Distribution of the hydrothermal alteration at the GuanacoAu-Cu district mine, Northern Chile

PERMUY VIDAL C.; PÁEZ GERARDO N; GALINA, M.; JOVIC SEBASTIAN M; GUIDO DIEGO M; MOREIRA, P.; LÓPEZ L.

Conferencia; SEG South American Conference: Sierra to Craton; 2019

The El Guanaco mining district is located at 195 km to the south-southeast of Antofagasta city, northern Chile. Available production data reveals a minimum production of 1.32 Moz, that could even reach 3 MOz, during more than 130 years of mining history. The El Guanaco HS deposit is hosted in the Paleocene-Eocene volcanic belt. This volcanism is part of a widespread volcanic event developed along the present-day Longitudinal Valley and Chilean Precordillera. Large alteration zones, epithermal and minor porphyry systems are spatial and genetically associated within this volcanism. HS system is hosted into the Paolecene volcanic rocks of the Chile-Alemania Formation typified by succesive monogenetic volcanic edificies. This is characterized by ENE-WSW, E-W trending structures composed of Au-bearing vuggy-silica and quartz-enargite veins hosted in advanced argillic lithocap remmants.