Pre-Conference Field Trip | FT01   View all field trips

Iberian Pyrite Belt: VMS Geology and Mineralization

Date: August 18-24, 2023

Location: Departing from, and returning to Lisbon, Portugal

Leaders: William X Chávez Jr. and Erich Petersen

Attendee Maximum: 20

20% of spaces are reserved for students and offered at a discounted rate.

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Description

This intensive, 7-day, field trip will begin in Lisboa on the evening of August 18 with a safety and logistics meeting. The following day, participants will travel by coach to Aracena, Spain, with the tour leaders taking the opportunity during travel time to describe the history, geology, metallogeny, and potential of the Iberian Pyrite Belt. The first of four mine visits will follow on Day 3, to Minas de Riotinto. This world-class VMS deposit has been worked since Phoenician and Roman times and was a cornerstone in the growth of the Rio Tinto Group. Today it is owned and operated by Atalaya Mining with production of 15 Mtpa. Significant further resources have been reported recently from the nearby San Dionisio and San Antonio deposits.

Day 4 will begin with a visit to Sandfire Resources' 4.7 Mtpa Aguas Teñidas mine to review drill core from the copper and polymetallic ores. Following an overnight stay in Castro Verde, Portugal, on Day 5 we will see drill cores from the world-class Neves-Corvo mine. This cluster of seven massive sulfide lenses exhibits strong metal zoning into copper, tin and zinc zones, as well as barren massive pyrite. The massive sulfide deposits are typically underlain by stockwork sulfide zones, which form an important part of the copper orebodies.

On Day 6 we review drill core from the Aljustrel mine, which produced a copper-silver concentrate until 2018, before the mill was changed over to treat zinc ore and produce a zinc-lead-silver concentrate. The final day will begin with a visit to the Alvalade project, where Paul Kuhn and the PorMining Lda. (Avrupa-Sandfire Portugal) geology team are exploring the Sesmarias massive sulfide prospect, before concluding that afternoon in Lisboa.

It will be HOT this time of year, so pack accordingly. You will need to bring your own geology safety gear, including hard hat, reflective vest, hard-toe boots, gloves, long-sleeve shirt, eye protection and rock hammer.

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About the Leaders

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William X. Chávez, Jr.

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

William received B.Sc. degrees in Geology (1977) and Mine Engineering (1977) from the New México School of Mines; he has M.A. (1980) and Ph.D. (1984) degrees in Geology from the University of California at Berkeley, and has been Professor of Geological Engineering and Economic Geologist at the New México School of Mines since 1985. He is an SEG Honorary Lecturer and is involved with teaching field courses and workshops for the Society, with emphasis on porphyry and epithermal systems, alteration and ore mineralogy, and environmental aspects of mining.

Headshot

Erich U. Petersen

University of Utah

Erich received a B.Sc. degree in Geology (1975) from Harvard University; an M.S. degree (1979) from Dartmouth and a Ph.D. degree from University of Michigan (1984). He has been Professor of Geology and Earth Sciences and Economic Geologist at the University of Utah since 1983. Erich has been an SEG Fellow since 1986 and has co-led SEG field trips in North and South America, Europe, and is involved with co-teaching field and short courses for SEG, with emphasis on hydrothermal alteration (VNIR), metamorphism and ore mineralogy in vms, porphyry, epithermal and sediment-hosted systems.

Itinerary (Preliminary)

Day 1 - Friday, August 18

  • Convene in Lisboa at 6:00pm
  • Meeting on health and safety protocols
  • Overnight: Lisboa

Day 2 - Saturday, August 19

  • Travel to Aracena, España
  • Presentation on IPB: history, geology, metallogeny, and potential
  • Overnight: Aracena

Day 3 - Sunday, August 20

  • Rio Tinto Mines (Minas de Riotinto): (Reserves 2021: 197Mt @ 0.42% Cu) Copper mines located on the Tinto River near the town of Nerva. The mines have been worked since Phoenician and Roman times and formed a cornerstone in the growth of the Rio Tinto Group. Today they are owned and operated by Atalaya Mining with production of 15Mtpa. Significant further resources have been recently reported from the nearby San Dionisio and San Antonio deposits.
  • Overnight: Rio Tinto

Day 4 - Monday, August 21

  • Aguas Teñidas (Global resource 2022: 147Mt @ 1.4% Cu, 3% Zn, 1% Pb, 39.6g/t Ag): Now operated by Sandfire Resources, with a 4.7Mtpa processing plant that sources ore from three underground mines, Aguas Teñidas, Magdalena Mines and Sotiel. Two types of ore – copper and polymetallic – are processed in two separate circuits to produce a blended copper concentrate and a zinc concentrate. Production of a separate lead concentrate began in 2011.
  • Overnight: Castro Verde

Day 5 - Tuesday, August 22

  • Neves-Corvo: Seven massive sulphide lenses have been defined comprising Neves, Corvo, Graça, Zambujal, Lombador, Semblana and Monte Branco. The base metal grades are segregated by the strong metal zoning into copper, tin and zinc zones, as well as barren massive pyrite. The massive sulphide deposits are typically underlain by stockwork sulphide zones, which form an important part of the copper orebodies.
  • Overnight: Castro Verde

Day 6 - Wednesday, August 23

  • Aljustrel: The Aljustrel camp consists of six separate orebodies (Estação, Feitais, Algares, Moinho, São João and Gavião) The ore is treated onsite and uses standard flotation techniques which produced a copper-silver concentrate until Q1 2018. From March 2018 onward, the mill was changed over to treat zinc ore and produce a zinc-lead-silver concentrate.
  • Overnight: Castro Verde

Day 7 - Thursday, August 24

  • The final day will begin with a visit to the Alvalade project, where Paul Kuhn and the PorMining Lda. (Avrupa-Sandfire Portugal) geology team are exploring the Sesmarias massive sulfide prospect, before concluding that afternoon in Lisboa.
  • Official end of the field trip

Registration

Email Duncan Proctor at duncanproctor@segweb.org to be added to the waitlist.

Early Deadline: June 30, 2023
Regular Deadline: August 11, 2023

  Early Regular
SEG Professional Member SOLD OUT SOLD OUT
SEG Student Member SOLD OUT SOLD OUT
Non-member SOLD OUT SOLD OUT
All prices are in United States dollars (USD). SEG reserves the right to cancel this event should minimum attendance numbers not be met by June 30, 2023. All registrants will be given a full refund should SEG cancel the course. Cancellation policy, event photography, dietary restrictions, and more are detailed in the SEG Conference terms and conditions.
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