ECONOMIC GEOLOGY

One Hundredth
Anniversary Volume

1905–2005

Jeffrey W. Hedenquist, John F. H. Thompson, Richard J. Goldfarb,

and Jeremy P. Richards, Editors

Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.

Littleton, Colorado

i
 © 2005 by Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.

ISBN: 978-1-887483-01-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2005931926

Mark D. Hannington, Editor, Economic Geology

Department of Earth Sciences
University of Ottawa
140 Louis Pasteur, Marion Rm. 210
Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5
Canada

Additional copies of this volume may be obtained from

Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.

7811 Shaffer Parkway
Littleton, CO 80127

Telephone: 1. 720.981.7882
Fax: 1.720.981.7874
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.segweb.org

ii
©2005 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.
Economic Geology 100th Anniversary Volume
pp. iii–vi

Contents

Appendices are on a CD-ROM inside the back cover

Preface.................................................................................................................................................................................. vii
Sponsors of the 100th Anniversary Volume ..................................................................................................................... ix
Founders of Economic Geology........................................................................................................................................ xi
Editors of Economic Geology ........................................................................................................................................... xii
Introduction: A Century of Excellence ..............................................................................................Brian J. Skinner 1

Earth Environments and Processes

Mantle-Derived Magmas and Magmatic
Ni-Cu-(PGE) Deposits .....................................................................N. T. Arndt, C. M. Lesher, and G. K. Czamanske 5
Magmatic Processes in the Development of
Porphyry-Type Ore Systems ............................................................................Philip A. Candela and Philip M. Piccoli 25
Coupling between Deformation, Fluid Pressures, and Fluid Flow
in Ore-Producing Hydrothermal Systems at Depth in the Crust ..........................................................Stephen F. Cox 39
Fluid Flow and Petroleum and Mineral Resources in Lawrence M. Cathles, III,
the Upper (<20-km) Continental Crust .......................................................................................and Jennifer J. Adams 77
Sea-Floor Tectonics and Submarine Mark D. Hannington,
Hydrothermal Systems..................................................................................Cornel E. J. de Ronde, and Sven Petersen 111

Ore Deposit Types

Diamonds: Crustal Distribution and Formation Processes J. J. Gurney, H. H. Helmstaedt, A. P. le Roex,
in Time and Space and an Integrated Deposit Model ...........T. E. Nowicki, S. H. Richardson, and K. J. W esterlund 143
Formation of Magmatic Nickel Sulfide Ore Deposits and
Processes Affecting Their Copper and
Platinum Group Element Contents ............................................................Sarah-Jane Barnes and Peter C. Lightfoot 179
Platinum Group Element, Chromium, and Vanadium R. Grant Cawthorn, Stephen J. Barnes,
Deposits in Mafic and Ultramafic Rocks ..............................................Christian Ballhaus, and Kreshimir N. Malitch 215
Eric Seedorff, John H. Dilles, John M. Proffett, Jr .,
Porphyry Deposits: Characteristics and Marco T. Einaudi, Lukas Zurcher, William J. A. Stavast,
Origin of Hypogene Features ......................................................................... David A. Johnson, and Mark D. Barton 251
World Skarn Deposits..............................................Lawrence D. Meinert, Gregory M. Dipple, and Stefan Nicolescu 299
Granite-Related Ore Deposits .................................Petr Černý, Philip L. Blevin, Michel Cuney, and David London 337
Patrick J. Williams, Mark D. Barton, David A. Johnson,
Iron Oxide Copper-Gold Deposits: Geology, Lluís Fontboté, Antoine De Haller, Geordie Mark,
Space-Time Distribution, and Possible Modes of Origin ........................Nicholas H. S. Oliver, and Robert Marschik 371
Distribution, Character, and Genesis of Richard J. Goldfarb, Timothy Baker, Benoît Dubé,
Gold Deposits in Metamorphic Terranes .............................David I. Groves, Craig J. R. Hart, and Patrice Gosselin 407
Carlin-Type Gold Deposits in Nevada: Jean S. Cline, Albert H. Hofstra, John L. Muntean,
Critical Geologic Characteristics and Viable Models ...............................Richard M. Tosdal, and Kenneth A. Hickey 451

iii
iv TABLE OF CONTENTS

Geological Characteristics of Epithermal

Precious and Base Metal Deposits ..........................................Stuart F. Simmons, Noel C. White, and David A. John 485
Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposits .....................J. M. Franklin, H. L. Gibson, I. R. Jonasson, and A. G. Galley 523
David L. Leach, Donald F. Sangster, Karen D. Kelley,
Sediment-Hosted Lead-Zinc Deposits: Ross R. Large, Grant Garven, Cameron R. Allen,
A Global Perspective ...................................................................................................Jens Gutzmer, and Steve Walters 561
The Sediment-Hosted Stratiform Murray Hitzman, Rodney Kirkham,
Copper Ore System .........................................................................David Broughton, Jon Thorson, and David Selley 609
Precambrian Iron Formations and
Iron Formation-Hosted Iron Ore Deposits ............................................................J. M. F. Clout and B. M. Simonson 643
Ore-Forming Processes Related to Ph. Freyssinet, C. R. M. Butt,
Lateritic Weathering.........................................................................................................R. C. Morris, and P. Piantone 681
Supergene Oxidized and Enriched Porphyry Copper
and Related Deposits .........................................................................................................................Richard H. Sillitoe 723
The Formation and Preservation of the W itwatersrand H. E. Frimmel, D. I. Groves, J. Kirk, J. Ruiz,
Goldfields, the World’s Largest Gold Province ............................................................J. Chesley, and W. E. L. Minter 769
Hydrothermal Replacement Model for Witwatersrand Gold .....................Jonathan D. M. Law and G. Neil Phillips 799
Placer Deposits .........................................................................................................R. H. T. Garnett and N. C. Bassett 813

Regional Metallogeny
Andean Copper Province: Tectonomagmatic Settings,
Deposit Types, Metallogeny, Exploration, and Discovery ....................................Richard H. Sillitoe and José Perelló 845
Tectonic Setting, Geology, and Gold and Copper Mineralization Steve Garwin, Robert Hall,
in Cenozoic Magmatic Arcs of Southeast Asia and the W est Pacific ........................................and Yasushi Watanabe 891
Ross R. Large, Stuart W. Bull,
Stratiform and Strata-bound Zn-Pb-Ag Deposits in Peter J. McGoldrick, Steve Walters,
Proterozoic Sedimentary Basins, Northern Australia ....................................Geoff M. Derrick, and Graham R. Carr 931
David Selley, David Broughton, Robert Scott,
A New Look at the Geology of Murray Hitzman, Stuart Bull, Ross Large, Peter McGoldrick,
the Zambian Copperbelt .....................................................Mawson Croaker, Nicky Pollington, and Fernando Barra 965
Gold Metallogeny of the Superior François Robert, K. Howard Poulsen,
and Yilgarn Cratons ............................................................................................Kevin F. Cassidy, and C. Jay Hodgson 1001
Gold and Base Metal Metallogeny of the A. S. Yakubchuk, V. V. Shatov, D. Kirwin, A. Edwards,
Central Asian Orogenic Supercollage ..................................................O. Tomurtogoo, G. Badarch, and V. A. Buryak 1035
Mineral Deposits of the Urals and Links to Richard J. Herrington, Victor V. Zaykov,
Geodynamic Evolution ...............................................Valery V. Maslennikov, Dennis Brown, and Victor N. Puchkov 1069
Metallogenic Provinces in an
Evolving Geodynamic Framework...............................Robert Kerrich, Richard J. Goldfarb, and Jeremy P. Richards 1097

iv
 TABLE OF CONTENTS v

Appendices
All supplemental appendices cited for papers in this volume appear in digital format on the CD-ROM placed inside the
back cover. Those papers are listed below . The name preceding the title indicates the digital file name.
[Cathles]
Fluid Flow and Petroleum and Mineral Resources in Lawrence M. Cathles, III,
the Upper (<20-km) Continental Crust .......................................................................................and Jennifer J. Adams
[Hannington]
Sea-Floor Tectonics and Submarine Mark D. Hannington,
Hydrothermal Systems..................................................................................Cornel E. J. de Ronde, and Sven Petersen
[Cawthorn]
Platinum Group Element, Chromium, and Vanadium R. Grant Cawthorn, Stephen J. Barnes,
Deposits in Mafic and Ultramafic Rocks ..............................................Christian Ballhaus, and Kreshimir N. Malitch
[Seedorff]
Eric Seedorff, John H. Dilles, John M. Proffett, Jr .,
Porphyry Deposits: Characteristics and Marco T. Einaudi, Lukas Zurcher, William J. A. Stavast,
Origin of Hypogene Features .......................................................................... David A. Johnson, and Mark D. Barton
[Meinert]
World Skarn Deposits..............................................Lawrence D. Meinert, Gregory M. Dipple, and Stefan Nicolescu
[Cerny]
Granite-Related Ore Deposits .................................Petr Černý, Philip L. Blevin, Michel Cuney, and David London
[Williams]
Patrick J. Williams, Mark D. Barton, David A. Johnson,
Iron Oxide Copper-Gold Deposits: Geology, Lluís Fontboté, Antoine De Haller, Geordie Mark,
Space-Time Distribution, and Possible Modes of Origin ........................Nicholas H. S. Oliver, and Robert Marschik
[Goldfarb]
Distribution, Character, and Genesis of Richard J. Goldfarb, Timothy Baker, Benoît Dubé,
Gold Deposits in Metamorphic Terranes .............................David I. Groves, Craig J. R. Hart, and Patrice Gosselin
[Cline]
Carlin-Type Gold Deposits in Nevada: Jean S. Cline, Albert H. Hofstra, John L. Muntean,
Critical Geologic Characteristics and Viable Models ...............................Richard M. Tosdal, and Kenneth A. Hickey
[Simmons]
Geological Characteristics of Epithermal
Precious and Base Metal Deposits ..........................................Stuart F. Simmons, Noel C. White, and David A. John
[Franklin]
Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposits .....................J. M. Franklin, H. L. Gibson, I. R. Jonasson, and A. G. Galley
[Leach]
David L. Leach, Donald F. Sangster, Karen D. Kelley,
Sediment-Hosted Lead-Zinc Deposits: Ross R. Large, Grant Garven, Cameron R. Allen,
A Global Perspective ...................................................................................................Jens Gutzmer, and Steve Walters
[Hitzman]
The Sediment-Hosted Stratiform
Copper Ore System ...................................................................Appendix by Rodney Kirkham and David Broughton
[Freyssinet]
Ore-Forming Processes Related to Ph. Freyssinet, C. R. M. Butt,
Lateritic Weathering.........................................................................................................R. C. Morris, and P. Piantone
[Frimmel]
The Formation and Preservation of the W itwatersrand H. E. Frimmel, D. I. Groves, J. Kirk, J. Ruiz,
Goldfields, the World’s Largest Gold Province ............................................................J. Chesley, and W. E. L. Minter
[Garnett]
Placer Deposits .........................................................................................................R. H. T. Garnett and N. C. Bassett

v
vi TABLE OF CONTENTS

[Garwin]
Tectonic Setting, Geology, and Gold and Copper Mineralization Steve Garwin, Robert Hall,
in Cenozoic Magmatic Arcs of Southeast Asia and the W est Pacific ........................................and Yasushi Watanabe
[Large]
Ross R. Large, Stuart W. Bull,
Stratiform and Strata-bound Zn-Pb-Ag Deposits in Peter J. McGoldrick, Steve Walters,
Proterozoic Sedimentary Basins, Northern Australia ....................................Geoff M. Derrick, and Graham R. Carr
[Selley]
David Selley, David Broughton, Robert Scott,
A New Look at the Geology of Murray Hitzman, Stuart Bull, Ross Large, Peter McGoldrick,
the Zambian Copperbelt .....................................................Mawson Croaker, Nicky Pollington, and Fernando Barra
[Robert]
Gold Metallogeny of the Superior François Robert, K. Howard Poulsen,
and Yilgarn Cratons ............................................................................................Kevin F. Cassidy, and C. Jay Hodgson
[Yakubchuk]
Gold and Base Metal Metallogeny of the A. S. Yakubchuk, V. V. Shatov, D. Kirwin, A. Edwards,
Central Asian Orogenic Supercollage ..................................................O. Tomurtogoo, G. Badarch, and V. A. Buryak
[Herrington]
Mineral Deposits of the Urals and Links to Richard J. Herrington, Victor V. Zaykov,
Geodynamic Evolution ...............................................Valery V. Maslennikov, Dennis Brown, and Victor N. Puchkov

vi
©2005 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.
Economic Geology 100th Anniversary Volume
pp. vii–viii

Preface
One hundred years of research and opinion in economic geology have been published in the pages of Economic Geology
since October 1905. Despite many changes with time, including a large number of deposits discovered worldwide, deposit
types unknown a century ago, and new analytical methods employed in the study of deposits, some of the basic questions of
100 years ago remain: how do certain kinds of ore deposits form, what are the ultimate sources, pathways, and depositional
mechanisms of the metals, and can we better explore for the resources on which the future of a healthy and sustainable soci-
ety depends? In addition, how have ore processes changed with the evolving Earth, and how do ore deposits reflect and record
this evolution?
During the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in 2001, Brian Skinner,Chairman of the Publications Board
of the Society of Economic Geologists, established an ad hoc committee to discuss plans for the 100 th anniversary of the jour-
nal. Early the following year this ad hoc group evolved into the Organizing Committee, with members listed below, who came
from a wide range of backgrounds and locations around the world. The Board approved the three different publications pro-
posed by the Committee: this One Hundredth Anniversary Volume, a series of forward-looking Special Papers commissioned
for the regular issues of the journal during the centenary period, and a Special Publication to coincide with a meeting in 2006
on the topic of “Wealth Creation in the Minerals Industry.” Papers in the Special Publication will cover a variety of issues r e-
lated to the business of the minerals industry , from exploration through to mine closure, all to be managed for a sustainable
future.
The goal of this Anniversary volume, as it was with the predecessor 50 th and 75th Anniversary volumes, is to meet the needs
and interests of economic geologists in industry , government, and academia, both professional and student, for concise and
up-to-date overview papers that provide a synthesis of important topics in economic geology . The Organizing Committee
started with a wide range of material to be considered, and over time the Anniversary volume became focused on the topics
covered here.
This volume includes three types of papers: Earth environments and processes, to introduce and summarize many of the
other papers; ore deposit types; and regional metallogeny. Authors were asked to review the history of each topic, outline fun-
damental aspects, synthesize insight on ore genesis, provide observations useful for exploration, and offer an assessment of the
questions they perceive will be studied in the century ahead. The editors inserted cross references to other papers in the vol-
ume where appropriate, as many of the papers deal with topics that are linked to one another . Some authors have tabulated
large compilations of basic information on the deposit types discussed in their papers; this material, together with any addi-
tional figures and other supplementary information, is recorded in an electronic Appendix on a CD-ROM at the back of the
volume. This was done to aid the reader in searching for data and to keep the printed volume at a manageable length.
We thank members of the Publications Board, chaired successively by Brian Skinner , Samuel Adams, and John Thoms,
for their support and direction throughout the four -year process of planning, writing, editing, and production, and Mark
Hannington, Editor of Economic Geology, and Steve Kesler for their sage advice. W e thank all members of the Organiz-
ing Committee for their input to the structure and breadth of the volume. Reviewers of the papers, listed below , helped
to maintain the quality expected of Economic Geology, and we thank them for their timely efforts. W e acknowledge Alice
Bouley, Managing Editor of SEG Publications, in Littleton, Colorado, and her collaborators, for copyediting and produc-
tion of the volume, and Bernadette Lancaster, Editorial Assistant, Economic Geology, in Ottawa, Canada, for her assistance.
Finally, we thank all of the authors for providing papers that we believe will be important to the science of economic geol-
ogy for many years to come.
In closing, we acknowledge the sponsors of the volume for their generous financial contributions; they are listed below .
Their support has allowed the Society to keep the price of this large volume at an affordable level for all.
THE EDITORS
JEFFREY W. H EDENQUIST,
Colorado School of Mines and University of Ottawa
JOHN F. H. THOMPSON,
Teck Cominco Limited, Vancouver
RICHARD J. GOLDFARB,
U.S. Geological Survey, Denver
AND JEREMY P. R ICHARDS
University of Alberta

vii
viii PREFACE

100th Anniversary Organizing Committee

Nicolas Beukes, Rand Afrikaans University Eric Marcoux, Université d’Orléans
Lawrence M. Cathles III, Cornell University Yukihiro Matsuhisa, Geological Survey of Japan
Michael D. Doggett, Queen’s University John W. Parry, Denver
Richard J. Goldfarb, U.S. Geological Survey Gordon Southam, University of Western Ontario
David I. Groves, University of Western Australia Jeremy P. Richards, University of Alberta
Jeffrey W. Hedenquist, Colorado School of Mines, co-chair François Robert, Barrick Exploration, Toronto
Murray W. Hitzman, Colorado School of Mines John F. H. Thompson, Teck Cominco Ltd., co-chair
Susanne M. Kay, Cornell University Scott A. Wood, University of Idaho
Stephen E. Kesler, University of Michigan Alexander S. Yakubchuk, Gold Fields, London
A. James Macdonald, BHP Billiton, Brisbane

Reviewers of Papers in the 100th Anniversary V olume

Dallas Abbott Bruce Gemmell James Mungall
Cameron Allen Paul Golightly Anthony Naldrett
Jeffrey Alt Wayne Goodfellow Anatoly Nikishan
Alwyn Annals David Groves Stephen Piercey
Timothy Baker Stephen Hagemann Howard Poulsen
Peter Betts Jeffrey Hanor John Proffett
Nicolas Beukes Scott Hassler Edward Ripley
Alexander Brown Keiko Hattori Laurence Robb
Dennis Brown Murray Hitzman Carlos Rosière
Francisco Camus David Huston James Scoates
Joseph Cann Steven Ingebritsen Richard Sillitoe
Kevin Cassidy David John Thomas Sisson
Mark Cloos Karen Kelley Kerry Stanaway
David Cooke Douglas Kepert Ted G. Theodore
David Craw Stephen Kesler Tommy Thompson
Sergei Diakov Daniel Kontak Patrick Waters
John Dilles Jonathan Law Noel White
Benoît Dubé David Lentz Andy Wilde
Shane Ebert Al Levinson Jamie Wilkinson
Mick Elias Peter Lightfoot Brian Windley
Stephen Enders Thomas McCandless Marcos Zentilli
Michael Etheridge T. Campbell McCuaig
Hartwig Frimmel John Moore

Sponsors of the 100th Anniversary Volume

Phelps Dodge Exploration Corporation

Anglo American plc

AngloGold Ashanti Limited
Barrick Gold Corporation
BHP Billiton
Compañía de Minas Buenaventura
Inco Limited
Newmont Mining Corporation
Placer Dome Inc.
Rio Tinto
Teck Cominco Limited

viii
 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY
ONE HUNDREDTH
ANNIVERSARY VOLUME
CELEBRATING A CENTURY OF SCIENCE AND DISCOVERY
1905–2005

This landmark publication is the successor to the highly regarded 50th Anniversary and
75th Anniversary volumes.The Society of Economic Geologists Publications Board thanks the
following corporate sponsors for their generous financial support of this volume.

PREMIERPLUS SPONSOR

Exploration Corp.

PREMIERSPONSORS

ix
 The Founders of Economic Geology

Twelve individuals played a major role in founding the journal. Their photos appear below .

Photo Source: USGS Photo Library

H. FOSTER BAIN ARTHUR H. BROOKS MARIUS R. CAMPBELL JOHN D. IRVING
1871–1948 1871–1924 1858–1940 1874–1918

JAMES F. K EMP CHARLES K. LEITH WALDEMAR LINDGREN FREDERICK L. RANSOME

1859–1926 1875–1956 1860–1939 1868–1935

Photo Source: Smithsonian Institution (83-1310)

Photo Source: Geological Society of America

Photo Source: USGS Photo Library

HEINRICH RIES GEORGE O. SMITH JOSIAH E. SPURR WALTER H. WEED

1871–1951 1871–1944 1870–1950 1862–1944

xi
 The Editors of Economic Geology
1905 – 2005

During the first 100 years of the journal, five individuals have served as its Editor .
Below are their photos with years of service indicated.

JOHN D. IRVING ALAN M. BATEMAN BRIAN J. SKINNER

1905–1917 1917–1969 1969–1995

MARCO T. E INAUDI MARK D. HANNINGTON

1995–2001 2001–

xii
©2005 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.
Economic Geology 100th Anniversary Volume
pp. 1–4

Introduction: A Century of Excellence

BRIAN J. SKINNER†
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, P. O. Box 208109, New Haven, Connecticut 06521-8109

From the first issue in 1905 onward, Economic Geology has Why a Journal?
been the main publication for those who study mineral de- Now to the second question, Why a journal devoted to min-
posits; indeed, it is now difficult to imagine economic geology eral deposits? The answer lies in the science of mineral de-
without Economic Geology. It is interesting to ask, therefore, posits at the dawn of the twentieth century. Although rich
Who were the farsighted people who founded the journal, and mineral deposits had been discovered around the world,
Why did they think a specialized publication devoted to min- throughout the nineteenth century, critical thinking concern-
eral deposits was needed? ing the genesis of deposits came mainly from Europe. Late in
Who Were the Founders? the nineteenth century, after a few young North American ge-
ologists had studied at European mining schools, things
Let us first address the question, Who were the founders? began to change. European ideas and European ways of
They were the 12 men who collectively decided a new publi- thinking about the origins of deposits came westward across
cation was needed, who then planned the financial structure the ocean. Three of the founders—Kemp, Ries, and Lind-
to support the venture, and who served as the original edito- gren—had studied in Europe and were bearers of European
rial group. All were employed by, or associated with, the U.S. ideas.
Geological Survey. Josiah Edward Spurr suggested the need An important player in the events leading to the founding
for a journal sometime in November or December 1904. of the journal, though not himself a founder, was Samuel
After informal discussions, nine of the founders met in the of- Franklin Emmons. Emmons had trained in Europe and, as
fice of Waldemar Lindgren in the headquarters of the U.S. leader of the Metals Division of the U.S. Geological Survey,
Geological Survey in Washington, D.C., on May 16, 1905, and was the supervisor of the founders who worked for the Sur-
founded the Economic Geology Publishing Company. The vey. Emmons, who was 65 years old in 1905, had studied with
sole purpose of the company was the publication of a journal Gabriel Auguste Daubrée and Élie de Beaumont at the École
“…devoted primarily to the broad application of geologic des Mines in Paris and with Carl Bernhardt von Cotta at the
principles to mineral deposits of economic value, and to the Bergakademie in Freiberg, Saxony. On his return, he was em-
scientific description of such deposits, and particularly to the ployed by the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel
chemical, physical, and structural problems bearing on their under the leadership of Clarence King. When the U.S. Geo-
genesis.” Initial financing for the new company was raised by logical Survey was founded in 1879, King, the first director,
the sale of 80 shares at a cost of $25 per share. appointed Emmons as Geologist in Charge of the Rocky
Eight of the men at the founding meeting formed the first Mountain Division. In this position, Emmons completed a
board of directors; Spurr was president, Frederick L. Ransome, classic study of the Leadville district in 1886 that was pub-
secretary, and George O. Smith, treasurer. Other members lished as Monograph 12 of the Survey. This work became the
were Arthur H. Brooks, Marius R. Campbell, Walter H. Weed, standard against which subsequent Survey monographs and
Waldemar Lindgren, and a young academic from Lehigh Uni- professional papers on mineral deposits were measured.
versity in Pennsylvania, John D. Irving. The ninth man at the When Emmons delivered his presidential address to the Ge-
meeting was H. Foster Bain. Irving was appointed editor. Lind- ological Society of America in 1904, he explained why the
gren, Ransome, and Campbell from the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Geological Survey considered monographic studies to be
together with three academics, James F. Kemp of Columbia so important: “It was the expectation of those who planned
University, Heinrich Ries of Cornell University, and Charles K. this work that when all the important mining districts of the
Leith of the University of Wisconsin, were appointed associate United States had been thus exhaustively studied, a sufficient
editors. The initial board members, the editor, and associate ed- store of well ascertained facts regarding ore deposits would
itors are the people we now recognize as the founders of Eco- have been accumulated to admit of the formulation of a new
nomic Geology. Two others, Frank D. Adams, of McGill Uni- theory more firmly grounded on a basis of well established
versity in Canada, and John. W. Gregory, of Glasgow University fact than any that had yet been presented.”
in Scotland, were subsequently added as associate editors, and All of the founders published Survey monographs or pro-
a third person, W. S. Bayley of the University of Illinois, was ap- fessional papers and most of them are now recognized as clas-
pointed as business editor, but they are not known to have sics. In addition, Kemp published The Ore Deposits of the
played any role in founding the journal. It is interesting to note United States and Canada, a lengthy volume that ran through
the ages of the founders in 1905. Marius Campbell, at 47, was several editions and provided the first comprehensive sum-
the eldest, followed by Kemp, aged 46, Lindgren, aged 45, and mary of mineralization in the continent, and Ries published
Weed, aged 43. All the rest were in their 30’s. The launching of the first detailed economic geology text in North America.
Economic Geology was a venture by a group of young men near Textbooks, monographs, and professional papers are great
the peaks of their productive careers. for summarizing and recording, but they are not convenient
† E-mail: [email protected] for ongoing scientific debates. The answer to “Why a journal?”

1
2 BRIAN J. SKINNER

lies in those weighty tomes. Economic Geology was founded As a result, economic geology became an essential compo-
to meet the needs of a community of young geologists who nent in the scientific fabric of geology. Prior to the founding
wished to present evidence, summarize ideas, discuss points of Economic Geology most papers on mineral deposits were
of view, and sharpen developing hypotheses. published in mining journals. In the first paper of issue num-
ber 1 of Economic Geology, Ransome addressed the publica-
Why 1905? tion problem and argued the need for a journal that
Why 1905 rather than 1895, or 1915? The time was right in
1905 because by that time many young North American geol- provides a place where the results of investigations of
ogists had come to realize that European concepts were not scientific character, recorded in the concise and accu-
always in agreement with the new evidence being discovered rate phraseology of science and addressed to readers
in North America. Two publications served to focus attention who need no concessions to their knowledge or intelli-
on trans-Atlantic disparities between concepts and evidence. gence, may appropriately be assembled, and where
The first, “The Genesis of Ore Deposits,” was a paper deliv- questions of interpretation or theory may be freely dis-
ered at the annual meeting of the AIME in 1893 by a famous cussed. If this idea is steadfastly adhered to, there can
European economic geologist, Franz Posepny. The second be little doubt that the journal will not only be a potent
means of maintaining the dignity and influence of one
was the 1904 Presidential address to the Geological Society of
of the most important branches of geology but will be
America, by Emmons, on “Theories of Ore Deposition His-
of the greatest ultimate service to both mining engi-
torically Considered.” Emmons posited that many mineral neers and to general geologists.
deposits formed as a result of meteoric waters circulating ex-
tensively in the crust, picking up mineralizing components,
and depositing them by reactions in favorable rocks. Posepny, Ransome’s words need no explanations or additions. The
on the other hand, advocated mineralization from below, the journal has served the purposes he outlined. It has more than
source of the metals being the “barysphere,” a poorly defined fulfilled the hopes and visions of the founders. It is still the
but metal-rich region, deep in the Earth. The young founders principal place for the leading scientists to record their origi-
had their own ideas—some rather extreme, such as Spurr’s nal ideas about how, why, and where mineral deposits form.
idea that quartz veins had been injected as ore magmas. Eco-
nomic Geology was to be the medium in which such disparate Growth of the Discipline
ideas could be presented and discussed. The history of the first century of Economic Geology is co-
incident with the history of economic geology in the twenti-
After the Founding eth century. One period of massive change stands out. Just as
The community of economic geologists was small in 1905, World War II caused massive societal changes, so too did it
and it was centered in government surveys and, to a lesser ex- bring major scientific advances to economic geology. The ad-
tent, in academic institutions. Burgeoning demand for mineral vances were in part due to new techniques and new discover-
supplies in the years immediately following World War I ies from other sciences, but equally they were due to a rapidly
brought a considerable change to the employment structure. growing world population that led to a boom in mineral ex-
In particular, the number of geologists employed by the mining ploration and a flood of new field observations.
industry began to increase markedly. By 1920 the change in
professional demographics led J. E. Spurr—the same man who The years from 1905 to 1955
had been the first president of the Economic Geology Publish- In recognition of the first 50 years of publication, the Eco-
ing Company—to suggest that the time was right to form a pro- nomic Geology Publishing Company commissioned the Fifti-
fessional society for the growing community. Thus was formed eth Anniversary Volume of Economic Geology in 1955. This
the Society of Economic Geologists. The Economic Geology 1,130-page publication summarized the advances and accu-
Publishing Company and the Society continued as separate but mulated thinking of the previous 50 years. When the journal
closely related and cooperating entities until they were finally was founded in 1905, those involved held very broad views of
merged in 2001. The history of Economic Geology from 1920 the field of economic geology. All mineral-based resources
onward is not just the history of a scientific journal but also the save soil were included. The first volume contains papers on
history of a society and a profession. petroleum, coal, water, clays, and other resources in addition
It is interesting to ask, “What effect did the founding of to metallic mineral deposits. Over the next 50 years the mix
Economic Geology have on the field of economic geology?” slowly shifted toward metallic minerals, but it was still an ec-
First and most obviously, the journal gave the field its name. umenical mix in 1955. Reflecting the balance of papers in the
The term economic geology had been coined in the early journal, the Fiftieth Anniversary Volume included papers that
years of the nineteenth century but had fallen into disuse and summarized advances in petroleum geology, coal geology,
been replaced by names such as “applied geology” and “min- properties of calcium and magnesium carbonates, ground-
ing geology.” Indeed, one of the first issues the founders had water studies, and clay mineral technology. Metallic minerals
to settle was the choice of a name for the new journal; some were treated in detail. Interestingly, some of the topics are
argued for applied geology, others for economic geology. The the same as those discussed in papers in volume one, half a
same argument arose at the time the Society was founded; century earlier: examples are secondary enrichment, zonation
economic geology won the day on both occasions. in deposits, and classification of deposits. All papers in the
A second effect arising from the founding of the journal was volume record advances, but in many cases the advances were
the separation of economic geology from mining engineering. not what we might now, in hindsight, call major.

0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 2
 INTRODUCTION: A CENTURY OF EXCELLENCE 3

What, then, were the major advances of the first 50 years? Fluid inclusions in minerals had been observed and com-
I suggest that six topic areas in the Fiftieth Anniversary Vol- mented on for more than a century. When Lindgren reported
ume cover the main advances of the previous half-century. his classic study of the Clifton-Morenci district in Arizona
(U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 43, 1905), he
1. Metallogenic provinces and epochs, as addressed by noted the presence of salt crystals in fluid inclusions in quartz
F. S. Turneaure. Global tectonics was not a concept in 1955, and concluded that hydrothermal solutions must be saline.
but Turneaure perceptively combined a wealth of data on Despite such intriguing observations, fluid inclusions were
structural patterns, deposit types, and timing of mineraliza- not objects of study in Economic Geology until a paper by H.
tion in ways that, 30 years later, could simply be dropped into S. Scott, involving the determination of inclusion-filling tem-
place in a plate tectonic framework. The pattern had been peratures using the decrepitating method, appeared in vol-
recognized but the explanation was wanting. ume 43, 1948. Six years later, in volume 49, 1954, F. G. Smith
2. An extraordinary amount of work had been done on the published the first paper dealing quantitatively with the com-
chemistry of hot-spring waters and hot-spring mineralization. positions of fluid inclusions. The first paper discussing stable
The relationship between hot springs and certain kinds of isotopes in ore deposits was published by M. L. Jensen in vol-
mineralization had been recognized in antiquity, but only in ume 48, 1953, and three years later, J. L. Kulp and others
the twentieth century was the concept tested in detail. An in- published the first paper demonstrating the potential uses of
triguing paper by D. E. White pulled a mass of data together fractionations between the isotopes of sulfur. Today almost
and made the case that hydrothermal solutions can have sev- every issue of the journal carries papers in which data and in-
eral possible origins; they can evolve from magmatic, mete- terpretations are derived from fluid inclusion and stable iso-
oric, or even connate saline solutions. tope analyses.
3. Detailed structural analyses of complexly deformed ore- The quarter century beginning in 1955 was a time when
bodies had been carried out starting in the 1920s. A number startling geochemical discoveries began to change geology,
of groundbreaking structural studies had been done in places economic geology included. An indication that the long-
such as Hollinger in Canada, Homestake in the United States, standing puzzle of the transport of ore minerals in hydrother-
Kalgoorlie and Broken Hill in Australia, leading to the dis- mal solutions was about to yield came with an important
covery of new orebodies in old fields. An intriguing and beau- paper by J. J. Hemley on the solubility of galena in saline so-
tifully written paper by one of those involved in some of the lutions, published in volume 43, 1948. But the path to under-
studies, H. E. McKinstry, describes the advances. standing hydrothermal chemistry really started to widen with
4. The fact that large volumes of altered rock commonly papers by P. B. Barton, Jr., in volume 52, 1957, and by H. D.
surround cores of mineralization was known in the time of Holland in volume 54, 1959. Terms such as chemical poten-
Agricola and probably much earlier. Detailed mineralogical tial (first used in the journal by McKinstry and Kennedy in
studies of hydrothermal alteration began to advance rapidly in 1957) and fugacity (first used by Holland in his 1959 paper)
the first half of the twentieth century. Indeed, the first mono- started to appear frequently.
graph published by the Economic Geology Publishing Com- The rapidity of advances in geochemistry exceeded the ca-
pany, Rock Alteration as a Guide to Ore, East Tintic District, pacity of Economic Geology to publish all papers and to some
Utah, by T. S. Lovering and others, appeared in 1949. In the extent challenged the capacity of the readership to absorb all
Fiftieth Anniversary Volume, G. M. Schwartz summarized the new findings. In response, a group of young geologists, all
advances in alteration mineralogy. of whom looked to Economic Geology as their main vehicle of
5. As a consequence of World War II, a previously minor publication, repeated, in essence, the action taken by the
metal, uranium, rose to major status. Over a 15-year period founders 60 years earlier—they founded a new publication.
there was a massive advance in the understanding of uranium Instead of a new journal, the group, led by H. L. Barnes, pub-
geochemistry and in the formative processes of uranium de- lished a multi-authored review volume titled Geochemistry of
posits. The work was summarized in an elegant paper by V. E. Hydrothermal Ore Deposits. Three editions of this seminal
McKelvey, D.L. Everhart, and R. M. Garrels. publication, each edited by Barnes, have now appeared—in
6. The last example is an advance based on improvements in 1967, 1979, and 1997. The influence on the science of eco-
analytical equipment and techniques. Trace element distribu- nomic geology has been immense. Every issue of the journal
tions had long been recognized as an indicator of mineral zoning, today shows the impact of the three volumes and the geo-
and also as offering potential clues to the genesis of deposits, but chemical advances in techniques and interpretations that they
precision of measurement tended to restrict confident use of chronicled.
trace element data. M. Fleischer pulled together the massive Leaving aside the dramatic changes produced by geochem-
body of quantitative spectroscopic data that had been obtained istry in the years 1955 to 1980, What were the other major
on trace elements in sulfide minerals. Fleischer’s compilation advances of the time? This was the question pondered by the
was a harbinger of things to come; in the second half of the twen- Organizing Committee and the editor of the Seventy-Fifth
tieth century quantitative trace-element studies became impor- Anniversary Volume of Economic Geology. Five topics stand
tant components of studies of compositional zoning of deposits, out above the others:
and also began to play a role in mineral exploration.
1. Through the power of radiometric dating, time bounds
The years from 1955 to 1980 of certain deposit-forming processes were determined suffi-
Hints that major changes lay ahead began to appear in ciently precisely to convince even the staunchest skeptics of
Economic Geology as the first 50 years came to a close. their validity. A prescient and explicitly convincing paper by

0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 3
4 BRIAN J. SKINNER

Charles Meyer laid out the case. Certain kinds of mineraliza- 2. The extraordinary expansion in the number of discov-
tion clearly have evolved through geologic time. ered diamondiferous pipes is an advance of major proportions.
2. The plate tectonics paradigm was changing all of geol- Discoveries are still being reported at a remarkable rate. The
ogy by 1980. There is no specific paper on the topic in the science behind the discoveries lies in the vast amount of
Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Volume, but evidence of a new research on the petrology of mafic and ultramafic rocks and
way of thinking engendered by plate tectonics is evident the application of that research to the prospecting for new
throughout. At least half of the papers in the volume relate ei- deposits.
ther deposit types or ore-forming process to tectonic locations 3. When the second edition of Geochemistry of Hydro-
controlled or influenced by the motions of tectonic plates. thermal Ore Deposits was published in 1979, the point was
3. For many years, evidence had been gathering to support made that one of the major unanswered questions concerning
the hypothesis that Precambrian climates and atmospheres hydrothermal systems was their magnitude. Historically they
had differed greatly from climates and atmospheres of the had been thought to be rather localized systems. The 11.7-km
Phanerozoic. Two papers addressed some of the conse- hole drilled in the Kola peninsula by Soviet scientists was the
quences for mineralization: Pretorius discussed gold and ura- first clear indication that our thinking was incorrect. It was
nium in Paleoproterozoic quartz-pebble conglomerates, and discovered that fluid pressures in the hole remained hydro-
Button and Tyler discussed the importance of Precambrian static, or nearly so, all the way to the bottom—the crust has to
paleoweathering and erosion surfaces in southern Africa. be more permeable than previously thought and widespread
4. Two classes of mineral deposits had received much at- circulation may well extend to depths of 20 km or more. At
tention over the 25-year span. Porphyry coppers were not a the same time computer modeling has shown that fluid flow,
new class of deposit, but by 1980 so many had been discov- especially in sedimentary basins, can cover distances that are
ered, explored, and studied, that a detailed understanding of continental in scale.
their tectonic locations and internal variations of mineraliza- 4. Submarine hydrothermal systems and associated min-
tion and alteration was emerging. A seminal paper by Titley eralization were discovered just as the Seventy-Fifth An-
and Beane pulled all the findings together. niversary Volume was published. The extraordinary inten-
The second class of deposit to be studied in great detail was sity of marine research that followed the breathtaking
volcanic-hosted massive sulfide deposits, reviewed exhaustively discoveries has rapidly built our understanding of subma-
by Franklin, Sangster, and Lydon. These fascinating deposits rine mineralization, both in the present and the past, to such
had been known and mined from antiquity, but only in the an extent that ore deposition in the submarine environment
twentieth century did it become apparent they had been is arguably now one of the most clearly understood of all
formed on ancient sea floors. Oceanographic explorations of mineralizing environments.
the sea floor in the years following World War II had yielded 5. The search for alternatives to carbon-based energy
tantalizing hints of mineralization at places along the modern sources has sparked intensive investigations into land-based
mid-ocean ridge, but few geologists, if any, thought that mod- geothermal systems, leading to important insights about me-
ern deposits might be discovered forming on the sea floor teoric and magmatic hydrothermal systems. Direct analyses
today. But discovered they were, first on the East Pacific Rise of fluids in active hydrothermal systems, both terrestrial and
at 21 degrees north in the late spring of 1979, and then at many submarine, have refined interpretations of fluid inclusion
other places along both spreading and subduction plate edges. data from ore deposits, and have allowed numerical models of
chemical and physical processes to be tested and refined.
The years from 1980 onward 6. So many ore deposits have been discovered over the
The papers that accompany this introduction to the One past half century, and collaborations between industrial, aca-
Hundredth Anniversary Volume record many of the advances demic, and governmental geologists has been so extensive,
of the last quarter century. It is always dangerous to decide the that realistic deposit models have now been developed for
importance of topics while the issues are still being studied. many of the major classes of mineral deposits; a few examples
You, the reader, can decide for yourself. Articulated with the are epithermal gold, porphyry copper, and immiscible sulfide
help of Stephen Kesler and Jeffrey Hedenquist, the following nickel-copper deposits.
are suggestions for the major advances of the past quarter
century: The century past has been an extraordinary one for science
in general, and economic geology is no exception. One might
1. The important role of global tectonics in the formation reasonably ask, What is the major challenge that economic ge-
and distribution of mineral deposits has become firmly estab- ology will face in the century ahead? My answer, which is
lished. Evidence of the linkage is principally Phanerozoic in hardly controversial, is that the accumulated understandings
age, the time when Pangea was assembled and then frag- of deposit-forming processes and the wealth of data now
mented. It is still unclear to what extent Phanerozoic tectonic being codified into robust deposit models need to be devel-
models can be safely applied to Proterozoic circumstances oped into an exploration philosophy by which geologists can
and even less clear that Phanerozoic models can be used for prospect the half of the continental crust that is covered by
the Archean. Despite such uncertainties, the recognition and barren rocks. That is where the great mineral deposits of the
application of global-scale tectonics in explaining the location future await discovery, but so far we are only starting to de-
of mineralization has had a huge impact on the study of min- velop ways to find them.
eral deposits.

0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 4