Dismembered Porphyry Systems Near Wickenburg, Arizona: District-Scale Reconstruction with an Arc-Scale Context
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©2016 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc. Economic Geology, v. 111, pp. 447–466 Dismembered Porphyry Systems near Wickenburg, Arizona: District-Scale Reconstruction with an Arc-Scale Context Phillip A. Nickerson†,* and Eric Seedorff Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources, Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, 1040 East Fourth Street, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0077 Abstract This study combines results from reconnaissance-scale mapping of hydrothermal alteration, rock types, and structures to provide a district-scale cross section and associated palinspastic reconstruction of an area with two previously undescribed Laramide (~70 Ma) porphyry systems at Sheep Mountain and Copper Basin (Crown King). Extension at the district scale is placed in an arc-scale context using an original compilation of strike and dip measurements on Tertiary rocks to reconstruct the Laramide porphyry belt prior to extension. The study area contains five sequential, partially superimposed sets of normal faults that are nearly planar where exposed. Dips of all normal faults initiated at 60° to 70° and rotated during slip to angles as gentle as 20°. A palinspastic reconstruction reveals that two, spatially distinct hydrothermal systems overlie different cupolas of a Late Cretaceous pluton. Hydrothermal alteration is zoned from greisen to potassic to transitional greisen- potassic assemblages from deep to shallow structural levels. The reconstruction is used to identify two covered exploration targets. The prospects may be porphyry molybdenum systems of the quartz monzonitic-granitic porphyry Mo-Cu subclass, joining others in an arc that is best known for porphyry copper deposits. The Laramide porphyry belt prior to extension displays a variably well-defined axis, ~100 km wide, with gaps and clusters of deposits along its 700-km strike length. The majority of deposits lie along the axis, but others lie in fore- or rear-arc positions. The interpreted preextensional geometry of the Laramide porphyry belt resem- bles other porphyry belts and the distribution of active volcanoes at convergent margins. Introduction of ore-forming systems are exhumed and can be examined In southwestern North America, the Cenozoic Basin and at the surface (Proffett, 1979; Carten, 1986; Dilles and Ein- Range extensional province is superimposed upon the audi, 1992; Seedorff et al., 2008). Laramide (80–50 Ma) magmatic arc (Wilkins and Heidrick, Regional-scale reconstructions commonly subdivide regions 1995; Barton, 1996). The Laramide magmatic arc contains into extensional domains and then restore extension in each of many well-studied porphyry systems (e.g., Titley and Hicks, the extended domains (e.g., McQuarrie and Wernicke, 2005). 1966; Titley, 1982a; Pierce and Bolm, 1995; Fig. 1). However, At the arc scale, such reconstructions can aid in understand- few previous investigations consider the effect that postmin- ing tectonic processes or, as attempted here, the original dis- eralization normal faulting has had on spatial relationships at tribution of porphyry deposits along a magmatic arc. the deposit or district scale (e.g., Lowell, 1968; Wilkins and This study focuses on a poorly understood segment of the Heidrick, 1995; Wodzicki, 1995; Stavast et al., 2008), and Laramide porphyry copper belt in the White Picacho and especially at the scale of the magmatic arc (Richard, 1994; Sheep Mountain districts (Keith et al., 1983), near the town Staude and Barton, 2001). of Wickenburg in central Arizona (Fig. 2), and provides the At the deposit and district scale, the superposition of first public description, notwithstanding company reports, of normal faults and porphyry systems creates challenges and hydrothermal features observed in the Copper Basin (Crown benefits for the study of both extensional and hydrothermal King) and Sheep Mountain porphyry systems. Previous processes. Challenges can arise where hydrothermal altera- detailed mapping of rocks types and structural geology (Peter- tion obscures subtle distinctions in certain stratigraphic units son, 1985; Capps et al., 1986, Stimac et al., 1987; R. Powers, that might serve as important structural markers, or where unpub. map) is combined with original, reconnaissance-scale orebodies are dismembered by normal faults. Benefits of mapping of hydrothermal alteration and examination of areas this superposition arise when products of one of the geologic critical to a structural interpretation of the area, which was processes can be used to help constrain aspects of the other made possible by helicopter-assisted access. The data for rock process. For example, predictable patterns in hydrothermal types, structure, and alteration are used to make a structural alteration zoning can be used as geologic markers that may analysis of the area, including a palinspastic reconstruction better constrain structural reconstructions (e.g., Nicker- of the Oligo-Miocene extension. The reconstruction demon- son et al., 2010), and, in turn, aid in better discriminating strates that extension was produced by five superimposed sets between different styles of extension. Conversely, ore-form- of normal faults, and the district-scale reconstruction reveals ing processes can be better constrained where deep levels two new porphyry exploration targets centered on potassic alteration. The results from the Wickenburg area are placed in an arc-scale context by using the equations of Jackson † Corresponding author: e-mail, [email protected] and McKenzie (1983) to generate a new reconstruction of *Present address: Bronco Creek Exploration, Inc., 1815 E. Winsett Street, the preextension distribution of porphyry deposits along the Tucson, Arizona 85719-6547. Laramide arc. Submitted: December 22, 2013 0361-0128/16/4384/447-20 447 Accepted: September 25, 2015 448 NICKERSON AND SEEDORFF 114°W 111°W 108°W Las Vegas Porphyry Systems of the a 36°N Laramide Magmatic Arc Arizona Mineral Nevad ● Park New Mexico Bagdad ● Copper Basin ● Copper Basin (Prescott) (Crown King) ● Arizona ● California Fig. 2 Sheep Mountain Globe-Miami District ● Phoenix ●●● Resolution ● ● Christmas Morenci Sacaton ● Ray ● ● ● Hillsboro ●● ●● ● 33°N Santa Cruz Poston Copper Butte ● Safford ● Vekol ● ● Creek ● Santa San Manuel- District Lakeshore ● Tyrone Rita Ajo ● ● Kalamazoo Silver Bell Tucson Pima ●● ●● ● Peach-Elgin District ● Rosemont Sono ra ● Red Mountain G u Chihuahua lf ● Cananea o f Baja California C a l La Caridad if o ● r n 0100 km i Opodepe a Cumobabi 30°N ● ● Fig. 1. Index map of porphyry deposits in the Laramide porphyry copper belt. Modified from Titley (1982b). The dashed box indicates the location of Figure 2. Geologic Setting east (Fig. 2) in the Basin and Range extensional province. Pre- Porphyry deposits in Arizona are among the largest and best vious workers in the Vulture Mountains, ~10 km west of the study area (Fig. 2), proposed that SW-dipping, listric normal studied deposits in the world (e.g., Cooke et al., 2005), and faults were responsible for the observed repetition of steeply many have been productive mines for over a century (e.g., dipping (up to ~85°) Tertiary sedimentary and volcanic rocks Miami, Inspiration, Ray, and Morenci; Parsons, 1933; Fig. 1). exposed in the Vulture Mountains, as well as for the slightly Nearly all of the known porphyry deposits in Arizona formed less tilted (up to ~65°) Tertiary sedimentary and volcanic during Laramide time (~80–50 Ma) when NE-directed rocks exposed in the study area (Rehrig et al., 1980). subduction of the Farallon plate beneath the North Ameri- Subsequent detailed geologic mapping in the study area can plate produced a NW-SE-striking magmatic arc (Titley, (Capps et al., 1986; Stimac et al., 1987) at 1:24,000 scale, 1982b; Lang and Titley, 1998; Leveille and Stegen, 2012). The however, revealed that normal faults are nearly planar district-scale portion of this study examines a segment of the where exposed at the surface across multiple kilometers of Laramide arc located between the Globe-Miami district and paleodepth and that higher angle faults cut lower angle faults. the Bagdad deposit, within which a major economic deposit Determining the geometry, slip, and relative timing of normal has yet to be identified (Fig. 1). faults (i.e., the style of extension) near Wickenburg is essen- tial to reconstructing the geology of the district. Furthermore, Extension in western Arizona reconstruction of extension in the Laramide porphyry belt is The study area near Wickenburg is located between the of particular interest to economic geologists, because it can highly extended Harcuvar and Harquahala metamorphic core lead to the identification of offset and covered pieces of por- complexes (Reynolds and Spencer, 1985) to the west and the phyry systems (e.g., Lowell, 1968) that might be attractive unextended Bradshaw Mountains (Rehrig et al., 1980) to the exploration targets. DISMEMBERED PORPHYRY SYSTEMS NEAR WICKENBURG, AZ 449 Geologic Map of West-Central Arizona Highway Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary rocks Early and Mesoproterozoic intrusive rocks County border Cretaceous and Tertiary intrusive rocks Early Proterozoic schist Mine or resource Mesozoic and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks Early Proterozoic metamorphosed sedimentary rocks Exploration target Quaternary undifferentiated Early Proterozoic metamorphosed volcanic rocks Br ads h Copper Basin aw M (Crown King) ounta C Buckhorn ins r MC z Creek Target a Yavapai rcuv Ha Pa rg 34°N a L Maricopa enbu Sheep Wickenburg ● Hwy 60 ains Wick Mountain Target