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Las Bambas

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Porphyry copper (Cu-Mo) deposit in Apurímac, Peru

Names and other identifiers

GMRAP ID 617
Alternate names Bambas, Chacras, Chalcobamba, Ferrobamba, Sulfobamba
Tract name Peru Eocene–Oligocene Antapaccay (005pCu1009)
Site status deposit

Geographic location

Country Peru
State or province Apurímac
Geographic location -72.333333333, -14.026666667
Geologic map unit -72.333333333, -14.026666667
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Geologic information

Deposit type Porphyry copper
Deposit subtype Cu-Mo
Age (Ma) 35.6Ma
Age determination method K-Ar biotite
Age range 35.6 ±0.9 Ma
Age reference Perelló, Carlotto and others (2003)
Minerals biotite, bornite, chalcocite, chalcopyrite, clay, chlorite, cubanite, magnetite, malachite, pyrite, sericite
Associated rocks dacite porphyry, quartz monzonite porphyry, andesite, dacite, granodiorite, limestone, shale, skarn
Tectonic setting continental margin
Stratigraphic age Eocene

Commodity and development information

Development status Occurrence
Major commodities Cu, Au, Mo, Ag
Tonnage (Mt) 1,710Mt
Cu grade (%) 0.613%
Mo grade (%) 0.016%
Au grade (g/t) 0.044g/t
Ag grade (g/t) 3.037g/t
Contained copper 10,500,000t
Gold-Moly ratio 2.8

Reference information

Comments Total reserves and resources as of 12/31/2013; Preproduction for open pit and underground mine. Andahuaylas-Yauri belt, Las Bambas district. Porphyry and skarn. High-grade copper in skarn.
Study area name Andes
References Noble and others (1984); Perelló, Carlotto and others (2003); Sillitoe (1989a); Xstrata Copper (2006); Xstrata Copper (2007); Singer and others (2008); GlencoreXstrata (2013)
Site reference Cunningham and others (2008)
GlencoreXstrata, 2013, Resources and reserves as at 31 December 2013: GlencoreXstrata report, 72 p., accessed June 16, 2014, at http://www.glencore.com/assets/Uploads/reports_and_results/glencore/2013/GLEN-2013-Resources-Reserves-Report.pdf.Noble, D.C., McKee, E.H., Eyzaguirre, V.P., and Marocco, René, 1984, Age and regional tectonic and metallogenetic implications of igneous activity and mineralization in the Andahuaylas-Yauri belt of southern Peru: Economic Geology, v. 79, p. 172–176. (Also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.2113/gsecongeo.79.1.17.)Perelló, José; Carlotto, Victor; Zárate, Alberto; Ramos, Pedro; Rosso, Héctor; Neyra, Carlos; Caballero, Alberto; Fuster, Nicolás; and Muhr, Ricardo, 2003, Porphyry-style alteration and mineralization of the middle Eocene to early Oligocene Andahuaylas-Yauri belt, Cuzco region, Peru: Economic Geology, v. 98, p. 1575–1605. (Also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.2113/gsecongeo.98.8.1575.)
Sillitoe, R.H., 1989a, Copper deposits and Andean evolution, in Ericksen, G.E., Cañas Pinochet, M.T., and Reinemund, J.A., eds., Geology of the Andes and its relation to hydrocarbon and mineral resources: Houston, Circum Pacific Council for Energy and Mineral Resources Earth Science Series, v. 11, p. 285–311.
Singer, D.A., Berger, V.I., and Moring, B.C., 2008, Porphyry copper deposits of the world—Database and grade and tonnage models, 2008: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008-1155, [45] p. and digital data, accessed December 31, 2013, at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1155/.
XStrata Copper, 2006, Las Bambas, an exploration project: Fact Sheet, 5 p., accessed 2008, at http://www.lasbambas.com.pe/images/upload/publicacion/archivo/Las%20Bambas%20fact%20sheet.pdf. [Web page no longer available.]
XStrata Copper, 2007: XStrata Copper press release, 6 p., accessed 2008, at http://www.xstrata.com.pe/images/upload/publicacion/archivo/NDP_Peru_resources_english.pdf. [Web page no longer available.]