Petrography, Mineralography and Variations in δ65Cu Values in Supergene and Hypogene Zones from Darrehzar And Parkam Porphyry Copper Deposits, Kerman Province, South Iran

The Darrehzar and Parkam deposits in Kerman province are two examples of porphyry type copper deposits in the CenozoicUrumieh- Dokhtar magmatic arc. Volcanic rocks in the study areas are dominantly composed of andesite, trachyandesite and basalt. The Darrehzar quartzmonzonite stock consists of phenocrysts of plagioclase, hornblend, quartz and biotite, andconstituent minerals of dioritemicrodiorite porphyry in Parkam include plagioclase, alkali-feldspar, amphibol, biotite and quartz. The thickness of oxide zone in Darrehzar deposit is few meters and in many well cores it cannot be obsereved at all, while the the thickness of leached zone varies between 2 and 80 m. Supergene zone in the center of this deposit has the greatest thickness (120 m). The depth of hypogene zone from Darrehzar is 400 m. The thickness of leached zone from Parkam is around 20 m. The average thickness of supergene zone in this deposit is 15 m and its maximu depth is 64 m. The depth of hypogene zone in some cores is around 500 m. Evalutating the Cu isotope ratios from leached, supergene and hypogene zones in these two deposits show that the magnitude of Cu isotopic fractionation and Cuconcentrations are mainly controlled by the weathering processes. The average δ65Cu values of copper in the leached, supergene and hypogene zones in Darrehzar deposit are, respectively, -6.16‰, +2.52‰ and +0.79‰, and those in the Parkam are -4.33‰, +4.82‰ and +0.34‰. Therefore, weathering of Cu sulfide minerals generated isotopically lighter residual minerals and dispersed the heavy isotope to the percolating groundwaters. It is thus expected that the copper isotope ratios of the leached zones in various porphyry copper deposits to be linked with the extent of leaching and the supergene enrichment processes. Microscopic studies and mineralogical studies shows that hematite in the Darrehzar’s leached zone in more abundant than that in the Parkam, while Parkam’s leached zone contain higher goethite content relative to that of the Darrehzar. The amount of chalcosite, and pyrite–chalcopyrite in the supergene and hypogene zones, respetively, from Darrehzar, are more abundant compared to those in the equivalent zones in Parkam.