Cu-porphyry deposits in Pakistan

Introduction:-
Pakistan contains Pre-Cambrian to Recent rocks with different tectonometallic and
sedimentary basins like Khyber-Hazara-Kashmir (northernmost/uppermost Indus),
separated by MBT from Kohat and Potwar (north/upper Indus), separated by
Sargodha high to Pezu from Sulaiman (middle/central Indus), separated by Sukkur
rift to Jacobabad high, and Kirthar (south/lower Indus) basins of Gondwanan,
separated from the Balochistan basin and Kohistan magmatic arc of Tethys by
western Indus Suture and northern Indus Suture respectively, and Karakoram-Hindu
Kush basin of Tethys and Asia (Laurasia). From the beginning of Pakistan, many
geoscientists incorporated the new discoveries in the previous records and reported
the review of mineral/minerals of Pakistan or part of it. Gee (1949) presented a
summary of known minerals of northwestern India (now Pakistan) with suggestions
for development and use. Heron (1950) and Heron and Crookshank (1954) reported
economic minerals of Pakistan. Ahmad (1969) Ahmad and Siddiqui (1992) and
Kazmi and Abbas (2001) presented a comprehensive report on minerals of Pakistan.
It is a common routine to report the minerals of Pakistan with fresh discoveries after
one or two decades. Arbab and Shah (1997) and Hussain and Karim (1993) prepared
a mineral map of Azad Kashmir and NWFP respectively. Malkani (2010b, 2011)
presented the mineral potential of Sulaiman foldbelt and Balochistan provinces
respectively. After Kazmi and Abbas (2001) many discoveries of fluorite, gypsum,
celestite, coal, marble, gold-silver, antimony, copper, REE, gemstones, cement
resources, etc are made. Previous work shows that, Pakistan is rich in mineral
resources, including clays (china clay and fire clay), copper, dolomite, gypsum, iron
ore, limestone, marble (onyx), salt, sand and gravel, and silica sand; energy
resources, including coal, natural gas, and oil; and precious and semiprecious stones.
The country is among the world’s 20 leading producers of cement and 5 leading
exporters of cement. Pakistan ranked 3d in world production of iron oxide pigments,
15th in world production of barite, and 16th in world production of cement. Pakistan
exported cement to Afghanistan, Djibouti, India, Iraq, Kenya, Mozambique, South
Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Tanzania (Ministry of Finance, 2013c, p. 43; Miller,
2014; van Oss, 2014).
Copper ores in pakistan are present mainly in four different areas. These are eruptive
zone of Balochistan basin, Axial Belt, Indus Basin and northern areas. None of these
deposits in any area has to date been proved economical. Only recently, detailed
exploitation work has been started on one of the deposits in the eruptive zone at
saindak.
Besides saindak, several indications of copper mineralization have been reported
from the eruptive zone at kirtaka, Robat, Amuri, Amir chah, Mashki chah, Durban
chah, Patkok, and Dalbandin. (Ahmad, 1964; Ahmad Z, 1969; Khan, 1975). Copper
mineralization in all these areas is associated with siliceous to intermediate magma
intrusions of cretaceous to tertiary age and occurs as veins or disseminations. The
copper minerals are malachite, chrysocolla, bronite and chalcopyrite.

Saindak Copper deposit

Saindak copper deposits is located in the extreme west of Pakistan near te pak-iran
border, about 650 km by road from quetta. Mineralization is confined to an area over
5 km2, referred to as ‘sulphide valley’ 5 km southeast of saindak fort (Khan S. N.
1974). The intrusion are considered by Khan S. N (1974) to have been emplaced
during the time of active compression in Pleistocene epoch. The intrusion have
occurred in narrow structural zone which is travesed by parallel closely spaced
fractures. This has increased the potential for mineralization. Summaring the field
observations, Khan expects to find the following types of ore bodies other than
disseminated one in the area
1. Massive sulphide bodies at the contact of the intrusive diorite and volcanic
rocks.
2. Sulphide mieralization along bedding planes in volcano-sedimentary suite of
rocks.
3. Disseminated replacement type deposits within volcano-sedimentary suite of
rocks.
4. Deposits along joint planes and fissures.
5. Vein type deposits in propylitized areas.
Copper Gold Vast resources of copper have been discovered by the Geological
Survey of Pakistan and foreign investors in Chagai district of Balochistan at Saindak,
Koh-i-Dalil, Dash-i-Kain, Durban Chah, Kabul Koh, Ziarat Pir Sultan Rekodiq and
a number of other places. Saindak and Rekodiq deposit have been fully evaluated
and its reserves and grades are given in Table 1. Other prospects, containing
thousands of million tons of copper ore are waiting details for evaluation.
Ore Body Reserves (million tons) Grade
(i) South 111 0.44% Cu
(ii) North 28 0.43% Cu
(iii) East 273 0.34% Cu
Total 412
Rekediq 4.5 billion 0.7%Cu
Table 1. Reserves and grades of Saindak copper deposit and Rekodiq, Chagai
district, Balochistan.

Copper indication in other areas

Indication of copper mineralization have been reported from various localities
associated with magmatism in chitral, gilgit, dir and kohistan of northern areas
(Ahmad 1969, Hussain 1974, Sillitoe 1979), Lasbela, Zhob and Waziristan in axial
belt (Hunting survey corporation 1961, Ahmad 1969) and from salt range in upper
indus basin. Except for the salt range indication, the rest are associated with igneous
intrusion, ophiolites and related hydrothermal emanations of different ages
(cretaceous and younger). In central and western salt range malachite and cuprite are
in nilwahan katha, warcha, musakhel, where they are reported to occour in warcha
sandstone of early Permian age (Ahmad 1969).

Regional geology
The current geotectonic setting of the Chagai Arc is represented by a Quaternary
subduction zone dipping towards the north, an active Makran accretionary zone that
is followed by the Chagai-Raskoh magmatic arc and Afghan Block, Apparently, this
subduction zone setting reflects a continental margin type setting. The majority of
the preceding investigations have preferred this tectonic setting about the origin not
only for the Quaternary volcanics but also for the older volcanic rocks up to Late
Cretaceous. Siddiqui, and Siddiqui et al, have opposed this perspective and
documented an oceanic island arc setting for the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene
volcanics of the Chagai Arc, transitional character for Eocene and continental
margin or Andean type settings for Oligocene to Pleistocene volcanics. The oldest
rock suite developed in the Chagai Arc is a submarine stratified volcanic and
volcanoclastic, suite known as Sinjrani Volcanic, which is Late Cretaceous in age
and is composed mainly of andesitic flows, agglomerates, volcanic conglomerate,
tuffs and subordinate amounts of limestone, shale, and sandstone. The total thickness
of the Group is about 10,000 m, and it has been intruded by the Chagai intrusions,
which range in size from cupolas and stocks to batholiths and include granite, quartz-
monzonite, granodiorite, monzonite, diorite, quartz diorite, and gabbro. These
intrusions are as old as Pre-Late Cretaceous, and as young as Lower Miocene.
Multiple episodes continued in pulsatory fashion were responsible for the
emplacement of the volcanic and plutonic rocks of the region. Siddiqui et al, has
proposed a link between calc-alkaline volcanism during the Oligocene to Miocene
with the formation of porphyry copper deposits in the Chagai Arc. The Chagai Arc
has got tremendous importance for its economic mineral potential. The magmatic
rocks arc intimately associated with deposits of copper, and iron including the
porphyry copper, skarn copper and/or iron, manto-type copper, vein-type copper and
volcanogenic sulfur and volcanogenic-stratiform iron. In addition, zinc, copper and
silver-rich Kuroko type sulphide deposits have also been reported.

Mineralization:-
Porphyry copper deposits are very large mineralized systems that are typically
formed by relatively small intrusions (stocks), which are several thousand feet in
diameter. These small intrusions are the solidified remains of a magma chamber
from which the volcanic rocks were extruded. Hydrothermal (hot fluids) activity
associated with their emplacement affected the wall rocks surrounding these
intrusive bodies for a great distance, extending outward as much as 30,000 feet or
more from the center of the intrusive system.

Although copper has been mined from a number of different types of mineral
deposits, porphyry copper deposits are the most important source for copper,
accounting for more than 60 percent of the annual world copper production and
approximately 65 percent of the known total copper resource. Since 1970, more than
95 percent of the U. S. copper production has been derived from porphyry copper
deposits.