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Colombia-Ecuador Miocene Chaucha

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Miocene principally calc-alkaline plutons including granites, granodiorites, tonalites, and dacite porphyries. Includes most of the Central Cordillera of Colombia.
Tract ID 005pCu1005
Country Colombia-Ecuador
Commodity Cu
Study area name Andes
Tectonic setting continental margin
Deposit type porphyry copper
Grade-tonnage model General porphyry copper model (Singer and others, 2005)
Geologic age
Geologic feature age Miocene
Generalized age Tertiary-Neogene
Oldest rocks age 23.03Ma
Youngest rocks age 5.332Ma
Age range 17.698Ma
Identified Cu resources 4,000,300metric tons
Known prospects 4
Mean Cu (t/sq km) 663t/sq km
Map scales used 500K, 1M

Results of the assessment

Assessment date 2005
Estimators Carlos Mario Celada, Vladimir I. Berger, Joseph A Briskey, Charles G. Cunningham, Mariano Gajardo M., Donald A. Singer, David M. Sutphin, Waldo Vivallo S., and Eduardo O. Zappettini
Assessment depth 1km
Quantitative assessment Yes

Estimated number of deposits

Number of deposits Confidence level
6 90%
11 50%
19 10%
19 5%
19 1%
Mean estimated deposits 11.5 ±4.88 (0.42%)
Probability of mean 0.37
Probability of no copper 0.02

Estimated deposit density

Known
deposits		 Total
deposits		 Area
(sq km)		 Deposit density
per 100,000 sq km
4 15.5 58,800 26

Mean estimated tonnage

Copper 39,000,000
Molybdenum 970,000
Gold 950
Silver 13,000
Ore 7,700,000,000

Undiscovered copper resource

Confidence level 95% 90% 50% 10% 5%
Tonnage 3,200,000 7,400,000 30,000,000 81,000,000 110,000,000

Economic analysis

Fraser country Colombia (44%) and Ecuador (24%)
Fraser type 0.47%
Fraser high 0.53%
Typical cost 0.36%
High cost 0.64%
Infrastructure setting Mixed
Comments on depth ~30% cover; depth ok
Expected depth distribution
0 - 250m 0.25
250m - 500m 0.25
500m - 1km 0.5
Economically recoverable resources
Copper 21,000,000t
Molybdenum 380,000t
Gold 360t
Silver 6,700t
Probability no econ recoverable 0.1
Econ NPV 5,100x $1M
Exp dollars 80.89x $1M/100,000 sq km
Exp value class High

Bibliographic references

General Cunningham and others (2008)
Economic Robinson and Menzie (2012)
Cunningham, C.G., Zappettini, E.O., Vivallo S., Waldo, Celada, C.M., Quispe, Jorge, Singer, D.A., Briskey, J.A, Sutphin, D.M., Gajardo M., Mariano, Diaz, Alejandro, Portigliati, Carlos, Berger, V.I., Carrasco, Rodrigo, and Schulz, K.J., 2008, Quantitativemineral resource assessment of copper, molybdenum, gold, and silver in undiscovered porphyry copper deposits in the Andes Mountains of South America: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008–1253, 282 p., http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1253/.Robinson, G.R., Jr., and Menzie, W.D., 2012, Economic filters for evaluating porphyry copper deposit resource assessments using grade-tonnage deposit models, with examples from the U.S. Geological Survey global mineral resource assessment (ver 1.2, March 2014): U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5090–H, 21 p., http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2010/5090/h/.

Deposits and prospects associated with this tract

Name Type State Country Development Details
Balzapamba-Las Guardias prospect Bolívar Ecuador Occurrence Details
Chaso Juan prospect Bolívar Ecuador Occurrence Details
Chaucha deposit Azuay Ecuador Unknown Details
Fierro Urcu deposit Loja Ecuador Prospect Details
Gaby-Papa Grande deposit Azuay Ecuador Prospect Details
Junin deposit Imbabura Ecuador Unknown Details
Piedrasentada prospect Cauca Colombia Occurrence Details
Telimbela prospect Bolívar Ecuador Occurrence Details