Erdenetiin Ovoo, the largest porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit in Mongolia (1.78 Gt @ 0.62% Cu, 0.025% Mo), is exploited by the Erdenet mine. It is located within the Orkhon-Selenge volcano-sedimentary trough which was developed on an active continental margin. The geodynamic evolution of the trough involves an early intra-continental stage, comprising rifting of a shallow continental shelf, accompanied by the emplacement of sub-aerial Permian mafic and felsic, and Triassic mafic volcanics. The Permian volcanics are predominantly alkali-rich trachyandesites, occurring as interlay ered flows and pyroclastics of the Khanui Group, overlying a Vendian (late Neoproterozoic) to early Cambrian basement with Palaeozoic (Devonian) granitoid intrusions, and Carboniferous sediments. Plutons, ranging in composition from diorite to granodiorite, quartz syenite and leucogranite intrude the Permian volcanic succession and exhibit similar compositional trends as the host volcanics. This suggests the intrusions are related to, and possibly coeval with, the volcanic rocks. The Triassic Mogod Formation volcanics, which are largely composed of trachyte flows, trachyandesite and basaltiotrachyandesite, directly overlie the Permian sequence. Early Mesozoic porphyritic subvolcanic and hypabyssal intrusions, which are genetically associated with the trachyandesite volcanics, are related to a continental collisional setting. These include syn-mineral granodiorite-porphyry intrusions which form shallow bodies, occurring as elongated dykes or small, shallow stocks. These porphyries vary from quartz diorite through granodiorite to granite in composition. They are characterised by porphyritic textures (up to 40% phenocrysts) with plagioclase phenocrysts set in a fine-grained groundmass of K feldspar, and are found in the core of the hydrothermal systems, where they are associated with high-grade ore.

The Dexing porphyry copper field in Jiangxi, China, is defined by three porphyry copper deposits which are, from southeast to northwest, Fujiawu, Tongchang and Zhushahong respectively, and by the Guanmaoshan gold deposit which lies between Fujiawu and Tongchang. Technically, the field lies on the southeastern edge of the Jiangnan Anteclise, and is controlled by the NE-trending, deep-seated, Gandongbei fracture zone. The emplacement of the ore-bearing Fujiawu, Tongchang and Zhushahong granodiorite porphyry intrusions, dated at 184-172 Ma (Zhu et ah, 1983; Zhu et al9 1990), was also controlled by NW-trending structures. Mineralisation and alteration continued from 172 Ma to 100 Ma, and are characterised by symmetric zoning centred on the contacts between granodiorite porphyries and the enclosing country rocks of the Mesoproterozoic Shuangqiaoshan Group jrfryllites.

The copper and molybdenum mineralisation of the Chuquicamata deposit has been known since the 19' century. The deposit is located within the Codelco Norte District in the Andes Ranges of northern Chile, 200 km northeast of the city of Antofagasta. Small miners initially worked the exposed oxidised outcrops and high grade oxide veins that were the surface expression of the deposit, although industrial scale mining did not commence until 1915 with open pit exploitation of the main disseminated oxides. Mining has continued to the present day, currently removing approximately 170 000 tonnes of ore and 400 000 tonnes of waste per day.

The formation of porphyry Cu deposits in calc-alkaline magmatic arcs is considered to be the cumulative product of a wide range of processes beginning with dehydration of the subducting oceanic slab. No single process is key to the formation of large deposits, but the absence or inefficient operation of any contributory process, or the action of a deleterious process, can stunt or prevent deposit formation.

The family of Proterozoic iron-oxide copper-gold deposits have as a unifying characteristic mineralisation which is dominated by titanium-poor iron oxides in which the total rare earth elements (REE) are enriched. The REE are typically LREE enriched and are concentrated in apatite and/or discrete REE phases. Carbonatites typically contain low-Ti02 magnetite and apatite as minor phases and are characterised by elevated total REE with extreme enrichment of LREE over HREE. Copper and gold are not, however, commonly associated with carbonatites.

Phalaborwa is the second largest copper mine in the world and the largest in Africa. The orebody is hosted by the Loolekop pipe within the Phalaborwa Complex, and is also mined for magnetite, apatite, vermiculite with a large array of by-products including gold, silver, phosphate, rare earth elements and uranium. The Phalaborwa Complex intruded Archaean basement at the edge of the Kaapvaal Craton in early Proterozoic times (2060±lMa) and consists of concentrically zoned, multiple intrusions which decrease in age from the margin to the core. The outer parts are predominantly clinopyroxenites, which have been variably metasomatised. Younger pegmatoidal pyroxenites intruded at three centres, including Loolekop, where foskcritc and a banded carbonatite were also emplaced, followed by a transgressive carbonatite that intruded as the last magmatic phase along fracture and shear zones. Economic copper mineralisation is hosted predominantly within the transgressive carbonatite as disseminated grains and veinlets of chalcopyrite, with lesser bornite and cubanite. Magnetite is a primary igneous phase in all rocks and is paragenetically earlier than the copper sulphides. The quality and quantity of magnetite is zoned and its distribution is antithetic to that of copper. Ore fluids are high temperature, highly saline, CO,-rich, magmatic-water dominated brines. The Complex and the mineralisation are interpreted to be products of the interaction of multiple pyroxenitic to carbonatitic magmas and their volatiles, which were ultimately derived from decompression melting of metasomatised mantle during extension at a transition from thick Archaean to thinner post-Archaean lithosphere. The orebody at Loolekop has many features including its age, giant size, pipe-like form, low ore grade, minor and major element associations and ore-fluid properties that are consistent with it being a proximal endmember of the widely recognised iron-oxide copper-gold deposit group. As such it helps explain characteristics such as the pipe-like brecciation as well as the common siting of these deposits at craton edges or other lithospheric boundaries.

The major Iron Oxide Copper-Gold (IOCG) deposits in Australia (Olympic Dam, Ernest Henry) are 'blind' deposits that were discovered under younger cover. Exploration for this style of mineralisation presents a new set of problems to the explorationist, and involves target definition applying criteria gleaned from work in known areas and extrapolating into new target areas.

Equinox applies a model for IOCG mineralisation principally derived from studies of known mineralisation in the Cloncurry region and the Stuart Shelf/Gawler Craton of South Australia. This model was initially applied in Australia, and was later extrapolated to Zambia in Central Africa and the Norrbotten region in Sweden.

The NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth and Sue-Dianne copper-silver deposits of the Mazenod Lake area, Northwest Territories, are currently being drill-delineated by Fortune Minerals Limited. They are the only known significant Canadian examples of the Proterozoic iron oxide-hosted polymetallic class, more commonly referred to as hydrothermal iron oxide copper-gold deposits. NICO and Sue-Dianne are located in the southern part of the Great Bear magmatic zone, the central tectonic subdivision of the Bear Structural Province. It is a post-collisional plutonic terrane with related continental volcanic rocks dating from 1867 Ma and culminating with the emplacement of A-type rapikivi granite plutons at approximately 1856 Ma. Iron oxide occurrences are widely distributed within the Great Bear magmatic zone, ranging from Salobo-type magnetite-rich schists and ironstones in receptive basement rocks to Kiruna-type magnetite-apatite-rich veins and Olympic Dam-type sulphidized magnetite-hematite breccias in overlying volcanic rocks. NICO is hosted in iron- and potassium-altered, brecciated basement sedimentary rocks at and beneath the volcanic unconformity, showing similarities to the Salobo-type. The host "black rock" amphibole-magnetite-biotite schists and ironstones are capped by potassium feldspar-magnetite "red rock" felsite. In contrast, Sue-Dianne shows the essential characteristics of Olympic Dam-type ores, with mineralization hosted within a well-zoned diatreme breccia complex crosscutting a rotated ash flow tuff succession above the unconformity. At both NICO and Sue-Dianne, ongoing detailed paragenetic studies demonstrate that early, reduced, high-temperature mineral assemblages are overprinted by late, oxidative, low-temperature assemblages. These together with stratigraphic relationships, indicate fluid mixing at shallow crustal levels was important in deposit formation. Proximity of the NICO and Sue-Dianne deposits to subvolcanic porphyries, rapakivi granite and various other phases of the Marian River Batholith, together with geochronology and mineralogy studies, suggest they are all genetically related. The occurrence of diverse iron oxide deposit types within the Great Bear magmatic zone, makes this region favourable for exploration and for the study of the Proterozoic iron oxide class as a whole.

The Salobo iron oxide copper-gold deposit is located in the Carajas Mineral Province, northern Brazil. The copper-gold ore is hosted by the Archean Salobo-Pojuca Group, which is formed by a sequence of amphibolites, banded iron formations, metagraywackes and quartzites. These rocks were deposited in a trondhjemitic basement, where a continental rift basin, that has been further described as a pull apart basin, was developed. Principal ore assemblages are magnetite-bornite-chalcocite and magnetite-bornite-chalcopyrite, with magnetite dominant and variable amounts of copper sulphides. The iron oxide copper-gold ore shows elevated concentrations of Ag, U, Co, Mo, F and LREE. Differences in geochemistry and textures between magnetite of iron-rich rocks and magnetite of banded iron formation suggest a hydrothermal origin for the mineralization. Fluid inclusion data for quartz veins and apatite indicate the involvement of highly saline fluids in the deposit formation. Adominantly magmatic source of the sulphur is indicated by isotope ratios determined for chalcopyrite and bornite (834S between 0.2%o and 1.6%o). Petrographic evidence supported by preliminary geochronological data indicates that the mineralization post-dates the metamorphism. Hydrothermal alteration effects on host amphibolites have been also investigated. The studied amphibolites occur as lenses or layers close to the contact with the gneissic basement or included in metagraywackes of the Salobo-Pojuca Group. Trace element chemistry of these rocks indicates that they are subalkaline basalts with tholeiitic affinity. Based on the K.,0 content, three alteration groups have been defined and informally named "less altered", "medium altered" and "very altered" types. They characterize rocks affected by different degrees of alkali metasomatism, resulting in major compositional changes. "Less altered" rocks (<0.5 wt% K.,0) show minor chemical modifications compared to the inferred average compositions of unaltered precursors. "Medium altered" rocks (0.5-3.5 wt% K20) show alkali metasomatism expressed by incipient sodic alteration (up to 4.5 wt% Na20) and superposed potassic alteration. "Very altered" rocks are characterized by extensive potassic alteration, with K-feldspar and biotite formation and high K20 (>3.5 wt%) values. The spatial association of "very altered" rocks with the main ore zone suggests a relationship between alkali metasomatism and mineralization. Similarities in the the hydrothermal alteration pattern combined with the ore mineralogy and chemistry indicate that the Salobo deposit belongs to the class of iron oxide (Cu-U-Au-REE) deposits.

The Salobo 3 Alpha Deposit is found in the southeast of the Amazon Craton, north of the Serra dos Carajas, in the State of Para, Brazil. The deposit is contained in supracrustal rocks of Igarape Salobo Group of Archean age, represented by iron-rich schists, metagreywackes, amphibolites and quartzites. This sequence overlies the basement gneisses of the Xingu Complex composed of partially migmatized gneisses. The original stratigraphic relationships are masked by intense ductile-brittle shear zones responsible for the generation of allochthonous rocks. The deposit extends over an area of approximately 4000 metres along strike (NW), is 100 to 600 metres wide and has been recognised to depths of 750 metres below the surface. The estimated mineral resources are of the order of 789 Mt with 0,96% Cu and 0,52 g/t Au. Copper mineralization occurs as chalcocite and bomite, with subordinate quantities of chalcopyrite, together with variable proportions of molybdenite, cobaltite, covellite, gold and silver, lodged in schists with variable proportions of magnetite, amphibole, olivine, garnet, biotite, quartz and piagioclase. Brittle-ductile shear zone deformation has resulted in lenticular shaped ore shoots that characteristically show close associations between copper mineralization and magnetite contents. The host rocks were progressively metamorphosed to pyroxene hornfels facies, at equilibrium temperatures of 750°C, resulting from sinistral transcurrent transpressive shearing accompanied by oblique thrusting. A first hydrothermal event developed at temperatures between 650 to 550°C causing partial substitution of chalcopyrite by bornite and chalcocite, accompanied by intense K-metasomatism. This was followed by sinistral transcurrent transtensive shear zone formation, causing green schist facies metasomatism, characterized by intense chloritization and partial substitution of bornite by chalcocite. Several hypotheses have been proposed for the genesis of the deposit. Based on similarities in the ore mineralogy and the hydrothermal alteration pattern, this deposit could be ascribed to the large class of iron oxide copper-gold deposits.