Control of Sulfide Saturation on the Formation of Porphyry Cu-Au Deposits During Magmatic Evolution

doi:10.19657/j.geoscience.1000-8527.2024.090

Abstract

Abstract:

Porphyry deposits are important sources of global copper, gold, silver, molybdenum, and other strategic minerals/metals, and they are mainly distributed along convergent plate margins.Previous studies have revealed that large porphyry deposits generally originate from arc magmatism due to plate subduction, and the mineralization mostly take place at near-surface (~3-5 km).Magmatic sulfides can strongly concentrate chalcophile elements, which play important roles in metal enrichment during magmatism.Studying the enrichment and activation processes of chalcophile elements in sulfides is key to understanding the metallogenic mechanism of porphyry deposits.In this paper, we systematically summarize previous studies on magmatic sulfides in porphyry deposits, investigate the controlling factors and differentiation processes of sulfide saturation, and compare and analyze the controls of magmatic sulfide saturation processes on metal enrichment in porphyry deposits.Magmatic sulfide saturation can be controlled by various factors such as temperature, pressure, and oxygen fugacity, with oxygen fugacity being the key to sulfide saturation.Sulfide saturation will promote the efficient concentration of metals such as Cu, Au, and PGE.Particularly, PGE and Au are extremely sensitive to sulfide saturation, and slight sulfide saturation will lead to the aggregation of a large amount of PGE and Au metals.The influence of magmatic sulfide saturation on porphyry mineralization potential is controversial.Some studies conclude that sulfide saturation is the key step in porphyry mineralization because saturated sulfide promotes the concentration of metals Cu and Au.When new magma is injected or when the oxygen or sulfur fugacity of magma changes, sulfide will dissolved again, causing ore-forming metals to become enriched in the silicate melt once more.Other studies conclude that sulfide saturation does not hinder porphyry mineralization during magmatic evolution because a small amount of sulfide saturation and precipitation in the early stage will not reduce the abundance of ore-forming elements in the remaining magma, and therefore will not affect the mineralization potential.Sulfide saturation in thick crust generally occurs in the early stage, while sulfide saturation in thin crust usually occurs in the late stage.

Key words: magmatic sulfide, porphyry deposit, chalcophile element, arc magma

CLC Number:

P611.11
P612

CHEN Haoyu, HE Wenyan. Control of Sulfide Saturation on the Formation of Porphyry Cu-Au Deposits During Magmatic Evolution[J]. Geoscience, 2024, 38(04): 947-958.

Figures/Tables 6

Fig.1 Suprasubduction zone setting for the formation of porphyry ore deposits (modified after reference [1])

Fig.2 Schematic diagrams of the allocation of sulfurophilic elements in the process of sulfide fractionation (modified after reference [19])

Fig.3 Diagrams of the relationship between sulfide saturation and temperature and pressure(after modified reference[20])

Fig.4 Schematic diagram of assimilation and mixing of carbon-metasedimentary rocks in the deep crustal magmachamber(modified after reference [65])

Fig.5 Comparison of Pd against MgO for barren volcanic and intrusive rocks, and the ore-associated intrusions (after reference[66])

Fig.6 Sulfide saturation difference during magmatic differentiation between thick arc and thin arc(modified after reference[67])

References 82

[1]	WILKINSON J J. Triggers for the formation of porphyry ore deposits in magmatic arcs[J]. Nature Geoscience, 2013, 6: 917-925.
[2]	RICHARDS J P. Magmatic to hydrothermal metal fluxes in convergent and collided margins[J]. Ore Geology Reviews, 2011, 40(1): 1-26.
[3]	SILLITOE R H. Porphyry copper systems[J]. Economic Geo-logy, 2010, 105(1): 3-41.
[4]	DU J G, AUDÉTAT A. Early sulfide saturation is not detrimental to porphyry Cu-Au Formation[J]. Geology, 2020, 48(5): 519-524.
[5]	侯增谦, 杨志明, 王瑞, 等. 再论中国大陆斑岩Cu-Mo-Au矿床成矿作用[J]. 地学前缘, 2020, 27(2): 20-44. DOI
[6]	KAMENETSKY V S, KAMENETSKY M B. Magmatic fluids immiscible with silicate melts: Examples from inclusions in phenocrysts and glasses, and implications for magma evolution and metal transport[J]. Geofluids, 2010, 10(1/2): 293-311.
[7]	BLANCHARD I, ABEYKOON S, FROST D J, et al. Sulfur content at sulfide saturation of peridotitic melt at upper mantle conditions[J]. American Mineralogist, 2021, 106(11): 1835-1843.
[8]	GEORGATOU A, CHIARADIA M, REZEAU H, et al. Magmatic sulphides in Quaternary Ecuadorian arc magmas[J]. Lithos, 2018, 296: 580-599.
[9]	GEORGATOU A A, CHIARADIA M. Magmatic sulfides in high-potassium calc-alkaline to shoshonitic and alkaline rocks[J]. Solid Earth, 2020, 11(1): 1-21.
[10]	NALDRETT A J. Magmatic Sulfide Deposits: Geology, Geoche-mistry and Exploration[M]. Berlin: Springer, 2004.
[11]	SAVELYEV D P, KAMENETSKY V S, DANYUSHEVSKY L V, et al. Immiscible sulfide melts in primitive oceanic magmas: Evidence and implications from picrite lavas (Eastern Kamchatka, Russia)[J]. American Mineralogist, 2018, 103(6): 886-898.
[12]	DANYUSHEVSKY L V, MCNEILL A W, SOBOLEV A V. Experimental and petrological studies of melt inclusions in phenocrysts from mantle-derived magmas: An overview of techniques, advantages and complications[J]. Chemical Geology, 2002, 183(1/2/3/4): 5-24.
[13]	SOBOLEV A V. Origin of Siberian Meimechites in relation to the general problem of ultramafic magma[D]. Moscow: Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry Moscow, 1983.
[14]	SOBOLEV A V, DANYUSHEVSKY L V. Petrology and geochemistry of boninites from the north termination of the Tonga trench: Constraints on the generation conditions of primary high-Ca boninite magmas[J]. Journal of Petrology, 1994, 35(5): 1183-1211.
[15]	DISTLER V V. Platinum mineralization of the Noril’sk deposits[M]// LightfootPC, NALDRETTAJ. Proceedings of Sudbury-Noril’sk Symposium. Ont Geol Surv Spec 5:243-260, 1994.
[16]	NALDRETT A J, ASIF M, GORBACHEV N S, et al. The Composition of the Ni-Cu Ores of the Oktyabr’sky Deposit,Noril’sk Region[M]//LIGHTFOOT PC, NALDRETT A J. Proceedings of Sudbury Noril'sk symposium, Ontario: Ontario Geological Survey, 1994: 357-373.
[17]	宋谢炎, 肖家飞, 朱丹, 等. 岩浆通道系统与岩浆硫化物成矿研究新进展[J]. 地学前缘, 2010, 17(1): 153-163.
[18]	HOLWELL B D A, MCDONALD I. A review of the behaviour of platinum group elements within natural magmatic sulfide ore systems[J]. Platinum Metals Review, 2010, 54(1): 26-36.
[19]	DURAN C J, BARNES S J, MANSUR E T, et al. Magnetite chemistry by LA-ICP-MS records sulfide fractional crystallization in massive nickel-copper-platinum group element ores from the norilsk-talnakh mining district (Siberia, Russia): Implications for trace element partitioning into magnetite[J]. Economic Geology, 2020, 115(6): 1245-1266.
[20]	WENDLANDT R F. Sulfide saturation of basalt and andesite melts at high pressures and temperatures[J]. American Minera-logist, 1982, 67, 877-885.
[21]	MAVROGENES J A, ST C O’NEILL H. The relative effects of pressure, temperature and oxygen fugacity on the solubility of sulfide in mafic magmas[J]. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 1999, 63(7/8): 1173-1180.
[22]	PATTEN C, BARNES S J, MATHEZ E A. Textural variations in morb sulfide droplets due to differences in crystallization history[J]. The Canadian Mineralogist, 2012, 50(3): 675-692.
[23]	KELLEY K A, COTTRELL E. The influence of magmatic differentiation on the oxidation state of Fe in a basaltic arc magma[J]. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2012, 329: 109-121.
[24]	BROUNCE M N, KELLEY K A, COTTRELL E. Variations in Fe³⁺/∑Fe of Mariana arc basalts and mantle wedge $f_{O_{2}}$[J]. Journal of Petrology, 2014, 55(12): 2513-2536.
[25]	BROUNCE M, KELLEY K A, COTTRELL E, et al. Temporal evolution of mantle wedge oxygen fugacity during subduction initiation[J]. Geology, 2015, 43(9): 775-778.
[26]	JUGO P J, LUTH R W, RICHARDS J P. Experimental data on the speciation of sulfur as a function of oxygen fugacity in basaltic melts[J]. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2005, 69(2): 497-503.
[27]	WALLACE P J, CARMICHAEL I S E. S speciation in submarine basaltic glasses as determined by measurements of S Kα X-ray wavelength shifts[J]. American Mineralogist, 1994, 79(1-2): 161-167.
[28]	CARROLL M, RUTHERFORD M. Sulfur speciation in hydrous experimental glasses of varying oxidation state-Results from measured wavelength shifts of sulfur X-rays[J]. American Mineralogist, 1988, 73: 845-849.
[29]	JUGO P J. Sulfur content at sulfide saturation in oxidized magmas[J]. Geology, 2009, 37(5): 415-418.
[30]	FINCHAM C J B, RICHARDSON F D. The behaviour of sulphur in silicate and aluminate melts[J]. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London(Series A,Mathematical and Physical Sciences), 1954, 223: 40-62.
[31]	WYKES J L, ST C O’NEILL H, MAVROGENES J A. The effect of FeO on the sulfur content at sulfide saturation (SCSS)and the selenium content at selenide saturation of silicate melts[J]. Journal of Petrology, 2015, 56(7): 1407-1424.
[32]	HAUGHTON D R, ROEDER P L, SKINNER B J. Solubility of sulfur in mafic magmas[J]. Economic Geology, 1974, 69(4): 451-467.
[33]	ST C O’NEILL H, MAVROGENES J A. The sulfide capacity and the sulfur content at sulfide saturation of silicate melts at 1400℃ and 1 bar[J]. Journal of Petrology, 2002, 43(6): 1049-1087.
[34]	PETFORD N, CRUDEN A R, MCCAFFREY K J, et al. Granite magma formation, transport and emplacement in the Earth’s crust[J]. Nature, 2000, 408: 669-673.
[35]	SCHOENE B, SCHALTEGGER U, BRACK P, et al. Rates of magma differentiation and emplacement in a ballooning pluton recorded by U-Pb TIMS-TEA, Adamello batholith, Italy[J]. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2012, 355: 162-173.
[36]	GLAZNER A F, BARTLEY J M, COLEMAN D S, et al. Are plutons assembled over millions of years by amalgamation from small magma chambers?[J]. GSA Today, 2004, 14(4): 4.
[37]	HOLZHEID A, GROVE T L. Sulfur saturation limits in silicate melts and their implications for core formation scenarios for terrestrial planets[J]. American Mineralogist, 2002, 87(2/3): 227-237.
[38]	HALTER W E, PETTKE T, HEINRICH C A. The origin of Cu/Au ratios in porphyry-type ore deposits[J]. Science, 2002, 296: 1844-1846. PMID
[39]	NALDRETT A J, VON GRUENEWALDT G. Association of platinum-group elements with chromitite in layered intrusions and ophiolite complexes[J]. Economic Geology, 1989, 84(1): 180-187.
[40]	IRVINE T N. Origin of chromitite layers in the Muskox intrusion and other stratiform intrusions: A new interpretation[J]. Geology, 1977, 5(5): 273.
[41]	LIGHTFOOT P C, HAWKESWORTH C J. Flood basalts and magmatic Ni, Cu, and PGE sulphide mineralization: Comparative geochemistry of the Noril’sk (Siberian traps)and West Greenland sequences[M]// Large Igneous Provinces:Continental, Oceanic, and Planetary Flood Volcanism. Washington: American Geophysical Union, 2013: 357-380.
[42]	RIPLEY E M, LI C S. Sulfide saturation in mafic magmas: Is external sulfur required for magmatic Ni-Cu-(PGE)ore genesis?[J]. Economic Geology, 2013, 108(1): 45-58.
[43]	WALLACE P J. Volatiles in subduction zone magmas: Concentrations and fluxes based on melt inclusion and volcanic gas data[J]. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 2005, 140(1/2/3): 217-240.
[44]	DE HOOG J C M, MASON P R D, VAN BERGEN M J. Sulfur and chalcophile elements in subduction zones: Constraints from a laser ablation ICP-MS study of melt inclusions from Galunggung Volcano, Indonesia[J]. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2001, 65(18): 3147-3164.
[45]	WALLACE P J, EDMONDS M. The sulfur budget in magmas: Evidence from melt inclusions, submarine glasses, and volcanic gas emissions[J]. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 2011, 73(1): 215-246.
[46]	EVANS K A. The redox budget of subduction zones[J]. Earth-Science Reviews, 2012, 113(1/2): 11-32.
[47]	EVANS K A, ELBURG M A, KAMENETSKY V S. Oxidation state of subarc mantle[J]. Geology, 2012, 40(9): 783-786.
[48]	KELLEY K A, COTTRELL E. Water and the oxidation state of subduction zone magmas[J]. Science, 2009, 325: 605-607. DOI PMID
[49]	MÉTRICH N, BONNIN-MOSBAH M, SUSINI J, et al. Presence of sulfite (SIV)in arc magmas: Implications for volcanic sulfur emissions[J]. Geophysical Research Letters, 2002, 29(11): 33-1.
[50]	PARK J W, CAMPBELL I H, MALAVIARACHCHI S P K, et al. Chalcophile element fertility and the formation of porphyry Cu±Au deposits[J]. Mineralium Deposita, 2019, 54(5): 657-670.
[51]	RICHARDS J P. Postsubduction porphyry Cu-Au and epithermal Au deposits: Products of remelting of subduction-modified lithosphere[J]. Geology, 2009, 37(3): 247-250.
[52]	MUNGALL J E, BRENAN J M. Partitioning of platinum-group elements and Au between sulfide liquid and basalt and the origins of mantle-crust fractionation of the chalcophile elements[J]. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2014, 125: 265-289.
[53]	MAIER W D. Platinum-group element (PGE)deposits and occurrences: Mineralization styles, genetic concepts, and exploration criteria[J]. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 2005, 41(3): 165-191.
[54]	LI Y, AUDÉTAT A. Partitioning of V, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Mo, Ag, Sn, Sb, W, Au, Pb, and Bi between sulfide phases and hydrous basanite melt at upper mantle conditions[J]. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2012, 355: 327-340.
[55]	LAURENZ V, FONSECA R O C, BALLHAUS C, et al. The solubility of palladium and ruthenium in picritic melts: 2.The effect of sulfur[J]. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2013, 108: 172-183.
[56]	HAO H D, CAMPBELL I H, RICHARDS J P, et al. Platinum-group element geochemistry of the escondida igneous suites, northern Chile: Implications for ore formation[J]. Journal of Petrology, 2019, 60(3): 487-514.
[57]	BARNES S J, COUTURE J F, SAWYER E W, et al. Nickel-copper occurrences in the Belleterre-Angliers Belt of the Pontiac Subprovince and the use of Cu-Pd ratios in interpreting platinum-group element distributions[J]. Economic Geology, 1993, 88(6): 1402-1418.
[58]	BARNES S J, RIPLEY E M. Highly siderophile and strongly chalcophile elements in magmatic ore deposits[J]. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 2015, 81(1): 725-774.
[59]	JUGO P J, CANDELA P A, PICCOLI P M. Magmatic sulfides and Au: Cu ratios in porphyry deposits: An experimental study of copper and gold partitioning at 850℃, 100 MPa in a haplogranitic melt-pyrrhotite-intermediate solid solution-gold metal assemblage, at gas saturation[J]. Lithos, 1999, 46(3): 573-589.
[60]	PARK J W, CAMPBELL I H, KIM J, et al. The role of late sulfide saturation in the formation of a Cu-and Au-rich magma: Insights from the platinum group element geochemistry of Niuatahi-motutahi lavas, Tonga rear arc[J]. Journal of Petrology, 2015, 56(1): 59-81.
[61]	JENNER F E. Cumulate causes for the low contents of sulfide-loving elements in the continental crust[J]. Nature Geoscience, 2017, 10(7): 524-529.
[62]	AGUE J J, BRIMHALL G H. Granites of the batholiths of California: Products of local assimilation and regional-scale crustal contamination[J]. Geology, 1987, 15(1): 63.
[63]	TOMKINS A G, REBRYNA K C, WEINBERG R F, et al. Magmatic sulfide formation by reduction of oxidized arc basalt[J]. Journal of Petrology, 2012, 53(8): 1537-1567.
[64]	COCKER H A, VALENTE D L, PARK J W, et al. Using platinum group elements to identify sulfide saturation in a porphyry Cu system: The El Abra porphyry Cu deposit, northern Chile[J]. Journal of Petrology, 2015, 56(12): 2491-2514.
[65]	TASSARA S, AGUE J J. A role for crustal assimilation in the formation of copper-rich reservoirs at the base of continental arcs[J]. Economic Geology, 2022, 117(7): 1481-1496.
[66]	HAO H D, CAMPBELL I H, PARK J W, et al. Platinum-group element geochemistry used to determine Cu and Au fertility in the Northparkes igneous suites, New South Wales, Australia[J]. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2017, 216: 372-392.
[67]	PARK J W, CAMPBELL I H, CHIARADIA M, et al. Crustal magmatic controls on the formation of porphyry copper deposits[J]. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 2021, 2: 542-557.
[68]	CHEN H Y, WU C. Metallogenesis and major challenges of porphyry copper systems above subduction zones[J]. Science China (Earth Sciences), 2020, 63(7): 899-918.
[69]	GASCHNIG R M, RUDNICK R L, MCDONOUGH W F, et al. Compositional evolution of the upper continental crust through time, as constrained by ancient glacial diamictites[J]. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2016, 186: 316-343.
[70]	CHEN K, RUDNICK R L, WANG Z C, et al. How mafic was the Archean upper continental crust? Insights from Cu and Ag in ancient glacial diamictites[J]. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2020, 278: 16-29.
[71]	CHIARADIA M. Copper enrichment in arc magmas controlled by overriding plate thickness[J]. Nature Geoscience, 2014, 7: 43-46.
[72]	王瑞, 朱弟成, 王青, 等. 特提斯造山带斑岩成矿作用[J]. 中国科学(D辑), 2000, 30: 38.
[73]	ALONSO-PEREZ R, MÜNTENER O, ULMER P. Igneous garnet and amphibole fractionation in the roots of island arcs: Experimental constraints on andesitic liquids[J]. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 2009, 157(4): 541-558.
[74]	LEE C T A, TANG M. How to make porphyry copper deposits[J]. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2020, 529: 115868.
[75]	LEE C T A, LEE T C, WU C T. Modeling the compositional evolution of recharging, evacuating, and fractionating (REFC)magma chambers: Implications for differentiation of arc magmas[J]. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2014, 143: 8-22.
[76]	CHEN K, TANG M, LEE C T A, et al. Sulfide-bearing cumulates in deep continental arcs: The missing copper reservoir[J]. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2020, 531: 115971.
[77]	TANG M, ERDMAN M, ELDRIDGE G, et al. The redox “filter” beneath magmatic orogens and the formation of continental crust[J]. Science Advances, 2018, 4(5): eaar4444.
[78]	AHMAD I, RICHARDS J P, PEARSON D G, et al. Fractionation of Sulfide Phases Controls the Chalcophile Metal Budget of Arc Magmas: Evidence from the Chilas Complex, Kohistan Arc, Pakistan[J]. 2021.
[79]	LOWCZAK J N, CAMPBELL I H, COCKER H, et al. Platinum-group element geochemistry of the Forest Reef Volcanics, southeastern Australia: Implications for porphyry Au-Cu minerali-sation[J]. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2018, 220:385-406.
[80]	AUDÉTAT A, PETTKE T. Evolution of a porphyry-Cu mineralized magma system at santa rita, new Mexico (USA)[J]. Journal of Petrology, 2006, 47(10): 2021-2046.
[81]	HEINRICH C A, CONNOLLY J A D. Physical transport of magmatic sulfides promotes copper enrichment in hydrothermal ore fluids[J]. Geology, 2022, 50(10): 1101-1105.
[82]	杨立强, 杨伟, 张良, 等. 热液成矿系统构造控矿理论[J]. 地学前缘, 2024, 31(1): 239-266. DOI