Alteration and Mineralization at Daralu Porphyry Copper Deposit, South of Kerman, Southeast Iran

Daralu porphyry copper deposit is located 130 km south of Kerman, southeast Iran. The area lies in southern part of Urmieh –Dokhtar magmatic arc. The deposit is associated with granodioritic intrusive of Oligo -Miocene age which intruded Eocene volcano-sedimentary rocks. Copper mineralization was accompanied by both potassic and silicic-phyllic alterations. Four types of hypogene alteration are developed in the Daralu deposit: potassic, propylitic, argillic, silicic-phyllic. Hydrothermal mineralization studies within the Daralu deposit show four types of hydrothermal mineralization: (1) hypogene; (2) supergene; (3) oxidized and leached; (4) gossan. Hypogene copper mineralization appears to have been introduced during the transition from potassic to silicic-phyllic alteration and mainly during silicic-phyllic alteration. It occurs as dissemination s and in veinlets . Three principal types of vein mineralization have been identified: Type-I which is characterized by quartz, chalcopyrite, magnetite and pyrite with minor bornite and molybdenite; Type-II contains chalcopyrite (as the main copper mineral in the Daralu deposit), pyrite and quartz, with traces of molybdenite ; and Type-III consisting of quartz and pyrite, with minor chalcopyrite. Supergene zone is very limited, covered mainly by an oxidized and leached zone. Gossan zone at the Daralu deposit is immature.