Age of molybdenum‐copper mineralization at Coppin Gap, Western Australia

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The Coppin Gap copper‐molybdenum mineral deposit is situated in the NE of the Pilbara region, near the northern margin of the Mount Edgar Batholith. The prospect is associated with felsic intrusives occupying a position near the top of a suite of tholeiitic basalts and extends through an overlying mixed assemblage of lavas and tuffs. A Rb‐Sr isochron age of 3234 ± 117 Ma (with an initial ratio of 0.7027 ± 0.0012), is reported for a suite of feldspar porphyry and granodiorite samples from the mineralized region. This age is consistent with reported Rb‐Sr ages from the Mount Edgar Batholith, and suggests a close association between the mineralization at Coppin Gap and the batholith. The reported age represents a minimum age for the mineralization at Coppin Gap, and suggests that this deposit is one of the oldest ‘porphyry style’ copper‐molybdenum deposits in the world.