Magma Evolution Leading to Porphyry Au-Cu Mineralization at the Ok Tedi Deposit, Papua New Guinea: Trace Element Geochemistry and High-Precision Geochronology of Igneous Zircon

摘要

Geologic field relationships combined with spatially resolved geochemistry and high-precision U-Pb geochronology of zircons allow quantification of magmatic processes leading to porphyry emplacement and Au-Cu ore formation at Ok Tedi, the Earth's youngest giant porphyry-skarn deposit. Trace element contents in zircons were obtained by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry before selected grains were removed from the sample mount, chemically abraded, spiked, and dissolved for high-precision U-Pb geochronology by chemical abrasion-isotope dilution-thermal ionization mass spectrometry. U-Pb geochronology by laser ablation-sector field-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry on abundant inherited zircon cores that occur in all intrusions together with Hf isotope analyses by solution multicollector-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry permitted further assessment of the degree of crustal assimilation of the upper crustal magma reservoir.