Arqueros Cu Deposit

Past Producer in Chile with commodities Copper, Silver
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. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Reserves and resources
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10068728
MRDS ID W001968
Record type Site
Current site name Arqueros Cu Deposit

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -70.92621, -29.83246 (WGS84)
Elevation 1450
Relative position ABOUT 80 KM NE OF LA SERENA

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Chile(country)

South America(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country
Chile

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Silver Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Bornite Ore
Cerargyrite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Chrysocolla Ore
Covellite Ore
Galena Ore
Malachite Ore
Polybasite Ore
Barite Gangue
Quartzite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Info Not Available

Analytical data

Result AVERAGE CU WAS 1.15% FOR 4.2M FROM SAMPLES ALONG 12 PROFILES OF VARYING LENGTHS OF LST OUTCROP. AVERAGE CU WAS 1.05% FOR 5M FROM 4 DIAMOND-DRILL HOLES

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Dacite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -70.92621, -29.83246

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description North-Trending Broad Open Folds, Faults Of Varying Lengths And Displacements, And Plutonic Masses
Type of structure Local
Structure description N-Trending Anticline And Adjacent Anticlines To E And W. Two Sets Of Faults: Older Strikes Nw, Dips Ne; Younger Strikes N 30 Deg E

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR
    Strike NW
    Dip 90

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Cu Mineralization Associated With 2 Sets Of Faults Ano Prominent Basal Lst Of Arqueros Fm

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No
Discovery year 1825

Mining district

District name Arqueros

Comments on the production information

  • PRODUCED SILVER IN 19TH CENTURY.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1982
    Total resources 2300000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Copper Cu 1.03 wt-pct Copper Major 1982

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • FOR OPEN-PIT OPERATION, STRIPPING RATIO OF 4 TO 1 ANTICIPATED. OPERATION WOULD BE MARGINAL FOR THIS TONNAGE AND GRADE

Comments on the workings information

  • ARQUEROS WAS A LARGE SILVER-PRODUCING AREA IN "ANCIENT TIMES".

Comments on development

  • U N WORK CONSISTED OF GEOL MAPPING, CHIP SAMPLING, AND 5 SHALLOW DIAMOND-DRILL HOLES ; ECON.COM: METALLURGICAL PROBLEMS ANTICIPATED BECAUSE OF FINE-GRAINED SIZE OF CU SULFIDES AND PROBABLE FLOTATION PROBLEMS

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    RUIZ, F., CARLOS, 1965, GEOLOGIA Y YACIMIENTOS METALIFEROS DE CHILE: INST. INV. GEOL. CHILE, 305 P. (SPANISH)

  • Deposit

    ROWES, W.A. AND OTHERS 1966, EXPLORACION DE MINERALES RADIACTIVOS EN CHILE, PROV. ATACAMA AND COQUIMBO: CHILE INST. INV. GEOL. BOL. 22, PT. 2, P. 59-72 (SPANISH)

  • Deposit

    UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME, 1967,MINERAL RESOURCES SURVEY OF THE PROVINCE OF COQUIMBO, CHILE: NEW YORK, UNITED NATIONS, P. 59-61

  • Deposit

    RUIZ, C. AND PEEBLES, F., 1988, YACIMIENTOS METALIFEROS DE CHILE: SANTIAGO, 334 P.

  • Deposit

    NORDENSKJOLD, O., 1926, YACIMIENTOS MINERALES EN EL DESIERTO DE ATACAMA: BOL. SONAMI, 39, P. 1039.

  • Deposit

    KAMONO, H., Y BORIC, R., 1982, INVENTARIO POLIMETALICO Y ESTUDIO GEOLOGICO DISTRITO MINERO TALCUNA:

  • Deposit

    SERPLAC, 1981, INVENTARIO DE LOS RECURSOS MINERALES DE LA IV REGION: SANTIAGO (28 VOLS.)

  • Deposit

    CUADRA, W.A., AND DUNKERLEY, P.M., 1991, A HISTORY OF GOLD IN CHILE: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, V. 86, NO. 6, P. 1155-1173.

  • Deposit

    ROWES W.A., AND OTHERS, 1958, RECONNAISSANCE FOR URANIUM IN THE ELQUI-VICUNA AREA, PROV. COQUIMBO, CHILE: U.S. ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION RAW MATERIALS EXPLORATION REPORT 4527.

  • Deposit

    1958 RECON U.S. ATOMIC ENERGY COMM., INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES CHILE

  • Deposit

    1966 DIREXPL UNITED NATIONS

  • Other Database

    CIMRI

  • Production

    CUADRA AND DUNKERLEY (1991)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-APR-1973 Davidson, Claire B. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-SEP-1990 Williams, William C. University of Arizona
Updater 01-NOV-1993 Page, Norman J. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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