Choquelimpie

Producer in Chile with commodities Gold, Silver, Lead, Zinc, Copper
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. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Ore body information
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Ownership information
  14. Production statistics
  15. Reserves and resources
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10057470
MRDS ID TC03020
Record type Site
Current site name Choquelimpie
Alternate or previous names Choquelimpie Mine, Choque-Limpie, Ore Bodies Zorro, Vizcachas, Rajo Hunidimento, Cerro Hundimento,, Santana, Cerro Chivaque, Espanola, Inglesa, San Miguel, Animita,, Intermedio, Fortuna, Abundancia
Related records 10207255

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -69.27787, -18.30292 (WGS84)
Elevation 4860
Location accuracy 1000(meters)
Relative position 115 KM E OF ARICA, 35 KM E OF PUTRE, 20 KM W OF BOLIVIAN BORDER

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Chile(country)

South America(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country
Chile

Comments on the location information

  • FRUTOS & PINCHEIRA (1986) LOCATION AT 18-19-30S AND 069-17-48W. SITUATED IN ERODED CHOQUELIMPIE STRATAVOLCANO.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Lead Secondary
Zinc Critical Secondary
Copper Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Acanthite Ore
Argentite Ore
Electrum Ore
Enargite Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Malachite Ore
Orpiment Ore
Polybasite Ore
Pyrargyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Realgar Ore
Silver Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Alunite Gangue
Anhydrite Gangue
Barite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Dickite Gangue
Goethite Gangue
Hematite Gangue
Kaolinite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Sericite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Silicic, Argillic

Analytical data

Result HEAD GRADES: 2G/T AU & 80 G/T AG (1989)
Result IN 1926 TYPICAL RICHER ORE ASSAYED 6.7% PB, 0.9% CU, 6.6% ZN, 490 G/MT AG. TWO TYPES OF PRIMARY FLUID INCLUSIONS: RICH IN VAPOR (<25% LIQUID) AND RICH IN LIQUID (<20% VAPOR) WITH TEMPERATURES OF 213 TO 305 DEGREES C. WITH SALINITIES OF 0.5 TO 4.5 WT % NACL EQUIVALENT. GROUPPER AND OTHERS (1991) CONTAIN MAJOR AND TRACE ELEMENT ANALYSES OF MINERALIZED LITHOLOGIES.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 154
USGS model code 25e
Deposit model name Epithermal quartz-alunite Au
Mark3 model number 38

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -69.27787, -18.30292

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form SEMITABULAR
    Strike 0; N60W; 90; N25E; N20W; N20E}}}
    Dip 90; 90; 90; 90; 90; 90}}}
  • General form SEMITABULAR
    Strike 0; N60W; 90; N25E; N20W; N20E}}}
    Dip 90; 90; 90; 90; 90; 90}}}
  • General form SEMITABULAR
    Strike 0; N60W; 90; N25E; N20W; N20E}}}
    Dip 90; 90; 90; 90; 90; 90}}}
  • General form SEMITABULAR
    Strike 0; N60W; 90; N25E; N20W; N20E}}}
    Dip 90; 90; 90; 90; 90; 90}}}
  • General form SEMITABULAR
    Strike 0; N60W; 90; N25E; N20W; N20E}}}
    Dip 90; 90; 90; 90; 90; 90}}}
  • General form SEMITABULAR
    Strike 0; N60W; 90; N25E; N20W; N20E}}}
    Dip 90; 90; 90; 90; 90; 90}}}

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1643
Production years REACTIVATED IN 1986

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Sociedad Contratual Minera Vilacolla (Shell)
    Interest 42.4
  • Type Owner
    Owner Westfield Minera (Northgate, Canada)
    Interest 34.6
  • Type Owner
    Owner Citibank
    Interest 23

Production statistics

  • Year 1926
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^137 G/T Ag
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Silver Silver 137g/mt
  • Year 1966
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^ 1.75 Oz/T Ag
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Silver Silver 49g/mt
  • Year 1989
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^0.058 Oz/T Au

Comments on the production information

  • IN 1987, 3000 METRIC TON/DAY HEAP LEACH PLANT BUILT AND BY 1991 EXPANDED TO 5500 MT/DAY. ORE IN 1926 CAME FROM 12 MONTH PERIOD 1925-1926 AND REPRESENTS HEAD GRADE THAT WAS HAND COBBED TO SHIPPING GRADE OF 1.28 KG/MT AG, 31% PB. SILVER VEINS INTERMITTANTLY MINED BY SPANISH FROM 1643. ARE PRODUCTION DATA (UNPUBLISHED) FROM 1883 TO 1930. PRODUCTION PEAKED IN 1920 WHEN ARICA MINING CO. MECHANIZED VEIN EXTRACTION. IN 1980, LOCAL COMPANY SHIPPED DUMP MATERIAL TO FLOTATION PLANT IN ARICA AND LATER EXTRACTED ORE FROM SMALL OPEN PIT TO TREAT ORES IN HEAP-LEACH PLANT 60 KM FROM MINE. UP TO 1926 PRODUCTION CAME FROM VEINS AND SULFIDE-BRECCIA STOCKWORK.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1989
    Total resources 7700000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 1.803 g/mt Gold Major 1989
    Silver Ag 134.055 g/mt Silver Major 1989
    Lead Pb 5.98 wt-pct Lead Minor 1989
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1987
    Total resources 11000000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 2.23 g/mt Gold Major 1987
    Silver Ag 87 g/mt Silver Major 1987

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • ORE(1) IS OXIDE ORE RESERVES CONTAINED IN ORE(2) RESOURCES.

Comments on the workings information

  • A NUMBER OF ADITS LESS THAN 710M LONG.

Comments on development

  • EXPLORATION CONCENTRATING ON SIX KNOWN MNERALIZED ZONES TWO OF WHICH ARE EXTENSIONS OF MAIN DEPOSIT TO NORTH AND NORTHWEST. ORE PRODUCTION CAPACITY BETWEEN 300,000 AND 500,000 TONNES/YEAR. 1985 SHELL CHILE SIGNED OPTION TO BUY CHOQUELIMPIE AND IN 1986 AND FIRST HALF OF 1987 GENERATED A RESERVE AND THUS EXERCISED ITS OPTION IN OCT. 1987, CITIBANK AND WESTFIELD MINERALS JOINED AND BY 1988 THE HEAPLEACH OPERATION WAS STARTED. ; MILL$: 27 ; ECON.YEAR: 1990 ; ECON.COM: CYANIDE HEAP LEACH PROCESS ; MILL.CAP : 5500 T/D

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit AT LEAST FIVE MAJOR VEINS; ALSO IN BRECCIATED ZONES. VEINS ARRANGED IN A CRUDE RADIAL PATTERN ON SW, S, SE, AND E SIDES OF STRATOVOLCANO. PRINCIPAL STRIKE DIRECTION N10, N70, N300 AND SUBVERTICAL DIP. UP TO 1 M THICK. BRECCIA BODIES OCCUR ON FAULT CONTROLLED BELT 2 KM LONG (N60E) AND 200 WIDE. BRECCIA BODIES ARE SEVERAL 10'S OF METERS ON SURFACE EXTEND TO 150 M DEPTH, ELONGATE IN N60E AND N330 DIRECTION.
Deposit RECORD W700666 BY DELILAH J. BEOUGHER (GREGORY T. SPANSKI) HAS BEEN INCORPORATED INTO THIS RECORD. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-90 Williams, William C. University of Arizona
Updater 01-SEP-89 Beougher, Dee (Spanski, Gregory T.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-DEC-93 Page, Norman J. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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