SANDSTONE-HOSTED GOLD DEPOSITS A New Exploration Target is recognized in Peru

摘要

Within the last several years, Peru has experienced a remarkable resurgence in property acquisition and mineral exploration driven by more favorable political and economic conditions.1 The principal focus has been on gold. Many types of bedrock gold deposits are found within Peru,2 including acid-sulphate and adularia-sericite type vein and bulk-mineable deposits, gold-bearing porphyry copper systems, and the long-worked gold-bearing veins of Paleozoic and Mesozoic age. This article is a preliminary description of a distinctive type of distal sandstone-hosted hydrothermal gold deposit found in the Andes of northern Peru. Total gold potential of these deposits may rival that of the volcanic-hosted, bulk-mineable deposits. Examples of this include Carachugo and Tantahuatay, which formed in nearby areas during the same period of Neogene magmatic activity and metallogenesis. In particular, Santa Rosa and El Toro may prove to be world-class deposits.