The deposits.may be classed as
xenothermal.
Erosion and deep oxidation developeda gradational capping of oxi-
dized or "pacos"ores, composedof cassiterite,limonite, jarosite, and
quartz, at the outcropsof the primary sulphideveins. Tin is still mined
from the oxidized zone, but the bonanza silver ores were mined out many
years ago.
PART I.
INTRODUCTION.
Tr. Oruro mining districtof Bolivia is an importantmemberof the fin-

silvermetal]ogenet{c
provincein the EasternCordilleraof the Andes Moun-
tains,which extendsfrom Lake Tit{cacaon the north to the Argentineborder
on the southandincludesthe famousminingdistrictsof Llal]aguaand Potos{.
Silver {s reportedto have beenobtainedfrom Oruro pt{or to the discovery
of the districtby the Spaniardsin 1595, sixty-twoyearsafter the conquest
of the Incasby Pizarro,and fifty-oneyearsafter the bonanzaof Potosl,250
kilometersto the south,hadbeenfoundin 1544. Mining of tin, however,did
not beginat Oruro until ]ate in the nineteenthcentury.
The silverbonanzasof the province,particularlyPotosland Oruro, sup-
plied a large amountof the preciousmetal obtainedby the Spanishadven-
turers{n their lootingof the Latin Americancountries. Potos,long famous
as the greatestsilvercamp{n the world, is estimatedto haveyieldedover two
billion ouncessincethe time of its discovery) Oruro, while lessspectacular,
has been the sourceof more than 271,000,000 ounces;althoughonly $6 per-
cent of Potosi'stotal output, this placesOruro in the ranks of the major
silver-mining
districtsof the world. By way of comparison,Leadville,Colo-
rado,oneof the United States'leadingsilver-producing
districts,is estimated
to haveproduced a total of 252,$29,400ouncesin the periodfrom 1859to
1926. 3
It {sinteresting
to notethatalthoughthedesirefor precious
metalswasthe
incentivefor exploration{n this difficultregion,and fabulousquantit{esof
silverrewardedthe SpanishConquistadores, the production
of this metalhas
gradually
givenwayto thatof fin. AlthoughBoliviastillaccounts
for about
1 Evans,David L., Structureand mineralzoningof the Pa{lavir{Sect{on,Potos{,Bolivia:
EON. GEOL., ;vol. 35, pp. 737--750, 1940.
2 Henderson,C. W., Geologyand ore depositsof the Leadvillemining district,Colorado:
U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 148, chapter 7, 1927.
TIN-SILVER VEINS OF ORURO, BOLIVIA. 335
15 percentof the world'sannualsilveroutput,it is now notedprincipallyas

one of the leadingtin-producingcountriesof the world. No doubt the
presenceof tin was known to the Spaniards, 3 but it was not until the latter
part of the nineteenthcenturythat this metalbecamean importantproduct.
At first, tin was recoveredfrom depositswherethe oresof silverwere mixed
with cassiterite, as, for example,at Oruro and Potosi,but graduallyother
deposits containing tin alonewerefoundand exploited;amongthesethe rich
veinsat Llallaguaare the outstanding examples. A few districts,including
Oruro, still win substantial profitfrom bothmetals. However,in surpriking
contrastto the early days of the camp,the supplyof silver ore appearsto be
exhausted
at Potosi,andtin alonemaintains
the life of thisfamousoldmining
camp.
Location.--Theminingdistrictof Oruro is locatedin an isolatedgroup
of hills knownas the "Cerrosde Oruro" whichrise abovethe high plateau
or altiplanoof centralBolivia at approximately17 58' southlatitudeand
67 04' westlongitude. Oruro is about200 km (124 miles) southeast of La
Paz, the nominalcapitalof Bolivia,and is about345 km (214 miles) inland
fromthe PacificOceanandChileancoast(Fig. 1). The city of Oruro is on
the altiplanoat an elevation
of approximately
3,720meters(12,200feet) in
an embayment in the "Cerrosde Oruro" about8 km (5 miles) west of the
CordilleraReal, the easternrangeof the BolivianAndes.
Orurois the centerof the railroadandminingactivitiesof centralBolivia
andin 1936hada population estimatedat 44,800. The city is on the main
lineof the"Antofagasta (Chile)andBoliviaRailwayCo.,"whichrunsfrom
La Paz to Antofagasta on the Chileancoast,and connects with lineswhich
run to Buenos Aires,far to the southeast
on theAtlanticseaboard in Argen-
tina. Arica,onthecoastof northernChile,is alsoconnected by railroadvia
La Paz; andMollendo, a seaport townin southern Peru,maybe reached
by crossingLakeTiticacaby boatandthengoingby railroadto the seacoast.
Spurrailwaylinesconnect Orurowith Cochabamba, Llallaguaand Potosi.
Panagra Airlines,a subsidiary of PanAmerican AirwaysandGraceandCo.,
maintainsa regularSchedule throughcentralBolivia.
Scopeof Investigation.mThis
report,basedon six months'field work in
Boliviaduring1937andsubsequent
research
at HarvardUniversity
on the
oresand rocks,is primarilyconcerned
with the tin-silverveinsof Oruro, in-
cludingtheirstructure,
mineralogy,andorigin. Thegeneral geology of the
Orurodistrictwasstudiedin muchlessdetail,butsufficiently,
it is believed,
for anadequateunderstanding
of thegeologic
environment of oredeposition.
Althoughconsiderableprogress
wasmadein an understanding of the ore
deposit
anditsgeologic
environment,manyunsolved problemsremain. These
will be pointedout in the text.
PreviousGeologicWork.--Althoughthe Oruro districthasbeenknown
for over300years,andthebibliography ontheareais ratherlong,mostof
the investigators
haveconfined themselvesto individualaspectsof the min-
eralogyor havedealtin generalities
withoutgivinga dearpictureof thearea.
Priorto 1938,noonehadadequately described
thegeology,veinstructure,
and
a Rickard,T. A., Man and Metals,vol. II, pp. 685-709, New York, 1932.
336 F. M. CHACE.
70 66
16o 16
a Paz
CA R A GO S

COLQUIRI
18
/ 0
)
20 20
Uyun
22
GUQUIGAMATA
ARGENTI
asta 9 . . , , 5o iqo KILOMETER 240
FIG. 1. Map showingthe positionof Oruro, Potosi, Llallagua and other mining
districts of the Bolivian tin-silver metallogeneticprovince.
TIN-SILVER VEINS OF ORURO,BOLIVIA. 337
mineralogyin sufficientdetail to give a comprehensive

understanding
of the
ore deposits.
In 1931 a paper of considerable value was publishedby Lindgren and
Abbott. 4 This wasbasedon a few days'visit to Oruro by the seniorauthor
in 1921and a laboratorystudyof a suiteof specimens at the Massachusetts
Instituteof Technology.Althoughthe paperis remarkablygoodfor such
a brief survey,it is far from complete.The mineralogy of the veinsis treated
in detail,but as it was basedon a collectionthat was too limitedto be repre-
sehtative
of thedistrict,theresulting
generalpictureis somewhat misleading.
Kozlowskiand Jaskolski, formerteachers at the Oruro Schoolof Mines,
publishedin 1932the mostcompletedescription and discussion
up to that
time.5 Their papercontains a description
of the generalgeologyand miner-
alogy, but gives little attention to vein structure. Numerous referencesare
madeto the work of thesemen in the followingpages,and, while general
agreementis reachedon numerouspoints,considerable
differencearisesin
interpretationand conclusions.
Following
theauthor's
workonOruro
in 1937
and1938,
a'geologic
staff
was established at Oruro by CompafiiaMinera de Oruro. H. G. Leggett
servedas Chief Geologistand was assistedby Donald F. Campbell. Their
work culminated in 1942in a publication in EconomicGeologyby Campbell, 6
who spentconsiderable time mappingthe surfaceand uppermineworkings.
Campbellarrivedat an interpretation of the districtgeologyquitedifferent
from that of previousworkers. This.will be discussed in the followingtext.
Acknowledgments.--The author is greatly indebtedto Dr. Donald H.
McLaughlin,former professorof mininggeologyat Harvard University,
underwhomthe originalmanuscript was prepared,and to ProfessorL. C.
Graton, of Harvard University,for their constantadviceand guidance.
Gratefulacknowledgment is alsomadeto ProfessorRussellGibsonof Harvard
University,who spenta few daysin the field with the author. Professor
F. S. Turneaure,of the Universityof Michigan,read the manuscriptand
made many useful suggestions.
The late William Val de Camp,former generalmanagerof the Mauricio
Hochschild miningproperties
in Bolivia,madethestudypossible
and,together
with H. J. de Wijs, of CompafiiaMinerade Oruro, gavevaluablecoopera-
tionandassistance
duringthe mineexamination
at Oruro.
TOPOGRAPHY.
The AndesMountainsare the principaltopographic featureof Bolivia,

with a high plateau,knownas the altiplano,lying betweentwo well-defined
ranges. The Andesfollowa northerlytrendfrom CapeHorn to the southern
borderof Bolivia,wherethey divideinto two mountainchains,the Cordillera
4 LindgrenW., and Abbott,A. C., The silver-tindeposits
of Oruro, Bolivia: EcoN. G.ox..,
vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 453-479, 1931.
Kozlowski, R., and Jaskolski,S., Les gisementsargento-stannifresd'Oruro en Bolivie:
Archivede Mineralogle
dela SoeitdesSciences de Varsovie,8, pp. 1-100, 1932.
6 Campbell,
DonaldF., The Orurosilver-tindistrict,Bolivia:EcoN.G-oL.,vol. 37, pp. 87-
115, 1942.
338 F. M. CHACE.
Real and the CordilleraOccidental,separatedby the altiplano. At latitude

18 south,near Oruro, the rangesswingabruptlyto the northwestand cross
the northernborder of the countryat Lake Titicaca.
The altiplanois an extensive,level plain from 12,000to 13,000feet above
sealevel. Throughoutmost of its extent, the easternmargin is well defined
by the sharp rise and straight front of the Cordillera Real. Irregular hills
of volcanic dbris along the Cordillera Occidental mark the less uniform
western-limitof the high plateau. The broad,flat expanseof the altiplanois
markedby isolatedlow ridgesandgroupsof subdued hills,generallyelongated
north-south,parallel to the main rangesof the Cordillera. At the present
time, the plateauis a basinof accumulatingsediments. Many of the hills ap-
pear to be partially buried in their own dbris.
Topographically, the regionremindsoneforciblyof the Basinand Range
provinceof Utah and Nevada. There is ampleevidencethat in the past large
areasof the altiplanowere coveredby a greatlake; vestigesof an inlandbody
of water are found, but conspicuous beachlines, suchas those which mark
the limit of glacialLake Bonneville,are lacking. However, in places,rem-
nantsof old strandlinesare foundon the hill slopes.
The altiplanois a typicalinterior basin,characterized by inland drainage.
However, in comparativelyrecenttime the La Paz river has cut throughthe
CordilleraReal, and now a part of the basindrains into the Amazon Valley.
On the altiplanois an extensive,deep,fresh-waterbody, Lake Titicaca, and
an important river, the Desaguadero.
The "Cerros de Oruro," in which the tin-silver ore depositsare located,
occupyan oval-shapedarea six kilometersalong its northerly axis and one
to three kilometerswide. The hills are completelysurroundedby the nearly
featurelessaltiplano, or "pampa," as it is referred to locally, which in the
vicinity of Oruro has an altitude of 3,700 meters. Figure 6 is a generalized
contourmap of the Oruro hills and environs,showingthe nature of the topog-
raphy,the positionof the city, and the locationof the variousmines.
The "Cerros de Oruro" rise 100 to 300 m abovethe altiplano,and two of
the peaks reach an elevation of over 4,000 m above sea level. San Felipe
Mountain,the highestof the group,hasan altitudeof 4,030 m, and San Pedro
Mountain, an altitude of 4,010 m. The slopes of the hills are generally
smooth,devoidof vegetationwith the exceptionof scatteredcactusand coarse
pampagrass,and the summitsare easilyaccessible.The crestsof the hills
are smoothand have beensweptcleanof talus, leaving large areasof exposed
bed rock or only a thin veneerof gravel.
The inclination of the hill slopes averages about 20 . At their lower
limit a break in slopemarks the line where bed rock gives way to unconsoli-
dated sedimentsof the altiplano, which grades off toward the intermontane
area at about 10 .
In the vicinity of Oruro, the altiplanois a gentlyundulatingplain with
many broad,flat areas. The surfaceis composed of a compact,fine-textured
mud, yellowto white in color,whichreflectsthe rays of the bright, tropical
sunin a dazzlingmanner. Patchesof graveland sandnear the foothillsgive
way to playasand salt pansin the lower partsof the basin. During the rainy
340 F. M. CH,/ICE.
season,large areasare inundated,but as the dry seasonprogresses,the water

evaporates,leaving a mud-cracked surface and extensive "salars." The
pampais generallydevoidof vegetationwith only scatteredpatchesof coarse
pampagrass,yareta, and tola bushes.
In severallocalitiesin the neighborhoodof Oruro, sanddunesare migrat-
ing acrossthe pampa. They are usuallyirregular in outline,but occasionally
barchans are found.
Draina#e.--The DesaguaderoRiver is the principal drainagechannelof
the altiplano. It flows out of Lake Titicaca, winds acrossthe pampa 15 km
west of Oruro, and emptiesinto Lake Poop6, a large salt-water body 20 km
southof th city. Lake Poop6hasno outlet,but duringthe rainy seasonit
overflowsinto an extensiveswamp.
In the vicinity of Oruro there are no permanentstreams,and run-off is
in the nature of sheet wash. At the foot of the "Cerros de Oruro" numerous
gullieshave cut into the pampa. They form a dendriticpattern with broad,
flat surfacesbetweenthem. Toward the center of the altiplano the gullies
becomedistributary,and depositionrather than erosiontakes place. Placer
tin is found in the channels,but the gravelshave never been systematically
sampled.
The bedrockof the Oruro mining district is made up of a group of closely

spaced,quartz latite porphyry plutons of Pliocene (?) age intrusive.into
folded Paleozoicsedimentaryrocks. The Paleozoicrocks, chiefly argillite,
shaleand'slate,areherenamedthe Oruro formation. Quartzlatiteanddacite
lava flows are presentlocally; the former may grade into intrusivequartz
latite porphyry and may have formed contemporaneously with one of the
plutons. An explosionbreccia,referredto in the presentpaper as the San
Jos breccia,occursin the vicinity of the mines, follows contactsbetween
porphyryandthe Oruro formation,andcutsbothof theserockbodiesin pipes,
dikes and irregular bodies.
The summitsand slopesof the Cerros de Oruro are underlainbr fairly
fresh, resistantquartz latite porphyry and in severalplacesthe individual
knobs are separateplutons, probably small stocks. The lower slopesand
valleysare underlainby lessresistant,foldedargillite and shale,and locally
by highlyalteredigneousrocks. The larger valleyswere probablylocalized
by areasof easilyerodedO.ruroformation,and the entire group of hills is
outlinedroughlyby shaleor argillite. -Theseobservationssuggestthat the re-
lief of the Cerros de Oruro was causedby differential erosionand not by
structural movements.
An extensive mantle of unconsolidatedgravel, sand, and clay known as
the "Pampa Formation"restson the erodedsurfaceof the Oruro formation,
completelysurrounds thehills,andextendsacrossthealtiplanoin all directions.
In terms of rock types, the geologyof Oruro is rather simpleand the
columnincomplete, but from the structuralpoint of view, the geologyis com-
plex. An outlineof the rockformationsof the Oruro districtis givenin the
accompanying table (Fig. 7).
GEOLOGIC; COLUMN
ORURO MINING DISTRICT- BOLIVIA
ERA PERIOD EPOCH ,!

FORMATION
Sand #unes so/ors

Stream deposits
Recefit Miloviol.
deposits
s//f sond grovel
Pampa Formation
Pleistocene Ioe beds,sondsilt
o
o '1
z
Son Jos explosion breccia
o plpes,dikes
irregular
bodies
Lava fls
TERTIARY Pliocene quartz lotlie pphyry
[?) rhyo#te
In fruMons
quar laEfe porpry plulons
slocks dikes, sills
DEVONIAN OruroFormof/on
argillife, shale, slate
FIG. 7. Table of rock formations.
The SedimentaryRocks.
The Oruro Formation.--The oldestrocks exposedin the district are a
seriesof foldedPaleozoicsedimentary rocksvariouslyreferredto by different
authorsasshale,slate,or argillite. All threetypesoccur,andthenamewhich
is applied
varieswiththedegreeto whichtherockhasbeenmetamorphosed.
It is difficultto decidewhichtypeis mostwidespread.As all varietieswere
originally
argillaceOus
andhavebeensomewhat recrystallized
withoutthede-
velopment of secondary
cleavage,
exceptlocally,probably
the term argillite
would'bemoreapplicable thanshaleor slateto the groupasa whole. How-
ever,to avoiddifficulties
of terminology, and because
the sedimentary
rocks
are sufficiently
widespread to justifyit, the nameOruroformationis here
givento thisgroupof rocks.
The argillaceousrocksare dark gray to blackin colorwherefresh,but
on the surface,weathering hasbleached themto brownand bluishgray and
has accentuated the beddingplanes. The Oruro formationappearsmore
shalyonthesurface, wheredisintegration anddecompositionhaveaffected
it,
342 F. M. CH.4CE.
than on the deepermine levels. Thin, sandylayers, locally quartzitic,are

commonin the mine.. In placesthe formation is hard and massivewithout
traces of bedding; elsewhere,secondarycleavageis developed,and in a few
localities the rock is schistose. Near the intrusive igneous rocks on the
deeper mine levels, the formation is hard and silicified, and in a few places
a spottedslate or "knotenschiefer"has resultedfrom contactmetamorphism.
The spots appear to have been causedby a concentrationof carbonaceous
matter in small circular areas, 1.to 3 mm in diameter.
Under the microscope,the fresh argillaceousrock is seento be composed
of angularto poorlyroundedquartz grainswith a few roundedzirconcrystals
scatteredthrough a matrix of sericite and chlorite. A small amount of car-
bonaceous matter providesthe dark pigmentation. It is apparentthat a cer-
tain amount of recrystallizationhas taken place in most of the sedimentary
rock.
The Oruro formation is well exposedon the lower hill slopes,in the
radiating gullies, and on the lower mine levels. The actual areal extent on
the surfacein the vicinity of the mines is small, but the amount increases
rapidly in depth, and the bottom levels of the mine are nearly all in argillite
or slate. The reason for this distribution will become apparent when the
form of the igneousrock bodiesis described.
Isolated areas of the Oruro formation occur between intrusive bodies--
sometimesin long narrow septa. The most conspicuoussepturnoccurs on
the south slope of San Pedro Mountain and can be traced for about one
kilometer. It varies from 1 to 20 m in width and strikes N 30 W. Por-
phyry adjoinsthe formationon both sideswith a sharpcontact. Similar septa
occurthroughoutthe district, althoughthey are less extensivethan the one at
the foot of San Pedro Mountain.
The Oruro formation has been highly folded, and steepdips are the rule.
In places,the intensity of the deformationincreaseswith proximity to the
intrusive igneousbodies. In the "Cerros de Oruro" the beds are not con-
sistentin attitude even for a short distance. In the Iroco Hills, to the west
of Oruro, sedimentaryrocks are well exposedwith a prominentquartzite
member. Here'the strikeis uniformlynorth parallelto the elongationof the
hills,andthe dip variesfrom 65 to 75 west. Thesebedsappearto form the
west limb of a major anticline. By projection,if the fold is symmetrical,
the eastlimb shouldappearon the eastsideof the Oruro hills, but as the later
Pampaformationcoversthe entirearea,the rocksare not exposed.
This interpretationhas been questionedby Campbell, 7 who statesthat
the Iroco Hills consistof a faulted anticlineoverturnedto the east. However,
no supportingevidenceis given for this statement. Features indicative of
overturningwere not observedby the author.
The sedimentary
rockshavenot beensubdivided
stratigraphically
because
of their limited extent in the "Cerros de Oruro" and because of the lack of a
goodhorizonmarker.As theycontain
no fossils,
theirageis uncertain.
?Campbell,DonaldF., The Oruro silver-tindistrict, Bolivia: Ecoa. Go.., vol. 37, p. 99,
1942.
Accordingto Lindgren,s the nearestfossilsare foundin the vicinityof Viacha,

200 km (124 miles) to the north. Here the rocks are consideredto be
Silurian or Devonian. The Oruro rocks resemblethose of the Viacha area,
and by analogyare believedto be of the sameage. Moreover, the Oruro
sedimentsare lithologicallysimilar to the highly folded rocks of the nearby
easternAndes which are believedto belongin the lower middlepart of 'the
Paleozoicsection. At Llallagua,75 km (47 miles) southeastward,
similar
rocks are considered to be Devonian.
The PampaFormation.--In the vicinityof Oruro the altiplanois underlain
by an extensivemantle of unconsolidated sedimentsknown as the "Pampa
Formation." It is madeup of gravels,sands,and claysof terrestrialorigin
derivedby erosionfrom the Paleozoicsedimentaryrocksand the quartzlatite
porphyry outcropsof the hills. These sedimentsare usuallywell sorted,and
beddingis prominent. In a few places,crossbeddingis well exposed.Where
recent gullying has cut through the formation to bedrock at the foot of the
"Cerros de Oruro" it has a maximum thickness of about 10 m. The thick-
ness,however,increasesappreciablytoward the center of the pampa.
The depositsof the "Pampa Formation"are widespreadin centralBolivia,
underlyingthe altiplanothroughoutmostof its extent. Accordingto Kozlow-
ski and Jaskolski, 9 the sand and gravels around the Oruro Hills change
laterally.to a yellowish-brown,lacustrineclay towardthe centerof the basin.
In placesthe formation is impregnatedwith calcite or is associatedwith
calcareous tufa as muchas 1 m thick and locallycontainsgastropodshellsof
lixiing
species.Thedeposits,
therefore,
arebelieved
to havebeenlaiddownin
a lake that surroundedthe Oruro Hills and coveredmuch of the province
now known as the altiplano. In the vicinity of La Paz, where erosionhas
cut deeply,the Formationhas great thickness.
Thesedeposits
wereprobably
'formedduringthe pluvialcyclethat ac-
companiedPleistocene
gtaciation. During this period,the surfaceof the hills,
such as the "Cerros de Oruro" were washed clean of their talus, and the
ddbriswas deposited
in the intermontanebasin,now underlyingthe altiplano.
Ancient Shore Lines.--In a few places,on the slqpesof the hills, a crust
of travertinehas beenfound and interpretedas an old strandline. Kozlowski
and Jaskolskixoreport that this travertine containsshellsof g.astropods of
warm, terrestrialwater, belongingto speciesliving todayin the interior basins.
They statethat at the time of the depositionof the travertine,the level of the
surfaceof the inland lake stood40 m abovethe presentsurfaceof the pampa
in the vicinityof Oruro. Abovethis line of travertine,on the southslope
of Santa Barbara and on the hills south of Iroco, the remains of another ter-
race of travertine,20 m abovethe first, marksa level of the lake more ancient
than the first.
Recent Sediments.--Alluvial fans, talus cones,and wind-blown sand make
up the recent sediments. The alluvial depositscontain placer tin, but their
s Lindgren, W., and Abbott, A. C., The silver-tin depositsof Oruro, Bolivia: EcoN. Gv.ot..,
vol. 26, pp. 453-479, 1931.
90p. tit.
xo Op. tit.
344 F. M. CHACE.
extent has not beeninvestigated. Sand dunes,someof which have a perfect

crescentor barchartform, are presentin severalareas.
The I#neousRocks.
.Intrusive and extrusive porphyriticigneousrocks make up the greater
part of the Cerrosde Oruro and havea greaterareal extent than all the other
rocksof thedistrict. Theyforman ovalunit,elongated
north-south
parallel
to the regional,geographical
trend of the hills and mountainrangesof central
Bolivia,andin partwereintruded
alongsteeply
dipping
Palebzoic
sediments
with a pronouncednorth-south strike which Undoubtedlyinfluenced.the
elongatedform of the Oruro Hills. The prevailing rock type is an altered
quartz latite porphyrywhich forms small stocks,sills, dikes,irregular bodies,
and lava flows.
Although various geologistshave consideredthat the igneousrocks of
the Oruro Hills were componentsof one irregular intrusionwith roof pend-
ants of sedimentaryrocks,considerable
evidencehas accumulatedwhich in-
dicatesthat there are several centersof intrusion in the "Cerros," and that in
certain casesseparatehills or groupsof hills are individual stocks. Within
the mineralizedarea two separateintrusionsoccur--the Itos or San Cristobal
stockand the San Jos stock. The latter stockoutcropsin a large, irregular
area on Rubiales, Pie de Gallo, and Todos Santos Hills, but in depth, nar-
rows to elongated,dikelike bodies. Other hills, suchas San Pedro, Visca-
chani, and San Felipe, are probablyindividual stocksseparatedfrom other
igneousbodiesby argillitebedsor long,narrow septaof the Oruro formation
suchasthat exposedon the northeastslopeof SanPedroHill (Figs. 4, 5).
San Pedro Hill is the largest intrusive massin the district, with an out-
crop over 2 m long and 1.8 km wide, anct,.whereexposed,is separatedfrom
other intrusivesby argillite and volcanicrocks. Elsewhereits contactsare
too obscuredby talus to determinethe relationship, but probablySan Pedro
is an individualintrusivecenter. The sizeand shapeof thesedetachedbodies
at depth, and the attitude of their contacts,are not known, for there are no
mine workingsin them.
San.fosStock.--The
SanJosstock
isthebestk.nown
of'alltherock
bodiesin the Oruro district becauseof the extensivemine workings that
penetrateit. Its outcrop is extremely irregular in outline and covers a
roughlyellipticalarea includingPie de Gallo, Rubiales,La Colorada,Todos
Santos, and GuackallustaHills; and, sincethe same rock type extends be-
yond Cerro de San Felipe to the south,it may also includethis hill. The
longaxis of the bodystrikesroughlyN 45 W and is 1.7 km long; the short
axis is over 1 kilometerlong (Figs. 8, 9 and 10).
The horizontalcrosssectionof the San Josdstockexposedon the lower
mine levels is much smaller than on the surface. On the -200 level of the
San Josdmine, the igneousrocksform dikelikebodiesseparatedby septaof
Oruro formation(Figs. 8, 11). Here about50 percentof the exposedrock
is porphyry;the other 50 percentis Oruro formation. The principaldike on
this level trends N 50 W, has a maximum width of 130 m, and is at least
345
346 F. M. CHACE.
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009
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ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, Vol. 43 CHACE, P1. 1
Fi(. 2. View oOruro [rom the top of San Felipe mountain looking east
acrossthe altiplano toward the Cordillera Real. It is approximately8 kilo-
meters from site of picture to the lower slope of the mountain range.
FIc. 3. View looking south showing part of the "Cerros de Oruro" and
altiplano in background.Eastern range of Andes is on horizon. The San
Jos mine is midway up slopein right center. White buildings in the fore-
ground are miners homes.
Fit. 4. San Pedro stock, looking north from San Jos mine. San Pedro
mountain (center, horizon) is the secondhighest peak in the "Cerros de
Oruro". (4010 m.)
Fro. 5. Viscachanistock.Looking north from the San Jos mine.

.. , ',,:'. ,' , ,. ,.'
Fro. 12. Tongue of quartz latite porphyry intrusive into argillke. Note
irregular contact (white chalk mark), and inclusionsof argillite in por-
phyry. A later brcia dike cuts both arllite and porphyry (lower left).
Scale: Width of porphyry is 1.5 m; breccia dike, 4 cm wide. San Jos
mine, 200 level, at shaft station. Lking vertically up at the "back".
5 . . ,.. 1 ., , , '
-- ..... "'B '-. ' : .- ,-/ ' ','

'., .... .'._ , .
. .,:- , ...... 72, ,, ..,,%,... , .'
FIG. 13. A quartz latite porphyrysill intrudingargillite parallel to bed-

ding; maximumwidth 32.5 cm. A brecciadike, 10 cm wide, parallelsthe
sill. San Jos mine, 250 level.
FiG. 14. The Itos stockfrom the Iroco hillslookingeastacrossthe pampa.

Conicalhill is Cerro San Cristobalunderlainby quartz latite porphyry of
the Itos stock. Itos mine on right (south), and Santo Cristo mine on the
front (west) side of the "cerro".
Fro. 15. A quartz latite porphyry dike, 4-5 m across,intrusive into

Oruro formation in center. Bedding dips steeply away on both sides of
outcrop and gradually flattens 10 m from outcrop. These relations suggest
that the magma from which the dike was formed was injected under suffi-
cient pressureto bend up the slate beds. In valley northeast of San Jos
mine.
FXG.16. Typical quartzlatite porphyry.Note embayedquartzphenocrysts

(q), frayed biotite (B), and sericitized plagioclase(P) phenocrysts.
Groundmassis andesinewith much kaolin and sericite. Surface, crest of
San Pedro mountain. Thin section,X m nicols,X 22.
a, ' " . I ' . ' ' ' -'- ' ' ;" ' -
? : ... :.. :..:',.....,.... :'., ,.,,..... ): '.",;,-., ,,: .:;- ... :-.- e:. .-; .; :. -',
"'- 2' '- '.'.'.."-":-:'*.".,_' ' '.,..'P .>.;:" ,, l ;.,* '.' ,,.-'. , ,-
, * ,,::,_., .',..' :;,.}., :o ,,'. ."'','. .; . :,. , ..'-l'....
.-. ,;. v' -,,." ,,,'- a,. :-,.' '., '; , '- ..'', '-- *'' '- o '
.":.*':;.:.
-' '-.L'.,,'-.--.
,. .-.- . .
'. '-..K'""
', -1 '- -
'..-
".
, . :;
.-
'. .-...*
-
.. :'.-
'. '' .
-', ,' ..... ,.l- ;, ;.-F: -,.' ' ' -""e'*' -: ,--' "-'
. ; '. --7 - ' ' , ,, i -

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. ;
,,
.,' .,-'.
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.,."
. .....
"',-' ..' '
.-",'""
,-..
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*> ",
.
'.- T, .,
Fro. 17. TypicM underground exposureof San Jos reccia on upper

minelevels.Shapeof fragmen is characteristic; blackargillite fragmen
are smalleran the porphy. The black matr appearsto be finely pul-
verizedargillite. Sce: largestwhite fragmentis 60 cm across.San Jos&
mine, 50 level.
ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, Vol. 43 CHACE P1. 6
FIG. 18. An undergroundcontactbetweenquartz latite

porphyry and San Jos breccia.Note sharp contact,with
no argillite inclusionsin porphyryand no concentrationof
porphyry fragmentsin breccia at contact.San Jos mine,
50 level.
....... '.' m_ '.T- .,''. . .--:.
' : ' *' .. . - '' . " '
, r - '-' '-,- ' ' ' - ',

.,2. -. - -.. . :'..'--. :-, ., , " -
. -' . ' r* T.. - -;.-< &' .
FC.19.Underground
exposure
of SanJosbreccia
withabundant
por-
phyry fraents (white). Two stagesof brecciationare evident. A small,
blackbrecciadike of secondstageis shorn cuttingacrosscoarsefraents
of first stage (left center). San Jos mine, 50 level.
ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, Vol. 43 CHACE, PI. 7
ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, Vol. 43 CHACE, PI. 8
: -;'-,..;-- *-' "3 , z, .... ' '.-.::,. -': ', .
i. 33. Sil.er-bearin sulhosaltein (dark ray) followin a fracture

which offsets a quartz-yrite-cassiterite ein (outlined with white chalk).
This indicatesthat fracturin took lace durin mineralization.Camera is
2.8 m distant. Sil.er .ein is 1-3 cm wide; the yrite vein is 40-50 cm wide.
Lation: -250 le. el, Ramosde la Plata section,San Josl mine.
, . % . .'} ," . ,
' ' - ' ' 2 : I **
FIG. 34. Mineralized joints in Itos quartz latite porphyry along walls of
San Luis vein. Horizontal brec.ciadike (black), 8 cm wide, has been offset
along a joint. Joints are filled wi'th andorite from paper-thin to about 1 cm
wide.
i i
'1'
i-- 0 .
o 0
o 0
o 0
o
o
0
0
009 + 009 + 0
.o
0
>> 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
00+ f v .'& .. 00+
N v
k%". g ' o o om
v ?q om om om
348 F. M. CHACE.
EXPLANATION
Sun do$ breccio
Son Jos pluton
Oruro formotio
SURFAGE ,o z?o ,oo o,o

METERS
00 LEVEL
FIG. 11. Maps of the surfaceand a part of the -200 level, San Jos mine,
showingthe outlineof the San Jos stock. (Dotted line indicatespositionof in-
ferred contact.) On the -200 level the dike-like roots of the stockare shown.
Much of the area on this level is occupiedby the Oruro formation,but probably
more porphyryexistsbeyondthe presentmine openings. The increasein amount
of argillite with depth is apparent.
550 m long, althoughthe positionof the northwestcontactis a matter of

interpretation.On the presentbottomlevel (-340 level), the porphyryis
exposedin dikesonly, but here the mine workingsare not extensive. It is
probablethat muchlargerporphyrybodiesexistbeyond. the presentopenings,
but the tendencyfor the SanJosstockto contractin depthandt,ogradeinto
feedingdikesis apparent. The structuralform of the San Jos stockand its
methodof emplacement are considered
in more detail later in the chapter.
TIN--SILVER VEINS OF ORURO, BOLIVIA. 349
The originaloutlineof the San Jos stockwasconsiderably

modifiedsub-
sequent
to itsintrusion
intotheOruroformation
bytheformation
ofbreccia
alongits contacts
with the argillite. This resultedin rockbodieswith very
erraticshapes. The intrusivenatureof the igneousrockis evidentwherever
porphyryandargillitearein contact(Figs. 12, 13). Apophyses of porphyry
commonly
extendintothe argillitefor severalmetersbeyond
the mainin-
trusive body, and dikes and sills cut the sediments. Chilled contactsare
generallyabsent. Occasionally,
inclusionsof argilliteare in the porphyry
closeto the contacts,
but nowhereare they largeor numerous.In places,
the porphyrycontacts are conformablewith argillitebedding,but in many
otherplacesare clearlydiscordant.The relationsare illustratedin figure8
by dip-and-strikesymbols.
Itos Stock.raThe Itos stockunderliesSanCristobal Hill andtheelongated
ridgeto the northand extendsacrossWest Viscachani Hill (Fig. 14). It
thusoccupies an areaapproximately 1,800meterslongand500 meterswide.
The easterncontactof the stockis well exposed throughout the Itos mine,
whereit is in contactwith argilliteand breccia.The averagestrikeof the
contactis N 20 E andthe dip,75 to 85 SE (Fig. 8). The extentof the
stockunderground is not fully known, but De Wijs consideredit to bea dike-
like bodywith a strikeof N 30 E.TM
Descriptionof the IgneousRocks.--The prevailingigneousrock of the
OruroHills, bothin the extrusive
andintrusivebodies,
is quartzlatitepor-
phyry. Althoughthere are localvariationsin mineralogy,proportionand.
size of phenocrysts,
degreeof flowageorientation,and the amountof altera-
tion,no detectable
variationoccursof sufficient
importanceto justifythe es-
tablishmentof otherrockspecies
or the mapping of othergeologicunits.
Megascopic Description.--Thequartzlatite porphyryrangesin colorfrom light
gray to light green,and hasprominentphenocry'sts of quartz,feldspar,and biotite
scatteredthrougha fine-grained'microcrystallinegroundmass composed of small
feldspargrains and laths. Round,vitreousquartz grains, 1.0 mm to 5 mm in
diameter,are abundantthroughout.The feldsparphenocrysts are usuallypromi-
nent,varyingfrom gray to pink in color,andobviously alteredin all cases. They
are predominantlyplagioctase,usuallyandesinewith lesseramountsof orthoclase.
Biotite is abundantin many placesin small flakesranging in size from 2.0 mm
acrossto grains seen only with the-microscope. Campbell'sestimate of the fol-
lowing proportionsof phenocrysts is approximatelycorrect: 60 percentfeldspar;
20 percentquartz; 20 percentbiotite.
In severallocalities,particularlyin the Viscachaniplutonand at the north base
of San PedroHill large euhedralphenocrysts of sanidinefeldsparare numerous.
They are considerably larger than the otherconstituents and averagebetween1.0
cmand5.0 cmlong,althoughin placestheyattaina lengthof 11.0cmparallelto
thec axis. Theyaretwinnedaccordingto thecarlsbadlaw andin places
contain
inclusions of biotitethat are distributedwithin the sanidinein a patternsimilarto
that in the rest of the rock, suggestingthat the sanidineformedby replacement of
the solid rock.
MicroscopicDescription.--Underthe microscope the rock provesto be holo-
crystallinewith a distinct porphyritic texture. The phenocrystsare scattered
through'avery fine-grainedintergrowthof feldspar,which in virtually all cases
is highlyaltered. The porphyritictextureof the rocks,with the very fine-grained
xx De Wijs, H. J., Private report to CompafiiaMinera de Oruro, Oruro, 1937.
350 F. M. CH,'ICE.
groundmass,indicates that it is volcanic or hyperbyssalrather than plutonic in

origin (Fig. 16).
Most of the quartz phenocrysts are well roundedand frequentlydeeplyembayed.
This feature is probablyattributableto attackand partial solutionby magmaduring
the crystallization of the rock, possiblyprior to or during injection. The coarse
feldspar grains, though badly altered to sericite and kaolin, are predominantly
andesinewith an average compositioncloseto Abs An47. There is a variation of a
few percent in the ratio of albite-anorthite moleculesfrom place to place; in a few
exampleswhere zoned plagioclasephenocrystswere found, the more calcic zone
is andesine,near the labradorire boundary,AboArnoand the less calcic zone is on
the oligoclase-andesine boundary,AbT0Am0. Twinning is prominent in the plagio-
clase according to the albite and carlsbad laws. Biotite phenocrystsare com-
mon in brown, stronglypleochroicflakes. In a few casesmagnetiterods inte/'-
grown with the biotite were observed. This mineral is altered to chlorite and red-
brown hematite. The only accessoryminerals noted were scattered needles and
grains of apatite and zircon; the former mineral is relatively abundant in some
sections.
The groundmassof the quartz latite porphyry is very fine grained, and altera-
tion is so intense that it is difficult to determine accurately the minerals present or
to describethe original texture. Microscopically,under high magnification,'the
groundmassappearsto be made up entirely of feldspar. Some of the feldspar is
andesinein well-defined laths or microlites, and some of it has an index below that
of the quartz phenocrysts
and is probablyorthoclaseor sanidine. It is difficultto
determinethe relative percentageof the two feldspar varieties, but a fair estimate
would be about 50-50 (Fig. 16). The texture of the groundmasshas been de-
scribedas microgranitic,locallytrachytic, and, in placeswhere microlitesare found,
as pilotaxitic. The texture, in general,differs little from that of a rhyolite.
Several chemicalanalysesof the freshestOruro. rocks have been publishedby
Kittl 2 and Jaskolski? but in view of the alteration of the rocks the value of these
analysesfor classificationpurposesis somewhatdoubtful. The average of three
publishedanalyses,when comparedwith the granodioriteand dacite,indicatesthat
the Oruro rocks have about the same silica content as dacite and granodiorite;
somewhatless AhO0; less CaO than the granodioriteand more than the dacite;
somewhatmore Na=O and somewhatmore K20. The analysesare similar to that
of the averagedacite,but the greater amountof KO and smalleramountof CaO
indicatethat it is more alkalicthan daciteand, [herefore,nearerthe composition
of a quartz latite.
-In summary,the averagemineral compositionof the Oruro intrusive

rocksprior to alterationis estimatedto havebeen35 to 40 percentandesine,
25 to 30 percentsanidine,20 percentquartz and 15 percentbiotite. The
averagemineralogical composition of quartz latitesand granodiorites is as
follows:30 percentalkali feldspar,30 percentplagioclase feldspar,20 per-
cent quartz, and 25 percentdark minerals--biotiteand hornblende.The
Oruro rocks,therefore,have somewhatmore plagioclasefeldsparand some-
what lessremic mineralsthan the usual quartz latite. Consideringthe por-
phyrytictexture,the very finegroundmass, the ratioof plagioclase
to sanidine,
the considerableamountof quartz and biotite,and finally the chemicalcom-
position,the rock may be classifiedas a q.uartz latite porphyry.
Eartrusive Rocks.--Several areas of extrusive rocks occur in the Oruro
district,but as far as is known,lava flowsin the usualsenseare not intimately
12Kittl, E., An/disis de roeas eruptivas de Bolivia: Revista Minera (Oruro), vol. 2, pp.
49-52, Feb., 1927.
xa Jaskolski, S., Arch. de Mineralogle, Soe. Sei. Varsovie, vol. 8. p. 17, 1932.
associated
with the oredeposits,
andnonehasbeenrecognized in the mines.
Campbellmapped several
areasof lavaonthe surface
in theneighborhoodof
Cerro SantaBarbara,Cerro Serrato,and Cerro Guackallusta, and southwest
of Cerro SantaBarbara. Also, Kozlowskiand Jaskolski 4 describeda small
blockof daciticlavaoverlyingshaleon a smallhill about1 kilometerwestof
CerroSan Pedro. Other outcropsof extrusiverock may occur,particularly
in the southern
part of the Cerrosde Oruro,but theyhavenot beenstudied
or mapped.
The lava flow that outcropson the north slopeof Cerro Guackallusta is
25 feet or more thick and has pronounced flow bandingwhich is inclined
20 E. It is composed of light-gray,fine-grained
quartzlatiteand,unlikethe
other quartz latite of the Oruro hills, is not porphyritic. Massivequartz
latiteporphyry,withoutbanding,bothunderliesandoverliesthe Guackallusta
flow. The field relations here indicate that both the massive rock and the
flow-bandedquartz latite are extrusives. However, on the east slope of
Cerro Rubiales,theserocksappearto gradeinto massiveporphyrywhichin
depth is known to be intrusive.
On the basisof theseobservations,the conclusionseemsjustified that the
lava flowson the outskirtsof the San Josdstock,particularlythosethat un-
derlie Cerro Guackallustaand Cerro Serrato, are probably the extrusive
equivalentsof the San Jos stock and probablyformed contemporaneously
with it.
In view of the geometricshapeof the San Jos stock (dikelike in depth
and with much greater horizontal extent on the surface), the problem
naturallyarisesas to whetherthe upperextentof the stockis an intrusiveor
extrusivebody. It certainlyis not a lava flow, or assemblage of lava flows;
but the massas a whole, abovethe elevationwhere it changesfrom a dike-
like body with definite intrusive relationsto a broad shield or dome-shaped
pluton,may be an extrusivebody of an unusualtype. The problemis con-
siderd
furtherunderthesection
onthemethod
ofemplacement
oftheigneous
rocks.
Method of Eraplacementof the I#neous Rocks.--The shapeand general
field relations of the intrusive bodies,the attitude of the associatedlava flows,
andthe textureof the quartzlatiteporphyryindicatethat the stocksand dikes
of the Oruro Hills were near-surface intrusions. The fact that the intrusive
porphyrybodieswere, at least in part, contemporaneouswith lava flows and
at placesgrade into them, is additional indicationthat this conclusionis
correct.
At least locally,forcibleinjectionplayed somepart during igneousintru-

sion. In several localitiesfolding of the Oruro formation becomesmore
intenseas the contactsbetweenporphyryand argillite are approached, and in
a few placesthe folded beds have been actually bowed upward by the force
of igneous intrusion. A good example of this relation is illustrated in
Figure 15.
The San Josdpluton is the only body sufficientlywell known in three
dimensions to warrant detailed consideration of its classification as a rock
x Kozlowski, R., and Jaskolski, S., op. cit.

352 F. M. CHACE.
body and its methodof emplacement.The body has beencalleda stock,

an ethmolith,and a laccolith,but its size, form, and structural relationsto the
surroundingsedimentarystrata make usage of these terms questionable.
Resemblance to certainvolcanicbodiesis suggested by the shapeof the pluton,
with feedingdikesflaringupwardinto a planoconvex bodyat the surface;by
the abundanceof post-intrusivebrecciaalong its contacts,indicatingexplo-
sivevolcanicactivity;by the absence of chilledcontacts;andby the associated
lava flows. Its resemblance to the intrusivestockat Llallaguais probably
significant,althoughits volcanicaffinitiesare not as pronouncedas in that
district. Concerning the origin of the stockat Llallagua,Turneaure wrote
as follows:
The Salvadora intrusive is a cross-cuttingbody with the form of an inverted

conewhose walls dip inward at steepangles. The abundanceof breccia and the
obscurity of chilled contactsindicate that explosive action was involved in its de-
velopment;and thesefacts together with its form suggesta volcanic neck or crater.
Thereisconsiderable
meritin theideathatth SanJospluton,
andpos-
siblythe other plutonsof the Oruro district,similar to the body at Llallagua,
are volcanicnecksand occupyventsformedby explosivereaming.
Schmedeman, 6 in discussingthe classificationand characteristicsof ore
depositsassociated with volcanicactivity, has suggestedthe possibilitythat
"the great majority of stocksand bossesunder two miles in diameter,and
many over that size, fill channelsoriginally formed by explosivereaming."
Daly,7 Walker,x8 and Emmonsx9 also have pointed out the possibilitythat
certain igneousbodiesoccupyexplosionvents. The mechanismby which
stocksform in volcanicnecksis not well understood,but someof the general
featuresof the processmay be noted. From the shape,contents,and rela-
tionshipsof suchbodies,it seemsprobablethat, during the rise toward the
surfaceof batholithicmagma,gas pressurebuildsup locallyto suchan extent
that when confiningpressuresare exceeded,an explosiontakes place form-
ing a volcanicpipe or chimney. The circular hole or "diatreme"formed in
thisway is usuallyfilledwith brokenrock fragments,and is sometimes, though
not always,localizedalong a structuralline of weakness,suchas at the inter-
sectionof two faults. Subsequently, in certainplaces,magmaflowedquies-
centlyup into the pipe, cementingthe brecciafragmentswith igneousrock.
In other casesthe brecciais penetratedby numerousdikes, but the rock frag-
ments remain uncemented. The final stageof the processis observedwhere
the explosionbrecciais completelyassimilatedor displacedby a columnof
intrusive rock forming a volcanicplug or boss. According to Walker,2
x5 Turneaure, F. S., The tin deposits of Llallagua, Bolivia: EcoN. GEo,-., vol. 30, p. 17,
1935.
xoSchmedeman,O. C., Interrelated problems of volcanic activity and ore genesis: Ph.D.
Thesis, Harvard Univ., pp. 51 and 61, 1937.
x?Daly, R. A., Igneous Rocks and the Depths of the Earth, p. 102, 1933.
XaWalker, R. T., Mineralized volcanic explosion pipes: Eng. and Min. Jour., vol. 126,
pp. 895-898, 939-942, 976-984, 1928.
x9 Emmons, W. H., Diatremes and certain ore-bearing pipes: Am. Inst. Min. Met. Eng.
Tech. Pub. no. 891, 1938.
2oWalker, R. T., Op. eit.
IN-SILVER VEINS OF ORURO,BOLIVIA. 353
explosion
ventsof thistypeare characterized
by nearlyverticalwalls,vary
from a few hundredfeet to 3 milesin diameter,and are roughlyellipticalin
plan,althoughin detailtheymaybe very irregular. Many examples of the
association
of ore depositswith volcanicnecksor brecciapipesare known:
CrippleCreek,Colo.;Cerrode Pasco,Peru; Braden,Chile; and Llallagua,
Boliviaare well knownoccurrences.To this list may be addedOruro.
It seemsprobablethat at Oruro explosiveactivity followinga structural
line of weaknessdevelopeda long narrow orifice,rather than the usualcir-
cular hole associatedwith diatremes,and that this orifice was later filled by
quartz latite porphyrydike material. It is possibleat Oruro that viscous
magmarising throughthe elongatedopenings,now representedby dikes on
the lower mine levels;extruded as viscouslava. On reachingthe surface
'the lava spreadlaterally,giving rise to the transition,observablein the San
Jos pluton,from intrusiveto extrusiverelationsand resultingin a bodywith
a horizontal cross-sectional area considerablygreater on the surfacethan at
depth.
In many placeswhere ore depositsare associatedwith volcanicnecksor
pipes, pre-intrusiveexplosionbrecciasare a prominentfeature. However,
at Oruro, althoughthere is much post-intrusivebreccia,pre-intrusivebrec-
cias have not been recognized;and no evidencehas been found of an early
breccia,now cementedor assimilatedby quartz latite porphyry. It is possible,
of course,that sucha brecciaexistedand was entirelyassimilatedor replaced;
or that, in fact, it doesexist and hasnot beenrecognized.
The San Jos Breccia.'
The youngestconsolidatedrock of the district is a coarsebreccia com-

posedof subangularto roundedfragmentsof light-gray altered quartz latite
porphyry and dark argillite in a black matrix of fine-grained, pulverized
argillite. The fragmentsrange in size from a few millimetersto one meter
or more in diameter,with the porphyryuniformlylarger than the argillite
'pieces. They are irregularly distributedthroughthe matrix with no sugges-
tion of sorting,bedding,or flow structure(Figs. 17, 18, 19).
The San Jos breccia,2 namedfor the mine where it is best exposed,is
foundonly in the vicinityof the mines,whereit occursin dikes,lenses,pipes,
and irregular bodies. It has a decidedtendencyto follow the contactsbe-
tween porphyry an.d argillite, although crosscuttingbodies are common.
Brecciabodieshavenot beenfoundin the argilliteor in the quartzlatite por-
phyry far from their mutual-contacts, but not all parts of the contactshave
brecciabodies. Figures 8, 9, and 10 show the typical outline of the masses
in planandsection. Clasticdikesare presentlocallycuttingthe largerbreccia
masses,indicatingthat brecciationoccurredin two stages.
A definite relationshipbetweensize and distributionof fragmentsand
porphyry-argillitecontactsis observable in severalcrosscuts throughthe brec-
cia bodiesin the San Jos mine. In many places,the brokenpiecesof por-
2x The term "explosive" breccia used by. Campbell for this rock may be somewhat more de-
scriptive, but a noncommitalterm seemsbetter than one which indicates a mode of origin that
may be debatable.
354 F. M. CHACE.
phyry increasein numberand sizetowardthe igneousrock bodies,whereas

toward the argillite, they decreaseuntil the brecciais made up entirely of
pulverizedargillite. The contactwith porphyryis sharp,but usuallyit is
difficult to place accuratelythe limit betweenargillite and breccia unless
stratificationis unusuallyprominent in the sediments. The comminuted
argillite doesnot differ in appearancefrom argillite with a uniform texture
and no bedding. A similar gradationalrelationand distributionof fragments
has been observedvertically in the mines. Toward the surfacethe frag-
ments increasein size and number. In the smaller breccia massesgrada-
riohal relationsare not present.
The largestand most noteworthybrecciabody in the district is a pipe
that outcropson the eastslopeof Todos SantosHill, a short distancefrom the
San Josdmine office,and which has been traced 300 m down through the
mine to the --200 level. Figure 20 is a block diagram of this brecciapipe
and illustratesthe outline and vagariesof the brecciamasseg.
Microscopic Description.--Under the microscope,the clastic nature of the
breccia is clearly seen (Fig. 21). The porphyry fragments are subangular and
are highly altered to quartz, sericite, and pyrite. The argillite pieces are less
clearly defined, but are in places distinctly broken. The dike matrix is a very
fine-grainedaggregate of detrital quartz grains and sericite with an abundanceof
carbonaceous material,probablyderivedfrom the disintegrationof the argillite. In
places,a flow structureis present,suggestingmovementof particlesdur.ing em-
placement,although flowage lines or parallel alignment of fragments are not ap-
parent megascopically. The matrix contains no trace of igneous material, and
therefore, is nonigneousin origin; i.e., it is not congealedmagma.
Relative
t#eof theSa JosBreccia.--It
hasbeengenerally
agreed
that
the San Jos6 brecciais younger than the Oruro formation and the quartz
latite porphyry intrusivebodies. This conclusionis basedon the composi-
tion and structureof the breccia,the distributionof the porphyry fragments,
and the intrusiverelationswherethe brecciacutsthe porphyrybodiesin dikes,
sills, irregular apophyses,and pipe-like bodies. There is no suggestionof
porphyryintrudingbreccia,nor is there any evidencethat igneousmateria!
forms the cement or matrix of the breccia.
Origin of the San Jos Breccia.--Breccia bodies somewhatsimilar to
thoseat the San Jos mine occurin many other mining districts,notablyat
Llallagua, Bolivia; Casapalcaand Morococha,Peru; Sudbury, Ontario;
Nagyagand Verespatak,Hungary; and CrippleCreek, Colo., especiallythe
Cresson
blowout.According
to Turneaure,
22the similarltyof the SanJos
brecciato the post-intrusivebrecciais striking.. At Llallagua, large masses
of coarsebreccia occur along the margin of the Salvadora stock and well
within its border. Furthermore, black clastic dikes, similar to the second-
stagebrecciadikesat Oruro, cut the whiteporphyryof the stock. The frag-
mentsand.matrix of the brecciaat Llallaguaresemblecloselythoseat Oruro
exceptthat thoseassociated with the Salvadorastockare more intensely
altered with about 80 percentof the masshaving been convertedto black
tourmaline.
22 Personal communication. Details of the Llallagua breccia are described in "The tin de- .
positsof Llallagua, Bolivia": EcoN. G.or.,vol. 30, no. 1, p. 19, 1935.
SURFACE
50 LEVEL
I00
LEVEL
I0 LEVEL
Fro. 20. Blockdiagramshowingtheoutlineof the SanJos6brecciapipe. The

blocksare arrangedto showthe relativepositionand shapeof the pipe on the
surface and on several mine levels.
355
356 F. M. CHACE.
Numerousexplanations
have beengiven for the origin of the San Jos
breccia. The resemblance of these breccias to those formed in connection
with volcanicactivityis striking,and formationunder near-surface condi-
tionsby explosiveforcesmorenearlyaccounts for the factsthan any other
explanation.It is mostprobablethat the brecciasformedby explosiveac-
tivity, which followedlines of weaknessparallelto rock contactsand sub-
sidiaryfractures,and causedshatteringof the wall rocksalongfissuresand
violentchurningof the brokenrocks,thus roundingthe fragmentsand en-
largingthe channelways.Probably,the explosiveforceextendedto the sur-
face,propellingsomeof the fragmentsbeforeit and scatteringddbrisover the
surroundingregion. Possiblysomeof the fragmentssettledback into the
pipes;but the attitude,positionandshapeof manyof the bodiesindicatethat
they were not all exposedto the surfaceand couldnot representfillingsof
cavitiesthus exposed.
Many of the smaller,morepersistentdikessuggestthat they were formed
by the intrusionof a "mudlike"massunder high pressure,possiblyaccom-
paniedby magmatic
.water.
The sourceof the explosiveforce is a matter of interestingspeculati6n.
The breccias were formed somewhat later than the intrusion and solidification
of the quartzlatiteporphyries,and prior to the flow of mineralizingsolutions
that formedthe ore bodies. It is probablethat thesewere closelyrelated
phenomena, and that they hadtheir origin in a magmachamberat depth,from
whichthe porphyrymagma,the forceof brecciation,and later the ore solutions
were given off. The suddenreleaseand escapeof pent-upgasesunder high
pressurewould undoubtedlyhave rsulted in the shatteringof countryrock,
the churningof rock fragments,and the formationof brecciabodiesof the
San Jos type.
THE ORE DEPOSITS.
The tin-silver ore depositsof Oruro occur in a complexgroup of veins

whichoccupya belt roughly2,000 m long and 1,200 m wide (1.24 x 0.75
miles) trendingN. 60 W. acrossthe centralpart of the "Cerrosde Oruro."
The leaseboundariesof CompafiiaMinera de Oruro, shown in Figure 6,
roughly outlinethe mineralizedarea.
Two distincttypesof ore bodiesoccurin the Oruro district,and although
they are gradationalin character,they have a distinctlydifferentmineralogy
and occurrencethat require different mining methodsand different metal-
lurgicalprocesses.Thesetypesare:
(a) primary sulphideore bodiesminedfor their silver and tin contentby under-
ground methods. Small amountsof copperand lead have be&nproduced
from this sourcein the past, and during World War II considerableanti-
mony was recovered.
(b) "pacos"or oxidizedore bodies,formerlyrich in silver,but now minedfor
their tin contentalone by open-cutmethodsat the surfaceand to a lesser
extent in shallow undergroundworkings.
(a) The primarysulphideore bodiesare foundin veinsin the San Jos
and Itos quartzlatite porphyrystocks,or contiguous
to them,and occurgeo-
graphicallyin four clusters,eachof whichis a centerof mineralizationand is

characterized
by a distinctfracturesystemthat extendsto an appreciable
depth. The four major clustersare:
(1) San Jos4cluster (3) La Coloradaduster
(2) San Luis cluster (4) Tetillacluster'
Althoughthe groupingof the Oruro veinsarounddefinitecentersis not
readilyapparenton the surface,
wheremanyfracturesandveinsare scattered
at randomthroughthe mineralizedarea, on the lower mine levelsthe cluster-
ing is readilydiscerniblelThree of the vein clustersare shownclearlyin
Figure22, a generalized
map. The fourthclusterliesto the southand is no
longer accessible.
Theveinsof eachcluster
forma complex
systen,
differgreatlyin per-
sistence,and vary in width and structuraldetail. The longestveins, the
Purisima,the Bronce,andthe Carnaval-Moropoto, havebeenfollowed500 m
horizontally.The Bronceveinhasbeenminedto a verticaldepthof 400 m
belowthe outcrop;the San Luis vein to a depthof 600 m. The others
are lessextensive. The veinsthemselves are relativelythin tabularbodies
andusuallyhavewell-defined walls,but in manyplacesthe endof ore is an
"assaylimit." The averageminingwidththroughout the districtis lessthan
onemeter,but in a few placesstopesas wide as 15 m havebeenmined,par-
ticularlyon the SanJosand SanLuisveins. Ore tendsto occurin clearly-
delineatedshoots, but manybodiesof mineableore gradealongtheir strikes
into veinmaterialtoo poorto be worked.
During the periodfrom 1930to 1940,the primarysulphideore wasthe
majorsourceof supplyandyieldedthegreaterpartof thetin andsilverproduc-
tion of the district. However,with the exhaustion
of the primaryoresin
recentyears,they havebeenthe sourceof only about50 percentof the tin
mined,althoughthey continueto be the solesourceof silver in the district.
(b) The pacosorebodiesform a part of the cappingor thin blanketof
oxidizedrockscoveringthe surfaceat the outcropof the major veins. The
ore is foundin pockets,
irregularbodies,and a multitudeof smallveinletsand
extendsto variabledepthsbelowthe surface,dependinguponthe depthof
oxidation. The veins,noticeably, have beenoxidizedconsiderably deeper
thanthe adjacentwall rocks. The small,narrowveinsare oxidizednot more
than25 m in places,
whereas thelarge,persistent
veinshavebeenaffected by
surface
agencies downto 150m belowthe outcropin the deepest
places.
During the Colonialperiod,the pacosoreswere minedfor their silver
contentalone,and tin was ignored. Now the bonanzasilver ores are ex-
hausted,
and tin is the only product. In spiteof manyyearsof intensive
exploration,
theseoresstill yielda substantial
tonnage,
andduringthe past
five yearshaveaccounted
for abouthalf of the tin ore mined.
The Vein System.

The oredeposits
of Oruroformedpartlyby open-space
fillingandpartly
by replacement
alonga complexsystemof pre-mineral
fractures.The min-
358 F. M. CHACE.
eralization coincideswith a block of ground in which the rocks have failed

along numerouscomplexfractures,intricate in detail, yet systematicthrough-
out the district. In their double function as channelwaysfor ore-bearing
solutionsand as loci for deposition these fractures governed the position,
shape,and size of the ore bodies,and, therefore, may be properly regarded
as the structuresmost capableof direct serviceto the mining geologistin the
searchfor new veins and ore shoots. The distributionof the veins was gov-
erned by the pre-ore fracture pattern, and the localizationof tin and silver
in rich ore shootsalongindividualveinswas determinedto a large extent by
minor structuralfeaturesalong the specificbreaks.
Although mapping of the details of each fracture zone and its classifica-
tion into a distinctivesystemmay lead to empiricalresultsof practicalvalue,
an adequateunderstandingof thesefeaturesis not likely to be attained until
they can be correlatedwith the regionaldeformation,and until somemeasure
of understandingis attained of the behavior of the rocks in the given as-
semblagewhen subjectto stress. An effort toward sucha correlationis made
in this study,thoughit is realizedthat our presentknowledgehardly justifies
more than tentative opinions regarding the stressesinferred from the ob-
served strains.
/.:a o N
v 5t 2,.';" ....
.' 4 z ,' '*"
* " ,. , '"&"3":r. *
. "..'
....."v v/' v . q v. ' "/
Breccio Vein
'
Porphyr

-200 Oruro Foult
formotion Oontoct
...'.....
SN JOSE MINE
ORUROBOLIVIA
4
V
Vq&
q & q-tO0
I I
METERS I o OFPN VEINS
, . IOD LEVEL
FIG. 23. Generalizedmap of the principalveins on the -100 level, San Jos mine,
and the correspofiding
level of the Socav6nmine.
"- - a v',:i./h,-X v 4 .
.,, _ _ .,/./XA;;
zoo .[ . 'b'_? '////'. +tO0
/ ';.' "".
o o
EXPLANATION
Breccia Vein
Porphyry Foult
Oruro formation Ontoct

- oo SANJOSE
MINE , - oo
o .o
ORURO
BOLIVIA
METERS
+ 150 LEVEL
Fro.24. Generalized
mapof theprincipal
veinsonthe-150 level,SanJos'mine,
and correspondinglevel of Socav6nmine.
Thedistribution andgeneral patternof theveinsona well-developed

mine
levelareillustrated
in Figure22. The seriesof illustrations,
Figures23, 24,
and25, shows the veinson threesuccessive minelevels;and,although the
veinsdifferconsiderablyin structural
detailon eachlevel,thegeneralgroup-
ing and attitudeof the structuresare persistentfrom level to level. The
generalcharacteristicsof the Oruro fracture systemare describedin some
detailin the followingpages.
(1) 3'anJos Cluster.--Thisgroupis madeup of someof the largest,
mostextensiveveinsof the districtand includesthe Purisima,Inch, Quin-
tanilla, Rasgo,PurisimaChica,Bronce,Nueva, Alacranes,San Isidro, San
Juanand SanJosveins. Theseoccurin a broadarc-shaped area,convex
to the northwith the prominentveinsswingingin a broadarc from a north-
west strike at the southeast to a southwest strike at the northwest.
(2) 3'an Luis Cluster.--In the Itos mine,'550 m to the west of the San
Josgcluster,is the SanLuisveingroup. This is a setof subparallel veins
'witha generalnorthweststrike,roughlyat right anglesto the strikeof the
contactbetweenthe Itos stockand the Oruro formation(Figs. 26, 27).
. . . , .. . 11
// ! f , <',(//h
,'. //.
' ///>.4 . ., <
-00
Oruro formotion Contoct
SAN ,lOSE MINE -zoo
ORURO
BOLIVIA p .

I I
METERS
.o
I I o
ENERALIZED
'F. PRINClPAL
VEINS
MAP
, , 4q
FXG.25. Generalized
mapof the principalveinson the -200 level,San Jos&mine,
and correspondinglevel of Socav6nmine.
.Three well-defined vein sets occur in the San Luis cluster. The first and
mostimportantstrikesN 40-60 W and.dipsbothnorthand south45-80;
it includesthe San Luis vein, one of the mostproductiveveinsof the dis-
trict, as well as the Dolores,Santo Tomas, Nazareno, Itos II, Ramo II, and
Ramo IV. The secondset strikesN 70o-80 W and dips 70o-80 N.
Severalstrongstructures andmanyjointsare includedin thisset,but no im-
portantveins. The third set strikesN 25 E and dips55o-70 N, parallel
to the contactbetweenthe Itos stockandthe Oruroargillite. Only oneim-
portantvein, the Carnaval,occursin this group,and this followsthe rock
contactvery closely. Minor fracturesand joints,a few of whidhare minera-
lized, also are included in this set.
(3) La ColoradaCluster.--Aparallelgroupof veinsstrikinguniformly
north-northeast (N 20o-25 E) and dipping55o-60 southeast
occursin La
Colorada mine. The Grandeand Moropotoveinsare importantmembers of
this cluster. The Moropotovein may be consideredthe northeastextension
of the Carnavalveinin the Itosmine,and,similarly,followsthe rockcontact.
362 F. M. CHOICE.
oI
,.44
0 v: tt
200 . ." +200
.-
m/.: ItOS
porphyry
Oruro formotion
VEIN SYSTEM w;n

.. .....
I TOS MINE d[noc

0 0
0 20 40 60 80 I LEVELMAP
,- I ; I 106 ATOHALEVEL
_ METERS 90 .ESPERANZALEVEL .
Fx6. 26. Map of the 106 Atocha and 96 Esperanza levels of the Itos mine
showingthe principal veins and their relation to the contactbetweenthe Itos stock
and the Oruro formation.
The veins of this cluster becomemore complicatedand increasein number

near the surface and include the Amarilla, Amarilla II, Lindero, and Grande
II veins,all of which join the Grandevein in depth.
(4) Tetilla Cluster.--The fourth vein cluster is on the east and south
slopeof Tetilla Mountain (Fig. 6) about one kilometer south of the other
groups.-a The extent and characteristicsof the veins worked here during
the Colonialperiod are not known, as the mine has beenabandonedfor many
years. However, a map publishedby Wiener showsa long adit which cuts
28 Wiener, P.M., Les mines d'argent d'Oruro, Bolivie: Annales des Mines, set. 9. T. 5, pp.
511-520, 1894.
-250 I EXPLANATION
(uorfz Ioflfe
porphyry
,,10
Oruro formorlon
-0
Vela
-410
:445 AN LUIS VEIN SYSTEM

-40
i
ITOS
MINE i ,i
CROSS SECTION N30eE
THROUGH No2 SHAFT
Fro. 27. Section through the Itos mine showing the vein pattern. Although
in crosssectionthe veinswith oppositedip appearto form a conjugatepattern,they
diverge 30 to 40 in strike and, therefore, are not truly conjugate. However,
individual membersof the cluster are conjugate,with parallel strikes and opposite
dips. (Modified after Backelsand Campbell.)
363
364 F. M. CHACE.
eightveinsin a distanceof about625 m. Theseveinsapparentlystrikefrom

N 15 wtoN25 E.
Besidesthe major vein clusters,numeroussmall veins which have been
vorkednearthesurface
arescattered
throughout
themineralized
area. These
veins do not persistin depth, and althoughthe vein fracturesundoubtedly
were due to the same stressesthat causedthe major fracture systems,it is
not readilyapparent,exceptfrom their geographic position,with whichof the
vein clustersthey are allied.
Relationof Veins to PorphyryBodies.--The attitudesof the veinsshowa
fairly consistentrelationshipto the shape,directionof elongation,and con-
tacts of the quartz latite porphyrybodieswith which they are associated.
In general,one set strikesparallel,and anotherat right anglesto the elonga-
tion of the porphyrystocks. In the Itos minethis relationship is particularly
well shown(Fig. 26). The majorgroup,including'the SanLuis vein,strikes
normalto the contactand anothergroup, represented principallyby the
Carnaval-Moropoto vein, is parallelto the long directionof the stockand for
a considerable distanceis actuallyon the contactbetweenporphyryand
argillite.
In the SanJosdand Socav6nminesa similarrelationship is shown,though
here the patternis complicatedby the irregularitiesof the intrusionand the
interveningbandsof argillite(Fig. 25). Most of the veinsin theseminesare
parallelto the longdirectionof the porphyrybodies. Anotherset,including
the Rasgo,Nueva,and SanJosdveins,however,strikesat right anglesto the
elongation.
On the upperlevelsand surface,the igneousrockbodieshavea roughly
ellipticaloutcroppatternwithout a pronounced extensionin one direction.
Therefore,the relationis not apparent. However, the strike of the veins
on the surfaceis the sameas in.depthand is probablydeterminedby the shape
of the porphyrybodieson the lower mine levels.
Each of the three wall rocks,porphyry,argillite,and breccia,behaved
differentlyunderstress;and failureproduced fractureswith markedlydif-
ferentcharacteristics,
depending uponthe rocktypein whichit occurred.
In fracturing,the quartz latite porphyrybehavedas a brittle rock.
Through-going linesof fracturewere formedin it and resultedin the com-
plex vein pattern. At the surface,mostof the knownveinsare in the por-
phyry,but in depththe relationis lessclear,althoughthere is somereason
for believingthat the veinsare neverfar from porphyry.
Contactsbetweenporphyryand argillite,and porphyryand brecciawere
favorableplacesfor theformationof strongfractures.In manyplacesveins
followcontacts,as an inspection of the levelmapswill verify. Partsof the
Purisima,Inch,and Bronceveinsare on contacts parallelto the longdirection
of the quartzlatite porphyryplutons. The Carnaval-Moropoto vein in La
Coloradaminefollowsan argilliteseptumbetweentwo porphyrybodiesfor
a longdistance,but in depththe fracturesflattenand departfromthe contact.
The ore bodies of the Itos mine were localized at the east contact of the
Itos quartz latite porphyrystockand are almostentirelyon the porphyry
side of the contact.
The argillite,shaleandslateof the Oruroformationgenerally behaved in-

competently duringthe deformation that producedthe pre-mineralfractures,
andyieldedmoreby plasticdeformation thanby fracturing. Through-going
lines of fracture in it are not common,exceptin a few places. Faults in
the argillite are usuallyirregularand discontinuous,and tend to dip more
flatly than in other rocks.
Fracturespassingfrom porphyryinto argillite at the contactgenerally
changein strike,flattenin dip, anddie out in a shortdistance
in the argillite.
This is well illustratedby the San Luis vein whereit extendsfrom the Itos
stockinto argillite. Singewaldand Miller 24notedthe tendencyfor veinsto
die out in argilliteand described
oneexampleas follows:
The Rasgo vein runs into slate and changesits charactercompletelyat the
contact,for, whereasin the porphyry it is a well-definedvein rich in tin, in the
slate it splitsup'into a numberof minutestringerslessthan 1 cm. wide, which
carry no cassiteriteor iron sulphides,but consistentirely of the argentiferous
sulphantimonidescarrying 1 or 2 percent silver.
The Grandevein belowthe -- 116 level, La Coloradamine, is an exception
to the generalrule becauseit is entirelyin argillite,and is still a strongvein
60 m beneaththis level. However, in this case,the argillite is hard and
brittle,probablyfrom contactmetamorphism.As far as is known,no other
vein occursin the hard, massiveargillite.
The San Jos brecciacrackedwith ease,and manyveinsare found in it.
The brecciaitself doesnot appearto be a brittle rock, and, therefore,as the
brecciabodiesare relativelysmalland are foundonly near the porphyry,its
tendencyto fracture readilyprobablyreflectsthe influenceof the brittle por-
phyry. Many fracturesfollowdoselythe contactbetweenporphyryand San
Jos breccia,probablyindicatingthat the contactareaswere linesof structural
weakness. Numerousother veins crosscutbrecciabodiesat right anglesto
their contactswith prophyry. This is especiallynoticeableon the upper
mine levelsand on the surface,whereboth the Moroiotoand Grandeveins
traverse breccia for over 100 m.
The San Josdvein is a goodexampleof a strongfault zonecrosscutting
San Jos brecciafor a relativelylong distance. On the - 100 level it cuts
brecciafor over 200 m beforeenteringslate,whereason the -200 level it
followsbrecciafor over 75 m beforepassinginto the Oruro formationand
dying out in a "horsetail"zone.
Strike and Dip Groups.--When the veins of the three clustersare con-
sideredindependentlyof their enclosingrock bodies,it is found that they
strike at all azimuths. However,it is possibleto classifythem roughlyinto
two strike groups. The two directions,N 300-60 W and N 200-60 E,
includeall of the importantveins.
The veinsrangein dip from 40 to verticalwith the averagebetween55
and 60. Dips flatterthan 400 are rarelyfound. The individualveinsvary
considerably in inclinationfrom placeto place,and somereversalsin dip are
found.
24 Singewald, J. T., Jr., and Miller, B. L., Mineral Deposits of South America, pp. 110-114,
New York, 1919.
366 F. M. CHACE.
xxx,
PLAN
SECTION
FIG. 28. Typesand characteristics

of the pre-mineralfracturesthat guided
ore depositionin the Oruro district are shoxvnin plan and section.
A. Shingle Structure. Map of a part of the Purisimavein on the -200 level,
San Jos mine, showingtwo flat S-shapedand one arc-shapedfracture arranged
en chelon. These fracturesare a combinationof shear and tensionbreaks; the
main part of the fracturesformed by shearing,but where they curve from the
average trend, failure was due to tension.
B. Shingle Structure. Map of anotherpart of the Purisima vein on the 3rd
level of the Socav6nmine where the vein followsa seriesof overlapping,en
chelonfractureswith severalflat-S, reverse-Sand arc-shapedbreaks. The indi-
vidual fracturesare a rather short, discontinuous
succession
of shear breaks that
curve into tension fractures and die out. In one case where a shear fracture
curvesfrom its averagestrike, it dies out in a "horsetail." In anotherplace,a
seriesof short, parallel tensionfractures occupythe en chelon gap betweentwo
shear planes.
C. Shingle Structure. Map of the pre-mineral fractures that controlledmin-
eralization on the -200 level, San Jos vein. Here the vein follows a relatively
strong,persistent,curving shearbreak with numeroussubordinateparallel shears.
The Vein Types.

'Thepre-mineral
fracturing
resulted
inseveral
distinctive
veintypes;
and,
in order to appreciatetheir structuralvagaries,it is necessary
to studythe
detailsof the early fracturingin three dimensions
and to recognizetheir char-
acteristicsin both plan and section. The typesand characteristics
of the pre-
mineral fracturesthat guidedore depositionin the ruro districtare shown
in plan and sectionin Figure 28.
Throughout the mineralized area, the pre-mineral fractures form a sur-
prisingly consistentseriesof curving faults, generallyarrangeden dchelon.
Singlebreaksrarelyextendthe lengthof a vein,but the mineralization usually
followsthe courseof a succession of parallel,curving,and overlappingcracks
which split and die out within a shortdistancefrom where they bendaway
from the average trend. Individual fractures are found with a variety of
shapes;very flat-S or reversecurves,reverseS's, and arc-shapedcracksare
the most common.
The pre-mineralfracturesare usuallywell defined,and alongtheir straight
parts, the walls are readily followed. They are usuallypolishedsmoothand
commonlyhave striae, mullion, and gouge along them. The shapeof the
fractures,with the striaeand gougealongthem, is indicativeof shearbreaks;
and the straightparts of the fracturesprobablyformed by shearing. Where
the shearplanescurvefrom the averagetrend and die out, failure was proba-
bly causedby tension. Characteristictensionfractures,suchas "horsetails,"
andshort,closely
spaced,
parallel
breaks,
forming
sheeted
ground
at anacute
angleto the trend of the main fracture,are common.
The individual units of the pre-mineral fracture pattern range in hori-
zontal length from a few centimetersto 100 m. The main break of the San
Jos vein on the -100 level is 100 m long, whereaselsewherein the vein none
of the fractures can be traced farther than 30 m. The unit fractures are
more persistentdown the dip than along their strike. The longestone that
was measuredalongthe dip formsthe hangingwall of the San Josdvein be-
tweenthe 75 Intermediateand the -150 levelsin the San Josdmine. It was
traced continuouslythrough the stopesfrom level to level for 95 m. A
As the main shear dies out along the strike, it curves into a "horsetail" zone of
tension fractures.
D. Sheeted Structure. Map of 90 Esperanza level, Itos mine, showing
"sheeted"veins. The pre-mineral fractures are sheetedbreaks, closely spaced,
straight,and parallel, as in a typically sheetedrock.
E. Shingle Structure. Cross sectionthrough the Grande vein showing the
shinglestructureto best advantage. The pre-mineralfracturesform a seriesof
overlapping,en dchelonbreaks arranged like the shingleson a roof. In going
up the dip, as one fracture dies out, another appearsin the hanging wall across
an en chelon gap. Subparallel fractures occur in the footxvallof the main frac-
tures.
F. Shingle Structure. Section through the Bronce vein showinga variation

of the "shingle" structure.
G. Shingle Structure. Section through the Purisima vein showing character-
istic en &helon and "shingle" structure of pre-mineral fractures.
H. Loop Structure. Sectionthroughthe Broncevein, showing"loop"structure.
+90 +90
' V
,o i'-.'../Z4.v
+ 70 + 70
Minerolization
/ ': Breccia
Porphyry
v Foult
M ETER5
+50 v +50
o CAVON MINE
SANTODOMINGO
LEVEL
Fro. 29. Map of the Quintanillavein, Santo Domingolevel, Socav6nmine,

showingthe closecontrol exertedby pre-mineralfractureson the distributionof
mineralization.
368
similar hanging-wallfractureon the Grandevein of La Coloradamine ex-

tendsfor-30 m alongthe - 116 level and 45 m below it.
The striae alongthe pre-mineralfracturesare alwaysnearly parallelto
thedip,neverd,.eparting
morethan20. Irregularities
in striaeandmullion
suggestthat in manycasesthe hangingwall hasmovedup relativeto the foot-
wall. Possiblytherehasbeensomenormalfaulting,but definiteproofof this
Xvasnot found. The exact amount and direction of displacementis not
known, for there are no offset intersectingstructures;but the movementis
believedto be sma!l,because the fracturesthemselvesare relativelyshortin.
strike.and dip length.' Rock contactsare rarely displacedby the movement
on the fracturesor veins. To cite two outstandingexampleswhere veins
crossingcontactsare well exposed:the contactbetweenbrecciaand argillite
is not offsetby the San Josdvein where it crossesthe rock junctionon the
-200 level; and the contactbetweenporphyryand argillitecut by the San Luis
vein (Fig. 27) likewiseshowsonly slight displacement.
Probablysomehingemovementtook placealong the faults, as indicated
by the changein angleanddirectionof striaeon the samefault surface. Also,
it is probablethat the amount of movementbecomesless as the faults curve
in strike and dip, and horsetailinto weak fractures.
Shingle Veins.--The en dchelonand overlappingrelationsof the veins
suggestthe "shinglestructure"foundat Casapalm,Peru, and describedby
McKinstry and Noble25as follows:
In the porphyry of the Carlos Francisco mine, the veins lie in en &helon or
overlappingrelation to each other locally termed "shinglestructure." Where the
hanging wall "shingle"dies out downward, it is usually connectedwith the foot-
wall vein by a vertical vein which may be wide and rich. In somecasesthe
"shingles"are "reversed";that is, the footwall vein is the one that dies out, and in
this casethere is no strongconnectingvein.
At Oruro the "shinglestructure"is on a much smallerscalethan at
Casapalca; the "shingles"are closertogetherand are not connected
by a link
exceptin a few places. As at Casapalm,whena breakdiesout goingup the
dip of a vein,anotheroneappearsin the hangingwall and overlapsthe foot-
wall break. In somecases,however,the positionis reversedand the en
&helon fracture is in the footwall.
Figure 28 A is a map of a part of the Purisimavein wherethe curving
fracturesare formedwith no complicating factorsand illustratesthe "shingle"
patternin plan. The fracturein the southeastern part of the map, on being
tracednorthwest,has a uniformstrike,but after 25 m, it graduallycurves
to thenorthanddiesout in a shortdistance.Wherethischangetakesplace,
anotherfractureappearsto the left acrossan en &helongap; on beingtraced
this is foundto havea shapesimilarto the first break. It shouldbe noted
that the stopingalongthe vein followsthe curvingfracturesvery faithfully,
but ends where the vein curves to the north.
A morecommonpatternis that illustratedin anotherpart of the Purlsima
veinon the samelevel,shownin Figure28 B andin sectionin Figure28 G.
25McKinstry, H. E., and Noble, J. A., The vdns of Casapalca,Peru: Ecom GoL., vol. 27,
No. 6, pp. 501-522, 1932.
.
' n ''
'3 '/.' Son Jos breccio '

,/.'
, Quortz
lotire
porphyry
:, Froctures
pa
/
...-
.......
Contoot

o mo
,
20
,
30
,
40
'-' LOOP
STRUCTURE O A COLORADA
MOROPOTO
VEIN .a LVL
Fro. 30. Loop structure. Map of a part of the Moropotovein, La Coloradamine,
showinga succession of "loops."
370
There the fracturesfollow a contactbetweenporphyryand argillite and are

a successionof fiat-S, reverseS, and arc-shapedcracks. The main fracture
followedby the San Josvein (Fig. 28 C) is unusuallypersistent, but where
it passestowardthe southfrom brecciainto argillite, it curvesand splitsinto
a spray of closelyspacedcracks. "Horsetail" structureis a fairly common
feature associatedwith the larger fractures, but the relationshipto rock
contactsshownin Figure 28 C is exceptional.
SheetedVeins.--In the Itos mine, veins have formed along sheetedzones
in the porphyry(Fig. 28 D). The sheetedcracksare closelyspaced,straight,
and parallel,as in a typicallysheetedrock. Carefulplottingof dips and
strikesof the jointsin the Itos porphyryshowsthat they form a definitesys-
tem and that the sheetedzonesare alwaysparallelto one of the joint direc-
tions. In fact, the joints themselvesare mineralizedin many places. The
sheetedfracture zones thus appear to be determinedby the joint system
wherethe rock failed alongcloselyspacedcracksparallelto one of the.direc-
tions. It is interestingto note that sheetedveins are absent in the other
porphyrybodiesin the Oruro district,althoughjoints are common.
Loop Veins.--A variation of the "shinglestructure"is found in a few
placeswhere the veins follow a seriesof branchingand reuniting fractures
which form one or more fiat "loops." The veins, in these cases,enclosea
-50 ,50-. '75'.p, -150
"$'OE,b,.,
' ._./ :.,, EXPLANATION
,o;..,,o ,;
METERS
/1 + FOURTH LEVEL
Fro. 31. Map showingbehavior of Purisima, Inch, and Nueva veins

at an intersection.
372 F. M. CHACE.
7.5
VETA
BRONcE
VETA SAN PEDRO
+160
EXPLANATION
Mineralization
Fractures
o I 2 3 4 SAN JOSE MINE

STOPE ABOVE I$0 LEVEL
METE.RS .i ,
Fro. 32. Intersections
of NuevaandSanPedroveins,andBronce
and
Nueva veins.
bi-convexlensor ellipsoid-shaped
bodyof countryrockwhichin a senseis
a "horse." The Bronce vein has a well-developed"loop" betweenthe -280
and -310 levels. It is illustratedin sectionin Figure 28 H.
The Moropotovein of La Coloradamine is, in 'part, made up of a series
of "loops." In severalplaces(Fig. 30), fracturesfollowedby veins have
branched from the main line of the vein, continued for some distance, and
then curved in strike, and reunitedwith the main vein. Drifting and stoping
have followedboth branchesof the vein. The "loops" have formed where
the fracturesfollow a narrow septurnof argillite caughtbetweenthe contacts
of two bodiesof porphyry. Possibly,the long, narrow body of incompetent
argillite localizedfracturinghere, and the curving contactof the massive
porphyryinfluencedrock failure, causingthe branchingand reunitingfrac-
tures to form as a reflectionof the contactshape. In depth,the vein departs
from the septumbecauseof its flatter dip, and the' "loop" structureis no
longer present.
Vein Intesections.--Ihtersections of veins in the Oruro district are re-

markablyfew. The -100 levelmap (Fig. 23) exhibitsfour intersections,
but
only one is betweenimportantveins. This is wherethe Nueva vein crosses
the Bronceand San Pedroveins. The -200 levelplan of the San Jos mine
(Fig. 25) showsno intersections
at all.
.The fracturestendto die out wheretheyapproach oneanother,and even
major fracturezonesof differingstrikecurveawayfrom oneanotherwhen
nearing
junctions.Manyveinssplitalongtheirstrikeanddipin suchplaces
and becomearrangeden chelon. Figure 31, map of a part of the fourth
level of the Socav6nmine, showsthe characteristicbehaviorof fracturesat
intersections.Here, threeveins,Purisima,Inch,andNueva,converge onthe
level,butthefractures splitanddieoutwith no actualcrossing
or offsetting.
In the smallveins,actualcrossingof fracturesare found,but usually
withoutperceptibleoffset. In a few places;displacements
of a few centi-
meters up to one or two meters have been observed. Where the Bronce and
San Pedroveinscrossthe Nuevaveinin the stopea few metersbelowthe
intersectionof theseveins, the Nueva vein has been offset about one meter
(Fig. 32).
The tendency of veinsto splitgoingup the dip in sucha waythat many
morearefoundat the surface thanin depthwaspreviously noted. Normally,
theplacesof splitting
arealsoshownasintersections onthegeneralized maps.
They appearas junctions,but whentheseplacesare studiedin detail,it is
found.that in mostcasesno actualintersection exists. The pre-mineral
frac.
turesbehavedin sectionas theydo in plan; that is, the fracturestendto
dieoutwheretheyapproach
oneanother,
change
'in dip whennearingjunc-.
tions,and resultin the en dchelon
pattern.
In theIt0sandLa Colorada mines,
theopposing
dipof veinsgivesriseto
whatappearto beintersections
onthegeneralized
crosssections.Thesemay
be interpretedeitheras pre-mineralfaultswith offsetof one set of fractures
byanother set,or asa system
formedessentially
contemporaneously,
withno
displacedfractures.TheGrande veinontheupperlevels followsa relatively
fiat dippingfault (40). Severalsteeplydippingveinsare foundon the
hangingwall and footwallof this flat vein. De Wijs26interpretedhis
structureto meanthatthemoresteeplydippingfractureshadbeendisplaced
by theeflatlydippingfaultpriorto mineralization.
However,attempts to.
matchoffsethanging wallandfootwallstructureswerenotsatisfactory.A
more probableexplanationis that the fracturesaboveand belowthe flat fault
are not displaced
segments,
but ratherare unrelatedexceptthat all of the
fractures
in thegroupformedduringthegeneral
cracking
of the regionat
moreor lessthe sametime. Unfortunately,
the upperlevelson theseveins
are no longeraccessible
soit wasnot possible
to studythis structure.
Theveinsin theItosmineforma system withthenortheasterlydipping
fractures
terminating
in depth.against
the SanLuis vein (Fig*.27), which
dipsin theopposite
direction. Otherveinsappearin the footwallof the San '
Luisvein. Possiblythe fracturesfollowedby the San Luisveinfaultedthe
northeasterly-dipping
onespriorto mineralization.
If thisis true,thehang-
26De Wijs, H. J., Private report to CornpafiiaMinera de Oruro.
374 F. M. CHACE.
ing wall veinshave displacedsegmentsin the footwallof the San Luis vein.
However, it is more probablethat most of the cracksof the systemformed
more or lesscontemporaneously, as did thoseof the Grandevein. If this is
true, the hanging-wallveinshaveno displaced segmentsin the footwall;how-
ever,this doesnot precludethe possibilityof veinsbelowthe San Luis vein
whichwere formedindependently of the hanging-wallstructures.
Sequenceof Fracturingand Mineralization.

As previouslystated,the veinsformedin part by replacement and in part
by open-space filling along'the fracturezones. They usuallyhave one well-
definedwall, and in placestwo walls. Locally a strongfissuremarks the
centerof the vein, and the mineralizationgradesaway into the countryrock
to an assaylimit. The combined processes
of open-space
fillingand replace-
menthave beenactivein mostveins,and it may not be possibleto determine
which one has been predominant.In many places,open-space filling is
indicatedby roughbandingin the ore and druse-linedrugs. Elsewhere,
replacementhas beendominant,for residualfragmentsof wall rock partially
replacedare foundin the veins. In this case,no well-definedwall is present,
andthe oregradesoff into the countryrockto a wavy,indeterminate limit.
The pre-mineralfracturesare obliteratedin placesby replacement, but
in generaltheycanbe followedwith ease. In somecases,particularlyin the
long,centralfracturesof the San Josdvein,the fault is markedby a line of
rugselongated parallelto the strikeof thevein. The rugsare linedby quartz
and pyrite crystals,and in placesare partly filled by later silver minerals.
Mineralizationhas spreadinto the wall rockson both sidesof the central
fault and haspartiallyreplacedthe rock. The limit of ore here is an assay
boundary.
The greaterpartof thefracturingtookplace,andthelinesof thechannels
whichguidedcirculatingore solutions
weredeterminedprior to the inception
of mineralization,but there is abundantevidencethat crackingcontinued
throughout
the periodof growthof the veins. Crudebandingin the veins
with sliversof alteredwall rocksuggests
that reopeningof the veinsoccurred
and that accumulationof ore was by accretion.
Fracturingduringthe periodof mineralizationtookadvantage of the old
linesof weakness andcaused reopeningandcracking of theearlyveins.:This
inter-periodfracturingdoesnot indicatestrongearthmovements, but rather
minoradjustments, possiblybroughton by the surgeof ore solutionsunder
high pressure.
Throughout the mines,it is evidentthat the hypogene
mineralizationwas
activein two stagesseparated by a periodof minorfracturing. In the early
stagequartz-pyrite-cassiterite
veinswereformed,andin thelaterstagesilver-
bearingsulpho-salts,galena,franckeke, andstannitein distinctveinscut the
early mineralization.
The silvermineralizationwas superimposed on the
quartz-pyrite-cassiterite
veins,andin generalthe veinsof the two stagesare
coextensive.The mineralsof the later stageare foundcoatingthe.wallsand
fillingrugs in the pyriticore, disseminated
throughthe early vein minerals
as replacementproducts,and in placesform small, irregular veins cutting

acrossthe cassiteriteveins (Fig. 33). In severallocalities,minerals of the
sulpho-saltstageare found in well-definedveins, 5 to 15 cm wide, running
parallel with the early veins. Usually the later veins follow the center of
-thepyritic veins,but in placesthey are on the hangingwall or footwall.
In a few places,the early veinshave beenoffsetby fracturesnow occupied
by silver-bearingminerals. The veins shownin Figure 33 are a good ex-
ample of this point. Here a silver-bearingvein, 2 to 4 cm wide, followeda
fractureacrossa quartz-pyrite-cassiteritevein, 40 to 60 cm wide. The walls
of the early vein have beenclearlyoffsetseveralcentimetersalong the later
fracture.
In a few localities,cassiterite-bearing
veinsare found with no mineralsof
the secondstage,and in other localitiesveinscarryingmineralsof the second
stageonly are found. Someveinsare characteristically high in tin and low
in silver, whereasothershave a high contentof silver and are relativelylow
in tin. The Ramosde la Plata group of veinsin the San Josgmine were ap-
parentlyrich in silverand low in tin. In a few places,as in the wallsof the
San Luis vein of the Itos mine, silver-bearingmineralshavefilled joints in the
quartz latite porphyryadjacentto a large vein mined principallyfor its tin
content. In 1937, the walls of this vein were being stoped with success
(Fig. 34).
Post-Mineral Fracturin#.--No post-mineralfaults or fractures of any
magnitude of displacementare known in the district. In fact, there are
relativelyfew unmineralizedfissures. However, small post-orefaults are
foundin a few placeswith displacements of a few centimeters;never over one
meter. Slickensidedsulphidesare found and indicate local readjustments
along old lines of weakness.
Summary.--A summaryof the more importantfeaturesof the fracture
systemand the characteristics
of the individualfracturesis outlinedas follows:
1. The veinsoccurin fourdistinctclusters:San-Jos;Itos; La Colorada;
Tetilla. Thesedustersare arrangedgeographically on the.peripheryof an
imperfectellipse,and individually,eachclusterhas characteristics
common
to the otherveingroupsas well as featuresof dissimilarity.
2. Eachclusteris madeup of a major fractureor a fracturesystemwith
numerousassociated
minor fractures,either as conjugatemembers,as branch-
ing members,or as a combinationof various fracture types. Shear and
tensionbreakscanbe distinguished
in eachfracturesetor system.
3. The positionandattitudeof eachfracturesystemhasa consistent rela-
tionshipto the locationand attitudeof the quartzlatite porphyrybodywith
whichit is associated.One set tendsto parallelthe elongationof the por-
phyrybodies,whereasthe othersettendsto be arrangedat right anglesto the
porphyrycontacts.
4. Mostof the veinsoccurin the intrusivebodies. Althougha few veins
are foundin the Oruro formation,mostof thosepassingfrom porphyryinto
argillite or slate die out in a short distance.
5. The veins are more regular on the lower levelsof the minesand more
complicatednear the surface. The veins tend to branchupward due to the
fact that fracturingwasmorecomplexnear the surfacethan at depth. There-
376 F. M. CHACE.
fore, many more veinsare found on the surfacethan on the lower mine levels.
Probablythe underlyingreasonfor a differencein fracturingis that there is
muchmore brittle porphyry near the surfacethan at depth.
6. The dip of severalof the major fracture zones,suchas the San Luis,
tendsto steepenin depth, whereasothers, suchas the Purisima, Bronce,and
Grande veins, have a fairly uniform dip or tend to flatten somewhat,where
followed downward.
7. The pre-mineral fractures are nearly all of the same general type.
They are a seriesof curving, flat S, reverse S, and arc-shapedbreaks,ar-
rangedeither en dchelonor. overlapping,
whichas a set form a "shingle
structure." "Sheeted"and "loop" veinsare commonand may be regardedas
localvariationsof the normaltype.
8. The stronger, more persistentfractures are well defined with smooth,
polishedwalls, which commonlyhave striae, mullion, and gougealong them.
The striae are nearly alwaysparallel to the dip, never departingmore than
20. They indicatein placesthat severalmovementshave occurredalongthe
pre-mineral fracturesand that in a few placeshinge movementshave taken
place. These fractures are interpreted as shear breaks; where they curve
from the averagetrend and die oit, they are interpretedas tensionbreaks.
9. The directionof movementalongthe fractureis usuallyobscure. There
is somesuggestionthat the hangingwall has moved up relative to the foot-
wall, but someof the major fracture groupssuggestthat in certain casesthe
hangingwall hasmoveddown. Offset rock contactshavebeenfoundin only
a few places. In general, the movementalong the individual fracture is be-
lievedto have beenslight.
10. The fracturesare generallymore persistentdown the dip than they
are horizontally. This has had an importanteffect on the size and shapeof
ore shoots.
11. The larger ore shootsoccur where the fractures are strongestand
where they are parallel to the general trend of the fracture set. Where the
individualfracturesdie out or where they curve from the averagetrend, the
ore shootsdie out or break up into horsetailstructures.
12. Brecciationof wall rockstook place along most of the veins near the
surface,but in depth rock failure was confinedto regular, uncomplicated
fractures with striae and slickensides,
27 and without breccia.
13. Individual fracturestend to die out at intersections.Important dis-
placementsof one fracture by another are not found, and even minor dis-
placementsare rare.
'14. The greater part of fracturing took place, and the fractures which
provide permeablechannelsfor circulatingore solutionswere determined,
prior to the inceptionof mineralization. There is abundantevidence,how-
ever, that crackingcontinuedthroughoutthe period of growth of the veins
and that intermineralization
fracturingtook advantage
of old linesof weak-
nessand causedreopeningand crackingof the early veins.
15. Post-orefaultshavenot beenfoundin the district,exceptfor very
minoradjustmentsalongsmallfaultswhichhavebeenfoundin onlya few
places.
z7 This generalizationwas pointed out by Campbell, and is believed to be correct. See
Campbell,D. F., op. tit., p. 103.
TIN-,ClLVERVEINS OF ORURO,BOLIVIA. 377
Origin of the Fracture System.

The originof the fracturesystemmay be considered logicallyin two steps.
The first and mostfundamental stepis an analysisof the stresses that caused
rockfailure. An understanding of the magnitudeand directionof the forces'
that causedthe fracturingcan be reachedonly by a detailedstudy of the
fracturetypespresent--whether they are shearor tensionbreaks,or both;
what their positionis in spacewith respectto one another;what the direc-
tion of movementis alongthem; what their relationis to the associated rock
bodies;and what otherpeculiarities may be present.
Once acceptableconclusionshave been reachedconcerningthe stress-
strainrelations,the secondstepis an appraisalof the natureof the forcesthat
resultedin failure. Without an understandingof the behaviorof rocksunder
stressand of stressorientationprecedingand duringfailure,little progressis
likelyto be achievedin evaluatingthe causalforcesthemselves--whether they
were of a regionaldynamiccharacteror were localizedin nature and were
causedby withdrawalof supportfrom beneath,upward thrust from depth,.
or other unknown forces.
Stress Analysis.--Although the fractures of the Oruro district form a
fairly consistentsystemwith many characteristics in-common,it is apparent
from evena casualperusalof the mapsand sectionsthat as a groupthey do
not resemblethe ideal or theoreticalfracturepatternof two setsof conjugate
shearswith a set of tensionbreaksbisectingthe angle betweenthem? The
idealfracturepattern,of course,is rarelyfound,evenin fairly homogeneous
rocks,yet it is roughlyapproximated in manydistricts.
Consideringthe districtas a whole,it is obviousfrom the multiplicityof
fracture attitudesthat a singletensiondirectionand two well-definedshear
directions cannot be establishedfor Oruro. Moreov.er, the nature of the
fractures themselves indicates that two definite shear directions and a definite
tension direction do not exist here. Therefore, the orientation of a strain
ellipsoid,or evenstraincouples,that wouldfit the attitudeof knownfractures
for the district as a whole is manifestlyimpossible.
A studyof the fracturesin the individualvein clustersis somewhatmore
fruitful, for groupingof the veinsinto distinctiveclustersseemsto have more
significancethan strike groupings;furthermore,the fracturesin the indi-
vidualdustersappearto havegreaterresemblance to thoseof the idealfracture
pattern. This is particularlytrue of the San Luis cluster,wherea conjugate
systemis developed
with veinshavingparallelstrikeandopposite
dip. How-
ever, veinshaving two totally different dips and strikesare present,.neither
of which can be considered to indicate a tensional direction. The' veins of the
cluster, therefore, although closely related and unusually regular, do not
strictly conformto the ideal pattern.
In general,it may be concluded from a studyof the Oruro fracturesystem
that it is not possiblehere to arrive at a satisfactoryconclusion
concerning
stressorientationduringrockfailure. This doesnot meanthat a theoretical
s See MeKinstry, H. E., Structural control of ore deposition in fissure veins: Am. Inst.
3/Iin. Met. Eng. Tech. Pub. No. 1267, 1941.
378 F. M. CHACE.
analysisof the stress-strainrelationsis valueless. On the contrary,the fact

that it doesnot conformto the ideal pattern is believedto have considerable
significance and has somebearingon the origin of the ore deposititself.
Two reasonsare at once apparent for the divergenceof the fracture pat-
tern from the ideal--the nonhomogeneous characterof the wall rocks and
the complexityof the stresshistory? The stresseswhich producedrock
failure in the Ornro districtactedon an assemblage of nonhomogeneous rocks;
that is, on relatively brittle porphyry enclosedin incompetentargillite with
irregular massesof brecciaof varying competencyscatteredthroughoutthe
district. The strengthof the rocks .variedin different directions,and frac-
tures developedalong lines of weakness,such as contactsbetweenargillite
and poryhyry,and alongjoints in the prophyry.
Stressesappliedto sucha nonhomogeneous mass,whatevertheir nature
or origin, or directionof application,would be transmittedin severaldirec-
tions,dependingon the physicalpropertiesof the rocks,and would resultin
nonuniform stress. Under these conditions,failure would take place where
stressesreacheda maximumexceedingthe ultimatestrengthof the rocks,.and
fractures would tend to developwith several directionsof strike and dip.
Localvariationsin strengthof the rocksand pre-existing
linesof weakness,
suchas joints or contacts,play an importantpart in the localizingof later
stresses,and determine where later failure and openingstake place. Un-
doubtedly,theseconditionswere in a large measureresponsiblefor the de-
velopmentof the Oruro fractures.
A second
reason
for thedeparture
of thefracturepatternfromthe ideal
is that the fracturesof the district did not form simultaneously.Although
they developedin a singleperiod of stress,somewhatsustained,and the
greaterpart of rock failure precededthe onsetof mineralization,deformation
in a mild way continuedthroughoutthe mineralizationperiodwith fracturing
and reopeningof veinsalongold linesof weakness. Probablysomereorienta-
tion of stress occurred with the formation of new fractures, unrelated to the
earlier ones,and further complicatedthe fracture pattern.
The generalshort, curving characterof the fracturesand their failure to
offsetrock contactsindicatea generalcrackingof the regionrather than in-
tensedeformation
whichwouldhaveformedmajorthrough-going
fissures
and fault zones. The fact that the fracturesare flat-S-shapedand curving,
with well-definedfault walls, suggeststhat they were originally tension
breaksalongwhich slightmovementtook placeat a later time with continued
applicationof stressafter the initial cracking. It seemsreasonableto con-
cludethat the magnitudeof the stresswas relatively smalI, just enoughto
causedefinite lines of fracture and cracking, but not enoughto rupture the
entire rock mass and convert the lines of fracture into through-going,per-
sistentbreakswith appreciableoffsets. The continuationof the stressesand
the repeatedfracturingduring the mineralizationperiodcreatedand main-
tainedpermeablechannelways whichappearto have beenmore decisivein
the formation of the fracture pattern than the magnitude of stress at any
giventime.
9 See McKinstry, H. E., Use of the fracture pattern in the searchfor orebodies:Australimx
and New Zealand Assoc. Adv. Sci. Rept., Melbourne Meeting, January 1935.
TIN-S'ILVER VEINS OF ORURO,BOLIVIA. 379
Probablythe shapeand distributionof the brittle porphyrywas the most

importantfactorin failure, determiningthe characterand localizationof the
cracking. The occurrenceof veins and fractures in individual clustersun-
doubtedlywas determinedby the positionof the brittle porphyrybodiesand
the lines of weaknessalong the contactsof the porphyry with argillite or
breccia.
The general aspectof the fractures,branchingand increasingin com-
plexitytowardthe surface,clearlyindicatesthat they formedat shallowdepths.
The "shingle"structurewith "sheeted"zones,"loops"and minor links is in
accordwith this concept. Structur.ally, the veins are comparablewith those
in districtssuch as Virginia City, Nevada, and the San Juan Mountains,
Colorado, which are believed to have been formed near the surface. The
structuralfeaturesof deepveins are lacking.
Causeso1 Fracturing.--At the presenttime, onecan only speculate
on the
natureof the causativestresswhich producedthe fracturesystem. Regional
stresses;stressesset up during the emplacementand crystallizationof the
porphyrybodies;withdrawalof supportfrom beneathwith consequent slump-
ing; upthrust forces from depth, all must be consideredas possibilities.
However, althoughthey cannotbe ruled out completely,for various reasons,
severalof the possiblecausesseemimprobable.
In many mining districts,regional stressesare commonlyinvoked to ex-
plain fracture systemswhich controlledand localizedore deposits. However,
the characteristicsof the Oruro systemare such that regional compressire
forcesdo not seemto have beenthe causativeagent.' The fracture pattern is
not a part of a regionalfracture system;the fracturesare arrangedin clusters
and are not persistentfor long distancesand do not extend far from the local
porphyrybodies. A carefulexaminati6nof the surfaceaway from the mine,
where the igneousrocksare well exposed,disclosedthat a seriesof joints is
present;but a regionalpatterncomparable to the [racturesystemfoundin the
vicinity of the minesdoesnot exist. Moreover,the Oruro pattern doesnot
resemblethat in districtssuchas Butte, Grass Valley, and Llallagua, where
regionalcompressireforceshave beeninvokedto accountfor the fracturing.
The orientationof the fractures at Oruro does not correspondto the at-
titude of "stretching"faults, "marginal" thrusts or "marginal.... gash" frac-
tures, and other structuresdescribedby Cloosand Balk,sowhich are believed
to be causedby' stressesset up during the emplacementand crystallizationof
granitebodies. Moreover,the Oruro fracturesystemwasundoubtedly super-
imposedon both the igneousand sedimentaryrocks after the intrusionhad
completely
crystallized.
The f(Jrces
that causeddeformation,
therefore,
acted on solid rocks sometimeafter emplacementand solidification.
Campbell reviewedthe subject of the origin of the fractures in some
detail. He recognizedthe close relationshipbetweenthe porphyry bodies
and the fractures, and suggestedthat the larger porphyry bodies, such as
thosethat make up Cerros San Felipe and Viscachani,were areasof uplift
due to igneousintrusion,whereasthe areasbetweenthem, occupiedby the
aoBalk, Robert, Structural behavior of igneous rocks: Geol. Soc. America Memoir no. 5,
July 1937.
ax Campbell, Donald F., op. tit.
380 F. 114'.CH.4CE.
porphyrybodiesof CerrosTodos Santosand La Colorada,were areasthat

collapsed. Thus Campbell interpreted the fractures of the Purisima and
Bronce systemas reversefaults which dip toward the area of uplift. The
fracturesof the San Jos, Grande, Moropoto and San Luis vein systems,on
the other hand, were interpretedas normal faults aroundthe area that col-
lapsed. The causeof the uplift, accordingto Campbell,was upthmstof the
intruding magma or its vapor pressure.
The mechanism that Campbellsuggests provideslocalizedstresseswhich
appearto be necessaryto accountfor the fracturing. However, that uplift
of certainareasaccompanied by subsidenceof othersoccurredis unconvinc-
ing and withoutthe supportof field evidence. Structuralelementsindicative
of uplift of the San Felipe and Viscachanibodiesare lacking. Moreover,
subsidence of the central area would necessitate at least observable movement
alongthe fracturesof the San Jos, San Luis, and other systems. Although
slightoffsettingtook placealong someof the veins,it was not sufficientto
result in detectablesubsidence.For example,Campbell's82 crosssectionof
the San Luis vein showsno displacementof the contactbetweenshaleand
"rhyoliteporphyry"whereit is crossedby the main San Luis fractures.
Althoughit is probablethat the stressesresponsible for the fracturingin
eachclusterresultedin slightreverse-faultmovementin certaininstances and
normalfaultingin others,the magnitudeof the stresses was sufficientonly to
causea generalcrackingalongfairly definitelinesof weakness, but not strong
enoughto causeappreciablemovementsor offsetsalong the breaks. With
suchincipientfaults it is difficult to determinewhich areas would have been
uplifted, and which areas would have subsided.
In consideringthe origin of fractures and ore depositscontrolledby
fracturing, two sets of conditionscan be conceived. The first conditionis
that in which fractures and fissures are believed to have existed in the rocks
sometimeprior to mineralization,having been causedby stressesunrelated
to mineralization. When the ore solutionsflowedin, they took advantageof
theseopeningsand had little or no influencein altering them. Undoubtedly,
this conditionhas existedin many ore deposits.
The secondconditionis that in which fracturing and mineralizationare
believedto have been closelyrelated phenomenain time and spaceand to
have beencausedby essentiallythe sameprocesses.Previouslyexistinglines
of weaknesswouldhavehad considerable influenceon the positionand attitude
of the fractures;but the specificbreaksand openingsoccupiedby vein min-
erals would have been causedby stressesset up immediatelybefore and
duringmineralization,the two phenomena havinga commonorigin--probably
magmaticactivity in depth.
Since Spurr 33 first pointed out that areas of intensemineralizationare
in many placesareasof intensefaulting,and suggested that there is probably
a geneticrelationbetweenthe two, evidencehas accumulated to indicatethat
igneousintrusion,fracturingand faulting, mineralization,post-orefaulting,
and post-orediking are closelyassociated eventsand that they have a closdy
connectedorigin.
82 Campbell, Donald F., op. tit., Figure 6.
as Spurt, J. E., The relation of ore deposition to faulting: Ecot. GEox.,vol. 11, pp. 601-
622, 1916.
This generalsequenceis duplicated

in manyminingdistrictsthroughout
the world. The closelyrelatedsequence of eventswhichoccurredat Oruro
--intrusionOfporphyrybodies,pre-orefracturing,mineralization,and inter-
mineralizationfracturingand faulting--isundoubtedlyan exampleof this
phenomenon.However,the process apparentlyceasedwith the end of hypo-
genemineralization,for post-orefaultingis negligible,and there are no post-
ore dikes.
In thosecaseswhere an intimate relationshipis believedto have existed
betweenfracturingand mineralization,two mechanisms, which may be ap-
plicableto Oruro, havebeenproposed, and appliedto specificdistricts,to ex-
plainthe fracturing:(1) the explosive
'forceof vaporpressurebuilt up during
the crystallizationof magmaat depth; and (2) the subsidence of overlying
rocksdue to contractionof crystallizingmagmaat depth,or withdrawalof
magma.
(1) The firstof theseprocesses hasbeenreviewedin considerable detailby
W. H. Emmons? In general,Emmonssuggests that if vaporsare expelled
in the processof crystallization,
accordingto the Morey principleof resurgent
boiling, then a granite batholith,in crystallizing,would probablybuild up
enoughpressureto lift two or three miles of granite. Therefore, to quote
Emmonsdirectly,"... vaporcollectingnear the topsof cupolasor batholiths,
is believedto exert sufficient
pressureto fracturethe hoodsand roofso
batholithsabovethe cupolas."
(2) The secondmechanism proposedto explainfracturesystemsclosely
relatedin originto mineralizationis the subsidence
of overlyingrocksdue to
contractionof crystallizingmagma, or withdrawal of magma; this would
seemto be an idealway of producingtensionalcracksin localizedareasof the
type found at Oruro. This subjecthas beendiscussed by Hulin,5 who at-
tributes formation of pre-ore fractures and intermineralizationfracturing to
volume decreaseof crystallizingmagma in depth with resultant shrinkage
and collapseof the overlying rock body and to subsequentthermal con-
traction of the rock body.
Without entering into a detailedconsiderationof the relative merits of
these two mechanisms,becauseof their theoretical nature, it may be said
that in favor of either mechanismis the fact that the timing would be about
fight to developfractureswhen receptacles
were necessary;
and either one
conceivablymight provide the localizedstressesnecessaryto causethe frac-
ture clusters.
Conclusions.--Althoughit is manifestlyimpossibleto arrive at satisfac-
tory conclusions concerning the natureof the causativestresseswhichresulted
in fracturing,and it is apparentthat noneof the hypothesesdiscussedprovides
an entirely satisfactoryexplanationof the structuralfeatures,certainconclu-
sionsseemjustified and may be summarizedas follows:
1. Fracturing occurredin local areas and took advantageof previouslyexisting
lines of weakness. It was concentratedin the brittle porphyry and along its con-
84 Emroohs,W. H., On the origin of certain systemsof ore-bearing fractures: Am. Inst.
Min. Met.Eng. Trans., vol. 115, pp. 9-35, 1935.
85 Hulin, C. D., Factors in the localization of mineralized districts: Am. Inst. Met. Eng.
Tech. Pub. No. 1762, New York, 1945.
382 F. M. CHACE.
tacts with argillite or breccia,and resultedin a general cracking of the area along
fairly definite lines of weaknesswithout forming major, through-goingbreaks or
faults. The fracturing was not intense enough to cause appreciablemovementor
offsets along the breaks.
2. The fracture patternsand the accompanyingtensionalopeningsare indica-
tive of expansionrather than contraction or shearing.
3. Many details of the fracture patterns and of individual fractures indicate
that failure took place in a near-surface environmentunder light load and at shal-
low depth. The structural features of failure at depth under high pressureare
entirely lacking.
4. For various reasons, regional orogenic forces, stressesset up during the
emplacementof the exposed igneous rocks, and major uplift and subsidenceare
ruled out as possiblecausesof failure.
5. The fractureswere causedby differential vertical stressesset up in local
areas during the period of igneous intrusion, formation of the San Jos( breccia,
fracturing and ore deposition.
6. Fracturing at Oruro was closely related to the processof mineralization,
both in time and place. The stressthat .causedpre-mineral fracturing continued
in a mild way throughoutthe mineralizingperiod,but ceasedwith the end of hypo-
gene mineralization.
7. The fracturing can be attributedeither to upward pressurefrom depthwhich
causedslight, local doming with resultant tension fractures, or to withdrawal of
supportfrom beneathaccompanied by slight subsidencewith the developmentof in-
cipient syntheticand antithetic faults. The view favored by the author invokes
both upthrust and subsidence.
8. The distribution and the nature of the fracturing are best explained by rela-
tively feeblejolting from below. The jolting was sufficientto lift the igneousrock
bodiesslightlyand to let them slumpback somewhat,therebycausingfracturing.
The force was not sufficient,however, to causefragmentation and churning of rock
fragments,as did the explosiveforce that causedthe San Jos6breccia,nor was it
strongenoughto causeappreciablemvementon the fracture planes. The recoil
from upthrust with mild subsidenceunder the control of gravity would account
for striationsparallel to the directionof dip and for the slight reversefaulting.
9. The preciseorigin of the jolting is not known,but probablyit was the same
magmaticactivity at depth which (a) gave rise to the quartz latite porphyry
intrusionsand extrusions;(b) was the origin of the explosiveforce which formed
the San Jos6breccia; and (c) was the sourceof the ore solutions.
The jolting may have been the final manifestationof the explosiveactivity
which accountedfor the San Jos6breccia. Conceivably,vapor pressure,built up
during the crystallization
of igneousrock at depth,was the causeof the early
explosiveactivityandthe later morefeeblejolting that producedthe vein fractures.
It mayalsohavebeenthe propellingmechanism that forcedin the ore solutions.
PRODUCTION OF THE ORURO DISTRICT.
The oredeposits at Oruro containa varietyof metals,includingtin, silver,

copper,lead, antimonyand arsenic,but only silver and tin havebeenim-
portantfrom the pointof view of production. A smallamountof copperand
lead hasbeenproducedin the past,and duringWorld War II considerable
antimonyproductionwas reported.
By piecingtogetherscattered dataavailablein the literatureandutilizing
the recordsof CompafiiaMinera de Oruro since1920,it may be computed
that the total silver productionfrom 1595 to 1944 was roughly 8,429,000
kilogramsor approximately 270,990,000ounces. As data are missingfor
a periodof manyyears,it seemspossible from the fragmentaryrecordsthat
the depositsyieldedat least275,000,000ouncesof silver.
A conservati4re
estimate
of Oruro's
totaltinproduction
is 45,000
metric
tons. Taking into consideration the lack of data for many yearsand the fact
that tin recoveryfrom the ore averages lessthan60 percent,it seemsthat the
actual volume of tin concentratedin the Oruro depositsmust have been con-
siderablymore than the abovefigure indicates.
During the periodfrom 1930 to 1944 Oruro accountedfor 3.8 percentof
Bolivia'stin productionand 13.5 percentof its silver output. From 1940 to
1944,an averageof 62,365 metrictons of ore after handpickingwere shipped
each year from the Oruro minesto the Machacamarcamill. This ore aver-
aged3.49percenttin and.0.284kilograms(.9.13oz.) of silverperton.
Typesof Ore.--Three classes, or types,of ore, dependinguponmineralogy
and occurrence,are found in the Oruro district, and are mined and shipped.
Theseare the (a) "pacos"ore, (b) calcinationor mixed sulphide-oxide ore,
and (c) flotationore. Each type, as the name suggests,requiresa different
treatment method.
(a) PacosOre.--This is madeup of cassiterite,quartz and chalcedony,

and hydrous iron oxide, limonite and jarosite, and is obtained from the
oxidizedzone. Althoughspectacularly high grade silver ore was found in
the zoneof oxidationduring the early days,it appearsto be exhausedand
the pacosore now containsno silver. After handpicking,the pacosore is
further concentrated by gravity methods,usingjigs and tables,and then by
magneticseparators. In the periodfrom 1940 to 1944, an averageof 28,480
metrictonsof thistype of ore wasshippedeachyear, with an averagetin con-
tent of 3.54 percent.
(b) CalcinationOre.--The calcinationor mixed sulphideore, is com-
posedof cassiterite,pyrite, quartz, and silver-bearingsulpho-saltminerals,
such as tetrahedrite,andorite, bournonite,jamesonite,and zinkenite. This
ore constitutesthe bulk of hypogenemineralizationand is obtainedfrom im-
mediatelybelow the zone of oxidation. It is treated for both tin and silver
by roastingwith chloridesand by magneticseparators. From 1940 to 1944,
inclusive,an averageof 29,785 tons of sulphideore was shippedyearly to
the mill and had an averagecontentof 3.68 percenttin and 0.48 kilograms
(15.4 oz troy) of silver. Duringthis period,about51 percentof the newly
minedmaterialwasclassed as calcination
oreand49 percentas pacosore.
(c) FlotationOre.--This ore is madeup of complexsilver-andtin-bearing
sulpho-saltsand stannates,suchas the rare minerals,stanniteand franckeite,
and is obtainedfrom the deepermine levels,belowthe -- 200 level, on a few
veins, particularly Veta Grande. Becausemost of the tin in these ores is
contained in stannite and franckeite, which are known as "soluble" tin ores
and from whichtin cannotbe recoveredprofitablyby presentmetallurgical
methods,miningof this ore type was discontinuedin 1940.
Severalintermediateand transitionaltypesof ore occurat Oruro; among
theseare "pacopirita,"
a mixedpacos-sulphide
ore,and"pyritic-tin"ore,but
these.arenot clearlydefined,and as far as miningtndtreatmentmethodsare
concerned,they are classedas calcinationores.
To be continued in next number. ,

Oruro Tin Silver Deposit Part 1 Chace 1948

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ECONOMIC GEOLOGY

BULLETIN .OF THE SOCIETY OF

VOL. XLI II AUGUST, 1948 NO. 5

TIN-SILVER VEINS OF ORURO, BOLIVIA.*

Abstract .............................................................. 333

The iin'-silveroresof Oruro, Bolivia,occurin complexveinsthat are

The hypogenemineralization followed a system of pre-mineral frac-

Tr. Oruro mining districtof Bolivia is an importantmemberof the fin-

15 percentof the world'sannualsilveroutput,it is now notedprincipallyas

mineralogyin sufficientdetail to give a comprehensive

The AndesMountainsare the principaltopographic featureof Bolivia,

Real and the CordilleraOccidental,separatedby the altiplano. At latitude

season,large areasare inundated,but as the dry seasonprogresses,the water

The bedrockof the Oruro mining district is made up of a group of closely

ORURO MINING DISTRICT- BOLIVIA

ERA PERIOD EPOCH ,!

Sand #unes so/ors

FIG. 7. Table of rock formations.

than on the deepermine levels. Thin, sandylayers, locally quartzitic,are

Accordingto Lindgren,s the nearestfossilsare foundin the vicinityof Viacha,

extent has not beeninvestigated. Sand dunes,someof which have a perfect

< o > k :.3

Fro. 5. Viscachanistock.Looking north from the San Jos mine.

.. , ',,:'. ,' , ,. ,.'

-- ..... "'B '-. ' : .- ,-/ ' ','

FIG. 13. A quartz latite porphyrysill intrudingargillite parallel to bed-

FiG. 14. The Itos stockfrom the Iroco hillslookingeastacrossthe pampa.

Fro. 15. A quartz latite porphyry dike, 4-5 m across,intrusive into

FXG.16. Typical quartzlatite porphyry.Note embayedquartzphenocrysts

. ; '. --7 - ' ' , ,, i -

. . . b . ' ,', . '..', .'-'..... u..--..' ..

Fro. 17. TypicM underground exposureof San Jos reccia on upper

FIG. 18. An undergroundcontactbetweenquartz latite

....... '.' m_ '.T- .,''. . .--:.

' : ' *' .. . - '' . " '

, r - '-' '-,- ' ' ' - ',

. -' . ' r* T.. - -;.-< &' .

i. 33. Sil.er-bearin sulhosaltein (dark ray) followin a fracture

' ' - ' ' 2 : I **

00+ f v .'& .. 00+

Sun do$ breccio

Son Jos pluton

SURFAGE ,o z?o ,oo o,o

550 m long, althoughthe positionof the northwestcontactis a matter of

The originaloutlineof the San Jos stockwasconsiderably

groundmass,indicates that it is volcanic or hyperbyssalrather than plutonic in

-In summary,the averagemineral compositionof the Oruro intrusive

At least locally,forcibleinjectionplayed somepart during igneousintru-

x Kozlowski, R., and Jaskolski, S., op. cit.

body and its methodof emplacement.The body has beencalleda stock,

The Salvadora intrusive is a cross-cuttingbody with the form of an inverted

The youngestconsolidatedrock of the district is a coarsebreccia com-

phyry increasein numberand sizetowardthe igneousrock bodies,whereas

Fro. 20. Blockdiagramshowingtheoutlineof the SanJos6brecciapipe. The

The tin-silver ore depositsof Oruro occur in a complexgroup of veins

graphicallyin four clusters,eachof whichis a centerof mineralizationand is

The Vein System.

eralization coincideswith a block of ground in which the rocks have failed

....."v v/' v . q v. ' "/

zoo .[ . 'b'_? '////'. +tO0

Oruro formation Ontoct

Thedistribution andgeneral patternof theveinsona well-developed

' ///>.4 . ., <

200 . ." +200