The Serra Pelada Au-PGE deposit is located within the Carajas Mineral Province of the southeastern Amazon Craton, Brazil. Gold-PGE ores are epigenetic and display a strong structural control, being hosted in sub-greenschist facies carbonaceous and calcareous meta-siltstone, within the hinge zone of a reclined, tight, regional-scale F2 synform. Although the entire orebody has undergone deep tropical weathering, some evidence of the original hydrothermal alteration is preserved. Gold-PGE mineralisation is associated with the formation of magnetite- and hematite-rich hydrothermal breccias, massive zones of hematite metasomatism, intense sericite (white mica)-kaolin metasomatism, siderite veining and a jasperoid envelope of amorphous silica alteration hosting rare disseminated pyrite. All other Au-PGE ore-related mineral assemblages have undergone intense weathering to hydrated Fe-oxides and secondary clay minerals, preventing further description of primary ore and alteration features. The geochemistry of the primary Au-PGE ores at Serra Pelada displays many similarities to that of Fe-oxide Cu-Au deposits within the Carajas Mineral Province, and indeed world-wide, in terms of metal association (eg. Co, Ni, Cu, U), LREE enrichment and accompanying Fe-metasomatism. The Au-Pd-Pt association also suggests ore metal transport in acid, oxidising, chloride-rich fluids, similar to those for Fe-oxide Cu-Au deposits. In combination with these similarities, and the location of the Serra Pelada Au-Pd-Pt deposit, it is suggested that the latter represents a distal equivalent to the Fe-oxide Cu-Au deposits and, as such, a target that may have been overlooked during exploration programs around such terrains globally.

The El Laco magnetite-apatite ore deposits in the Andean Cordillera of northern Chile occur as massive, tabular bodies, as stratified, pyroclastic ores, and as crosscutting dykes and vein complexes. The ore deposits and surrounding volcanic rocks, mainly andesites, are Plio-Pleistocene in age and preserve many of their original volcanic textures and structures. All the field and laboratory data are consistent with an origin by eruption and shallow intrusion of a high-temperature, volatile-rich, iron-oxide magma. A number of other iron-oxide-apatite deposits of Cenozoic age in the Andean Cordillera, and a belt of Cretaceous iron deposits in the Coastal Cordillera of Chile also have features that suggest a magmatic origin. Associated with these magmatic ore deposits are economic and sub-economic concentrations of Cu, Au, U, and REE.

Strata-bound Cu- (Ag) deposits, long known as 'Chilean manto-type', occur along the Coastal Cordillera of northern Chile (22°-30°S) hosted by Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous volcanic and volcano-sedimentary rocks. These deposits are typical of the first stage of Andean evolution characterised by an extensional setting of the arc magmatism along the active margin of South America. Strata-bound Cu- (Ag) deposits were formed during two metallogenic epochs in the Late Jurassic and uppermost Early Cretaceous. The mineralisation took place at the time of structurally controlled emplacement of batholiths within the Mesozoic volcanic and sedimentary strata. The volcanic-hosted strata-bound Cu- (Ag) deposits invariably occur distal, but peripheral to coeval batholiths emplaced within tilted Mesozoic strata. The prevalent view that these deposits have an inherent genetic relationship with hydrothermal fluid derivation from subvolcanic stocks and dykes is contended here, because these minor intrusions are largely barren and this hypothesis does not fit well with Sr, Os and Pb isotopic data that call for crustal contribution of these elements. The strata-bound Cu- (Ag) mineralisation appears to be produced by fluids of mixed origin that were mobilised within penneable levels and structural weakness zones of the Mesozoic arc-related volcano-sedimentary sequence during the emplacement of shallow granodioritic batholiths under transtensional regimes. These hydrothermal fluids deposited copper and subordinate silver when reacted with organic matter, pyrite and/or cooled away from their heat sources. Although strata-bound Cu- (Ag) mineralisation took place during the same Cretaceous metallogenic event that formed the magnetite-apatite bodies, and Fe-oxide-Cu-Au deposits along the present Coastal Cordillera, the conceivable relationships with these other types of deposits are hampered by the inconclusive debate about the origin of the Chilean Fe-oxide deposits. However, the available data strongly suggest that the Fe oxide-rich deposits are metasomatic in origin and genetically related to contact zones of Lower Cretaceous dioritic batholiths, whereas the iron-poor volcanic-hosted Cu-(Ag) stratabound deposits constitute distal mineralisation peripheral to Upper Jurassic of Lower Cretaceous granodioritic batholiths.

El Soldado is the largest (>200 Mt @ 1.4% Cu) of the known Cu manto-type deposits in central Chile. It is strata-bound within a submarine, bimodal calc-alkaline basalt - rhyodacite unit of the Lower Cretaceous Lo Prado Formation., which also contains marine carbonaceous shales and volcaniclastic sandstones. Although stratigraphically restricted, the clustered orebodies are mostly vein-like and discordant, controlled by a system of N-S to NNW faults fonned within a transtensional zone (cymoid loop) of a sinistral, strike-slip brittle shear system. Individual orebodies are zoned, with an external and deeper zone of barren pyrite, followed inward by concentric zones with chalcopyrite-pyrite, chalcopyrite bornite, bornite-chalcocite, and a central zone of chalcocite (± digenite ± covellite) and abundant hematite. The deposit was formed in two main phases: l)a low-temperature, diagenetic phase during which framboidal pyrite developed in association with migrated petroleum, at ca. 130 to 120 Ma; 2) a high-temperature (>300°C from fluid inclusions) hydrothennal phase at ca. 103 Ma, (coinciding with batholith emplacement), that deposited early hematite (± magnetite), followed by chalcopyrite, bornite and chalcocite, mostly replacing pre-existing pyrite, with the excess Fe forming hematite. Gangue minerals are calcite, albite, k-feldspar and chlorite. The hydrothermal Cu mineralization is associated with an increase in Na and depletion in K in host rocks, although there are localised zones of K increase in bornite-chalcocite assemblages near structures. Isotopic studies indicate that: a) the sulphur in diagenetic pyrite provided the bulk of the sulphur for Cu sulphides; b) petroleum was the source of carbon in bitumen and part of the carbonate; c) osmium in diagenetic pyrite was derived from the black shales; d) strontium in calcites was inherited from the Cretaceous arc lavas; e) oxygen isotopes in carbonates, and K-feldspar and atmospheric argon in K-feldspar plus the high salinity of fluid inclusions (21-26% NaCl equivalent) suggest a basinal connate-metamorphic brine was responsible for Cu transport, yet a (distal) magmatic component to the fluids cannot be ruled out.

The Arizaro and Lindero prospects are possibly the youngest recognised examples of the hydrothermal iron oxide-copper-gold class of deposits in the world. These two prospects, and numerous other iron-oxide manifestations, form a newly discovered district within northwest Argentina. The Arizaro and Lindero prospects are hosted within mid-Miocene, calc-alkaline, dominantly andesitic, volcanic complexes that formed within a convergent plate margin tectonic setting. This descriptive paper presents observations from surface geology and petrographic studies.

The Productora prospect is situated 15 km SSW of the town of Vallenar in the Third Region, north-central Chile. It lies within the "Chilean Iron Belt" close to the north-trending Atacama Fault system. The belt contains a variety of Fe oxide ±Cu ±Au-bearing deposits including Candelaria (366 million tonnes averaging 1.08 % Cu, 0.26 g/t Au) which is situated in the Punta del Cobre region approximately 150 km north of Productora. The age, structural setting, alteration assemblages and styles of mineralisation in the Productora area resemble those present at Candelaria, but Productora differs in its spatial association with intrusive rocks and its lack of skarn assemblages.

Located approximately 400 km south of Lima, Peru, the Marcona and Pampa de Pongo deposits are the largest iron accumulations with associated copper and gold along the western coast of South America. Approximate resources include more than 1400 Mt of iron ore at Marcona and 1000 Mt of magnetite mineralisation at Pampa de Pongo. Both deposits contain some copper and gold and exhibit numerous features that allow their inclusion in the "Iron Oxide-Copper-Gold" clan of deposits, alongside such examples asCandelaria and Mantos Blancos in Chile. The two deposits form part of a cluster of similar occurrences that together define the "Marcona Fe-Cu District".

Within Peru, Fe oxide-Cu-Au deposits are found mainly in the Western Andes range and on the coast, associated with the Jurassic-Cretaceous alkaline to calc-alkaline volcanism of the aborted ensialic Canete-Huarmey Marginal Basin. They also exist in the calc-alkaline plutons of the Coastal Batholith and theTholeiite Patap Super-unit, associated with continental margin processes. The exception is Cobriza (100 million tonnes' @ 1.5% Cu, Fe oxide-Cu-Au type; Cu calcic distal skarn) existing in the eastern range associated with Permian Tardihercynian distensive tectonics and alkaline granites.

The Selwyn Line is the name adopted for an open arcuate zone of iron-copper-gold mineralisation, located ~150 km southeast of Mount Isa, in the Mount Isa Proterozoic inlier, northwest Queensland, Australia. Since the discovery of gold mineralisation in the Selwyn Hills in the 1970's, 5 small mines have been operated. These exploited high grade ironstone hosted gold-copper mineralisation, located within a zone of poly-aged shearing and complex alteration. The mines are located within the Starra Shear which has a history of ductile-brittle, brittle-ductile and brittle deformation. The structure is altered over widths of between 100 m and 500 m, and for over 10 km along strike. The alteration involved early albite +quartz +calcite +scapolite +actinolite replacement of the host sheared meta-sediments of the Staveley Formation. This was followed by a magnetite/hematite+biotite+quartz(+pyrite) overprint, and finally post tectonic oxidation of the magnetite, and chlorite-calcite alteration with associated chalcopyrite and gold mineralisation, and limited pyrite fonnation (Rotherham 1997). The high grade zones exhibit indications of strong structural controls. They typically plunge steeply to the north along magnetite bearing extensional duplex structures and shear planes which include portions of the hanging wall bounding shears and link structures to the footwall bounding shears. The dimensions of the mined and mineable resource (<8 mt) have always been regarded as small for typical Fe-Cu-Au systems. However resource work done on lower cut-off grades indicates that the system is more typical of the large systems of this sort found elsewhere in the district, with a pre-mining global resource of at least 29 mt at 2.5g/t Au and 1.4% Cu (at a 1.5% Cu Equivalent cutoff using a factor of- 0.8 depending on where the ore is from), 49 mt at 1.76 g/t Au and 1.05% Cu using a 1.0% cut off, or 95mt at 1. lg/t Au and 0.74%Cu at a 0.5% cutoff. These are embraced within a larger mineralised system with a global resource of 253 mt @ 0.48g/t Au and 0.34% Cu at measured, indicated and inferred categories, to a depth of ~300m below surface (using a 0.2% Cu Equivalent cut off).

Within the Eastern Succession of the Australian Mount Isa Inlier, Monakoff is a 1 million tonne (mt) Mesoproterozoic, oxide Cu-Au deposit only 13 km from the large (167 mt) Ernest Henry mine. The two deposits share similar geochemical signatures (Ba-Cu-Au-U-Pb-Zn-As-Sb-Co-W-Mo-Mn-F-REE), suggesting commonality of origin. This signature is far more complex than those of most other Eastern Succession Cu-Au oxide systems, but it is extremely similar to the signatures of some recently discovered large Brazilian examples, such as Alemao. Monakoff ore has a barite-carbonate-fluorite-magnetite-chalcopyrite-dominated mineralogy, and contains economic quantities of Cu, Au, Co, U and Ag; the 1-2% levels of both Pb and Zn are unusually high for oxide Cu-Au deposits. However, it lacks the distinctive K-feldspar alteration halo of Ernest Henry. It occurs on the northern south-dipping limb of the Pumpkin Gully Syncline, considered to be a regional, EW-oriented, D2 fold, bounded to the north and west by Di thrust contacts. A splay of the northern thrust hosts the main Monakoff mineralisation. Naraku Batholith elements outcrop ~2 km north of Monakoff; and ore alteration records post-ore hornfels recrystallisation.