Nature Communications (Jan 2020)

Gold endowments of porphyry deposits controlled by precipitation efficiency

  • Massimo Chiaradia

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-14113-1
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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Porphyry copper and gold deposits are the dominant natural suppliers of these metals to our society, yet the large variations in metal endowments of porphyry Cu–Au deposits remain obscure. Here, the author shows that Cu-rich porphyries require large amounts of magma and water to be formed, while Au-rich porphyries are the result of a better efficiency of Au precipitation.