Microscopic study of samples from the Louvem copper deposit shows that the principal ore minerals are pyrite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite and the accessory ore minerals are rutile, tetradymite, two unidentified tellurides, cobaltite, molybdenite, galena, and four optically distinct phases having compositions along the digenite–bornite tie line.The Louvem ore body is a pipe-shaped mass of mineralized rhyolitic tuff and agglomerate that is conformable with enclosing volcanic and pyroclastic rocks. The ore body is zoned, with a copper-rich core and pyrite-rich margins. Wall-rock alteration spatially related to the ore deposit suggests that it was formed by replacement of porous tuffaceous host rocks by a hydrothermal fluid. Textural features of the ore indicate that it was subjected to post-emplacement thermal metamorphism.
Geostatistical comparison between blast and drill holes in a porphyry copper deposit
