Relations of Tectonics to Ore Deposits in the Southern Cordillera

Edited by William R. Dickinson & William D. Payne

a 25 50 100 I I I I

SCALE IN KM

ARC - TRENCH SYSTE M

MAGMATIC ARC VOLCANIC SEQUENCE

PLUlONS

SUB -ARC PETROLOGIC ELEMENTS

==--~-------

I Upper Crust I,

+ + + + Lower Crust

+ + + ---; /

~// E/ Sub-arc g ~ Li t hosphere ~/ 0/

Asthen osph ere Wedge

Subducted Crust

ARIZONA GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY DIGEST VOLUME XIV

Tucson, Arizona 1981

THIS PAGE

INTENTIONALLY BLANK

Relations of Tectonics to Ore Deposits in the Southern Cordillera

Edited by William R. Dickinson & William D. Payne

a 25 50 100 I I I I

SCALE IN KM

ARC - TRENCH SYSTE M

MAGMATIC ARC VOLCANIC SEQUENCE

PLUlONS

SUB -ARC PETROLOGIC ELEMENTS

==--~-------

I Upper Crust I,

+ + + + Lower Crust

+ + + ---; /

~// E/ Sub-arc g ~ Li t hosphere ~/ 0/

Asthen osph ere Wedge

Subducted Crust

ARIZONA GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY DIGEST VOLUME XIV

Tucson, Arizona 1981

Acknowledgments

The editors thank the members of the Arizona Geological Society, geology students at the University of Arizona, the secretarial staff of the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arizona, and the Conference Administration Services staff of the University of Arizona for their efforts in staging the symposium and preparing these proceedings.

ii

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PART I AL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF JAMES GILLULY ON TECTON I CS AND ORE DEPOSI TS

Gflluly , James, 1 928, Basi n range faulti ng along the Oqui rrh Range, Utah: Geo l . Soc . Ameri ca Bul1 . , v . 39 , p . 1 1 D3-1 130.

Gi lluly , James , 1 93 1 , Copper deposi ts near Keating , Oregon: U . S . Geol. Survey Bull. 830 , 32 p .

Gi lluly , J ames, 1 932 , Geology and ore deposi ts of the Stockton and Fai rfiel d quadrangl es , Utah: U . S . Geol . Survey P rof . Paper 173 , 17 1 p .

Gi l luly , James , 193 5 , Keratophyres of eastern Oregon and the spi l i te problem: Am . J ou r . Sci . , v . 29 , p . 225-252 and 336 - 352 .

Gf1 luly , James , 1 937 , Geol ogy and mi neral resources of the Baker quadrangle, Oregon: U . S . Geol . Survey Bul l. 879 , 1 19 p .

Gi lluly , James , 1 937 , Geol ogy and ore deposi ts o f the Ajo quadrangle, Ari zona: Ari z . Bur . Mi nes Bull. 141 , 83 p .

Gi lluly , James, 1 938 , Physi ography of the Ajo regi on , Ari zona: Geol . Soc . America Bull . , v . 48 , p . 323-347 .

Gf1 luly , James, 1 945 , Emplacement of the Uncle Sam porphyry , Tombstone, Ari zona: Am. J our . Sc i . , v . 243 , p . 643-666 .

Gi l luly , James , 1 946 , The Ajo mi n i ng distr i c t , Ari zona: U . S . Geol . Survey Prof. Paper 209, 1 1 2 p .

Gi lluly , James, 1 949, D i stri bution o f mountai n bui ldi ng i n geologic time: Geol. Soc . Ameri ca Bull. , v . 6 0 , p . 561 -590 .

Gi 1 luly , James, J . R . Cooper , and J . S . Wi lli ams , 1 954, Late Pal eozo i c strat igraphy of central Coch ise County , Ari zona: U . S . Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 266 , 49 p .

Gi lluly , James , 1954, Further li ght o n the Roberts thrust , north-central Nevada: Sci ence , v . 1 1 9 , p . 423 .

iii

Gi l l u l y , James , 1 95 5 , Geol ogi c contrasts between conti nents and ocean basi ns , i n Pol dervaart , Ari e ( e d . ) , Crust of the earth : Geo l . Soc . America Speci al Paper 6 2 , p . 7 - 1 8 .

- -

Gi l l ul y , James , 1956 , General geol ogy of central Coc h i se County , Ari zona : U . S . Geol . Survey Prof . Paper 281 , 169 p .

Roberts , R .J . , P . E . Hotz , J ames Gi l l ul y , and H . G . Ferguson , 1 958 , Pal eozo i c rocks of north-central Nevada : Am. Assoc . Petrol eum Geol ogists Bul l . , v . 42 , p . 2813-2857 .

Gi l l ul y , James , 196 0 , A fol ded thrust i n Nevada -- i nferences as to time rel ati ons between fol di ng and faul ti ng: Am . J our. Sci . , v. 258-A ( Bradl ey VoL) , p. 68-79.

Gi l l ul y , James , 1 963 , The tectoni c evol ution of the western Uni ted States : Geol . Soc . London Quart . J our. , v . 1 1 9, p . 133- 1 7 4 .

Gi l l ul y , J ames , 1964 , Atl anti c sedi ments , erosion rates , a n d the evol uti on o f the conti nental shel f -- some specu l ati ons: Geol . Soc. Ameri ca Bul l . , v . 7 5 , p . 483-492 .

Gi l l ul y , J ames , 196 5 , Vol can i sm , tectoni sm , and pl utoni sm i n the western Uni ted States: Geol . Soc . America Speci al Paper 80, 69 p .

Gi l l uly , James , and Harol d Masursky , 1 96 5 , Geol ogy o f the Cortez quadrangl e , Nevada : U . S . Geol . Survey Bul l . 1 1 7 5 , 1 17 p .

Gi l l ul y , James , and Ol cott Gates , 1 96 5 , Tectoni c and i gneous geol ogy of the northern Shoshone Range , Nevada : U . S . Geol . Survey Prof . Paper 465 , 1 53 p .

Gi l l ul y , James , 1 966 , Orogeny and geochronol ogy : Am . Jour . Sc i . , v . 264, p . 97- 1 1 1 .

Gi l l ul y , J ames, 1 967 , Geol ogic map o f the Wi nnemucca quadrangl e , Nevada : U . S . Geo l . Survey Geol . Quad. Ma p GQ-6 56 , 1 :62 , 500 .

Gi l l ul y , James , 1967 , Chronol ogy of tectonic movements i n western Uni ted States : Am . Jour . Sci . , v . 265 , p . 306-331 .

Gi l l ul y , James , 1 969, Geol ogical perspecti ve and the compl e teness of the geol ogi c record: Geol . Soc . America Bu l l . , v . 80, p . 2303-231 1 .

Gi l l ul y , J ames , 1969 , Ocean i c sediment vol umes and conti nental dri ft : Sc i ence , v . 166 , p . 992-994.

Gi l l ul y , James, J . C . Reed, J r . , and W. M. Cady , 1 970 , Sedimentary vol umes and the i r s i gni ficance : Geol . Soc . Ameri ca Bul l . , v . 81 , p . 3 53-37 5 .

Gi l l ul y , James , 197 0 , Crustal deformation i n the western Un i ted States , i n J ohnson , Hel gi and Smi th , B . L . ( eds . ) , The megatectoni cs of conti nents and oceans: Rutgers U n i v . Tress, New Brunswi ck , N .J . , p. 47--rr-:-

Gi l l ul y , James , 197 1 , Pl ate tecton ics and magmati c evol uti on : Geol . Soc . Ameri ca Bul l . , v . 82 , p . 2383-2396 .

Gi 11 ul y , J ames, Earth :

1 97 2 , Tectoni cs i nvol ved i n the evol uti on of mounta i n ranges , � The Nature of the Sol i d McGraw-Hi l l Book Co . , N . Y . , p . 406-439.

Gi l l ul y , James , 1973 , Steady pl ate motion and epi sodi c orogeny and magmatism : Geol . Soc . America Bul l . , v. 84, p. 499- 5 1 3 .

Gi l l ul y , James , 197 3 , Steady pl ate moti on a n d epi sodi C orogeny a n d magmatism -- a correcti o n : Geol . Soc . Ameri ca Bul l . , v . 84, p . 3721-3722 .

iv

FOREWORD

A symposium on the "Relat ions o f Tectonics to Ore Deposi t s i n the Southern Cordi l lera" was held at the Univers i t y of Ari zona in Tucson on March 19-20, 1981, with associated f ie ld t r ips on March 17-18 and 21-22. The sympos ium was sponsored by the Ari zona Geo logical Society in conj unc t ion with the Laboratory of Geot ectonics in the Department of Geo sciences at the University of Ari zona . Approximately 1250 geoscienti s t s a t t ended the techn ical s e s sions, and nearly 700 went on the various f ield t rips . This volume inc ludes nearly all the papers presented.

The program was designed to p rovide d i s cuss ion of a range o f pert inent topics including the p r inciples of Cordil leran t ec tonics and magmatism, general associati ons of ore depos i t s in Cor d i l leran s e t tings, regional correlations of tectonic features, tectonic s e t t ings of d i fferent kinds of ore d eposi t s , and the s t ructural and metallogene t i c relat ions o f selected key ore d epos i t s . The i nvited speakers were geosc ienti s t s f rom academia, government, and indu s t ry who t ogether represent a wide spectrum of d is ci p l inary backgrounds and personal interests.

This symposium i s thus an attempt to foster a comprehensive approach t o prob lems of Cord i lleran metallo­genes i s . The future success o f exp lorat ion programs probably h inges o n the ab i l i t y o f geos c ient i s t s t o d evelop integrated s t rategies that b lend the best thinking f rom all relevant branches of s cience. D i s coveries will not be accidental, and good fortune will seldom s t em f rom luck a lone.

The art i c les in this volume were submitted to the Ari zona Geological Society in camera-ready form ; authors are solely respons ible for the ir contents . Thanks are due t o all the typ i s t s and art i s t s who prepared the text, d raf ted the f i gures, and pasted up the copy on the format pages.

The members o f the Ari zona Geo logical Society thank all s ympo s ium participants for their interes t and support, without which this vo lume could not have b een produced . Speakers and authors deserve a special s alut e for their t imely e f fo rt s to submit f inal vers ions o f the papers inc luded here.

ARIZONA GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OFFICERS

Pre s ident . . .

Past President .

Vice President .

Vice Pres ident .

Secretary . . .

Vice Secretary.

Treasurer . . .

Vice Treasurer.

Counc il Chairman.

Councilors . . . .

Norman E . Lehman

Anne Kramer Lor ing

Thomas L . Heidrick

Steven C. Potter

Michael R . Wolfhard

Patr i ck Tuc c i

Lawrence D . Fel lows

Roger A. Newell

Anne Kramer Loring

John E . Kinnison Sal A. Anzalone Peter J. Coney Will iam D. Payne Christopher B . G i l le t t e James D . Loghry

v

SYMPOSIUM COMMITTEE MEMBERS

General Co-Chairmen . . . . . Peter G . Dunn Barry N. Watson

P ro gram Co-Chairmen . . . . . W i l liam R . D ickinson W i l liam D . Payne

F ie ld Trip Chairman

Campus Arrangements

Banquet Chairman. • . . .

Participant Reg i s t rat ion .

Spouse Ac t ivit ies

Social Affairs . .

Thomas L. Heidrick

Edgar j. McCul lough, J r . Joseph Stanley, J r .

Char les P . Miller

Joseph S t anley, Jr. Jan C. Wilt

Ros e Marie Heidrick

Jerry L. Aiken E. Grover Heinrichs

Sympos ium Editors . . . . . . W i lliam R. D ickinson William D . Payne

Informa t ion for Contributors to the D igest

The D igest is i ssued periodically b y the Society as an informal bulle t in intended to present technical papers and p rogress reports o f research b earing on geological problems of Ari zona in part icular and the Southwes t generally . The ed itors welcome such papers as well as notes and news of geological and re lated ac t ivit ies within this b road f ramework.

Manuscr ipts submit ted for p ub l ication should meet the following requirements :

1. Manuscripts must be typewri t t en and doub le spaced throughout ( includi ng ab s t racts, quotat ions, and list o f references c ited ) .

2. Informat ion on D igest style can be obtained f rom the ed itor s .

3 . Abs t racts, n o t exceeding 300 words, a r e required f o r a l l art ic les.

4 . D rafted i llustrations should be care fully prepared in wat erproof b lack i nk on drafting stock or Mylar . Lettering should be done with letter ing guides or machine s . S ize o f i llus trat ions and lettering and especially patterns should permit reduct ion to D iges t format . Consul t a t ion with the e d itors i s invited to determine current format . I llust r a t ion t i t les should b e typed on a s eparate sheet of paper and not le ttered on the i l lus tration.

5. Photographs should be sharp, glossy, b lack-and-white prints and kept to a minimum.

6 . The original and one copy o f the manuscript, including i l lus trations, should b e s ubmit ted. Manuscripts and inqui ries may be add ressed to :

Ava ilab le

D igest Editor Ar i zona Geo logical Soc iety

P. O. Box 40952 Tucson, Ari zona 85717

Ari zona Geolo�ical Soc ietl Pub l ication s

Ari zona Geological Society D iges t, Volume 13 (1981) , i n press (Misce llaneous Papers on Ari zona Geology)

Ari zona Geological Society D igest, Volume 12 (1979) , 322 p p . (S tudies in Wes tern Ari zona)

Arizona Geological Society D igest, Volume 11 (1978) , 178 pp . ( Proceedings of the Porphyry Copper Symposium)

Arizona Geological Society Digest, Volume 10 (19 76), 430 pp . (Tectonics of Ari zona)

Ari zona Geological Society D i gest, Volume 9 (1972) , 265 pp .

Arizona Geological Society Guidebook I II (1968), 354 p p . (Cordi lleran Section Mee ting, Geological Society o f Amer ica)

Arizona H i ghway Geologic Map (1967), 1:1, 000,000

Ari zona Geological Society D iges t , Volume 7 (1964), 171 pp .

Address Inquiries To :

Ari zona Geological Society Pub l icat ions P. O. Box 40952

Tucson, Ari zona 85717

v i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A PLATE TECTONIC-LITHOTECTONIC CLASS I FICATION OF ORE DEPOSITS . . • . . • . . . • • . . . . J . M . Guilbert 1

A REVIEW OF THE PRECAMBRIAN VOLCANOGENIC MASSIVE SULFIDE DEPOSITS IN CENTRAL ARIZONA AND THE RELATIONSHIP TO THEIR DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENT . . . . . M . E . Donnelly, G . A . Hahn 11

ACCRETIONARY TECTONICS IN WESTERN NORTH AMERICA. . . . • . . . . . . . • . . • . . . . . . • P . J . Coney 23

MAGMA SOURCES IN CORDILLERAN SETTINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . P . J . Wyllie 39

ORE DEPOSITS IN CORDILLERAN AND ISLAND-ARC SETTINGS . . • . . . . • . • • • . . . . • . . . R . H . S illitoe 4 9

PHYSICOCHEMICAL CONSTRAINTS ON PORPHYRY MINERALIZATION . . . . • . • . . . . • . . . . • . C .W . Burnham 71

GEOLOGIC AND GEOTECTONIC SETTING OF PORPHYRY COPPER DEPOSITS IN THE SOUTHERN CORDILLERA . . • S . R . T it ley 79

TECTONIC AND GEOCHEMICAL SETTING OF TUNGSTEN SKARN MINERALIZATION IN THE CORDILLERA. . . . . R . J . Newb erry, M . T . Einaudi 99

PLATE TECTONIC EVOLUTION OF THE SOUTHERN CORDILLERA . . . . • . • . . . . • . • . • . . . W . R . D ickinson 113

AGE TRENDS OF IGNEOUS ACTIVITY IN RELATION TO METALLOGENESIS IN THE SOUTHERN CORDILLERA . . . . . . P . E . Damon , M. Sha f iqul lah, K . F . Clark 137

REGIONAL STRAIN ANALYSIS OF THE SUPERPOSED DEFORMATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA AND THE EASTERN GREAT BASIN . . . • . . . G . H . Davis 155

EOCENE TECTONICS AND SED IMENTATION IN THE COLORADO PLATEAU-ROCKY MOUNTAIN AREA. • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • C . E . Chapin, S . M . Cather 173

VOLCANO-TECTONIC SETTING OF TERTIARY ORE DEPOSITS, SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAINS • . . . . . . . . P . W . L ipman 199

TECTONIC SETTING AND GENERATION OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN PORPHYRY MOLYBDENUM DEPOSITS • . • . . A . A . Bookstrom 215

RELATION OF CALDERAS TO ORE DEPOSITS IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES . . . . . . • . . . . . . • J . J . Rytuba 2 2 7

PRECIOUS METAL DEPOSITS ASSOCIATED WITH VOLCANIC ENVIRONMENTS I N THE SOUTHWEST . . . . . . L . J . Buchanan 237

BULK TONNAGE GOLD DEPOSITS IN VOLCANIC ENVIRONMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . J . E . Worthington 263

CHARACTERISTICS OF D ISSEMINATED S ILVER DEPOSITS IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES . . . . . . . F . T . Graybeal 271

MINERALIZATION RELATED TO THE VOLCANIC CENTER AT BEATTY, NEVADA . . . . . . . . . . . R . Ahern, R.M. Corn 283

ABSTRACTS OF OTHER PAPERS GIVEN ORALLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R . A . P r ice , S . B . Kei t h , T . L . Heidrick 287

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