Daniel Müller

David I. Groves

Potassic igneous rocks have gained much attention among petrologists worldwide, mainly due to their distinct geochemistry, and many geoscientists still consider them as petrological curiosities with an obscure petrogenesis. In the past, a plethora of genetic hypotheses and of local names for potassic igneous rocks from different localities have been created. This has produced some confusion in the literature. This book reviews the geochemical and petrological characteristics of the potassic igneous rock complexes and investigates the different tectonic settings in which these rocks occur. The authors provide an overview and a classification of these rocks and attempt to elucidate the geochemical differences between barren and mineralized potassic igneous complexes. Many epithermal gold and porphyry copper-gold deposits are hosted by high-K rocks. Therefore, this book is not only relevant to academic petrologists working on alkaline rocks, but also to exploration geologists prospecting for epithermal gold and/or porphyry copper-gold deposits in modern and ancient terranes. This third, updated and enlarged edition contains several new sections, new geochemical data and additional references.

Potassic Igneous Rocks and Associated Gold-Copper Mineralization

This book reviews the geochemical and petrological characteristics of potassic igneous rock complexes, and investigates the various tectonic settings in which these rocks occur. The authors provide an overview and classification of these rocks and elucidate the geochemical differences between barren and mineralized potassic igneous complexes. High-K rocks are genetically associated with a number of epithermal gold and porphyry copper-gold deposits. In recent years, there has also been growing recognition of an association of such rocks with iron-oxide copper-gold (IOCG) deposits, intrusion-related gold deposits (IRGDs) and Carlin-type gold deposits. This fifth updated and expanded edition incorporates new data and references from world-class copper and gold deposits worldwide. It also includes the latest publications on the petrogenesis of high-K magmatism and related mineral deposits. Numerous new representative ore photographs of the mineral deposits described are also included in the new edition. As such, the book offers a valuable guide not only for academic petrologists working on alkaline rocks, but also for exploration geologists prospecting for epithermal gold and/or porphyry copper-gold deposits in modern and ancient terrains.

In recent years, there has been increasing interest from geoscientists in potassic ig neous rocks. Academic geoscientists have been interested in their petrogenesis and their potential value in defining the tectonic setting of the terranes into which they were intruded, and exploration geoscientists have become increasingly interested in the association of these rocks with major epithermal gold and porphyry gold-copper deposits. Despite this current interest, there is no comprehensive textbook that deals with these aspects of potassic igneous rocks. This book redresses this situation by elucidating the characteristic features of potassic (high-K) igneous rocks, erecting a hierarchical scheme that allows interpre tation of their tectonic setting using whole-rock geochemistry, and investigating their associations with a variety of gold and copper-gold deposits, worldwide. About two thirds of the book is based on a PhD thesis by Dr Daniel Muller which was produced at the Key Centre for Strategic Mineral Deposits within the Department of Geology and Geophysics at The University of Western Australia under the supervision of Professor David Groves, the late Dr Nick Rock, Professor Eugen Stumpf!, Dr Wayne Taylor, and Dr Brendon Griffin. The remainder of the book has been compiled from the literature using the collective experience of the two authors. The book is dedi cated to the memory of Dr Rock who initiated the research project but died before its completion.

David I. Groves

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