Re: Anantomy of Porphyry Deposits
in response to
by
posted on
Nov 25, 2013 09:22AM
Combining Classic Mineral Exploration with State of the Art Technology
The one thing I see in that paper that likely likely does not apply to Arizona-based porphyries is in the refererences to "diatremes", which are diamond-bearing rocks. Arizona, in so far as I know, has never produced a diamond of any commercial interest.
Having said that, the two major host rocks, kimberlite and lamproite, do exist here. In fact, and if I recall correctly, the word's largest kimperlite pipe is in Arizona, and while it includes interesting mineralology and some semiprecious gems, no diamonds have been found there.
While kimberlite is usually found in pipes derived from explosive eruptions, lamproite is from volcanic flows and is the predominate form of lava or basalt found in the state. It's everywhere, but so far with no diamond discoveries.
The nearest diamond mines have been in Wyoming and Colorado, but they have been relatively small. Some few commercial size diamonds have been found in placers in the California gold country,but no commercial-grade source rock has been discovered.
...just another FWIW.
VP in AZ (posting the kind of stuff that would be deleted at the other board)