Update of the Geologic Setting and Porphyry Cu-Mo Deposits of the Chuquicamata District, Northern Chile

Geologic Overview of the Escondida Porphyry Copper District, Northern Chile

Geologic Setting and Evolution of the Porphyry Copper-Molybdenum and Copper-Gold Deposits at Los Pelambres, Central Chile

Protracted Magmatic-Hydrothermal History of the Río Blanco-Los Bronces District, Central Chile: Development of World’s Greatest Known Concentration of Copper

Geology of the Bingham Canyon Porphyry Cu-Mo-Au Deposit, Utah

Geology and Exploration Progress at the Resolution Porphyry Cu-Mo Deposit, Arizona

This preface presents the background to this book, the second volume of the "Hydrothermal Iron Oxide Copper-Gold & Related Deposits - A Global Perspective" series, and briefly discusses the rationale for inviting the papers it contains, their format and what it is hoped the volume will achieve. It also offers some observations on the unifying characteristics of the iron oxide copper-gold family of deposits and what they may represent in a broader context.

The "hydrothermal iron-oxide copper-gold" (IOCG) family and related deposits continue to attract keen interest, both as the subject of academic research and as arguably the most sought after mineral exploration target in the world today.

Following the discovery of the giant Olympic Dam ore deposit in 1975, a realisation developed that there was an important class of mineral deposits not previously appreciated. It became apparent that this class, the Iron Oxide Copper-Gold deposits, included not only Olympic Dam, but also a number of other known deposits. It also became apparent that this was a class that could produce large, high grade prizes, of the order of 0.25 to 1 billion tonnes of around +1% Cu and 0.5 g/t Au. As a consequence this class has been one of the major targets of the exploration industry over the last decade, resulting in the discovery of further giant orebodies in Australia such as Ernest Henry, and Candelaria, Salobo, Sossego and others in South America.