Hunting for Porphyry Copper Deposit Discoveries through the Lens of Igneous Processes

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Presenter

Herve Rezeau, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Lundin Family
Endowed Chair in Economic Geology
The University of Arizona

Description

Porphyry copper deposits are the primary source of the world’s copper and a substantial amount of gold, molybdenite, and critical elements. However, the discovery rate of new porphyry copper deposits has significantly slowed over the past decade, creating a growing gap between future copper supply and increasing demand. In this presentation, I will first explore the geological processes that govern the transport of copper during trans-crustal magmatic differentiation and the subsequent formation of porphyry copper deposits. I will then examine how the geochemistry of zircon and apatite can be utilized to identify magmatic rocks more likely to be associated with porphyry copper deposits (i.e., fertile intrusions), focusing on the ore-bearing Meghri-Ordubad pluton in southern Armenia. These findings will underscore key parameters that influence the journey of copper from the mantle to the upper continental crust and introduce potential geochemical tools for porphyry copper exploration.