60

VIII. HIGH-SULPHIDATION EPITHERMAL GOLD +

SILVE R COPPER DEPOSITS
1. Quimsacocha, Ecuador
Geological background
The Quimsacocha high-sulphidation epithermal
gold-silver-copper deposit is located in the Cordillera
Occidental of Azuay Province, southem Ecuador, 40 krn
southwest of the city of Cuenca. The deposit occurs above
the tree line in high-elevation, undulating, grassy country
known as pramo (Fig. 43).
The Quimsacocha alteration zone, some 12 x6 krn
in surface extent, is hosted by a shallowly dipping
sequence of andesitic flows and volcaniclastic rocks of
brecciation. Steep, structurally controlled, siliceous ledge
- in essence feeders - underlie the Main zone, which is
overlain by an horizon of dense, poorly mineralized silici-
fication as well as a nurnber of steep ledges (Fig. 44). The
silicification and vuggy quartz grade outwards throug
relati vely narrow quartz-alunite and quartz-
pyrophyllitedickitekaolinite selvages to broad illite-
smectite haloes.
Gold and silver are associated with pyrite, enar-
gite, luzonite and covellite, which are widely accompa-
nied by barite. The copper-bearing sulphides tend to be
especially abundant where the gold grades are high -
(Jones et al., 2005). Although the shallower parts of tbe
mineralized system underwent supergene sulphide oxi
tion, the subhorizontal ore zones are entirely non-o. 0-

late Miocene age, which are intruded locally by felsic
domes and dykes (Beate et al., 2001; Jones et al., 2005).
Beate et al. (2001) define a small caldera immediately
west of Quimsacocha as the source of these volcanic
rocks. The volcanic sequence is cut along the westem side
of the deposit by a multiphase diatreme breccia, at least
parts of which contain altered and mineralized clasts. A
hypothetical, north-striking fault zone may localise the
deposit (Jones et al., 2005).
The Main zone rnineralization occurs as a flat-
lying body, with an areal extent of 1,300 m north-south
and 200 m east-west and ranging from 10-100 m thick,
with its top at 3,650-3,600 m above sea level (Fig. 44).
The Main zone is blind, as the surface is at -3,750 m ele-
vation (Fig. 44), except for a small exposure at the bottom
of an incised creek to the east. The Main zone and sub-
sidiary subhorizontal ore horizons are localised by coarse-
grained volcaniclastic horizons capped by less-perrneable,
andesite flow units (Jones et al., 2005). The ore zones
consist of massive silicification and vuggy, residual
quartz, parts of which underwent multiple hydrothermal
dised. Outcrop is poor because of a patchy, thin veneer -
glacial moraine.
The Quimsacocha deposit has a Proven and -...
able Reserve of 8.10 million tonnes averaging 6.46 g ;
Au, 36.4 g/t Ag and 0.42 % Cu plus a Measured and -
cated Resource of 9.93 million tonnes averaging 6.60 ;
Au, 37.1 g/t Ag and 0.44 % Cu, both using a 3 g/t Au
off (Vallires et al., 2009); these make a total of 3.80
lion oz of contained gold.
Exploration and discovery
A project conducted by the United Nation De -
opment Programme in the late 1970s undertook a - -
mesh drainage geochemical survey over an area of -
em Ecuador that included Quimsacocha, but with
analysed for base metals but not gold. Two copper
alies located 5-6 krn south of Quimsacocha were e
ally drill tested, but without any obvious success (J
al.,2005).

Fig. 43 View looking north o ~

Quimsacocha high-sulphi
epithermal gold-silver- ~
deposit, southern Ecuador.
is located beneath low-relief
shown in the centre of lhe ~
graph. Note the restricted e
sures of structurally COIiw~:;"
siliceous ledges, most =_
ble in the foreground. P'ho;;;:,;::r.:
by J, W. Hedenquist, _0050
 HIGH-SULPHIDATION EPITHERMAL GOLD SILVER COPPER DEPOSITS 61

N s
masl

3600

L::::J Silicified zone

c=J Advanced argillic halo
~ >1g/tAu
100 m
~ Orill hole intercept

19. 44 Longitudinal section of the Quimsacocha high-sulphidation epithermal gold-silver-copper deposit, southern Ecuador,
howing the subhorizontal position of the Main zone orebody within the lower part of a thick silicified horizon. Note that the
orebody is geologically blind, except for a small, off-section creek exposure. Taken from Jones et ai. (2005).

The Quimsacocha property was acquired by
~OGEMA, the French uranium company, in 1991, and
---e ensuing geological mapping and sampling led to
.::illing of 10 diamond holes (1,869 m) from 1992-1993.
_~ number of gold, silver and copper intercepts were
tained, but the results were not considered good enough
warrant further expenditure by the company. Therefore,
late 1993, COGEMA signed an equal-share, joint-ven-
mre agreement with TVX Gold Inc. and Newmont Min-
ing Corporation, the latter as operator. The project area
-as geologically mapped and geochemically sampled in
tail, magnetic, induced-polarisation, self-potential (SP)
and very-Iow-frequency electromagnetic (VLF-EM) sur-
veys were carried out and, in 1996 and 1997, 82 diamond
boles (7,581 m) were drilled in two separate campaigns
Jones et al., 2005), many of them on 50 x 25-m centres.
Clearly, the average hole depth was only about 100 fi.
Once again, numerous mineralized intercepts in steep
ledges were forthcorning, the most impressive being 2 m
ar 83 g/t Au and 316 g/t Ag, but the apparent absence of a
bulk, low-grade, oxidised gold deposit like Yanacocha -
_ ewmont's Peruvian mine and its target model at Quim-
acocha - led to the property being returned to COGEMA
in 1998 (Jones et al., 2005).
IAMGOLD Corporation signed an option agree-
ment with COGEMA in 1999, impressed by the large size
of the alteration footprint and demonstrated presence of
gold, but, because of exploration commitrnents elsewhere
in Ecuador, did not carry out any systematic work until
2001 when previous data were compiled and existing drill
core re-exarnined. That year, a consultant appraised the
property and endorsed Newmont's view that a large, low-
grade, oxidised deposit was unlikely, but encouraged the
search for structurally controlled, high-grade gold miner-
alization like that intersected previously. In 2002, another
consultant provided essentially the same advice. Early in
the same year, reconnaissance geological mapping and
additional rock-chip geochemistry were initiated, with a
total of 2,360 rock-chip samples being collected at 25-m
intervals on lines 100 m apart over the main target areas.
The results defined an 8 km-Iong, north-trending anom-
alous zone, within which numerous values exceeded 0.5
g/t Au (Jones et al., 2005). Concurrently, a TEM survey
was carried out in search of sulphidic bodies beneath an 8
km2 silicified area in the core of the property, with the
lines 100 m apart and up to 3 km longo Several north-
trending conductors were defined, which were interpreted
by the geophysicists involved to be flat-lying rather than
- steeply inclined as dictated by the geological evidence.
Diamond drilling began in late 2002 by testing the
steep, siliceous ledges in the immediate Quimsacocha
area, where the previous high-grade intercepts were
obtained, but along-strike and down-dip grade continuity
could not be demonstrated. Seven of the holes were sited
to test the TEM conductors but the pyrite intersected was
gold poor, as it was in three COGEMA holes that had
been drilled previously at the sites of three of the condu c-
tors (Jones et al., 2005). The main conductors lie west of,
and probably peripheral to, what is now the Quimsacocha
orebody. A third consultant recommended drilling a
prospect 3 km to the west, but with negative results. Fur-
ther in-house compilation of results for the main Quim-
sacocha area led to a ledge that had previously returned
8.2 m at 10.5 g/t Au being specifically targeted in early
2004, but the additional drilling again encountered only
discontinuous mineralization (Jones et al., 2005). Despite
the low grades encountered, the section of inclined holes,
the longest being 550 m, allowed direct correlation of the
volcanic stratigraphy and, critically, allowed distal c1ay
alteration zoning (illite through illite-smectite mixed layer
to smectite) within individual volcanic units to be defined
using a field spectrometer.
1st
62 HIGH-SULPHIDATlON EPITHERMAL GOLD SILVER COPPER DEPOSITS
This systematic alteration mapping of the drill
core, combined with a review of the metal distribution
pattem, suggested that a zone of higher paleo-tempera-
tures, indicative of proximity to a feeder zone, lay farther
south. Angled hole 122 was sited on the basis of the pro-
jection of a mineralized ledge into the higher-temperature
area indicated by the alteration zoning. The hole, drilled in
mid-2004 beneath a poorly exposed area lacking much of
a geophysical response, discovered the central part of the
Quimsacocha deposit, with a sulphide-rich intercept of
102 m at 9.1 g/t Au, 46.9 g/t Ag and 0.4 % Cu (Jones et
al., 2005). From then on, drilling was carried out system-
atically on northwest-southeast sections, leading to defini-
tion of the strata-bound Main zone and subsidiary subhor-
izontal horizons (Fig. 44). Up until then, the real signifi-
cance of the small creek exposure of massive, enargite-
rich sulphide, assaying 17.3 g/t Au, had not been appreci-
ated, although the consultant who visited in 2002 had
inspected the creek exposure and recommended drilling
down to that elevation (-3,600 m). One of the highlights
of the systematic drilling programme was a rnid-2006
intersection of 108 m at 16.2 g/t Au and 1.3 % Cu in hole
333. By the time the mining and exploration moratorium
was imposed by the govemment of Rafael Correa in April
2008, IAMGOLD had drilled 68,208 m in 294 diamond
holes, all using man-portable rigs to minimise environ-
mental disturbance (Vallieres et al., 2009).
The Quimsacocha project is currently at the pre-
feasibility stage. Given the geometry and arsenical and
refractory nature of the orebody, an underground mining-
flotation-concentrate pressure oxidation scenario is under
consideration as the most economically and environmen-
tally viable operational option (Vallieres et al., 2009).
However, advancement of the project will be strongly
influenced by the practicalities of the new (February
2009) mining code.
Summary
The Quimsacocha deposit was discovered by
IAMGOLD afier 13 years of systematic exploration car-
ried out by three different companies!consortia, surely an
extreme case of persistence. Notwithstanding the exten-
sive rock-chip geochemical and geophysical surveys that
had been carried out, it was conceptual geology using
mineralogical and metal-content criteria that were=more-
influential in siting the discovery hole. Most of the 131
holes drilled previously had simply been toa shallow to
intersect the concealed orebody. Four years elapsed
between the discovery and completion of a pre-feasibility
study, and future progress on the project will be greatly
influenced by the final outcome of the changes to Ecuado-
rian rnining legislation.
2. Alto Chicama (Lagunas Norte),
Peru
Geological background
The Lagunas Norte high-sulphidation epithermal
gold deposit at Alto Chicama is situated at >4,000 m
above sea level on the westem flank of the Cordillera
Occidental of northem Peru, 140 km east-northeast of the
port city" of Trujillo, and roughly rnidway between the
previously discovered Yanacocha and Pierina high-sul-
phidation gold deposits (Sillitoe, 1995, 62-64; Sillitoe,
2000a, 20-21). Alto Chicama, although located near Pan
American Silver Corp.'s Quiruvilca polymetallic deposit
(e.g., Bartos, 1987), was best known previously because
of its status as the largest anthracite coal deposit in Peru
(Gurmendi, 2001). The coal was extensively exploited
during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, although
Empresa Minera deI Cento del Peru S.A. (Centromin), the
Peruvian governrnent entity, was active there as recently
.~ as the early 1990s.
The Alto Chicama gold mineralization, of mid-
Miocene age, is hosted by Early Cretaceous quartzite and
unconformably overlying mid-Miocene volcanic rocks,
with roughly three-quarters of the orebody being confin
to the former lithology (Araneda et al., 2003). The
hydrotherrnal system is associated with a felsic dome-dia-
treme complex, although the domes themselves are
ore bearing. The rnineralization encompasses large r
volumes, but has marked northwest and east-north
fault controI. The volcanic rock-hosted rnineralization --
present in residual, vuggy quartz, although alunite, dic --
and, in the quartzite, pyrophyllite are also widesp
The pyrite-rich, sulphide mineralization is completeI
dised to a depth of 100-150 m, beneath which there i -
m of mixed oxide-sulphide material, with the resulr
approximate1y 80 % of the orebody is affected by o. -
tion (Araneda et al., 2003).
Production plus resources at Alto Chicama
to 305 million tonnes with an average grade of 1.3 g .-
for 14 rnillion oz Au.
Exploration and discovery
"'. Following discovery of the Yanacocha =
deposit, Minera Yanacocha (currently Newmont _
Corporation, Compafa de Minas Buenaventura ._-
and International Finance Corporation) undert
regional geochemical exploration programme in ~~.:.~"-
additional high-sulphidation epithermal gold de
northem Peru. In 1992, before the programme
ished, Minera Yanacocha, along with other co'n:;:;:_:=~
exploring in the region, withdrew from their field
 HIGH-SULPHIDATION EPITHERMAL GOLD SILVER COPPER DEPOSITS
wn of Huamachuco, 42 km east of Alto Chicama, in
~ n e to the murder of a geologist, on the initial
tion that it was an attack by Sendero Luminoso,
_Iaoist guerrilla group still active in Peru at that time.
sequently, a sample analysed by the BLEG (bulk
+; anide] leach extractable gold; e.g., Radford, 1996)
.que, and now known to be from a drainage with
'aters at Alto Chicama, retumed -40 ppb Au. This
ous value was never followed up, notwithstanding
- t that the murder was later deterrnined to be linked
_ love triangle rather than guerrilla activity. Cambiar
- probably the most active gold explorer in the Hua-
huco region in the 1990s, also obtainedan anomalous
z: d value from a drainage geochemical sample collected
lhe Alto Chicama area, but likewise failed to capitalise
lhe result.
Following purchase of the Pierina gold deposit in
996 (Sillitoe, 2000a, 20-21), Barrick Gold Corporation
.ded to carry out a greenfields search for additional
-gb-sulphidation epithermal gold deposits in the Yana-
_ ha-Pierina belt. The initial regional work, begun in
_99 , involved compilation of published topographic and
~logical maps and mineral occurrence data combined
ith commissioned litho-structural and multispectral
yses of Landsat-? imagery. The entire belt at >3,800
above sea level, favoured as the most likely elevation
for high-sulphidation deposits, was subjected to drainage
geochemistry, with samples collected approximately
every 7 km-. BLEG, panned-concentrate and -150-mesh
silt samples were collected at each site (Guerra, 2001). On
the basis of gold anomalism in one or more of the sample
media, screening of the silt-sample results for a high-sul-
phidation factor (Ag-As-Hg-Pb) and interpreted occur-
rence of advanced argillic alteration minerals, eight
prospective areas were selected (Guerra, 2001). The high-
e t-priority area was Alto Chicama in the westem part of
lhe Huamachuco region, where several relatively small
0.5 million oz), high-sulphidation gold deposits hosted
by quartzite rather than volcanic rocks had already been
discovered (Montoya et al., 1995; Gitennes Exploration
Staff, 1998; Gauthier et al., 2000). As noted above, the
Alto Chicama area also included the Quiruvilca poly-
metallic vein district, the core of which is enargite rich
(Bartos, 1987), and which at that time was considered by
Barrick as a possible analogue for the much smaller Santo
Toribio polymetallic vein deposit near Pierina. Specifical-
ly, one of the BLEG samples, collected near the Trujillo-
Huamachuco highway and apparently from the same
drainage system sampled previously by Minera Yana-
cocha and Cambior, retumed a highly anomalous value of
38 ppb Au. Furtherrnore, the panned concentrate lacked
coarse gold and the corresponding silt contained the high-
sulphidation element suite, for which there was no known
local source.
63
As a consequence, a -20 x 10 km area, roughly
centred on Quiruvilca and including several known .gold
occurrences, was selected for more detailed BLEG,
panned-concentrate and silt sampling, the results of which
confmned the Alto Chicama area as a prime target, with
>48 ppb Au anomalies highlighting the Lagunas Sur and
Lagunas Norte sectors (Fig. 45). The follow-up work also
included additional multispectral analysis and field
inspection of the Lagunas Sur sector, during which
quartz-alunite alteration surrounding limited volumes of
residual, vuggy quartz was recognised. Several -1 g/t Au
values were obtained, and the advanced argillic alteration
confirrned using a portable spectrometer.
Centromin held the claims over most of the Alto
Chicama area because of the coal potential, except for Pan
American Silver's small ngeles claim, which was
optioned by Barrick in late 1999. Barrick indicated its
interest in the area to Centromin, which initiated the auc-
tion procedure for the Alto Chicama property because of
the possible gold potential. Centromin conducted recon-
naissance geological mapping and rock-chip sampling
over parts of the property in early to mid-1999, as a result
of which a 5 g/t Au assay, never to be repeated, and sever-
al other anomalous values were reported in the tender
document. Once the tender process was announced, 15
companies carried out reviews, but those that bothered to
conduct field visits focused on the gold-poor, volcanic-
hosted parts of the Lagunas Sur sector rather than on the
825000
15 km
Au, ppb
CJ 10-65 o Project
E@ 65-170 ---- >4,000 m contour
Fig. 45 Drainage gold geochemical domain map of the
Alto Chicama high-sulphidation epithermal gold
deposit and surrounding district, northern Peru.
Note the position of the main gold anomaly in asso-
ciation with the Lagunas Sur and Lagunas Norte
sectors. The smaller anomalies to the northeast and
southwest coincide with previously delineated gold
deposits. Taken from Guerra (2001).
64 HIGH-SULPHIDATION EPITHERMAL GOLD SILVER COPPER DEPOSITS
Lagunas Norte
N
\ 9122500
Au, ppb
0100-240
L:::J 240- 14,000
because of difficult access, so ten more disappointing
9117500
Fig. 46 Gold geochemical anomalies determined by sys-
tematic rock-chip and saw-cut sampling over the Lagu-
nas Sur and Lagunas Norte sectors, Alto Chicama
high-sulphidation epithermal gold deposit, northern
Peru. Note that only the Lagunas Norte sector consti-
tutes a gold orebody. Taken from Guerra (2001).
quartzite. Alto Chicama was auctioned in September
2000, with Barrick as the on1y bidder being awarded the
property.
In early 2001, Barrick began a rock-chip sampling
prograrnrne that progressed from south to north across the
Lagunas Sur and Lagunas Norte sectors, with each sample
representing a 5 x 5-m exposure. Anomalous areas were
then channel sampled using rock saws, and geologically
mapped at 1,000 or 2,000 scales preparatory to initiation,
in the second quarter of 2001, of drill testing. The geo-
chemical sampling preceded and dictated sites for geolog-
ical mapping as a means of speeding up the prograrnrne,
bearing in mind the contractual commitments to Centro-
mino On completion of the geochemical work, a 2 x 1 km
gold-mercury anomaly had been defined at Lagunas Norte
(Guerra, 2001), containing values as high as 20 g/t Au
(Fig. 46). Thirteen CSAMT lines, totalling 31.8 km, were
run at Lagunas Sur and Lagunas Norte.
At the time when hole DDH-005 was being drilled
at Lagunas Sur, the geochemical sampling and geological
mapping was underway in the Lagunas Norte sector,
where a prominent, 100-m-high outcrop of vuggy quartz
developed in fragmental volcanic rocks was mapped and
sampled in what was called the Alexa area (Fig. 47). The
sampling defined a 250 x 200-m area characterised b
>-2 g/t Au, with individual values up to 10 glt (Guerra,
2001). The Alexa sector could not be immediately drilled
holes were drilled at Lagunas Sur, followed by DDH-0l6
and 017 in the Josfa area at Lugunas Norte. Following
completion of road construction, DDH-018 was drilled
atop the Alexa vuggy quartz body (Fig. 47), and cut 10-
m averaging 6.9 g/t Au to discover the Lagunas Norte ore-
body in mid-2001 (Guerra, 2001). Drilling was then
stopped to enable consolidation of adjoining minera:
claims.
After drilling had recommenced in late 2001.
roughly coincident arsenic and CSAMT resistivity anom-
alies over quartzite exposed between two volcanic areas
in the southem part of the Lagunas Norte sector were te: -
ed with hole DDH-036, returning 59 m at 5.44 g/t AlL
This may be considered as the second discovery hole
because it not only showed the existence of high-grade
gold mineralization in the quartzite, but also provided
first indication that Lagunas Norte offered multi-rnillioo-
oz potential. Drilling continued to depths of 200-300 m
a 200 x 200-m grid, and release of the first resource
mate (3.5 million oz at 1.95 g/t Au) in April 2002 ,,_
based on the results from 45 of the 60 holes completed : _
then at Lagunas Norte. The second resource, 7.3 rniIli
oz at 1.85 g/t Au, was announced only three months 1
based on the results from 172 holes on 100 x 100-m
Fig. 47 Aerial view looking north of -
100-m-high, Alexa vuggy quartz oer-
crop within the Lagunas Norte higa
sulphidation epithermal gold de
at Alto Chicama, northern Peru. T
blast-hole rigs are operating on -- -
first bench of the Lagunas Xo ~
mine. Photograph, taken in _
provided by Barrick Gold Corpors-
tion.
 HIGH-SULPHIDATlON EPITHERMAL GOLD SILVER COPPER DEPOSITS 65

-=__48 Aerial view looking northeast over the Purnama, Ramba Joring, Uluala Ruiu and Barani orebodies,
= lartabe high-sulphidation epithermal gold-silver district, Sumatra, lndonesia. Note that the orebodies corre-
spond with topographic prominences, the most pronounced being the forested cliff along the southwestern
side of the Purnama siliceous ledge. Photograph, taken some time before 2008, provided by G-Resources.

and, by year's end, 6.5 million oz had been transferred
-' e reserve category in addition to a 3 million oz
e.
Construction of an open-pit, valley-fill heap-leach
tion was commenced in early 2004, with the first
z: poured in mid-2005. Annual production is >1 million_
Au for a total since start-up of -5 million oz.
~mnmary
Alto Chicama is a greenfields gold discovery
sulting from Barrick's regional drainage geochemistry
=illowed-up with rock-chip and saw-cut sampling and
-: tailed geological mapping. The results of a CSAMT
'ey, in conjunction with the geochemistry, influenced
iting of the second discovery hole, which changed the
exploration focus because it demonstrated thatthe widely
~ tributed quartzite was also a potentially favourable host
_ k. Discovery to production at Lagunas Norte took just
four years.
The exploration programme was greatly facilitated
- ~' basing the tearn in the local town of Huarnachuco, with
zransport to and from Lima, the Peruvian capital, via the
eompany's fixed-wing aircraft. Local residence engen-
dered community support early in the exploration pro-
gramme, which resulted in essentially no opposition to
mine construction, a marked contrast to many mining pro-
iects in Peru.
3. Martabe, Indonesia
Geological background
The Martabe high-sulphidation gold-silver district
is located on the westem slope of the Barisan Mountains,
approximately 30 krn southeast of the port city of Sibolga
in the province of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The deposit,
located in steep, forested country, comprises four orebod-
ies, Pumama (altematively known as Pit 1), Rarnba Joring
(formerly Baskara), Barani (forrnerly Pelangi) and Uluala
Hulu (forrnerly Gerhana), within a 7 km-long, mineral-
ized zone (Fig. 48).
Martabe is part of the Neogene magmatic are and
associated gold belt of Sumatra (Crow and Van Leeuwen,
2005), which are products of oblique subduction at the
Sunda trench. The Martabe deposits and their host
Pliocene dacitic-andesitic dome complex are localised by
subsidiary strands of the Sumatran fault system (Levet et
al., 2003; Sutopo et al., 2003, 2006; Harlan et al., 2005), a
1,600 km-long, intra-arc, dextral strike-slip structure
linked to the oblique subduction (e.g., McCarthy and
Elders, 1997). The dome complex and associated dia-
treme breccias, confmed to a graben between two north-
west-striking faults, cut a Miocene volcano-sedimentary
sequence, comprising conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone,
carbonaceous mudstone and andesitic flows.
The Pumama orebody is hosted mainly by dia-
treme breccia, and is centred on gently dipping, strati-

.
66 HIGH-SULPHIDATION EPITHERMAL GOLD SILVER COPPER DEPOSITS
graphically controlled, tabular ledges of vuggy, residual
quartz and quartz-alunite, whereas Ramba Joring is hosted
by a series of steeply dipping, structurally controlled
quartz and quartz-alunite alteration ledges. The quartz and
quartz-alunite alteration is gradational outwards to quartz-
dickitekaolinite and peripheral quartz-illite and illite-
smectite alteration; subsidiary, north-northwest- and
north-northeast-striking fault splays and the breccias
strongly influence ledge localisation (Levet et al., 2003;
Sutopo et al., 2003, 2006; Harlan et al., 2005). The gold-
silver mineralization is confined to the ledges where it
accompanies late, fracture-controlled pyrite, enargite,
luzonite and tennantite-tetrahedrite, although copper con-
tents are <0.2 %; covellite, digenite, bismuthinite, marca-
site, native sulphur and barite are subsidiary accompany-
ing minerals (Levet et al., 2003; Sutopo et al., 2003,
2006). Some of the silver is present as proustite and pyrar-
gyrite inclusions in bismuthinite (Levet et al., 2003;
Sutopo et al., 2003). ln contrast, the Barani orebody is
hosted by quartz and chalcedony veins and stockworks of
low- to intermediate-sulphidation aspect, with higher gold
grades apparently confined to shallowly north-plunging .~
shoots. The depth of supergene oxidation is extremely
variable, attaining 120 m in parts of some ledges, and is
504000 E
Au, ppb
f:, <5
f':, 550
. >50
,..-
\.
-.;) Prospect
1 km
underlain by -50 m of partially oxidised material (Levet
et al., 2003; Sutopo et al., 2003, 2006; Harlan et al.,
2005).
The Martabe deposits contain a combined Mea-
sured, lndicated and Inferred Resource of 138.6 million
tonnes averaging 1.5 g/t Au and 15 g/t Ag, using a 0.5 g/t
Au cut-off. These resources contain 6.5 million oz Au and
66.2 million oz Ag.
Exploraton and discovery
Normandy Anglo Asian Pte Ltd., a joint-venture
between Normandy Mining Ltd. - the operator - and
Minorco, applied in late 1993 for a sixth-generation Con-
tract ofWork (CoW) covering 6,591 km2, including a pre-
viously unexplored Miocene volcanic complex, in the
Sibolga district ofNorth Sumatra. Previously, a low-grade
porphyry copper occurrence and several base-metal veins
were documented in the northem part of the CoW area
during 1:250,000-scale regional geological mapping
(Aspden et al., 1982), and base-metal and arsenic anom-
alies were identified in the vicinity of Martabe during -
drainage geochemical survey undertaken throughom
Sumatra (Stephenson et al., 1982); however, gold was na:
Fig. 49 BLEG (bulk leach extractable c
geochemical sampling results for -"'-~
Martabe district, Sumatra, lndone i
relation to the locations of the P
Ramba Joring, Barani and Uluala ~
gold-silver orebodies and nearby prospecs,
The samples were collected during
initial and follow-up BLEG prograrrzzs,
Note the site of the sample that led di:=:
'-=
to discovery of the Martabe high-sul ..
tion epithermal gold-silver depo it, -
frorn Sutopo et a!. (2003).
 HIGH-SULPHIDATION EPITHERMAL GOLD SILVER COPPER DEPOSITS
- flXOON
- '000 N
0.8
0.4
2km
0.0
analysed.
A regional BLEG drainage survey, using Nor-
mandy's in-house protocols, was conducted over the entire
CoW, inc1uding the vo1canic complex, at various times
from 1994-1996, with samples planned to be taken over
-10 km2 catchments. In early 1997, an anomalous gold
"alue of 14 ppb was returned by a sample collected in the
Aek Pahu river, immediately upstream from the point
where it crosses the Trans-Sumatran highway and approx-
imately 4 km southwest of the gold-silver deposit (Sutopo
et al., 2003; Harlan et al., 2005; Fig. 49). Aek Pahu, as the
prospect was originally called, was ranked only fourth of
the first-order BLEG anomalies so was not followed up
until after granting of the CoW in April 1997, when
prospecting upstream of the BLEG anomaly revealed a
iliceous float train that gave values as high as 20.3 g/t Au
and 76 glt Ag (Sutopo et al., 2003; Harlan et al., 2005).
Follow-up BLEG samples retumed up to 157 ppb Au and
1,206 ppb Ag (Fig. 49). The 14-ppb discovery BLEG
sample represented a 38 km2 catchment. During the rest
of 1997 and early 1998, 1:5,000-scale geological mapping
and rock-chip sampling of drainages was followed by
ridge-and-spur soil sampling at 50-m intervals, soil sarn-
pling on a 100 x 50-m grid, an induced-polarisation sur-
67
Fig. 50 Gold soil geochemistry over the
Martabe high-sulphidation epithermal
gold-silver district, Sumatra, lndonesia.
Note the westward mechanical displace-
ment of the anomalies relative to the posi-
tions of the Purnama and Ramba Joring
orebodies. Taken from Harlan et a!.
(2005).
vey and a 650 line km airbome magnetic and radiometric
survey (Sutopo et al., 2003). The soil sampling proved far
more effective for anomaly definition than the ridge-and-
spur programme. The soil samples, routinely analysed for
gold, silver, arsenic, copper, antimony, mercury, lead and
zinc, were collected at a depth of about 1.5 m using a
hand auger. The best gold-in-soil anomalies, defined by
>2 ppm Au, are located at the base of the 200-m-high cliff
along the southwestem side of Purnama hill and at Ramba
Joring (Harlan et al., 2005; Figs. 48 and 50). Geological
mapping and rock-chip sampling highlighted a series of
prominent, north-striking, siliceous ledges, which were
auriferous and eventually determined to occupy a 7 x 2
km area (Figs. 48 and 50).
Helicopter-supported diamond drilling com-
menced in October 1998, with the initial holes designed to
test the gold-in-soil anomalies immediately west of Purna-
ma hill and on Baskara hill (Ramba Joring). At Pumama,
the first three holes targeted the 2 ppm gold-in-soil anom-
aly and cut fresh basaltic andesite beneath up to 12 m of
auriferous talus, indicating that the anomalies were simply
the result of mechanical transport induced by steep topo-
graphic slopes (Harlan et al., 2005; Fig. 50). Interestingly,
copper and arsenic anomalies are located at even greater
68 BRECCIA- AND SEDIMENT-HOSTED GOLD-SILVER+ZINC-LEAD/COPPER
distances from the Purnama and Ramba Joring deposits,
suggesting a chemical transport component (Harlan et al.,
2005). Twenty-one additional holes were drilled at Ramba
Joring and Barani, many of them confirming the presence
of alteration and gold mineralization (Sutopo et al., 2003).
Accessible parts of the Pumama ledges were geologically
mapped, but the rock-chip sampling gave mainly low 1
g/t) gold values. In December 1998, however, Pumama
was targeted with an angled hole (APSD022) collared at
the base of the cliff, which retumed 61 m at 0.95 g/t Au
from surface (Sutopo et al., 2003). Pumama then became
the focus of attention because of the 200 m of potentially
mineralized rock that were present above the APSD022
drill site. Dri11ingrecommenced at Pumama in May 1999
on sections 100-200 m apart, with the discovery hole
(APSD029) intercepting 81 m at 2.43 git Au from the col-
lar (Sutopo et al., 2003; Harlan et al., 2005). APSD047
intersected 225 m at 2.06 git Au and 32 g/t Ag, leading to
APSD029 being re-entered to produce an additional 130
m at l.30 git Au (Harlan et al., 2005). A number of the
earlier holes at Pumama were shallow and angled, usually
at -250 east, resulting in many of them ending in minerali- ~~
sation because of the limited rig capability. Later in 1999,
an in-house resource estimate for Purnama suggested the
presence of 62 million tonnes averaging 1.3 g/t Au and 19
g/t Ag, using a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off (Sutopo et al., 2003;
Harlan et al., 2005). In mid-2000, a scoping study was
completed for the Purnama oxidised resource, which
tota11ed 10 mi11ion tonnes at 2.3 g/t Au and 25 g/t Ag
(Sutopo et al., 2003). Gradient array and dipole-dipole
induced-polarisation surveys were carried out over select-
ed prospects at Martabe, with the latter method confmn-
ing the anticipated high resistivity (1000s ohm-m) over
the siliceous ledges (Harlan et al., 2005). No further
drilling was conducted at Pumama in 2001, but 17 addi-
tional scout holes were completed at Ramba Joring,
Barani and a new prospect, Uluala Hulu (Figs. 48 and 49).
Anglo American p1c (the successor to Minorco)
exited the project in July 2001 by selling its interest to
Normandy and, in February 2002, a 90 % interest in the
project passed to Newmont Mining Corporation as a con-
sequence of its merger with Normandy (Harlan et al.,
2005). PT. Austindo Nusantara Jaya, an Indonesian pri-
vate mining company, held the remainder of the project.
Newmont initiated an aggressive exploration programme,
and conducted detailed geological and alteraton-mappng e.
and core logging - the latter reliant on a field spectrometer
- ground and airbome geophysics and extensive diamond
dri11ing,totalling 11,000 m in 81 holes during 2002 alone
(Sutopo et al., 2003). Although the Newmont work did
not define any additional major orebodies, it did facilitate
a thorough understanding of the geology of the deposits
as we11 as providing major resource additions. Both the
70 line km induced-polarisation survey and the time-
DEPOSITS
domain airbome electromagnetic (HoistEM; e.g., Boyd,
2004) survey over two-thirds of the CoW confirmed the
highly resistive character of the siliceous orebodies,
whereas the airbome magnetic response confirmed dis-
trict-wide magnetite destruction (Harlan et al., 2005).
From 1998 to the end of 2005, 232 diamond dri11holes
had been completed for 36,393 m, the majority on 50 x
50-m grids for resource definition. In total, including
those for geotechnical, meta11urgical and hydrological
purposes in the immediate Martabe area, 448 diamond
holes ~ere drilled for 70,366 m.
In 2006, Newmont decided that Martabe was a
non-core asset and sold its 90 % interest in the project to
Agincourt Resources Ltd., which, in early 2007, was
absorbed by Oxiana Ltd. by corporate takeover. Oxiana
conducted appreciable additional delineation and explo-
ration drilling throughout the district and, by mid-2008,
257 (41,792 m), 146 (22,819 m) and ll9 (17,857 m) holes
had been completed at Purnama, Ramba Joring and
Barani, respectively. An initial Probable Reserve was esti-
mated for Purnama by Oxiana in 2007, and then updated
by G-Resources in October 2009 (see below). In March
2010, an initial Probable Reserve of oxidised and transi-
tional ore for the Barani deposit was estimated, bringing
the total for the district to 39.5 million tonnes at 2.1 g/t Au
and 25.8 git Ag.
Based on a feasibility study completed in 2007_
mine construction began in July 2008 but was suspended
only four months later because of financial difficulties
experienced by Oz Minerals Ltd. (formed by the merger
of Oxiana and Zinifex Ltd.) as a consequence of the glob-
ai financial crisis. These same difficulties led to Oz Min-
erals selling Martabe to China Sci-Tech Holdings Ltd. li:
April 2009, which, in turn, sold the project on to G-
Resources just one month later.
G-Resources, a Hong Kong-listed company, hes
resumed mine construction and plans to have the Puro
(Pit 1) orebody in production by the end of 2011 as
open pit; production from Barani is also planned anel -
addition, the company has indicated that an initial reser =
for the Ramba Joring orebody is being estimated, all
ing for its inclusion in the future life-of-mine plano Prc-
cessing will be via a standard CIL plant. G-Resotm:' -
stated that a sulphide resource and further potential
exist outside the current reserves and that exploration
grammes are planned to define them.
Summary
Martabe is a classic greenfields disco erv =--
frontier province, and resulted from a regional rec
sance BLEG drainage programme fo11owed up with g= -
logical prospecting, ridge-and-spur and grid soil ;=: -
chemical sampling, geological mapping and :::
 HIGH-SULPHIDATION EPITHERMAL GOLD SILVER COPPER DEPOSITS 69

_' The results of induced-polarisation and airbome
::e:.::::oo:ta:gneticsurveys were also successfully applied at
K2:::::!i)e and, although not responsible for discovery of
orebodies, they did assist with resource exten-
Although not directly involved in the discovery,
- ed geological and geochemical information (see
_ generated by the Directorate of Mineral Resources
of Indonesia in collaboration with the British Geological
Survey influenced selection of the original CoW (ifea.
If the 2011 production schedule is adhered to, then
the time elapsed between the Martabe discovery and
eventual mining will have been 12 years, notwithstanding
.'" .the involvement of six different company operators in the
~xpl6raton and mine development.