Re: Thought experiment thoughts
in response to
by
posted on
Feb 20, 2024 08:49AM
Combining Classic Mineral Exploration with State of the Art Technology
"...the porphyry- should still have the highest mineral concentration."
Indeed, I am not a credentialled geologist, but to my understanding, the difference between porphyry and skarn/CRD is that they evolve from two different geological events, one after the other.
The event you describe as forming porphyry happens first and in sedimentary rock. Skarn/CRD ores form as secondary events related to more intensive dry or drier heat. They add minerals or concentrate ones already there in a metamorphic process. Superheated waters are essential in forming porphyry, but not so much so for skarn/CRD. Of the two, skarn/CRD is richer.
Then, there are hydrothermal, epithermal, and mesothermal mineral concentrations, but let's not go there just now except to note that porphyries are hydrothermal, skarn/CRD are not.
VP