Economic Geology

Vol. 72, 1977, pp. 1101-1130

The MagnetiteDepositsof E1Romeral,Chile

ARTHUR A. BOOKSTROM

Abstract

E1 Romeral iron mine is in the coastaliron province of northern Chile, a north-trend-

ing belt of magnetitedepositsabout 30 km wide and 600 km long.
Iron at E1 Romeral is mined from two orebodiesin which magnetiteis microscopically
intergrown with actinolite. The Main orebodyis a lenticular, steeplydipping magne-
tite-rich mass in a reentrant between two lobes of the Romeral diorite pluton. The
North orebody consistsof conformablepods of magnetite in actinolitized biotite schists
with steeplydipping foliation. Both orebodiestrend northerly, adjacent and subparallel
to the eastern contact of the western lobe of the diorite pluton and within a north-
trending network of anastomosingstrike-slip faults.
Ore-zone boundaries are gradational, and altered rocks within and around the ore-
bodiescontainmagnetite,actinolite,plagioclase(An•.2_a•.),diopside,clinozoisite,sphene,
chlorapatite,marialitic scapolite,tourmaline,chlorite,pyrite, calcite,micas,and clays.
The schists, phyllites, and quartzites of E1 Romeral probably are late Paleozoic,
whereasthe andesiteporphyry,diorite, and magnetitedepositsare early Cretaceousin
age.
Emplacementand crystallizationof the Romeral diorite plutonprecededore deposition.
During late stagesof diorite crystallization,quartziteand andesiteporphyrynear diorite
contactswere dioritized by metasomaticadditionsof plagioclase(An20_a0),hornblende,
and diopside. Iron in hematite-banded quartzitewas mobilizedand redepositedas hema-
tite 80 to 145m from the dioritecontact. Cordieriteporphyroblasts grew in phylliteand
schist,and diopsideand oligoclasepartially replacedandesiteporphyrybetweenthe east
and west lobesof the diorite pluton.
Magnetite ore deposition was hydrothermal and was accompaniedby pervasive
actinolitization,probablyat temperaturesmainly in the range 550ø to 475øC. Left-
lateral movementon the Romeralfault was concurrentwith ore depositionand with
emplacementof intramineral diorite aplite dikes into en echelon,northwest-trending,
steeplydippinggash fractures,which openedin responseto the left-lateral faulting.
Ore depositionwas followedby chloritization,by emplacement of a few minor granitic
dikes,and by alterationof previouslyactinolitizeddiorite and phylliteto aplitic rocks
consistingof secondaryplagioclase(Ans_25), quartz, microcline,and minor tourmaline.
Aplitization was followedby emplacement of many biotitic diorite aplite dikes, by
formationof late actinolite-magnetite-apatite veins,by locally intenseargillizationand
martitization, by right-lateral movementon the late North-northeastfault, and by em-
placementof the postorebatholitheast of E1 Romeral.

Introduction El Romeral, along with other major iron deposits

EL iROMERAL iron mine, in the coastalfoothills of suchas El Tofo, El Algarrobo,and Cerro ImSn, lies
the Andes of Chile, lies north of the fertile Central within the Chileaniron province,a belt of magnetite
Valley and southof the Atacama desert,at 29ø 43' and apatite-magnetitedepositsthat is about 30 km
S, 71 ø 15' W. It is about 20 km north of La Serena wide and extends parallel to the Pacific coast for
about 600 km between the latitudes 26 ø S and 32 ø S
and 400 km north of Santiago. The mine is about
9 km inland from the Pacific coast, on the eastern (Fig. 2).
slopeof Cord6n La Liga. The preminingoutcrops
of the iron depositswereat altitudesof 350 to 450 m, Previous work
about 150 m above the valley floor of Quebrada
Romeral. In 1970,when the geologicmappingand During 1959-1960 Antonio Pena supervisedthe
samplingfor this study were done,the North ore- magnetometersurveysand core drilling that indi-
body of E1 Romeralhad beenmined out, and open- cated reserves of 200 million tons of ore at E1
pit mining was in progressat the 319-m elevation Romeral. A topographicand geologicmap of the
within the Main orebody(Fig. 1). Romeral area was made by Melo (1965), and the
11Ol
1102 ARTHUR A. BOOKSTROM

.?

Fro. 1. The Main pit at E1 RomeraI as photographedfrom its easternrim in 1970. Cord6n
La Liga lies in the background,to the west of the pit. Maj or geological boundariesand features
are indicatedby the black lines and labels. The pit benchesare at 10-m vertical intervals. and
the pit floor is at the 310-m elevation.

geologyof E1 Romeral was summarizedby Ruiz the determinativecurves of Heinrich (1965). In-
et al. (1965, p. 230-232). dices of refraction of other minerals were estimate•

Methods
(to onedecimalplace),measuredin index oils usin•
white light (to two places),and in oilswith a sodium
Open-pit exposureswere mapped at a scale of light source(to three places). Pyroxeneand amphi-
1: 1,000,and outcropsin a 13-km• area surrounding bole crystalswere properly orientedwith a spindl•
the mine were mappedat 1:5,000. Reconnaissance stage for determinationof their optical properties.
traversesbeyondthat area were plottedat 1: 50,000. Opaquemineralswere identifiedin polishedsectio•
About 1,700 sampleswere collected,studied, and by reflected-lightmicroscopic methods,accordingtc
classified,and derailedmineralogicand petrographic determinativecharacteristicstabulatedby Uytenbo-
analyseswere doneon nearly300 samples. gaardt and Burke (1971).
Determinative dam for the minerals of the Romeral Other physical and chemicalmethods used i•
area have beengiven previously(Bookstrom,1975, mineralogicaland geochemicaldeterminationsar•
AppendixC, p. 374-396). Approximately600 plagio- briefly describedin the text or tableswherethey are
clasedeterminationswere made,using the universal first mentioned. These include X-ray diffraction,
stage. The Michelle-Levy and Ritmann methods X-ray fluorescence, emissionspectrographic analysis,
were routinely used to determinecompositionsof microprobeanalysis,titration, colorimetrictests,and
polysynetheticallytwinnedplagioclase crystals.The determinationsof ionic concentrations by specificion
Federov method, in conjunctionwith determinative electrode.
curvesby Hutton (1971), was used to determine In estimatingmodal compositionsof rocks 60•
both the compositionand structuralstate of at least pointswere initially countedper sample,and then a
one plagioclasecrystal from each rock type. Un- 1,500-pointcount was made exclusivelyfor opaque
twinned plagioclasegrains were identifiedby mea- mineralspresentin smallquantifies. Averagegrain
suringthe X' index of refractionon (001) and using sizes were determined,and the Holmes correction
 3•.4GNETITE DEPOSITS OF EL ROMER.4L,CHILE 1103

72 ø 7 Iø 70 ø 69 ø

-- 26 ø

--27 ø
L/mirof Ch/leon•
.i Iron t•rov/nce/--"
,CERROIM•,N
Copiap6
ß

-- 28 ø
? /'
Area of closely spaced
magnet/re - apat/te deposits
ntofagasta ,
:

-- 29 ø
EL
ALGARROBO
,EL
TOFO .
ELROMEHAL
_ 30 ø Lo
Serena /
.•,••'•...'
ß N
f 0
I •
I00km.
I
,'

--31 ø

ß Magnet/re deposits (with

aCt/hal/re and apafife)

+ 4pall're depo$ifs (with

apaf/te and magnefife]
-$2 o
f C/t/es

.:

I dfi i •ß1
Fro. 2. Index map,showingthe limits of the Chilean•ron province,and the locationsof the
iron minesof E1 Romeral,E1 Algarrobo,and Cerro Iman (after Ruiz et al., 1965,part II,
fig. 4).
 Fro. 3. Generalizedeast-westcrosssection,showingthe geologyof Chile at the latitude of
El Romeral (29ø 43' S). This sectionwas constructedœromthe GeologicMap oœChile (Ruiz
and Corvalgn,1968), œroma contourmap oœthe Peru-Chile trench (Scholl et al., 1968), and
from a cross section of the inclined seismic zone (.lames, 1971). Ps= Paleozoic schists,
phyllites, and quartzites; Pg = Paleozoic granite; Trv'- Triassic volcanic rhyolite; Jv =
Jurassic volcaniclasticandesires (La Negra Fro); Jm=Jurassic marine limestones; Jgd=
Jurassic granodiorite; JKqm = Jurassic-Cretaceousquartz monzonite; Kap = Cretaceous La
Liga andesiteporphyry; Ka -- Cretaceousandesiresills and marine limestones(Arqueros Fro);
Kd = CretaceousRomeral diorite; Kin = CretaceousRomeral magnetite deposits; Kgd -- Cre-
taceousgranodioritic batholiths; Kv, = Cretaceousandesitesand continental sedimentaryrocks
(Quebrada Marquesa Fro), Kv•=Cretaceous andesiresand continental sedimentary rocks
(Vifiita Fro); KTg = Cretaceous-Tertiarygranitic rocks; Tv = Tertiary volcanicrocks.

factor was applied for very small opaquegrains The Paleozoic basement rocks of E1 Romeral are
(Chayes,1956). Suchgrainscommonlyconsistof unconformably overlainby erostonalrenmantsof
intergrowths of minerals that are identifiable in volcaniclasticisland-arcandesites(Fig. 3), possibly
polishedsectionbut not in thin section. Therefore, correlativewith the La Negra Formation (Garcia,
visual estimateswere made of the volumetricper- 1964)of Jurassic age. Northandeastof E1Romeral
centagesof the variousmineralsin suchintergrowths the Jurassicvolcaniclastic rocks are overlain by
in eachof 10 grainsin the polishedbillet from which Early Cretaceous(Neocomian) marine andesite
the correspondingthin sectionhad been cut. The flowsand sills of the ArquerosFormation (Aguirre
averagepercentagesper grain were then multiplied and Egert, 1965; Dedi6s, 1967). These andesitic
by the total opaque-mineralcontent of the rock to strata are warpedinto broad,north-trendingfolds,
give an estimateof the percentageof each opaque metamorphosed to low-grademeta-andesites,andin-
mineral in the rock. trudedby a successionof north-trending
batholiths
of calc-alkaline
composition
(Thomas,1967;Aguirre
Regional geologicsetting and Egert, 1970).
The strike-slipAtacamafault systemparallelsthe
Along the coastof Chile, metasedimentaryrocks, coastof northern Chile for about 1,000 km. Discon-
intruded by granitic plutons,are exposedin eroded tinuous breaks delineate its trend from Coptap6,
anticlines and upthrown fault blocks. The meta- southto E1 Romeral(St. AreandandAllen, 1965).
sedimentaryrocks are phyllites,schists,and quartz- The Romeralore depositslie within an anastomosing
ites, in decreasingorder of abundance. According setof strike-slip
faultsthatmayrepresent
the south-
to radiometric dating by Munizaga (1967) and ern end of the Atacama fault system.
petrologicwork by Gonz•lez-Boronino(1970), the
metasedimentaryrocks of central Chile were de- Local geologicsetting
posited during Carboniferous time, strongly de-
formed and regionally metamorphosed during The magnetitedepositsof E1 Romeralare in a
Permiantime,intrudedby grantticplutonsandtherm- composite sliverof metasedimentaryrocksof Paleo-
ally metamorphosedduring Pertoo-Triassic time, zoic age and andesiticand dioriticrocksof Early
and weakly redeformedand remetamorphosed dur- Cretaceousage. This sliver is about 4 km wide
ing Early Triassic time. The metasedimentary rocks (E-W) andat least8 kmlong(N-S). It isbounded
of E1 Romeral are structurallyand mineralogically on the west by a preore batholithof quartz mon-
similar to thoseof central Chile and appearto have zonite and on the east by a postorebatholithof
a similar history. granodiorite(Fig. 4).
 MAGNETITE DEPOSITS OF EL ROMER•IL, CHILE 1105

Intrusive Igneous Rocks merge at depth, so that the Main orebodyoccupies

La Li#a andesireporphyry a reentrant,or roof pendantbetweenthem (Figs. 4
and 5).
La Liga andesiteporphyry is the host rock of the Romeral diorite is a fine- to medium-grainedequi-
Main orebodyat E1 Romeral. It crops out between granularrock composed of zonedplagioclasecrystals
the east and west masses of Romeral diorite and (An47-24), minor augite, and minor ilmenite in a
west of the Romeral diorite, along the ridge and dark green actinolitic mesostasiscontaining minor
west sideof Cord6nLa Liga. magnetite, clinozoisite,and sphene (Table 1). The
Outside the intensely actinolitizedaureole that diorite closelyresemblesthe andesiteporphyry but
surroundsthe Main orebody,La Liga andesitepor- is morephaneritic.Also, the plagioclase of the diorite
phyry contains about 5 to 25 volume percent of is somewhat less calcic than that of the andesite
zonedplagioclase phenocrysts(1-3 mm An54-a8)in porphyry, and the diorite contains somewhat less
a gray-greenmicrocrystallinegroundmasscomposed augite and ihnenite than the andesite porphyry
of primary plagioclase, augite, hornblende, and (Table 1). The augite-amphiboleand ilmenite-
ilmenite, along with secondaryactinolite,magnetite, hematite-sphene intergrowthsof the diorite are very
sphene,clinozoisite,and penninite(Table 1). Sub- similarto thoseof the andesiteporphyry.
hedral augitecrystalsare surroundedand penetrated The mineralogical similarities between Romeral
along (110) cleavagetraces by amphibole. Amoe- diorite and La Liga andesiteporphyrysuggestthat
boid ilmenite grains containminor hematite lamellae the two are closelyrelated,and that the dioriterepre-
along (0001) and are surroundedand penetrated sentsa resurgenceof andesiticmagma into the La
by sphene. Actinolite containsdust-sizedparticles Liga pluton. The phaneritic texture of the diorite
of magnetite (0.02-0.05 mm), and the rock is cut suggeststhat the diorite cooledmore slowlythan the
in mostplacesby stockworksof actinoliteand clino- andesiteporphyry,probablybecauseits environment
zoisite veinlets, many of which contain magnetite, had beenpreheatedby the eraplacement and crystal-
and someof which also containapatiteand sphene. lizationof the andesiteporphyry.
La Liga andesiteporphyry is nearly uniform in
primary texture and composition. It is thought to Post-diorite, preore dikes
represent a single large andesite intrusion, which Several thin, widely scattered, steeply dipping,
may have fed lower Neocomian andesite sills and hydrothermallyaltered dikes cut Romeral diorite.
flows of the Arqueros Formation. Before being These dikesall have dioritic affinities,but some,like
intrudedby Romeral diorite, La Liga andesitepor- the porphyritic meladiorite dikes, are more calcic
phyry was cut by augite microdiorite and ocoite and mafic than Romeral diorite, whereasothers,like
(andesiteporphyry) dikes. the aplitic quartz diorite dikes, are more sodicand
Romeral diorite
silicic (Table 1).
Intramineral dikes
Two massesof Romeral diorite crop out near the
Romeral orebodies. The larger mass lies west of Many dikescut the Main orebodyat E1 Romeral.
both orebodies,and the smaller mass lies east of the
Some of theseare youngerthan all ore mineraliza-
Main orebody(Fig. 5). The two massesprobably tion, but some are cut by magnetiteveinlets,and

Fro. 4. Generalizedeast-westcrosssectionshowingthe geologyof the Romeral vicinity, at

29ø 43' S. Ps = Paleozoic schists,phyllites, and quartzites; Jr-' Jurassicvolcaniclasticande-
sites (La Negra Fro); JKqm=Jurassic-Cretaceousquartz monzonite; Kap= La Liga in-
trusive andesiteporphyry; Kd'- CretaceousRomeral diorite; (a) -- actinolitizedrock; (m) '-
magnetite ore; (qf): quartzo-feldspathicrock; Kqd: CretaceousLa Totora quartz-bearing
diorite; Kgd: Cretaceous
Punta de Piedra granodiorite;Kga= Cretaceous
graniteaplite;
Qal - Quaternary alluvium.
1106 ARTHUR A. BOOKSTROM

/+

•./ t + + + +
8 + + +
• + + + +
//I + + + + +l"
•+ + + +

+ + + +,', . .
+ + +
+ ß + +
+ + + + + +

+ + + + + + + •...3• •.•
Romero/d•or/te+ +
. +
+ (weslmoss) + +

+ + + + + .•" feldspath/c
+ + + + [ ....... rOCN ......
+ + + +

+ + +•
+ + + + •,:..',',..dtor•te/.::}•
''•'
•'•:..::::::::'/• '''1
--/2.•_t•.• •.• .... :•:•: ....... •'
+ + ,-
+ + +
+ + + +.. ........ ....+ ¾..
+ + + t:7½::::::•:{-•>,"l•
+ + + /'11 ....................
+ + + :::::::::::::::::::::::::::
+ + +• '•' .•+
+ + + .' .... t . . zI ' ' ß

x.xx+ + f .... • ::::::::::::::::::::::

...... 2_-x + •:";•
x x • "l +'' ....
........... ••. x•1.::
:"•
•i:::k + + •:::) + .::::'"•i
/ )/'...•* + •:/+ + •:::::/ +1
/ + •2•* + /'/ + + .... • +1
/+ +.::/ +
+ •:/+.'...•+ + + /:::.•
+ +,. z+
1+ • + •/ + + + ./:::)+ +
N+ + + + + + +/.../ + + af:•:•:$
,. .- • g....,..
+ + + + + + /. ß . / + + g ,::::::•
+ + + + + + Z"/+ + +,[;"g':
Romeraldior/le•::• + + •g::•
+ [•eslmass/ +•:) + + +•
', , •
+ + + + + +g + + +'+ + +
+ + • + + + + + + +
+' +•+ + + + + + +
Fro. 5. Generalizedbedrockgeologyof the Romeral area.

othersare substantiallyreplacedby magnetite.These and dip steeply. There is little or no eftsetacross

mineralized dikes are called intramineral dikes, be- them, and their textures are undeformed. The
causeit is inferred that they were emplacedafter ore dikes commonlyhave lenticular, subparallelapo-
depositionhad begunbut before it had ended. pheses, andtheytypicallycontainunrotated,splinter-
The intramineral dikes are arranged in an en like inclusionsof magnetiteore, orientedparallel to
echelon
pattern(Fig. 6), TheystrikeN 300-50ø W their walls. They appearto have filled tensional
 MMGNETITE DEPOSITS OF EL ROMERZIL,CHILE 1107
TABLE 1. Modal Analyses, Preore Igneous Rocks

Plutonic rocks
Kap Kd Postdiorite,preoredikes
hiean 4- S.D. Mean 4- S.D. Kp•nd Kaqd

Plagioclasephenocrysts
Core 3.0 4- 1.1 (An54 4- 5) 35.0 4- 2.9 (An47 4- 4) 14.2 (An64) 25.4 (An28)
Inner rim 9.4 4- 3.5 (An39 4- 7) 8.0 4- 0.7 (An38 4- 4) -- --
Rim 5.0 4- 1.9 (An30 4- 4) 17.8 4- 1.5 (An24 q- 2) 5.8 (An48) 10.3 (An24)
Groundmass 43.7 4- 7.4 (An38 4- 4) -- 37.0 (An64) --
Unzoned -- 4.0 4- 2.3 (An36 4- 6) -- 29.0 (An27)
Secondary -- 1.2 (An27) -- --
--

Range Range
Actinolite 20.4 0-53 25.5 19-30 -- 18.6
Hornblende 6.7 0-24 -- -- 27.3 --
Clinozoisite 3.3 0-6 2.3 0.3-8 -- 4.2
Augite 3.2 0-17 2.0 0-7 8.4 --
Sphene 1.6 0-5 2.0 0.5-3 tr 3.2
Penninite 1.5 0-10 0.1 0-0.5 -- --
Quartz 1.1 0-6 1.9 0-3 -- 9.6
I lmenite 0.3 tr-1 0.1 0-0.4 0.6 --
Magnetite 0.3 0-1 0.1 tr-0.3 1.2 --
Hematite 0.1 0-0.1 tr 0-0.1 0.1 --
Chlorapatite 0.1 0-0.5 0.2 0-0.7 0.5 --
Ruffle tr 0-0.3 tr 0-tr -- --
Biotite -- -- 0.1 0-0.7 5.2 --
Tourmaline -- -- tr O-tr -- --
Pyrite -- -- tr 0-tr -- --
Chalcopyrite -- -- tr 0-tr -- --
Orthoclase .... tr --

99.7 100.3 100.3 100.3

Data in volume percent,as determinedby point counts.

Kap = La Liga andesireporphyry (mean composition,8 samples).
Kd = Romeral diorite (mean composition,5 samples).
Kpmd = Porphyritic meladiorite (sample # 1194, 13000N, 5380E, 575 m elev.).
Kaqd -- Aplitic quartz diorite (sample # 170, 11640N, 7325E, 325 m elev.).
S.D. = 1 standard deviation; range = maximum observedrange.

"gash" fractures, probably related to left-lateral the nearestnumber in the series 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 5, 7,
movementon the Romeral fault (Figs. 6 and 17). for eachorder of magnitude): Ca 1,000-10,000,Mg
The intramineral dikes are dioritic in composition 2,000-5,000, Ti 1,500-2,000,V 500-1,000, Mn 500-
(Table 2) andapliticin texture (Fig. 16E-l). Their 700, As < 500, Zn < 200, Sb < 100, B 30-50, Ga
primary constituentsare plagioclaselaths (mostly 15-30, Cr < 10-300, Co < 10-50, Pb < 10, Ni 5-20,
0.03-0.3 mm and Ana0_•), disseminatedsubocta- Mo 3-5, Cu 2-5. (The pulverizedand washedmag-
hedral grains of impure titanomagnetite,and nilnor netic separatesfrom unmineralizedsamplesof intra-
relict hornblende. Secondaryconstituentsinclude mineraldiorite aplite appearedto be free of silicate
abundant actinolite and various amounts of clino- material at 60x magnification. The analysts,Sky-
zoisite, chlorite, scapolite, magnetite, pyrite, and line Labs,Inc., considerthe "accepted"valuefor each
chalcopyrite(Fig. 16 E-2). elementto be within ---1 stepof the rangereported
Many samplesof intramineral diorite aplite con- at the 68 percent confidencelevel and within ñ2
tain several types of Fe-Ti-oxide mineral grains stepsat the 95 percentconfidence level). The unit
(Fig. 7). Disseminated suboctahedral grainsof im- cell size of impure titanomagnetitefrom an unmin-
pure titanomagnetite(0.01-0.1 ram) are gray with eralized intramineral dike is 8.408-----0.008A, as
a slightbrownishlavendertint in reflectedlight, and comparedto 8.395 _• for pure magnetite(Lindsley,
they are slightly anisotropic. These grains com- 1965). Data for this determinationwere obtained
monly containtrace, almostsubmicroscopic, hematite from three X-ray diffractometer runs, using Ni-
lamellaealongoctahedralplanes(Fig. 7a), and they filtered CuK• radiation and a corundum internal
more rarely containintergrowthsof ilmenite, pseu- standard.
dobrookite,and/or maghemite(Table 2). Semi- The disseminatedsuboctahedral,impure titano-
quantitativeemissionspectrographic analysesof two magnetitegrains are interpretedto be of magmatic
samplesindicatethe following trace elementcontents origin. By contrast, magnetitethat is very pale
for the impure titanomagnetitegrains (in ppm, to pinkish to brownishgray and completelyisotropic
1108 ,,4RTHUR ,,4. BOOK'STROM'

FIG. 6. Intramineral dikes in the Main orebody.

is interpreted to be of hydrothermalorigin. Such Four generationsof intramineral dikes cut the

magnetiteis presentin intramineral dikes as inclu- Main orebody. _Asshownin Figure 6, they are:
sions of ore magnetite (Fig. ?b), as magnetitein IM-1 diorite aplite porphyry; IM-2 diorite aplite;
actinoliteveinlets(Fig. ?c), as overgrowthson im- IM-3 diorite aplite; and IM-4 porphyriticdiorite
pure titanomagnetitegrains (Fig. 7c), and as ir- aplite. Diorite aplite porphyrydikes (IM-1) are
regular clustersand podsassociated with secondary predominantlypostorein the southwestern part of
actinolite,scapolite,clinozoisite,apatite,chlorite,and the Main orebodybut are substantiallyreplacedby
oligoclase(Figs. ?d and 16 E-2). magnetiteand actinolitein the northeasternpart of
MAGNETITE DEPOSITS OF EL ROMER.4L, CHILE 1109
1110 ,4RTHUR .4. BOOKSTROM

TABLE 2. Modal Analyses, Intramineral Diorite Aplites

IM-1 IM-2W IM-2E IM-3 I5I-4

Plagioclase
Phenocrysts 27.2 (An29) -- -- -- 7.0 (An2 7)
Groundmass 20.5 (An28) 9.9 (An30) 30.2 (An29) $3.9 (An29 + 2) 48.0 (An27)
Secondary .... 3.0 oligoclase
Actinolite 37.9 40.2 49.2 27.2 --
Penninite -- 6.3 0.2 15.9 27.3
Calcite .... 0.2
Epidote 12.5 -- 0.2 -- --
Green biotite -- 6.8 0.2 0.3 7.1
Sphene 0.8 tr -- tr --
Chlorapatite 0.4 -- -- -- tr
Scapolite -- 34.0 -- -- --
Nontronite .... 3.0
Montmorillonite -- tr -- -- --
Ilmenite -- 0.1 tr tr tr
Magnetite 1 0.7 1.7 -- 2.3 3.9
Magnetite 2 .... tr
Magnetite 3 -- 1.1 18.9 0.2 tr
Titanomaghemite-Pseudobrookite -- -- -- 0.1 •
Hematite tr tr -- tr --
Pyrite -- -- 1.4 • --
Chalcopyrite tr -- 0.1 tr tr
Bornite tr ....

100.0 100.1 100.4 99.9 99.5

Data in volume percent, as determined by point counts.

IM-1 = Intramineral diorite aplite porphyry (sample #690, 11420N, 6200E, 360 m elev., southeast of ore limit,
Main orebody).
IM-2W = Intramineral diorite aplite (sample# 536, 11762N, 6024E, 310 m elev., west side, Main orebody).
IM-2E = Intramineral diorite aplite (sample # 1419, 11631N, 6114E, 310 m elev., southeast side, Main orebody).
IM-3 = Intramineral diorite aplite (sample #803, 11624N, 6083E, 310 m elev., southeastside, Main orebody).
IM-4 = Intramineral porphyritic diorite (sample#540, 11839N, 6052E, 310 m elev., west side, Main orebody).
Magnetite 1 = magmatic grains.
Magnetite 2 = inclusions.
Magnetite 3 = replacement depositsand veinlets.

the orebody. Intramineral (IM-2) diorite aplite but if remobilization was the dominant process,
dikesare postoreon the westernside of the orebody, then the replacementbodiespresumablywould have
but in its southeastern part they have beenpartially been more evenly distributed, and would have been
replacedby magnetite,actinolite,clinozoisite,scapo~ just as abundant in the late intramineral dikes as in
lite, chlorite, and pyrite (Fig. 16E-2); and in its the earlier ones. However, the replacementbodies
centralpart they are absent,presumablybecausethey are not evenly distributed,and they are much more
have been completelyreplacedthere. Intramineral developedin the earlier dikes than in the later ones.
diorite aplite (IM-3) dikes are predominantlypost- Thus it would appear that postdike hydrothermal
ore at the outer edgesof the orebody,but they have replacementwas the dominantprocessin the forma-
been partially replacedby magnetitein its central tion of veinlets and replacementbodiesin the intra-
part. The late intramineral (IM-4) porphyritic mineral dikes. Assuming this to be true, it would
diorite aplite dikes cut IM-1, IM-2, and IM-3 dikes. appear that replacementfronts shiftedfrom west to
They are predominantly postore in age but are cut east as the Main orebody grew, and then retreated
by sparsemagnetite-actinoliteveinlets,which in turn toward the central part of the orebodyas ore deposi-
are cut by sparser veinlets containing oligoclase, tion waned.
chlorite,calcite,quartz, magnetite,chalcopyrite,chal-The dioritic modal compositionsof the intramin-
cocite, and covellite. eral dikessuggestthat they are geneticallyrelatedto
Two explanationscan be offered for the veinlets the Romeral diorite. Their postdiorite ages and
and replacementdepositsin the intralnineral dikes. their more sodicplagioclasessuggestthat they may
One is that dike eraplacementcausedremobilization representresidual diorite magmas. Chemicalcom-
of ore minerals, which were then redepositedin the positionsfor relativelyunalteredsamplesof La Liga
dike rocks. The other is that the dikes •vere em- andesite porphyry, Romeral diorite, and intramin-
placed during ore depositionand were altered and eral diorite aplite (IM-3), which are given in Table
replacedduring postdikehydrothermalalterationand 3, indicate that the intramineral diorite aplite is en-
ore deposition. Both processes probablyoccurred, richedin iron with respectto both La Liga andesite
 M.dGNETITE DEPOSITS OF EL ROMER.dL, CHILE 1111

porphyry and Romeral diorite. Furthermore, a TABLE4. Modal Analyses,Late Dikes

relatively unalteredIM-3 dike southeastof the Main
orebodycontainsabout 15 percentof primary horn- Kbda Kqap
blende,which suggeststhat the intrainineralmagmas Plagioclase 71.9 (An32) 67.0 (An3)
were rich in water (Holland, 1972, p. 282). This Quartz -- 29.7
inference is consistent with the fact that the intra- Actinolite 16.3 --
Biotite 8.4 --
mineral dikes are aplitic in texture and appear to Clinozoisite 0.4 --
have filled tensional fractures. Sudden upward Magnetite 0.8 --
Titanomaghemite-Pseudobrookite 0.1 --
movementof a water-rich magma couldhave caused Hematite (marrite) 1.8 --
rapidlossof water (Burnham,1967), and suchrapid Tourmaline -- 3.5
Rutile -- tr
water loss or "pressurequenching,"combinedwith
up,yard temperature decrease,could have caused 99.7 100.2
rapid nucleationand growth of crystalsto form the
aplitic textures typical of the intramineral diorite Data in volume percent,as determinedby point counts.
Kbda = Biotite diorite aplite (sample #367, 12250N,
aplites. Finally, the fact that steeplydippingintra- 5980E, 390 m elev., northwestend, Main pit).
inineral dikeswere eraplacedat severaltimes during Kqap = quartz-albite pegmatite (sample #858, 12700N,
ore depositionsuggeststhat a body of iron-rich, 6072E, 410 m elev., North pit).
water-rich residualdiorite magmaexistedbelow the
Romeral ore depositsas they formed. Late dikes

Two compositionallycontrastingsetsof late dikes

TABLE 3. Chemical Analyses,Romeral Igneous Rocks cut the Roineral magnetitedepositsand the altered
rocks that surround them but are absent from the
Kap Kd Kims Klbda postore batholith east of E1 Romeral. The dikes of
SiO• 55.22 57.04 48.61 52.47
one set are brown biotite-actinolitediorite aplites,
TiO2 0.90 0.61 0.65 0.65 dark gray hornblende-biotite lamprophyres,and
AI20• 16.90 17.31 19.91 17.76 minor, almostblackdikesof nepheline-and arfved-
FezOs 1.61 0.74 4.82 8.67
FeO 3.95 3.44 5.34 1.98 sonite-bearingbiotite diorite aplite. Dikes of the
MnO 0.08 0.06 0.23 0.02 other set are white albitites,quartz-albitegranites,
MgO 4.78 4.35 5.52 3.39 aplites,and pegmatites.
CaO 9.39 9.89 8.47 5.13
NasO 5.00 4.73 4.18 5.83 The mostcommontype of late dike is biotitedio-
KsO 0.63 0.60 0.65 1.42 rite aplite. Its modalcomposition
is given in Table
P•O• 0.07 -- 0.15 0.10
SOs .... 4, and its chemicalcomposition
is given in Table 3.
COx .... It contains slightly more iron than intramineral
H•O + 1.54 1.10 1.91 1.72 diorite aplite, and much more iron than either
HsO- 0.26 0.15 0.11 0.66
F .... Romeral diorite or La Liga andesiteporphyry.
Forty-six such dikes were mappedin the Romeral
100.33 100.02 99.65 99.80
area, mostly within, around, and between the Main
and North orebodies.They clearlycut the ore and
Data in weight percent. Analyst Alberto Obreg6n,Insti-
altered rocks,and most of them strike northerly
tuto de Geolog{a Universidad Nacional Aut6noma de Mdxico.
Kap = La Liga andesiteporphyry(sample# 1327,12890N, and dip steeply. They range in thicknessfrom 10
4565E, 875 m elev.). cm to 30 m, but most are about 1 to 2 m thick.
Kd = Romeral diorite (sample #1189, 13130N, 5290E,
625 m elev.). Late dikes of the white, albitic set are less corn-
Kim• = Intramineral (IM-3) diorite aplite (sample#803, ilion. They are generallythin (10 cm to 1 m), and
Main Pit, 11624N, 6083E, 310 m elev.).
Klbda = Late biotite diorite aplite (sample#367, Main they dip steeply. Ilmenite-bearingalbititeand rutlie-
Pit, 12250N, 5980E, 390 m elev.). bearingalbitite dikesare presentin and around the
Samples = 100 g of unweatheredrock. SiOscolorimetric;
Al.•Osby precipitationof ammonia-insoluble hydroxide,and northernpart of the Main orebody. Quartz-albite
ignition to RsOa; TiOs colorimetric,using acid solution of granite, aplite, and pegmatite pods cut the North
TiSO•; Fe.,Oscalculatedfroin total Fe and FeO; FeO by extension and North orebodies. The modal com-
titration of ferrous sulfate with potassiumdichromate; CaO
colorimetricby meansof its precipitation as an oxalate and positionof a samplefrom one suchdike is given in
gr.avimetrically titratedwith permanganate;MgO by titration Table 4. The only iron-bearing mineral in this
using EDTA; Na•O flame photometric; MnO colorimetric, rock is minor black tourmaline.
using potassium metaperiodate; PsOa colorimetric, using
citromolybdate solution; SOs using ascorbic acid-barium Althoughthe late dikes constituteonly a small
chloride procedure;CO2 by meansof HC1, causticsoda solu- amountof rock,theyare petrogenetically interesting,
tion and bromophenolblue. Limits of detection: SiO2, 0.3;
TiOs, 0.05; AlsO•, Fe20.•, FeO, MgO, Na•O, KsO, 0.2; CaO, becausethey representextreme igneousvariation in
0,05; MnO, 0.03; P•O•, 0.02. a limited area, during the limited time interval after
1112 ARTHUR A. BOOKSTROM

TABLe.5. Modal Analyses,PostoreBatholith Neocomian) fossils,probably between 118 and 106

m.y. in age (Casey, 1964). A reasonablecompro-
Kqd Kgd Kga
mise for the age of the batholithwould be approxi-
Plagioclase mately 116 m.y., which is within the uncertainty
Core 16.4 (An58) 8.0 (An52) 2.0 (An32) range of the lead-alphadate and is also within the
Inner rim 34.4 (An51) 25.2 (An43) 6.4 (An31) late Neocomian.
Rim 21.0 (An34) 13.6 (An33) 3.4 (An15)
Quartz 4.1 16.7 35.7
Microcline tr 13.2 49.2 Diabase dikes
Hornblende 16.4 11.9 --
Biotite tr 7.6 2.3 The granodioriticbatholithis cut by dark diabasic
Salite 2.9 1.4 • dikes (Fig. 5) that contain0 to 20 percentof calcic
Penninite 1.7 0.8 --
Montmorillonite 0.7 -- -- plagioclasephenocrysts(An80-50),which are in the
Clinozoisite -- 0.5 -- high temperaturestructuralstate. The diabasedikes
Epidote 0.6 tr -- have a microcrystallinegroundmasscomposedof
Sphene 0.4 0.2 tr
Zircon -- tr -- plagioclase,biotite, salite, magnetite, and ilmenite.
Fluorapatite 0.1 0.1 -- Secondaryconstituents includeamphiboleand chlorite
Tourmaline -- O.1 --
Ilmenite 0.3 0.2 -- after salite, and epidote, calcite, and clay after
Rutile tr -- -- plagioclase.
Magnetite 0.7 0.8 1.0
Hematite 0.2 tr --
Chalcopyrite tr tr --
Magnetite Deposits
Pyrite -- tr --
Chalcocite -- tr -- South Extension orebody
Cuprite -- tr --
The South Extensionorebodylies alongthe pro-
99.9 100.3 jected trend of the Romeral fault, about 500 m south
100.0
of the Main orebody(Fig. 5). It is about 800 m
Data in volume percent,as determinedby point counts. long (N-S) and 100 m wide (E-W), and it dips
Kqd = La Totora quartz-bearingdiorite (mean composi- steeply. The top of the magnetitezone is about 175
tion, 4 samples).
Kgd - Punta de Piedra granodiorite(mean composition, m belowthe surface. The orebodyhas beendefined
4 samples). by diamonddrilling but it has not yet been mined.
Kga--Granite aplite (sample #259, 12955N, 6525E,
390 m elev.).
Main orebody
ore depositionbut beforeemplacement
of the postore The Main orebodyis about 850 m long, 250 m
batholith east of E1 Romeral. wide (maximum), and has a vertical extent of about
400 m. Ore grade rangesfrom about 20 to 70 per-
Postore batholith
cent Fe. As shownin Figures 8 and 9, the highest
A granodioriticbatholithcropsout 150 to 1,500 m grade ores are found along steeply dipping, sub-
east of the Romeral orebodies. It is hundreds of tabular zones that trend N-S, N 300-50 ø E, and N
kilometerslong (N-S) and rangesfrom 10 to 40 km 200-45 ø W.
in exposedwidth. Three subunitsof the batholith Superfically,ore from the high-gradezonesof the
are presentnear E1 Romeral: (1) the discontinuous, Main orebody appearsto be almost pure, massive
marginal La Totora quartz-bearingdiorite, (2) the magnetite. Closer examination, however, reveals
Punta de Piedra granodiorite, which makes up the small (0.1-0.5 ram) intergrowthsof actinolite(Figs.
bulk of the batholith,and (3) podsof granite aplite 10a and 11A) and discontinuousveinlets of gangue
that are scatteredwithin the batholith,particularly minerals (Figs. 10b and 11A). Microscopically,
alongits westernmargin (Fig. 5). Modal composi- much of the ore consistsof spongyintergrowthsof
tionsfor thesethree rock typesare given in Table 5. seivelike, skeletal magnetite grains and actinolite
The rocks of the batholith are neither actinolitized prisms (Fig. 10a) with generallysmalleramountsof
nor cut by magnetiteveins or pods,nor cut by intra- clinozoisite,sphene, apatite, plagioclase (An27ñ5),
mineral or late dikes, even where it lies only about marialitic scapolite,chlorite, and quartz.
150 m from the North orebodyor only a few meters Magnetite veinletsare abundantand easilyvisible
from magnetitepods in schist north of the North at the edgesof the orebody (Figs. 10c and 11A),
orebody. The batholithis thereforeconsideredto be and microscopicmagnetiteveinlets are also common
postorein age. in eventhe high-gradeore (Fig. 10d). The veinlets
Aguirre and Egert (1970) reporteda lead-alpha have irregular, unmatchingwalls, and actinolitized
age of 136-----20m.y. on zircon from the batholith. wall rocks near the veinlets contain disseminated
They also reported,however,that the batholith in- clots of skeletalmagnetite. The abundanceof vein-
trudes limestoneswhich contain Barremian (latest lets suggeststhat small fractures were important
 MztGNET[TE DEPOSITS OF EL ROMER.4L,CHILE 1113

distribntariesfor iron-bearingfinials. The urnhatch- samplesof ore magnetite,whichappearedto be in-

ing veinletwallsand envelopes of disseminatedmag- clusion-freeat 60x magnification,indicatethe foI-
netite suggestprogressivewall-rock replacementad- loxvingtrace elementcontents:Ca 500-5,000, Mg
jacent to the veinlets. 1,000-2,000, V 500-1,000, Ti 50-500, As < 500,
The impurity contentof the ore magnetiteis low. Zn < 200, Sb 100, Mn 100, Ni 50, Ga 50, Co 30, Sn
Semiquantitativespectrographicanalyses of two 20-30, Zr<20, Pb< 10, Cr< 10, Mo 5-10, Cu

Fro. 8. Main and North Extension orebodies. This ore-zone map is based on exposuresin
the Main pit in the year 1970, and on assaysof samplesfrom 1,450 10-m percussiondrill holes
on the 320 to 300 rn levels (elevations).
1114 .4RTHUR .4. BOOKSTROM

-
I
,•-- SECTION 11,800 N. N76OE -

o lOOm
I I

ELEV.
Pi! prol'//e (Meter•)
IM dikes

Pzp /'

Ka(a)
1a)• // Pzp

200-

//' I /
/ /
/ /
/I /
/
/
i/I /
/

Kd(ap) I/
v
\
/
Kgd
\
\
Ko(o) /
Kd
\
\
',
/
\ ,,.•
'\
/
--200
\
/ --200-

EXPLANATION

(ap)Aplitized
rock • Rameral
diorite

Fro. 9. Ore-zone sectionof the Main orebody.

2-7 (analysts,SkylineLabs, Inc.). Unlike the im- The Main orebodyis penetratedby small veinlets
pure primary titanomagnetite of the intramin- of gangueminerals. The veinletsare discontinuous
eral dikes, the relatively pure ore magnetite is and are offset by other veinlets and fractures, indi-
optically isotropic and is very pale pinkish to cating recurrentfracturing accompanied by gangue-
brownishgray in reflectedlight. Its unit cell size, mineraldeposition.In generalthe followinggangue-
as determinedby X-ray diffraction,is 8.398-----0.007 mineralsequence canbe observed:
A, which is very close to that of pure magnetite 1. actinoliticveinlets(with magnetite,clinozoisite,
(8.395 A, according
to Lindsley,1965). apatite, and pyrite),
 M/IGNETITE DEPOSITSOF EL ROJlEt•,4L,CHILE 1115

2. clinozoisiticveinlets (with actinolitc,magnetite, chloride,minorcarbonate,

nilnorhydroxyl,and low
sphene,scapolite,oligoclase,apatite, chlorite, and/ fluoridecontents(Deer et al., 1967,p. 504-509).
or minor pyrite), Qualitativeand semiquantitative
chemicaltestscon-
3. pyritic veinlets, firm these indications. Crushed Romeral apatite
4. chloriticveinlets (with albite, apatite, calcite, bubblesslowlyin dilutenitric acid,suggesting evo-
quartz, magnetite,pyrite, and/or chalcopyrite), lution of minor CO2. Addition of silver nitrate to
5. calcitic veinlets (with apatite, sphene,clino- the resultingsolutioncausesimmediateprecipitation
zoisite, chlorite, and/or quartz). of abundantwhite silverchloride,indicatingthe pres-
Chlorapatiteis the only phosphorus-bearing min- enceof abundantC1-in the apatite. Semiquantitative
eral observedin the Romeral ore. Optical properties analysis
of theapatiteindicates
thefollowingapproxi-
of six apatite samplesfrom the Romeral orebodies, mate composition (in weightpercent): CaO 51.8
veins,and alteredrocksclusterwithin the following (Versinetitration),P20• 39.0 (colorimetric),
solu-
ranges: No= 1.651 to 1.658, No-No-- 0.002 to ble C1 1.3 (specificion electrode),total F 0.2
0.004, and 2V-2 to 5ø. These combinationsof (specificion electrode),CO2 0.1 (measurement of
relativelyhigh indicesof refraction,moderatelylow amountof gas evolvedby solutionin acid), H20 +
birefringences,and smallbut perceptible2V angles 0.8 (weightlosson ignitionto 1,000øC),HsO- 0.2
suggestthat the Romeral apatitesampleshave high (weightlossat 105øC),total93.4 (analysts,Skyline

d.

FIG. 10. Textures and microtextures typical of the Romeral magnetite ores in reflected light:
a. Intergrowth o{ actinolite and poikiloblastic,skeletal magnetite crystals in actinolitized rock,
high-grade zone in western Main pit.
b. Magnetite ore cut by actinolite veinlets, which are in turn cut by a calcite veinlet and a
barren {racture, east Main pit.
c. Magnetite veinlets cutting actinolitized andesite porphyry, eastern margin of Main orebody.
d. Capillary magnetiteveinletsin actinolitizedrock, high-grade zone in western Main pit.
1116 ARTHURA. BOOKSTROM

Labs,Inc. The 25-gsampleanalyzedcontained

abo
2 volumepercentof very finegrainedactinolitei
clusions
visibleat 60x magnification.).
The 1.3 percentobtainedfor C1is a minimumval•
because of several factors that interfere with
determination
of C1- by the specificion electro,
method,
buttheverylowvaluefor F (0.2 percen
is consideredaccurate,becausethis method
well for F-. The value for H•O + is considered
curate,but the low valuefor CO• is only appro•
matebecause of difficulties
in accurately
measuri•
the smallamountof gasevolvedby solutionof tl:.
rather small sampleof apatite. The approxima
valuesfor CaO and P•O• are almostcertainlyt•
low. In pure chlorapatite,
theseshouldsumto 94
percent (Ford, 1966, p. 705) whereas in t•
analysisthey total only 90.8 percent. Regardless
thesedifficulties,
however,
this semiquantitati'
analysis
shows
constituent
that
C1 isthemost
in •e ore-related
abundant variet
apatiteof E1Romer;
The onlycommon
Ti-bearing
mineral
in tl
Romeral
is ore
deposits
acommon issphene.
primary Although
constituent
of ihneni
theandesitic
at
dioriticrocksof El Romeral,
it is extremely
rare
theorebodies.
Pyrite is by far the most commonsulfur-beari•
mineralin the Romeralore, but tracesof chalc•
pyrite,
chalcocite,
andcorellite
alsoarepresent.
TI
sulfur contentof the Main orebodyis low in i
upper, northwesternpart, and higher in its soutl
easternand deeperparts. Pyrite veinletsgeneral
cut the magnetite ore and are associatedwith la'
minerals such as chlorite and epidote. Thus t!
higherpyrite contentof the deeperpartsof the or.
body suggeststhat late mineralization retreat½
downward.

North Extension orebody

Many conformable podsof iron ore are presenti
amphibolitized,
chloritized,and argillizedphyllitesi
the northernpart of the Main pit, northof the Mai
orebody. The largest of these, called the Nort
Fig. 11. Ore textures. Photomicrographs
showingvari- Extensionorebody,is cut off by the North-northea•
ous structures and textures characteristic of the Romeral fauk, which also cuts off the south end of the Nort
magnetitedeposits. Transmittedlight, nicolsat 80ø. orebody.
A. Magnetitevein and veinlets(black) cuttingstrongly
actinolitized
La Liga andesite
porphyry(mottledlightgray) North orebody
andcutby anactinolite-magnetite-plagioclase
veinlet(white).
B. Clustersand podsof magnetitegrains (black) in bio- Before it was mined, the North orebodywas
tite schistfrom the northwesternpart of the North orebody.
The gray, mutually parallel books are biotite; the white, semicontinuousgroup of concordantmagnetite-mm
equantgrains are plagioclase(andesine); and the medium- tite pods in steeply dipping, actinolitizedbiotil
gray, equantgrains are actinoliteand plagioclasegrains. This schists(Figs. 12 and 13). Its strikelengthwasabor
samplerepresentsincipientreplacement of schistby actino-
lite (36 volume percentof the rock) and magnetite(8 300 m (N 20ø W), its dip lengthwas about 100 •
volume percent). In addition,this sampleillustratesthat
magnetitegrains in schist,approximately100 m east of the of apatite needles(ap) are intergrownwith minor quart
Romeral fault, appear to have beenbroken and rolled. Magnetite (rot) is within and betweenthe actinoliteprism
C. Actinolite-apatite-magnetite
vein. Actinolite prisms The central part of the vein is cut by an apatite-actinolil
(act) are roughly perpendicularto the vein walls. Clusters veinlet (ap-act).
 M.4GNETITE DEPOSITS OF EL ROMER.4L, CHILE 1117

(70 ø SW), and it was 20 to 50 m thick. The North zontalcut throughseveralsuchrod-shapedmagnetite

orebody is now mined out, and all that remains are grain clusters. Textural indicationsof rolling and
discontinuous magnetite-martitepods. shearingof the magnetitecan be noted as follows:
Massiveore podsin the North pit havegradational (1) somemagnetite grains appear broken, and the
contactswith surroundingactinolitizedbiotite schists.
piecesappear offset relative to one another; (2)
Relict schistose texture, which is well preservedin clustersof magnetite grains have trains of smaller
the lowergradeore (Fig. 11B), alsois discernible in magnetite grains "behind" them (to the left, or
someof the high-gradeore pods. This suggests that
south); (3) biotite books are packed against the
replacementwas the dominantmode of ore deposi-
tion in the North orebody. "fronts" of the magnetitegrain clusters (right, or
Along the westernmargin of the North orebody, north), and form wake-like trains "behind" them.
rod-shapedclustersof magnetitegrains are present These textures suggestrolling and shearingof the
in the schist. Thesemagnetiterodsare 1 to 2 mm in magnetitegrains, which could have been causedby
diameterand 5 to 15 mm long, and they plunge movement on the left-lateral Romeral fault. The
steeplyto the southeast. Figure llB showsa hori- fault zoneis about100 m •vestof the North orebody.

o loom
I •

13•000N

Fro. 12. Northernmagnetite

deposits
of E1Romeral,
1118 ARTHUR ./I. BOOKSTROM

'111111

I /

13. Generalizedcompositesection,showingthe North orebody.

:¾Iagnetitepods centimeterto severallneters,and mostof thelndip

Many pods of massive magnetite are scattered steeply and strike at 45 ø to 90 ø to the trentIs of the
through biotite schistsas much as 3.6 km north- Romeral orebodies(Fig. 5). Many of theseveins
northwest of the Xorth orebody. These pods are have beenmined on a sinall scalefor apatite,and at
elongateparallel to the host-rockschistosity. Mag- La Escoba, about 3.5 kin north of the North ore-
netite in and around the pods is commonlyaccoln- body, several large veins have been extensively
worked.
panledby apatite and actinolite.
.5. salnplefrom a smallvein of this type is shown
.4ctinolite-mac.
qnetite veinlets in Figure 11C. In snchveins actinoliteprismsare
Stockworks of magnetite-bearing actinolite vein- nearly perpendicnlarto vein walls and hence exhibit
lets penetrateRomeral diorite and La Liga andesite. crude comb strncture. Magnetite is interstitial to
However, such veinlets are absentfrom the quartzo- the actinolite prisms and is disseminatedthrough
feldspathiczone west of the orebodies,where they them. Apatite crystals(1-3 Cln), bundlesof apatite
have beendestroyedby postveinletalteration. needles,and clots of apatite are interstitial to the
actinoliteprisms. Crustifiedapatite,magnetite,epi-
•ctinolite-mag•wtite-apatite vci•s dote, sphene,quartz, and calciteare commonlyfound
Actinolite veins containingmagnetite and apatite in the central portions of the veins, and these min-
are scattered within a 3- to 4-kin radius of E1 er:•ls are fonnd also in veinlets that cut obliquely
Romeral. They rangein thicknessfrom abouta acrossthe veins. 'Wall rocksadjacentto the veins
 M•iGNETITE DEPOSITS OF EL ROMER•iL, CHILE 1119

generallyare alteredto fine-grainedactinoliticrocks resemblepliagioclasephenocrysts,and the porphyro-

containingdisseminatedmagnetite and apatite. blasticphyllite resembles
alteredandesiteporphyry.
Magnetitefrom the veinsis flat gray and perfectly Microscopically,however, the cordierireporphyro-
isotropic in reflected light. Its unit cell edge, as blastsare anhedraland poikiloblastic,
and the matrix
measuredby X-ray diffraction, is 8.396 ñ 0.004 A, is phyllitic.
as comparedto 8.935A for pure magnetite(Lind- By contrast,La Liga andesireporphyrysoutheast
sley,1965). Semiquantitative spectragraphic analysis of the Main orebody is metamorphosedto fine-
of one sampleof vein magnetiteindicatesthe fol- grained, light gray-green oligoclase-diopsiderock
lowingtraceelementcontents(in ppm, to the nearest that resembles
hornfelsbut containspoorlypreserved
numberin the series 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 5, 7, etc.): Mg remnantsof plagioclase
phenocrysts.
1,000, Ti 1,000, V 1,000, As < 500, Ca 200, Zn < Near the orebodies,both the cordieritic rocks and
200, Co 100, },In 100, Sb 100, B 50, Cu 20, Ga 20, the oligoclase-diopside
rocks are actinolitized.
Sn 20, Zr<20, Pb< 10, Cr < 10, Mo<5 (ana-
lysts, Skyline Labs, Inc. The pulverized magnetite Dioritization
appearedto be inclusion-freeat 60x binocularmag-
nification.). _Andesite
porphyry and quartzite as much as 100
m outside contacts with the Romeral diorite contain
The vein apatiteis chlorapatite.Semiquantitative
fluorescentX-ray spectragraphic analysisof an apa- plagioclaseporphyroblasts(•n20-a0), interstitial
tite samplefrom a vein near La Escobaindicatesthe hornblende,and poikiloblastic
diopsideclots (Fig.
followingtrace elementcontentsin ppm: Ce 2,600, 16.4). The abundancesof these minerals increase
La 1,100, Y 620, Sr 460, Nd 370, Mn 230, Ba 140, toward diorite contacts. This, together with the
Pb 130, Cu 24, Zn 15 (analyst, Merlyn L. Salmon, poikiloblastictextures, and the presenceof relict
Fluo-X-Spec Analytical Laboratory. Fe was re- quartzite and andesite-porphyry in the dioritized
ported as 2,500 ppm, but the samplecontainedminor rocks,suggests that dioritizationoccurredby contact
inclusionsof vein magnetite. Xo other inclusions metasomatism relatedto dioriteintrusionand crystal-
were observedat 60x binocularmagnification.). lization. The compositions of the plagioclasepor-
Acicular apatite crystals in the veins are com- phyrolasts(An20_.•0)are closeto thoseof the rims
monly skeletalin that they containtubelikefluid in- of zoned plagioclasecrystals in Romeral diorite
clusionsparallel to their long axes. These fluid in- (-An24_-2). This suggeststhat dioritization took
clusionsare almostcompletelyfilled with colorless placerelativelylate in the crystallizationhistoryof
liquid of low refractiveindex. No bubblesare visible the diorite,at approximately the time when plagio-
in most of the tubes,but in the larger onesminute claserims and interstitialamphiboleof the diorite
bubblesare barelyvisibleat about1,000x magnifica- were forming in the diorite.
tion. Quartzite samplestaken on a traverseacrossthe
dioritized zone north of the east mass of Romeral
Fluid inclusionsin the quartz grains within the
veinsrangein sizefrom 0.003 to 0.009 mm. They diorite and perpendicularto the diorite contactwere
are randomlydistributedand have subhedralnega- analyzedfor iron by titration. Iron was taken into
solution in hot HC1 and reduced to the ferrous state
tive quartz-crystalshapes. They commonlycontain
a smallbubble,a 0.001 mm greenish,equant,moder- using SnC12and then HgC12. Sodium diphenyl
ately birefringentcrystal.and an orange-brownflake sulfonatewas added as an indicator, and
(probably hematite) that flutters in responseto was addedby pipette as an oxidant. When all the
Brownian movement in the fluid. Fe -ø+was oxidized to Fe a+ the indicator oxidized and
veins probably becamepurple. This methodwas suggested
The actinolite-magnetite-apatite by
formed later than the large replacement-type
de- Peter Avotins, who also demonstrated
it and pro-
positsof E1 Romeral. They cut aplitizeddiorite and vided the reagents. Resultswere repeatableto 0.1
feldspathizedphyllite, which contain remnants of percent of iron.
earlier, ore-related, pervasivelyactinolitizedrock Quartzites less than 80 m from the diorite con-
(Fig. 16F). tact are grayish to pinkish white. They are
stronglyto weaklydioritized,and they contain2.5 to
Alteration 4 weightpercentof iron (Fig. 14). By contrast,
quartzites 80 to 145 m from the diorite contact are
Contact metamorphism
pink to dark red brown and containas much as 16.5
Phyllitesand schistsnorth of thc Main orebody percentof iron, and hematite-bandedquartzitesmore
and within 150 to 200 m of the west mass of Romeral than about 145 m from the diorite contact contain 5
diorite contain0 to 25 percentof cordieritepor- to 6 percent of iron.
phyroblasts. Mesoscopicallythese porphyroblasts :Evidentlyiron was leachedfrom quartzitesnear
1120 .4RTHUR .4. BOOKSTROM

Jane E. Pike (pers. commun.,1975), this is typical

for hydrothermally altered amphiboles. The ana-
lyzed felty amphiboleis associatedwith magnetite,
martite, and minor chlorite.
Phyllites northeastof the Main orebody,schists
surrounding the North orebody, and phyllites sur-
roundingthoseschistsare somewhatlessthoroughly
amphibolitized. Actinolite microprismsgenerally
are concentratedin the biotitic layersof theserocks,
such that foliations, defined by alternating biotite-
actinolite layers and plagioclase-quartzlayers, are
preserved.
Dark green rocks containing abundant actinolite
and secondaryplagioclase(An2ñ5), along with
Fro. 14. Distribution of iron in hematitic quartzites north
scapolite,magnetite,and clinozoisite(Table 6), oc-
of the east mass of Romeral diorite.
cupy a zone 250 to 600 m wide east and southeast
of the Main orebody(Fig. 15). The mean optical
the diorite contactand redepositedas rather low propertiesof the actinoliteare as follows' N• =
gradehematitein quartzites80 to 145 m from the 1.628, Ny= 1.641, N,. = 1.652, •birefringence =
contact. Thus it seemsunlikely that iron was re- 0.024,2V = 80ø (-), X = palegreenishyellow,Y
mobilized from the iron-bearing metasedimentary = bluishgreen,Z = deepbluegreen,Z' c = 16ø.The
rocksexposedat presenterosionallevelsand rede- secondaryplagioclase is untwinned. The scapolite
positedto form the Romeralmagnetiteorebodies.is colorless,is uniaxial negative,has low indicesof
If suchiron remobilization.did occur,it had to have refraction(No = 1.537, No-- 1.530), and low bire-
happened at deeperlevelsthan are presentlyex- fringence (0.007). According to determinative
posed,assuggested
by Park (1972). curvesby Heinrich (1965, p. 114), its approximate
compositionis marialit%•-meionit%. The magnetite,
.d ctinolitization like that in the orebodies,is very pale pinkish to
Romeral diorite containsabout 26 ñ 5 percentof brownishgray in reflected lightandis opticallyiso-
actinolite (Table1), whichis veryevenlydistrib- tropic. The clinozoisite is pale bronzeyellowin
utedthroughlargevolumesof rocks. Someof the transmitted plane-polarized light. Its index of re-
actinoliteis interstitial
to plagioclase,
andsomeis in fraction is near Ny = 1.72, and its birefringence
poikiliticintergrowths with plagioclase
and augire. ranges from 0.01 to 0.02. It is optically positiveand
Much of the actinolite in the diorite containsdust- has large 2V, ranging from 80 ø to 90ø. It is dis-
seized.particles of magnetite.The dioritealsois tinguished from epi.dote, which is present in later
cut by stockworks of actinoliteveinletscontaining veins, by its lack of greenish pleochroic colors, its
magnetite. lower birefringence, and its positive optic sign.
Dark greenfelty rockswestof the Main orebody Manyof the actinolitized rocksare aphanitic, but
areamphibolitized phyllites(Fig. 16B), whichgrade secondary plagioclase locally is responsible for a
northeastwardinto lessaltered,more easilyrecogniz- porphyroblastic
texturethat resembles
the primary
ablephyllites.Microprobe analysesat 24 pointson texture of La Liga andesiteporphyry. Relictsof
theacicularamphibole grainsof thesampleshownin oligoclase-diopsiderockandof La Ligaandesite por-
Figure16B gave(in averageweightpercent):Si phyryare common, andboththeserelictsandthe
25.5, Ti 0.3, A1 1.9, Fe 6.9, Mn 0.1, Mg 5.3, Ca actinolitizedrocksare cut by stockworks of veinlets
8.8, Na 0.4, K 0.9, sum50.1; O 49.9 by difference containingactinolite,
magnetite,clinozoisite,
sphene,
(analyst,JaneE. Pike. Kakanui,N. Z., augite calcite,
chlorapatite,
chlorite,
pyrite,and tourmaline.
was used as the standard.). Substitutionof the Severalsteeply dippingpodsof coarsely crystalline
microprobe data into the amphibole structuralactinolite-magnetite
rock also cut the actinolite-
formula gives plagioclase
rock,asshown
in Figure15.
The chemical compositions
of typicalsamplesof
(I•0..o)
(Ca•.7Na0.o.--0
•) (Mg•.9Ti0.02Mn0.0•Fe•.0--.,..07)
relatively unaltered
La Ligaandesite porphyry and
(Si7.0A10.5--0.5)O2g(OH,
O, F)2. stronglyactinolitizedandesiteporphyryare com-
As indicatedbythevacancies in thestructural
form- ,paredin Table 7.
ula, the analytical
valuesare lowerthan wouldbe Alongthesoutheast marginof theMainorebody
expected for unaltered amphibole. According to is a 20- to 60-m-widezone of yellowish-green
crys-
 M.'tG.VETITEDEPOSITS OF EL ROMER.4L,CHILE 1121

t
ßf../'-
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ß .. :J:
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ß •''1'' f' ' •' '
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:::::::::::::::::::::
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. i/r• ....... i ....... I..•c•I .....
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..... •.•l ....... 1•"''1 /• ...........

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' / I .... P ' '•' 1 .....
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ß .......
:ty'•/•/•l:::::: ' '
.....
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..4
ß•' I
.......
...• -• -•/ / •.

b•' ,;?,'o•,'•e ,] '

i •/ /I

FIG. 15. Alteration zonessurroundingthe Romeral magnetitedeposits.

1122 ARTHUR A. BOOKSTROM
 M,4GNETITE DEPOSITS OF EL ROMER.4L,CHILE 1123

talloblasticrock consistingof actinolite,olive-green 5. Plagioclase(An20+5) after actinolitizedphyl-

sphene, diopside, calcite, apatite, and magnetite lite, (northeastern subzone),
(Fig. 15). This rock containsremnants of dark 6. Plagioclase (An•5)-quartz (southernsubzone).
green, aphanitic actinolite-plagioclase
rock. The boundariesof these subzonesare gradational,
as are the boundariesof the aplitizedzoneas a whole.
Aplitization
Actinolitized diorite and phyllite remnants,ranging
\\Test and north of the Romeral orebodies is a in size from a few millimeters across to about 450
large, irregularly shapedzone in xvhichgray-green m across, are scattered throughout the zone, and
Romeral diorite and dark green, actinolitizedphyl- thesealso have gradationalcontactswith the aplitic
lites have been bleachedand altered to light tan, rocks that surround them. Remnants of actinolitized
almost white, aplitic rocks. These aplitic rocks diorite, of diorite cut by actinoliteveinlets,and of
containvarious proportionsof plagioclase(Ans 2a),ihnenite grains are commonin the aplitic rocks of
quartz, and microcline,along with minor tourmaline.
the western subzone. In the eastern subzone,rem-
They also contain various amounts of remnant nants of actinolitizeddiorite are common,and in the
diorite, phyllite, actinolite,zoned andesite,ihnenite,
northeasternsubzone,stronglyactinolitizedremnants
and magnetite. With the aid of feldspar-staining of phyllite are abundant(Fig. 16F).
techniquesand modal analyses,the following sub- Romeral diorite peripheralto the xvesternmargin
zones can be recognizedwithin the large aplitizedof the aplitic zone and dioritic remnantswithin it
zone: commonlyare cut by magnetite-pyrite-biotite vein-
1. Plagioclase (Ans 20)-quartz (eastern sub- lets that have aplitic alterationenvelopes,or selvages.
zone), Where suchveinletsare closelyspaced,only small
(An8 20) (centralsubzone), remnantsof diorite exist betweentheir aplitic sel-
2. Quartz-plagioclase
(west- vages. Thus the selvagedveinlets are closely re-
3. Plagiodase(An•2_2•)-quartz-microcline
ern subzone), lated to pervasiveaplitization.
4. Plagioclase
(An•2_25)-microcline
(northernsub- The selvagedveinlets are sparselyand unevenly
zone), filled with magnetite, pyrite, olive-brown biotite,

Fro. 16. Textures and mineral assemblagesin sometypically altered rocks from the Romeral
area. Photos A through E, G, and H, are photomicrographstaken with transmitted light
with nicols at 80 ø. Photo F was taken in the field.
A. Dioritized quartzite. A relict mosaic of quartz grains (q) comprises17 volume percent
of the rock. This mosaic is disruptedby 70 percent of plagioclaselaths (p). Eight volume
percent of hornblende(h) is interstitial, and is associatedwith 2 volume percent of very fine
grained magnetite. Many of the plagioclaselaths have polysyntheticallytwinned cores (An30)
and irregular, untwinned rims (An20). The cores of some plagioclasegrains are altered to
very fine grained epidoteand montmorillonite(e-m).
B. Felty actinolite after phyllite. This is the sample of actinolite that was analyzed by
microprobe. The opaque material is magnetite and marrite. Minor chlorite is present along
the veinlet.
C. Actinolite-scapoliterock from 300 m southeastof the Main orebody. Actinolite (act) is
in randomly oriented prisms. Scapolite (s) is in fine-grained, light gray patches. Magnetite
veinlets and pods are black. Tourmaline (t) is intergrown with actinolite and magnetite in
the lower left part of the sample. An epidote (e) vein (about 0.6 mm thick) cuts the magnetite
(mt) veinlets. It contains minor magnetite, but the large black area is an open space.
D. Spheneporphyroblasts(sp) in a martix of randomly oriented actinolite prisms (act) and
magnetite (rot). From the actinolite sphene zone along the southeast margin of the Main
orebody.
E. Textures and mineral assemblagesof relatively unaltered versus strongly mineralized
intramineral dikes. Both samples are from the southeasternpart of the Main orebody at the
310-m elevation. Transmitted light, nicols at 80ø. 1. Texture of relatively unaltered intra-
mineral (IM-3) diorite aplite. Light gray lath-shaped grains are plagioclase (p) (An•_+•).
Darker gray prisms and interstitial material is actinolite (a). Black grains are magnetite (m),
most of which probably is magmatic. 2. Intramineral (IM-2) diorite aplite, largely replaced
by magnetite (m) and clinozoisite(cz).
F. White, oligoclase-rich rock with remnants of dark green, actinolitized phyllite from north
of the North orebody. The oligoclase rock is cut by a small actinolite-magnetite-apatite vein.
The age relationshipsshown here are consistentwith those seen west of the Main orebogy.
There aplitizedrockscontainremnantsof actinolitizeddiorite,and the aplitizedrocksare.,.cut
by large, widely scattered actinolite-magnetite-apatiteveins.
G. Gradation from Romeral diorite (left), containingplagioclase(pl), actinolite (act), and
nmgnetite (mt), to aplitic quartzofeldspathicrock (right), with secondary plagioclase (p2)
and quartz (q). This sample is from a 3 cm aplitized selvage along a thin veinlet containing
minor magnetite, biotite, tourmaline, quartz, and clinozoisite.
H. Completelyaplitized rock (after Romeral diorite). The rock consistsof plagioclase(An8)
(p), quartz (q), and minor tourmaline (t). Myrmekitic texture (m) is present in the lower
central and right-hand portions of the photo.
1124 ARTHUR ,4. BOOKSTROM

TABLE 6. Modal Analyses, Actinolitized and Clinozoisitic alteration

Aplitized Rocks
Clinozoisite is common within the Romeral ore-
Kap (a) Kd (ap)
bodiesand the pervasivelyactinolitizedrocks that
Plagioclase Plagioclase surroundthem.It is alsocommon,alongwith second-
Primary 1.9 (An50) Primary ary plagioclase(An17_+5),in the less altered rocks
Secondary 23.0 (An27 4-5) Core 3.3 (An47)
that lie as far as 500 to 700 m east of the Main ore-
Actinolite 40.8 Inner rim 16.5 (An38)
Scapolite 7.2 Rim 3.6 (An24) body (Fig. 15).
Magnetite 6.1 Secondary
Clinozoisite 6.0 Core 5.0 (Ant5)
At the outer marginsof the clinozoisiticzone,the
Diopside 3.2 Rim 1.2 (An10) pale bronze-yellow,optically positive clinozoisite
Penninite 2.8 Unzoned 34.7 (AnlS) gives way to yellowish-green, pleochroic,optically
Pyrite 2.5 Quartz 24.1
Tourmaline 1.4 Microcline 9.2
negative epidote, which is associatedwith mont-
Chlorapatite 1.4 Ilmenite 0.8 morilloniterather than secondaryplagioclase.Late
Calcite 1.1 Magnetite 0.5
Sphene I. 1 Actinolite 0.3
veinletsof epidotealso commonlycut the actinoli-
Montmorillonite 0.5 Hematite 0.2 tized, clinozoisitized,aplitized, and feldspathized
Quartz 0.4 Biotite 0.1 rocks of the Romeral area.
Hematite 0.1 Sphene 0.1
Clinozoisite 0.1
Biotitization
99.5 Penninite 0.1
Maghemite tr
Pseudobrookite tr
Very fine grained,olive-brownsecondarybiotite
Tourmaline tr is prevasivelydisseminatedin the volcaniclastic
Goethite tr andesitesof La Escoba,north of E1 Romeral. Such
99.8 biotitealsois presentin the late diorite aplite dikes
that cut the orebodiesand in late, magnetite-pyrite-
Data in volume percent, as determined by point counts. biotiteveinletsthat have aplitic alterationenvelopes.
Kap(a) = Actinolitized La Liga andesire porphyry (mean, 5 samples
from the actinolite-plagioclase zone). Chloritization
Kd(ap) = Aplitized Romeral diorite (mean, 6 samples from the oligo-
clase-quartz-microcline subzone).
Actinolitic rocks within and peripheral to the
Romeral orebodiesare partially chloritized.Actino-
tourmaline, quartz, and clinozoisite. Their selvages lite in intramineraldikes is partially chloritized,and
range from about2 to 10 cm in width, and grada- chlorite-bearingveinlets cut both the intramineral
tional boundariesbetween the aplitic selvage rocks dikes and the orebodies. The predominantchlorite
and the gray-greendiorite wall rocksare 1 to 3 cm mineral is penninite,and both opticallypositive and
wide. In these gradationalboundaryzones,actino- negative varieties are common.
lite and zonedandesinecrystalshave beenprogres- North of the Main orebodyand east of the North
sivelyreplacedalonggrain boundaries by quartzand orebody,spheroidalnontronite-chlorite knots (3-10
oligoclase(Fig. 16G). mm) are presentin actinolitizedphyllites. The non-
Where suchreplacementis complete,the diorite is tronite is fibrous and matted. The chlorite is pseu-
converted to an aplitic rock composedalmost en- domorphic after biotite and actinolite around the
tirely of secondaryquartz and feldspar (Table 6). margins of the knots.
In the central subzoneminor tourmaline is present,
.4 rgillization
and myrmekitictexturesare developed(Fig. 16H).
The chemical compositionsof typical samples of A zone of soft, light-coloredclay minerals contain-
Romeral diorite and aplitized rock are compared ing ghostlikeremnantsof actinolitized,feldspathized,
in Table 7. and argillized phyllites lies northeast of the Main
The presenceof phyllite remnants(Fig. 16F) in- orebody(Fig. 15). Dickite is the predominantclay
dicatesthat the aplitic rockswere not derivedfrom a mineral near the late North-northeast fault zone.
magma by gravitative settling of ferromagnesian The colorless, pseudohexagonalplates of dickite
constituents,a processsuggested by Briiggen(1934), yield eccentricBxo figures,and their X-ray patterns
as citedin Ruiz et al. (1968, p. 326-327). Further- confirm their identities as dickite crystals. The
more, the presenceof stronglyactinolitizedremnants dickite gives way eastward to mixed kaolinite and
suggeststhat aplitizationfollowed the actinolitiza- pyrophyllite (identified by X-ray diffraction). The
tion that accompanied ore depositionat E1 Romeral. kaolinitizedand pyrophyllitizedrocks contain rem-
Thus, it seemsunlikely that the aplitizationwas deu- nants of actinolite, magnetite (altered to martite),
teric or that it supplied the iron that formed the oligoclase, chlorite, and montmorillonite, all after
Ro•neral ord•odies,as suggestedby Ruiz et al., biotite phyllite. Still farther eastwardthe gougeof
1968. the East fault zone has been altered to a snow-white
 glAGNETITEDEPOSITSOF EL ROMERAL,CHILE 1125

mixture of kaohniteand sericite(identifiedoptically T^BI.E 7. Comparisonsof ChemicalCompositionsof

Unaltered, Actinolitized, and Aplitized Rocks
and by X-ray diffraction).
East of the zone of intenselyargillized rocks is a Differ- Differ-
broadzone in which the plagioclasecrystalsin phyl- I4.ap Kap(a) ences lid Kd(ap) ences
lite, schist,and Romeral diorite are partially altered
SiO2 55.22 49.52 -5.70 57.04 65.33 +8.29
to montmorillonite(Fig. 15), identifiedin thin sec- TiO2 0.90 0.32 --0.58 0.61 0.58 --0.03
tion by its clay size and moderatebirefringence,in AI•O3 16.90 7.22 -9.68 17.31 18.91 +1.6
cut slabsby its expansionon wetting (observedby Fe•O3 1.61 5.04: +3.43 0.74 0.09 -0.65
FeO 3.95 8.19 +4.24 3.44 1.76 - 1.68
binocularmicroscope),and in clay-mineralseparates MnO 0.08 0.08 0 0.06 0.02 --0.04
by X-ray diffraction. MgO 4.78 10.70 +5.92 4.35 0.26 -4.09
CaO 9.39 14.34 +4.95 9.89 4.14 --5.75
Na20 5.00 1.89 --3.11 4.73 5.60 +0.87
Romeral Fault System K•O 0.63 0.20 --0.43 0.60 1.42 +0.82
P•.O5 0.07 0.62 +0.55 -- -- --
SOo ......
The Romeral fault system is an interbranching CO2 ......
network of steeplydipping faults with north-north- H20 + 1.54 1.18 --0.36 1.10 1.64 +0.54
west, north, and northeaststrikes (Fig. 17). H20- 0.26 0.15 -0.11 0.15 0.42 +0.27

Early Romeral fault 100.33 99.97 100.02 100.17

The early Romeral fault strikes north-northwest
and lies west of the orebodies. Its southernpart dips Data in weight percent. Analyst Alberto Obreg6n,Insti-
tuto de Geologla,UniversidadNational Aut6nomade Mdxico.
75ø E, and its northernpart dips70ø W (Fig. 17). Kap = La Liga andesiteporphyry (sample# 1327, 12890N,
Offset slivers of diorite and phyllite indicate about 4565E, 875 m elev.).
700 m of left-lateral movement. Kap(a) = ActinolitizedLa Liga andesiteporphyry (sample
# 743, 11555N, 6195E, 350 m elev.).
Near the Main orebodythe brecciazone of the Kd = Romeral diorite (sample #1189, 13130N, 5290E,
Romeral fault is 10 to 40 m thick, and it contains 625 m elev.).
Kd(ap) = Aplitized diorite (sample #1131, 13235N,
fragmentsof actinolite,magnetite,and minor apatite, 5305E, 660 m elev.).
in an apatite-richmatrix containingelongateand Samples= 100 g of unweatheredrock. \Vet chemical
methods given in Table 1.
aligned apatite grains, actinolite needles,and dis-
seminatedmagnetitegrains (Fig. 18A). The actino~
lite- and magnetite-richfragmentssuggestthat some shear zones related to early movementon the Ro-
actinoliteand magnetitedepositionprecededbreccia- meral fault. Intramineral dikes probably filled
tion. The apatite-actinolite-apatitematrix suggests tensionalgash fracturesrelated to continuedleft-
that depositionof thesemineralsaccompanied fault lateral movementon the fault. Many of the dikes
movement. The elongateand alignedshapesof the are lenticular,have lenticularapopheses,and contain
apatite grains suggest that fault movement con- unrotated,lenticularinclusions,all of which suggests
tinued after formationof the apatite-richmatrix. that the dikes filled tensional fractures. Furthermore,
Northwest of the North orebody, the early the dikes are oriented in the northwest-trending,
Romeral fault curves northwestward and branches. en echelonpattern,whichis to be expectedfor gash
One branch follows the diorite contact and the other fractures related to north-south, left-lateral move-
extends through phyllites east of the contact. A ment. Similarly, severalen echelonzonesof high-
sliver of diorite is displacedabout350 m northward gradeore trend northwesterlyin the easternpart of
along the easternbranch of the fault. Presumably the Main orebody. These may have resultedfrom
the other 350 m of displacementwas taken up on hydrothermalreplacement along tensionalfractures
the western branch of the fault and in the wedge- related to left-lateral movement on the Romeral
shapedcataclasitezone betweenthe two branchesof fault.
the fault (Fig. 17). The rocks of the cataclasite
East fault
wedgeare stronglyfoliatedN 15ø-40ø W, 600-80ø
SW. Schistosecataclasites(Fig. 18B) are pre- The East fault is a postorebreak that lies east of
dominant in the southwesternpart of the wedge, both orebodies,strikes north-northwest,and dips
whereas deformed breccias (Fig. 18C) are pre- 65ø to 70ø SW (Fig. 17). Its gougezoneis 50 to
dominant in its northwesternpart. Apatite-rich 60 m thick and consistsmostlyof fine-grainedquartz,
cataclasitedikes (Fig. 18D) cut these brecciasin sericite, and kaolinite. Slickensidesalong the
the central part of the cataclasitewedge. southernpart of the fault indicatethat the latest
In the Main orebodynorth- and northeast-trend- movementthere was nearly dip-slip, and a struc-
ing zonesof high-gradeore may have resultedfroln tural sectionacrossthe North pit suggests
about150
hydrothermal replacementguided by subsidiary m of reversemovement(Fig. 13). Gentlyplung-
1126 ARTHUR A. BOOKSTRO:Y[

o ,, ß ß : o ø
o
m /, '.. ". •
--t4,000 N ( m. ,.
/! '":. •,

J
K• I
• N
./
: '-.

"'::...•
i:• •' ".... 0I , t I , 500
I m.

-- I•,000 N. 5•.

,' •: •• •
/, X

7_:• ) •kt Ut ;D

io •,'"5• ,,,,•N• ...............

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 MAGNETITE DEPOSITS OF EL ROMERAL, CHILE 1127

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•I•. 18. Cata•lasites. Photomi•rographs showing various •ata•lasite textures. Tra•mitted

light, nicolsat 45ø.
•. Cata•lasit½from the •o•½ral fault zone, •o•thwest o{ the •ain orcbod•. This •ata•lasite
•ontains deformed {ragm,ts o{ •agnetit½ (•t) and {elt• actinolite (act-•t) in a •atrix o{
fin,gra{n• apatit% a•tinolit• and magnetite (ap-a•t-mt).
B. Schistose cataclasite from northwest of the North orebody. This rock contains broken
and deformed •l•stcrs o{ magnetite g•ains (•t) in a strongly {oliat• matrix o{ elongate
a•atite grains (ap), biotite (b), and deep blue green axinit½ (ax).
C. •re•cialike •atadasite with angular {ra•ents o{ --g,etite in an apatlte-ri•h matfix.
). •patite-ma•½tite •ata•lasit½from a 0.S-m-thi•k, st½½pl•dipping, dikelike •d• noah o{
the North orebody.

ing slickensides
on the fault in the North pit, how- Gently plunging slickensideson the fault indicate
ever, indicate that the latest movement on the north- strike-slipmovement,and severaloffset featuresin-
ern part of the fault was strike-slip. Part of the dicateabout200-----50m of right-lateralmovement.
right-lateral movement of the late North-northeast The North orebodyapparentlyhas beendisplaced
fault evidentlywas shuntedonto the northern part about200 m with respectto the North Extensionore-
of the East fault. body. Similarly, the early Romeral fault has been
Late North-northeastlault cut and displacedby about200 m in the right-
lateral sense.
The youngestmajor fault in the Romeralsystem As shownin Figure 17, severalintramineral dikes
is the postoreNorth-northeastfault, which lies west are offset10 to 50 m in a fight-lateralsensealong
of the Main orebody(Fig. 17). This fault cutsthe subsidiaryfaultsthatprobablyare relatedto themain
early Romeral fault, cuts the northern end of the right-lateral North-northeastfault.
North Extensionorebody,and lies southeastof the
North orebody. Its zone of brecciaand gougeis Regionallault pattern
10 to 50 m thick and containsfragmentsof magnetite The Romeralfault systemis oneof a discontinuous
and white argillizedrock in a dark gray matrix of series of breaks delineatingthe southern300 km
pulverized magnetiteand hematite. of the Atacamafault system,which parallelsthe
17. The Romeralfault system,showingthe late North-northeast
fault, the late faultsin
the Main orebody,the East fault, andthe early Romeralfault.
1 128 ,4RTHUR ,4. BOOKSTRO•],•

Chilean coast for about 1,000 kin. Several {dher no explosion breccias to indicate that it exceeded
major magnetite depositsof early Cretaceousage, confining pressure and rock strength. High fluid
such as E1 Tofo, E1 Algarrobo, and Cerro Imam, pressuresmay have triggered movementon the P,.o-
are located near north-trending shear zones and meral fault, but it is unlikely that they were the
faults of the Atacama system. At Cerro Imim, 300 ultimate cause of that movement, inasmuch as the
km north of E1 P,.olneral,the north-trending mag- fault is a regionalfeature. Fluid pressuremay have
netite depositis cut by en echelon,northwest-trend- beenlessthan lithostaticin the late magnetite-actino-
•ng dikes. If thesedikes,like the intramineraldikes lite-apatiteveinsthat apparentlyfilled openfractures,
of E1 P,.omeral,filled tensional fractures related to but in the tight veinletsand replacementdepositsof
strike-slipfaulting, their orientations•vould suggest the orebodiesit seemslikely that total pressureswere
early Cretaceous left-lateral movement. Postore about lithostatic,or approximately2 kb.
movementson the Atacama fault system,however,
apparentlyhave been right-lateral. At E1 P,.omeral Temperatures
there has been 200-+ 50 m of postore right-lateral
movement, and in northern Chile the Atacama Magnetite ore depositionat E1 P,.omeralwas pre-
fault is active, with right-lateral strealnoffsetsof as cededby formation of an amphibolitefaciesassem-
lnuchas 1.5 kin (St. Areandand Allen, 1965). blageconsistingof hornblende,secondaryplagioclase
(Anao-ao),and diopside. It was accompaniedby
Boundary Conditions for Ore Deposition formation of a transitional amphibolite-greenschist
and Alteration facies assemblageconsistingof actinolite, secondary
plagioclase(An27_+.•),clinozoisite,scapolite,sphene,
Depth and pressure
and apatite. It was followed by formation of a
The Romeral magnetite deposits probably are greenschistfaciesassemblage consistingof chlorite,
middle Xeocomianin age. They are youngerthan secondaryplagioclase(Ans-2s), epidote,quartz, and
La Liga andesiteporphyry, which is thought to sphene. Thus the ore-associatedmineral assem-
representa magmabody that fed andesitesills and blagesof E1 Romeral record a generally retrograde
flowsof the early NeocomianArquerosFormation, transition from amphibolite to amphibolite-green-
but they are olderthan the Punta de Piedra batho- schist,to greenschistfacies conditions.
lith, which is late Neocomianin age. Experimental studies of equilibrium phase rela-
The tops of the P,.omeralmagnetitedepositslay tions between amphiboliteand greenschistfacies
at about the level of the Paleozoic-Jurassicuncon- mineralsby Liou et al. (1974) indicatethat in basal-
formity. They probablyformedunder a coverof tic rocksthe assemblage actinolite4- oligoclase-----
epi-
Jurassicvolcaniclasticandesitesand early Neo- dote is stable at temperaturesbetween 550ø and
cornJan
andesitesillsand flows. No Jurassicsections 475øC,at 2 kb, and at oxygenfugacitiesin the mag-
have been measurednear E1 Romeral, where only netite stabilityfield and approximatingthosedefined
minor erosional renmants of the Jurassic section by the NXO buffer assemblage.\¾ithin this 550ø
remain, but an east-westcrosssectionat 26ø S by to 475ø temperaturerange the anorthite contentof
Ruiz et al. (1965) showsthe full westerneugeo- plagioclaseand the A1 content of actinolite vary
synclinal,island-arcfaciesto be 9,000 m thick and directly with temperature. Above 550ø actinolite
the easternmiogeosynclinal limestonefacies to be convertsto hornblende,oligoclaseconvertsto ande-
2,000 m thick. An intermediatethicknessof 5,500 sine, and the resulting assemblage,which may in-
m is suggested asa reasonable estimate
for thethick- clude clinopyroxene,is typical of the amphibolite
nessof the Jurassic sectionat E1 Romeralwhenthe facies. Below 475ø oligoclaseconvertsto albite, and
orebodiesformed. Neocomian Arqueros andesites the resulting greenschistfacies typically includes
andeastof E1 P,.omeraI,chlorite.
are presentto the southeast
wherethey rangein thickness from 850 to 1,230m Although the Romeral ore depositsformed by re-
(AguirreandEgert,1965). The Arquerossection placementof andesite,phyllite,and schistin an open
graduallythickens andthereforeit is esti- system, rather than by isochemicalalteration of
westward,
mated that the Arqueros andesiteswere at least basalt in a closedsystem,the mineral assemblages
1,250 m thick at E1 Romeral. Thus the Romeral of E1 P,.omeralare remarkably similar to thosepro-
magnetitedepositsprobablyformedat a depthof ducedexperimentally by Liou et al. (1974). Further-
approximately
6,750m, or about7 km. more, it is inferred that the Romeral deposits,like
Assumingthat pressurewasnearlylithostatic,this the experimentalassemblages, formed at about 2 kb
would suggestthat ore depositionoccurredat ap- pressure. Thus, even though the relatively alumi-
proximately
2 kb pressure.Fluidpressure mayhave nous compositionsof the Romeral host rocks may
beensomewhat greaterthanlithostatic,but thereare have tendedto lower the temperatureof the horn-
 M.4GNETITE DEPOSITS OF EL ROMER./iL,CHILE 1129
blende-actinolite conversion somewhat it seems km, at about 2 kb pressure, and at temperatures
reasonableto suggestthat the Romeral magnetite mainly in the range 550ø to 475øC.
depositsand their accompanyingtransitionalamphib- 10. Left-lateral movement on the Romeral fault
olite-greenschistfacies minerals formed at tem- resulted in the formation of schistose,breccialike,
peraturesmostly in the range 550ø to 475øC. The and dikelike magnetite-actinolite-apatitecataclasites.
preoreamphibolitefaciesassemblage probablyformed 11. Ore depositionwas followed by emplacement
at temperaturessomewhatabove550ø, and the post- of a few minor albitite and quartz-albitepegmatite,
ore greenschistfacies assemblageprobably formed aplite,and granitedikes;by aplitizationof previously
at temperaturessomewhatbelow475ø. actinolitizedRomeral diorite and phyllite; by em-
placementof many biotitic diorite aplite dikes; by
Summary biotitization; by formation of actinolite-magnetite-
apatite veins; by chloritization; by argillization,
1. La Liga andesiteporphyry intruded Paleozoic martitization, and sericitization; by right-lateral
metasedimentaryrocks and Jurassic volcaniclastic movementon the late Xorth-northeastfault; and by
andesites.
emplacementof the postore granodiorite batholith
2. Romeral diorite intruded La Liga andesitepor- east of E1 Romeral.
phyry. It containsthe samesuiteof mineralsas the
andesiteporphyrybut is phaneriticand is somewhat Acknowledgments
depletedin iron and enrichedin silica with respect
to the andesiteporphyry. I am grateful to Drs. S. R. Wallace and G. L.
3. The Romeral magnetitedepositsare adjacent Hole, who arranged support for this project with
and subparallelto the eastern contactof the west Bethlehem Steel Corp., and I would also like to
massof the Romeral diorite pluton. thank F. Franquesa,F. Mufioz, and J. Johnsonfor
4. Ore depositionwas precededby crystallization logisticalsupportin Chile.
of the Romeral diorite; by emplacementof post- For their guidance,encouragement, criticismand
diorite, preore dikes, someof which are more mafic comment,I am indebtedto Drs. R. H. Jahns, C. F.
than Romeral diorite, and some of which are more Park, Jr., F. W. Dickson,C. O. Hutton, B. M. Page,
silicic; by formation of amphibolitefacies alteration \V. C. Luth, and J. G. Liou, all of the schoolof
minerals near diorite contacts and in the reentrant Earth Sciences,Stanford University.
or roof pendant between the eastern and western R. Laniz took the photomicrographs, R. Dahl did
massesof the diorite pluton; and by mobilizationof muchof the final drafting,and R. Foster typedthe
iron in hematite-bandedquartzites near the diorite final draft of the paper.
contactand redepositionof that iron as hematite80 Thanks also are due to Drs. \Vm. Kelly, E. Es-
to 145 m from the contact. sene, and B. J. Skinner, for critically reviewing
5. Ore depositionwas accompanied by left-lateral various versions of this manuscript. Any errors,
strike-slip movementon the Romeral fault, and by omissions,or misinterpretationsthat remain are the
eraplacementof four generations of intramineral responsibilityof the author.
diorite aplite dikesinto gashfractures,which opened CLIMAX MOLYBDENUM COMPANY
in responseto the left-lateralfaulting. DIVISION OFAMAX, INc.
6. The repeatederaplacement of intramineraldikes WESTERN DIVISION OFFICE
suggeststhat a bodyof dioritic magmaexistedbelow 13949 WEST COLF^X AVENUE
the Romeral magnetitedepositsas they formed. GOLr)EN,COZOR^r)O 80401
7. The primary compositions of intramineraldikes May 6, Septembcr24, 1976
suggestthat they representan iron-enriched,water-
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