TY - JOUR A1 - Plouffe, A. A1 - Lee, R. G. A1 - Byrne, K. A1 - Kjarsgaard, I. M. A1 - Petts, D. C. A1 - Wilton, D.H.C. A1 - Ferbey, T. A1 - Oelze, Marcus T1 - Tracing Detrital Epidote Derived from Alteration Halos to Porphyry Cu Deposits in Glaciated Terrains: The Search for Covered Mineralization N2 - Distal alteration related to porphyry Cu mineralization is typically characterized by an abundance of green minerals, such as epidote, tremolite, and chlorite, within the propylitic and sodic-calcic alteration zones and extends far outside (>1 km) the mineralized zone(s). Glacial erosion and dispersal derived from rocks affected by propylitic and sodic-calcic alteration have resulted in the development of extensive dispersal trains of epidote in till (glacial sediment) that can reach 8 to 330 km2 as observed at four porphyry Cu study sites in the Quesnel terrane of south-central British Columbia: Highland Valley Copper, Gibraltar, Mount Polley, and Woodjam deposits. At each of these sites, epidote is more abundant in heavy mineral concentrates of till collected directly over and down-ice from mineralization and associated alteration. Epidote grains in till with >0.6 ppm Sb and >8 ppm As (as determined by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry) are attributed to a porphyry alteration provenance. There is a greater abundance of epidote grains with high concentrations of trace elements (>12 ppm Cu, >2,700 ppm Mn, >7 ppm Zn, and >37 ppm Pb) in each porphyry district com� pared to background regions. This trace element signature recorded in till epidote grains is heterogeneously distributed in these districts and is interpreted to reflect varying degrees of metal enrichment from a porphyry fluid source. Tracing the source of the epidote in the till (i.e., geochemically tying it to porphyry-related propy� litic and/or sodic-calcic alteration), coupled with porphyry vectoring tools in bedrock, will aid in the detection of concealed porphyry Cu mineralization in glaciated terrains. KW - Indicator minerals KW - Porphyry Cu deposits KW - Epidote KW - Glaciated terrains KW - Propylitic alteration PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-635209 DO - https://doi.org/10.5382/econgeo.5049 SN - 1554-0774 VL - 119 IS - 2 SP - 305 EP - 329 PB - Society of Economic Geologists, Inc. AN - OPUS4-63520 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -