1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

San Miguel, Quetana Cu Mine

Producer in Chile with commodity Copper
Map
XML
JSON
KML
B
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Alteration
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Ownership information
  14. Production statistics
  15. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10068483
MRDS ID W001553
Record type Site
Current site name San Miguel, Quetana Cu Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -69.00952, -22.44421 (WGS84)
Elevation 2800
Relative position ABOUT 7 KM W. OF CALAMA AND ABOUT 16 KM SW. OF CHIQUICAMATA

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Chile(country)

South America(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country
Chile

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • QUETANA MINE IS UNIQUE IN THAT IT IS ONE OF THE ONLY MINES IN THE WORLD THAT HAS KROEHNKITE NA2CU (SO4)2. 2H20 AS ITS CHIEF MINERAL.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Enargite Ore
Hematite Gangue
Jarosite Gangue
Kaolinite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Sericite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Local Si-Rich Intrusions Caused Wide-Spread Alteration And Completely Silicified The Adjacent Limestone

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Monzonite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -69.00952, -22.44421
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Complexly Folded And Faulted Central Ranges, Cerro De Quetana
Type of structure Local
Structure description West Fissure At Chuquicamata Reportedly Passes A Short Distance East Of Quetana And Is Considered To Be The Major Structure For Cu Mineralization

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Folding, Faulting Principal Controls For Primary Mineralization

Comments on the geologic information

  • AREA UNDERLAIN BY LATE MESOZOIC LIMESTONE, SANDSTONE, WITH INTERCALATED VOLCANIC ROCKS

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1961

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Latin American Mines Ltd.
  • Type Owner
    Owner Sociedad Minera De Quetana

Production statistics

  • Year 1959
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^Est Greater Than 1 % Cu
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Copper Copper 1wt-pct

Comments on the production information

  • MILLING IN 1959 WAS LEACHING OPERATION OF 100 TONS/DAY PRODUCTION MOSTLY CU OXIDE, BUT SOME SULFIDE ORE CHALCOCITE AND COVELLITE WAS HAND SORTED TO ABOUT 25% CU FOR DIRECT SHIPMENT. WORK DONE BY SOCIEDAD MINERA DE QUETANA

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • ESTIMATED BY GUS GOUDARZI FOR THE OREBODY WEST OF QUETENA - BASED ON PROPOSED $40 MIL. INVESTMENT AND $400,000 DIAMOND DRILLING COSTS

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Overall depth 200M

Comments on the workings information

  • BLOCK CAVING MINING METHOD USED.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    RUIZ, F., 1965, GEOLOGIA Y YACIMIENTOS METALIFEROS DE CHILE: INST. INV. GEOL., TABLE 1 (SPANISH)

  • Deposit

    MINING JOUR. ANN. REV. 1969, JUNE P. 258

  • Deposit

    MINING WORLD, 1959, V. 21, NO. 2, P. 73.

  • Deposit

    HOLMES, S. W., 1962, HAS ANOTHER PORPHYRY COPPER BEEN DISCOVERED IN NORTHERN CHILE (?): WORLD MINING, V. 15, NO. 5, P. 35-43.

  • Deposit

    RACZYNSKI, ANDRES, 1962, MINA QUETANA, INST. INV. GEOL., UNPUBLISHED INFORMATION (SPANISH).

  • Deposit

    1962 COMPILE INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES GEOLOGICAS CHIL

  • Production

    MINING WORLD, 1959, REF.

  • Reserve-Resource

    INVESTMENT REPORTED IN MINING JOUR. ANNUAL REVIEW JUNE 1969 - P. 258

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit 3 SIGNIFICANT CU MINERALIZED ZONES ARE QUETANA CENTRAL, NORTH PROSPECT, SOUTH PROSPECT
Deposit CROSS SECTION OF CENTRAL OREBODY CONSISTS OF FOLLOWING ZONES DESCENDING FROM SURFACE TO DEPTH: LEACHED BRECCIA; 800 FT. - THICK LEACHED ZONE OF ALTERED AND LEACHED BRECCIA CONTAINING TRACES OF OXIDE CU; UNKNOWN THICKNESS OF MIXED ZONE OF CU OXIDES AND SULFIDES; UNKNOWN THICKNESS OF ASSUMED SUPERGENE ZONE OF SECONDARY CU SULFIDES
Deposit Discovery Year: ACQUIRED FOR EXPLORATION 1961

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-1973 Davidson, Claire B. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Maps centered on this site