DNR Report 317: 1997; Ore Deposit Modeling of the Footwall Mineralization of the Duluth Complex

Project Funded by the Minerals Coordinating Committee Through the Mineral Diversification Program

Introduction Extracted from Report 317:

INTRODUCTION (paragraph 1 only)  Mining of high-grade Copper (Cu)-Platinum Group Element (PGE) ore bodies in the footwall rocks beneath the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC) has led, over the last fifteen years, to many geological and geochemical studies of these deposits. The Cu-PGE deposits are characterized by massive chalcopyrite veins, pods, and stringers with thin chloritic alteration halos. The footwall ore zones are spatially associated with contact type Ni-Cu ores and extend hundreds to thousands of meters into the footwall rocks beneath these contact deposits. Vein grades of 30% Cu, 3% Ni, and 0.30 oz/ton precious metals (Au, Ag, Pt, Pd) are typical of the footwall ore bodies (INCO personal communication). The most fundamental geologic process associated with the footwall deposits of the Sudbury Mining Camp is the migration of the ore metals from the Sudbury Igneous Complex into the footwall environment. The footwall ores formed by migration of a fractionated, copper-PGE-rich residual sulfide liquid away from the early crystallizing mono sulphide solid solution (mss), into and along footwall structural zones. The discovery of similar ore deposits beneath the Duluth Complex could lead to a renewed interest in the exploration for, and mining of, various Cu-Ni ore types within the Duluth Complex. This research project, funded by the State of Minnesota, was initiated to create a method of detecting areas beneath the Duluth Complex that are favorable for hosting high-grade footwall deposits...

 

 

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Report 317: Ore Deposit Modeling of the Footwall Mineralization of the Duluth Complex
(203 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches, 7.46 MB)

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Author: D.M. Peterson1
1University of Minnesota Duluth, Department of Geology

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